2 activists who criticized Mali military rulers were seized and taken away, relatives say
At least two Malian pro-democracy activists, including a prominent political party leader, were taken away in Bamako by armed men after criticizing the military government and calling for a return to constitutional order and elections, their families and colleagues said.
Mali 's military government this week suspended political party activities, days after the first pro-democracy rally since soldiers took power by force almost four years ago.
The son of Alassane Abba, secretary-general of the Codem party, said three armed, hooded men dressed in military fatigues entered their house on Thursday evening and took the politician away 'in a car with black tinted windows and no license plate.' Alhousseini Jannatta Alassane told The Associated Press that the armed men 'did not look like bandits."
On the same day, in Kati, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Bamako, a Yelema party activist, El Bachir Thiam, was forced by armed men into their car before being driven to an unknown destination.
'We learned today of the arrest of our activist El Bachir Thiam and I call on the Malian authorities to release him. I call on those who arrested him to release him. A country is not built on gag orders,' former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, honorary president of the Yelema party, said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
Both El Bachir Thiam and Alassane Abba have made media appearances criticizing the military government and calling for a return to constitutional order.
Mamadou Traoré, president of the Alternative for Mali party, was arrested last month after he criticized the military and the use of Russian mercenaries by Mali's transitional authorities.
Military leader Gen. Assimi Goita seized power following coups in 2020 and 2021. Last week, a national political conference said he should be installed as president for a renewable five-year term.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'I saw a lioness trying to EAT my husband, with his head in its jaws': Heroic wife relives moment she HIT lion in the face in doomed bid to save partner - and says she does not want the animal killed, despite his death
A 'heroic' wife who tried to save her husband after he was attacked and dragged off by a lion has spoken out about the terrifying ordeal for the first time. Conny Kebbel, 57, was on a wildlife expedition camp in northern Namibia with her businessman husband Bernd, 59, last month when a starved lion pounced on him and killed him. The father-of-two, who had climbed down a ladder from his rooftop tent mounted on the top of a 4 x 4 to use the bathroom in the early hours of the morning, was suddenly grabbed by the predator - a lioness called Charlie. The ferocious roar of the animal and the cries of her desperate husband as the lioness grabbed him by the neck and dragged him into the bushes alerted Mrs Kebbel, who was still sleeping in the rooftop tent. Speaking about her husband's tragic death, Mrs Kebbel described how he had left his tent at around 1.30 am, when she suddenly heard a sound. 'It was as if he was surprised and then a lion [began] growling. 'I looked out of the tent and saw a lioness had grabbed Bernd by his head,' she said as she relived the horror of the attack. Mrs Kebbel bravely rushed out of the tent and began hitting the lioness in the face with a satellite pole she had ripped off from a vehicle in an attempt to get the wild cat away from her husband. The 12-year-old lioness is said to have been on her last legs, skeletal and starving A man who was on the expedition with the couple also rushed to Mr Kebbel's rescue and managed to hit the predator in the head with a small torch, scaring the animal away before it could devour her victim. But nothing could be done to save the keen outdoorsman who was killed almost instantly in the savage attack. Charlie disappeared behind the bushes, but she then returned and 'continued to mock charge the group coming in from different directions'. 'Everybody fled into the cars because Charlie was posing a threat to us all', Mrs Kebbel continued. The tragedy happened during a desert trip in the Kunene Region where a group of six adults and six children travelling in three 4 x 4's had stopped to make camp. The night after Mr Kebbel's violent death, Charlie attacked another group nearby. A video was posted on social media of the damage she had caused to their tents as she tried to slash and bite its way inside. Following the horrific ordeal, officials of the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism shot Charlie dead as she took a break under a bush. A spokesman said: 'The animal had become habituated and used to humans and was posing an ongoing threat to community members and tourists so a difficult decision was made'. Conny Kebbel, who shares two children with her late husband, said: 'We are not angry. We have found peace. We did not want Charlie to die. It happened at a place we and Bernd loved.' 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The Guardian
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Trump travel ban barring citizens from 12 countries goes into effect
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Times
12 hours ago
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MPs attack Egypt over illegal detention of activist
Egypt must be told 'it cannot be business as usual' until a British Egyptian pro-democracy activist is freed, say British MPs. Alaa Abd El-Fattah, 43, has been detained since 2019 and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 for spreading 'false news undermining national security' after sharing a social media post about torture. In September, the Egyptian authorities refused to release him after they declined to account for the time he spent in pre-trial detention. Last month, a UN panel found that Egypt was detaining him illegally. His mother, Laila Souief, 69, who is also a British citizen, was admitted to hospital in London after more than eight months on hunger strike in which she lost 42 per cent of her bodyweight. In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, the leaders of four all-party parliamentary groups welcomed the prime minister's efforts in recent months, which include repeatedly raising the case with President Sisi. However, they urged him to 'consider strengthening the UK's approach without further delay, to advance Mr Abd El-Fattah's case, demonstrate Britain's commitment to the human rights of its citizens, and end this family's anguish'. 'We call on the government to make it clear to Egypt … that it cannot be business as usual until Mr Abd El-Fattah is released,' they said. 'Measures suggested by his family and other high-profile figures include revising the travel advice for UK citizens, exploring sanctioning those involved in his detention, and considering taking Egypt to the International Court of Justice. 'Prime minister, as the world watches on, we urge you to show the leadership needed to avert tragedy for this family, and demonstrate once and for all that the United Kingdom will not tolerate such abuse of the fundamental rights of British citizens,' they said. The letter was signed by Sir John Whittingdale, of the group on media freedom, Fabian Hamilton, of the group on human rights, Brendan O'Hara, of the group on international law, justice and accountability, and Tim Roca, of the group for arbitrary detention and hostage affairs.
