Latest news with #calm
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
'No cause for alarm' - Ghana and Nigeria foreign ministers meet over protest against Nigerians
Di foreign ministers of Ghana and Nigeria bin call for calm afta dem meet for Ghana over recent tension between some Ghanaians and Nigerians. Dis na after some videos on top social media from di weekend bin show some Ghanaians for 'tip-toe lane' for Accra during one "Nigeria must go" protest. Di pipo wey largely be traders for di retail market for dat area wit dia placards and oda tins tok say dia Nigerian counterparts bin dey cause kasala for dia wey dem allegedly dey involved for criminal activities. Nigerian foreign minister Bianca Ojukwu wey visit di kontri over di matter tok say di viral videos dem see online, don cause anxiety na so she don come to understand di mata for herself. "As I arrive, I neva see pipo wey dey burn tyres for street wit placards everywia wey dey tok say make dem deport Nigerians," Bianca Ojukwu tok for joint press conference after dia meeting. She add say "dis dey show how di Ghana govment and di president don rise to di occasion - I go tok say dia is no cause for alarm, dem dey handle di situation effectively wia we go continue stakeholder engagement." Bianca Ojukwu also explain say dem bin meet some of di leaders and pipo wey dey for di centre of di kasala and to ensure say tensions no go rise to become ogbonge crisis." Ghana Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa explain say di ministry dey handle di mata wia dem already meet leaders of some of di Nigerian community for Ghana. "Di Ghana govment go ensure say everybody for di kontri - citizens and non-citizens dey protected." Im add say in as much as di kontri go protect everybody, pipo also gat to dey "law-abiding and avoid criminal activities and tins wey fit divide us." Why some Ghanaians protest against Nigerians for Accra Ova di weekend, some Ghanaians wey don dey do business for one area for Accra wia pipo sabi as 'circle' bin protest. Dem accuse dia Nigerian counterparts say dem dey involved for retail trade wey dem also dey allegedly commit crime. Ghana laws no gree for foreigners to involve diasef for retail trading; like to dey sell tins like provisions, phones and accessories, clothes and oda small small tins. Dis kind retail market bin dey reserved for di locals. But overtime, some Nigerian businessmen and oda foreigners don open shops and stalls for some markets wey dem dey involved for retail trade. Dis na one of di tins wey don vex dia Ghanaian counterparts. On top di placards during di Saturday 26 July 2025 protest, di traders also accuse dem say dem dey involved for robbery, murder, cyber fraud and oda crimes for di kontri. Na so dem tok say "Nigerians gat to go to dia kontri." Di protest na legal? Sources for di Ghana police tok BBC News Pidgin say di group of pipo wey bin stage di protest during di weekend, never get permit to do dat protest. Dem no tell di police bifor dem hit di street wit dia placards. For Ghana, di law dey require say anybody or group wey wan to demonstrate gat to write to di police service. Di police now go gree to provide dem escort and protection for di protest. But if di group no inform di police, wey dem no get permit to do demonstration, wetin dem do na illegal. Police fit charge dem wit 'unlawful assembly' and 'breach of di public order act'. Ghana Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa say "even though di govment no dey against demonstrations and citizen protests, pipo gat to do tins according to di law." Wetin go happen after di joint meeting? Di delegation from Nigeria wia Foreign Minister Bianca Ojukwu bin lead go meet wit leadership of di Nigerian community and oda stakeholders. Dem also go meet wit traditional authorities for Ghana and some of di activists wey dem involved for dis mata and di issue about di Igbo pipo and dia leader for di kontri. Early for July, tori bin dey social media say di leader of di Igbo people for Ghana bin wan buy parcel of land to establish wetin dem describe as Igbo kingdom. Di Ga traditional council and di Ningo chiefs bin dismiss di mata say foreign pipo no fit establish kingdom for anoda kontri. Di mata don boil wey leader of di Igbo pipo for Ghana, Chuckwudi Jude Ihenetu bin clear di air say dem no dey establish any kingdom for Ghana. "Di tori wey don go viral na interview from 2013 wit one network, wia we don abandon dat idea to buy di land since, so we neva get any plan to build kingdom," im tell local TV network TV3. Im also confam say di videos wey don dey on top social media wia dem carry im photo put on top one demonstration video say Ghanaians bin dey attack Igbos, "na fake news." Na so di Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa bin invite am ova di mata. "We as Ghana don also meet di actors for dis kasala wey dem bin assure us say dem no go do anytin wey go raise tension and worsen di wahala.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Tense calm' returns to Syria's Sweida province after week of deadly violence
