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Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Ghana's defence, environment ministers among 8 killed in helicopter crash
A helicopter crash has killed all eight people on board, including the nation's defence and environment ministers, according to Ghana's government. Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims of the crash in the southern Ashanti region of the country, said Julius Debrah, chief of staff to President John Mahama, on Wednesday. 'The president and the government extend their condolences and solidarity to the families of our comrades and soldiers who fell in their service to the nation,' said Debrah. Also among the victims were Alhaji Mohammad Muniru Limuna, deputy national security coordinator and former minister of agriculture, and Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party. Boamah was helming Ghana's defence ministry at a time when armed groups across its northern border in Burkina Faso had become increasingly restive. While Ghana has so far avoided a rebel spillover from the Sahel – unlike neighbours Togo and Benin – observers have warned of increased arms trafficking and of fighters from Burkina Faso crossing the porous border to use Ghana as a rear base. A medical doctor by training, Boamah's career in government included stints as communications minister during Mahama's previous 2012-2017 tenure. Before that, he was the deputy minister for the environment. As Ghana has pursued increased diplomacy with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – all ruled by military governments who have broken with the ECOWAS West African regional bloc – Boamah led a delegation to Ouagadougou in May. He had been set to release a book titled, A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy, about former President John Atta Mills, who died in 2012. The Ghanaian Armed Forces had reported earlier Wednesday that an air force helicopter had fallen off radar after taking off from Accra just after 9:00am (09:00 GMT). It had been headed towards the town of Obuasi, northwest of the capital. The statement had said that three crew and five passengers were on board, without specifying at the time that the ministers were among them. All flags were to be flown at half-staff, Debrah said, while the presidency said Mahama had cancelled his official activities for the day.


Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
M23 rebels killed 319 civilians in east DR Congo in July, UN says
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels killed at least 319 civilians, including 48 women and 19 children, last month in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Volker Turk, UN high commissioner for human rights, said, citing 'first-hand accounts'. The violence in the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu Province produced 'one of the largest documented death tolls in such attacks since the M23's resurgence in 2022,' Turk said in a statement on Wednesday. With Rwanda's support, the M23 has seized swaths of the mineral-rich Congolese east from the DRC's army since its resurgence in 2021, triggering a spiralling humanitarian crisis in a region already riven by three decades of conflict. July's violence came only weeks after the Congolese government and the M23 signed a declaration of principle on June 19 reaffirming their commitment to a permanent ceasefire, following months of broken truces. 'I am appalled by the attacks on civilians by the M23 and other armed groups in eastern DRC amid continued fighting, despite the ceasefire that was recently signed in Doha,' Turk said in a statement. 'All attacks against civilians must stop immediately, and all those responsible must be held to account,' he added. Turk's UN Human Rights Office said it had documented multiple attacks in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces, in the conflict-ridden east of the country bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. In the agreement signed in Doha, the warring parties agreed to 'uphold their commitment to a permanent ceasefire', refraining from 'hate propaganda' and 'any attempt to seize by force new positions'. The deal includes a roadmap for restoring state authority in eastern DRC, and an agreement for the two sides to open direct talks towards a comprehensive peace agreement. It followed a separate agreement signed in Washington by the Congolese government and Rwanda, which has a history of intervention in the eastern DRC stretching back to the 1990s. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi are due to meet in the coming months to firm up the Washington agreement, whose terms have not yet been implemented. Last week, the two countries agreed to a US State Department-brokered economic framework outline as part of the peace deal. 'I urge the signatories and facilitators of both the Doha and Washington agreements to ensure that they rapidly translate into safety, security and real progress for civilians in the DRC, who continue to endure the devastating consequences of these conflicts,' said Turk. Rich in key minerals such as gold and coltan, the Congolese east has been riven by fighting between rival armed groups and interference by foreign powers for more than 30 years. Dozens of ceasefires and truces have been brokered and broken in recent years without providing a lasting end to the conflict.


Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Ghanian defence, environment ministers killed in helicopter crash
A helicopter crash has killed 8 people including the nation's defence and environment ministers, according to Ghana's government. Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims of the crash in the south of the country, said Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to President John Mahama. 'The president and the government extend their condolences and solidarity to the families of our comrades and soldiers who fell in their service to the nation,' said Debrah. Also among the victims were Alhaji Muniru Muhammad, Deputy National Security Coordinator and former Minister of Agriculture, and Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of President Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party. More to come…