An uneasy calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, after fighters withdrew following a week of violence estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people. Local people told news agencies the area was calm after Syria's Islamist-led government said Bedouin fighters had left the predominantly Druze city. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Sweida had been experiencing 'a cautious calm since the early hours of Sunday morning', but warned of 'the deterioration of the humanitarian situation' including a severe shortage of basic medical supplies. The SOHR reported on Sunday that more than 1,000 people had been killed in armed clashes, bombardment, extrajudicial executions and Israeli airstrikes since the violence in Sweida province began a week ago. The United Nations migration agency said the number of people displaced by the violence had risen to more than 128,000. One local resident, dentist Kenan Azzam, told Reuters on Sunday morning the situation was one of 'a tense calm' but people were still struggling with a lack of water and electricity. 'The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,' he said. Agence France-Presse correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported there were no sounds of fighting, adding humanitarian convoys were preparing to enter the Druze-majority town. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent humanitarian organisation announced it was sending 32 trucks to Sweida loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel and other aid, after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said the health ministry was also sending a convoy of trucks. The violence was triggered by a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze, who are a minority in wider Syria, which prompted government forces to intervene. Druze fighters resisted their entry into the province and violence escalated, turning into days of terror for local people. In response, Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze community, launched airstrikes on Syria's defence ministry in Damascus and dozens of military targets in the south of the country. A ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel had been announced by the US early on Saturday to prevent further Israeli military intervention. Early on Sunday, the US stepped up calls for an end to the fighting. 'All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance,' the US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, wrote on X. 'Syria stands at a critical juncture – peace and dialogue must prevail – and prevail now.' A few hours earlier, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, issued a warning to Syria's new government, whose forces have been accused by Druze factions of committing abuses, including summary executions, when they entered Sweida earlier in the week. Rubio wrote on X: 'If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria free of Isis [Islamic State] and of Iranian control they must help end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent Isis and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres. And they must hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.' Two members of the government forces posted sectarian hate speech against Druze, according to private social media seen by the Guardian's correspondent in Beirut. One posted a video of him and two other soldiers driving through Sweida laughing as he said: 'We are on our way to distribute aid,' while brandishing a machete to the camera. He filmed himself inside a house in Sweida ripping a picture of Druze spiritual leaders off a wall and trampling it with his boots. The last week has been the worst outbreak of violence since March, when 1,500 mostly Alawite citizens were massacred in revenge for a failed attack by supporters of the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, who came from the sect. The second round of sectarian violence has tempered international hopes for the new Syrian government, which came to power last December after the sudden fall of the Assad regime. Western governments, the US, the UK and the EU, lifted sanctions in an effort to aid Syria's battered economy and economic reconstruction, after 13 years of civil war and repression by the Assad regime, which killed more than half a million people, leaving 90% of the population in poverty. The EU said on Saturday it was 'appalled by the hundreds of victims' of the recent violence, including that 'reportedly perpetrated by several armed groups against unarmed civilians'. In a statement, the EU foreign service urged 'all parties to immediately stop all acts of violence, to protect all civilians without distinction, and to take immediate steps to prevent incitement and sectarian discourse'. The EU also called on 'Israel and all other foreign actors to fully respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity'. Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Saturday announced a ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his promise to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. Sharaa, who was more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city, saying they 'cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security'. The interior ministry said overnight that Sweida city was 'evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted'. A spokesperson for Syria's tribal and clan council told Al Jazeera late on Saturday that fighters had left the city 'in response to the call of the presidency and the terms of the agreement'.
The Guardian
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Tense calm' returns to Syria's Sweida province after week of deadly violence
An uneasy calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, after fighters withdrew following a week of violence estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people. Local people told news agencies the area was calm after Syria's Islamist-led government said Bedouin fighters had left the predominantly Druze city. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Sweida had been experiencing 'a cautious calm since the early hours of Sunday morning', but warned of 'the deterioration of the humanitarian situation' including a severe shortage of basic medical supplies. The SOHR reported on Sunday that more than 1,000 people had been killed in armed clashes, bombardment, extrajudicial executions and Israeli airstrikes since the violence in Sweida province began a week ago. One local resident, dentist Kenan Azzam, told Reuters on Sunday morning the situation was one of 'a tense calm' but people were still struggling with a lack of water and electricity. 'The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,' he said. AFP correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported there were no sounds of fighting, adding humanitarian convoys were preparing to enter the Druze-majority town. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent humanitarian organisation announced they were sending 32 trucks to Sweida loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel and other aid, after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages. Syrian state media SANA said the health ministry was also sending a convoy of trucks. The violence was triggered by a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze, who are a minority in wider Syria, which prompted government forces to intervene. Druze fighters resisted their entry into the province and violence escalated, turning into days of terror for local residents, including civilians. In response, Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze community, launched airstrikes on Syria's defence ministry in Damascus and dozens of military targets in the south of the country. A ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel had been announced by the US early on Saturday to prevent further Israeli military intervention. Early on Sunday, the US stepped up calls for an end to the fighting. 'All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance,' the US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, wrote on X. 'Syria stands at a critical juncture – peace and dialogue must prevail – and prevail now.' A few hours earlier, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio issued a warning to Syria's new government, whose forces have been accused by Druze factions of committing abuses, including summary executions, when they entered Sweida earlier in the week. Rubio wrote on X: 'If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria free of Isis [Islamic State] and of Iranian control they must help end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent Isis and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres. And they must hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.' Two government forces members posted sectarian hate speech against Druze, according to private social media seen by the Guardian's correspondent in Beirut. One posted a video of him and two other soldiers driving through Sweida laughing as he said: 'We are on our way to distribute aid,' while brandishing a machete to the camera. He filmed himself inside a house in Sweida ripping a picture of Druze spiritual leaders off a wall and trampling it with his boots. The last week has been the worst outbreak of violence since March, when 1,500 mostly Alawite citizens were massacred in revenge for a failed attack by supporters of the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, who came from the sect. The second round of sectarian violence has tempered international hopes for the new Syrian government, which came to power last December after the sudden fall of the Assad regime. Western governments, the US, the UK and the EU, lifted sanctions in a bid to aid Syria's battered economy and economic reconstruction, after 13 years of civil war and repression by the Assad regime, which killed more than half a million people, leaving 90% of the population in poverty. The EU said on Saturday it was 'appalled by the hundreds of victims' of the recent violence, including that 'reportedly perpetrated by several armed groups against unarmed civilians'. In a statement, the EU foreign service urged 'all parties to immediately stop all acts of violence, to protect all civilians without distinction, and to take immediate steps to prevent incitement and sectarian discourse'. The EU also called on 'Israel and all other foreign actors to fully respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity'. Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday announced a ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. Al-Sharaa, who was more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city, saying they 'cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security'. The interior ministry said overnight that Sweida city was 'evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted'. A spokesman for Syria's tribal and clan council told Al-Jazeera late on Saturday that fighters had left the city 'in response to the call of the presidency and the terms of the agreement'.
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Calm Reported in Syria's Sweida as Tribal Fighters Said to Withdraw
Residents reported calm in the Syrian city of Sweida on Sunday after the government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to fighting. There was no sound of gunfire on Sunday morning, according to a resident speaking from the city outskirts, while a Druze source in the region said there was calm in most areas. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. The Syrian presidency had announced a new ceasefire early on Saturday but it quickly collapsed into renewed fighting.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Calm reported in Syria's Sweida as tribal fighters said to withdraw
Calm reported in Syria's Sweida as tribal fighters said to withdraw DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Residents reported calm in the Syrian city of Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to fighting. There was no sound of gunfire on Sunday morning, according to a resident speaking from the city outskirts, while a Druze source in the region said there was calm in most areas. Kenan Azzam, a dentist, described the situation on Sunday morning as "a tense calm" but told Reuters residents were still struggling with a lack of water and electricity. "The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded," he said by phone. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus then sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were accused of carrying out widespread violations against the Druze and were hit by Israeli strikes before withdrawing under a truce agreed on Wednesday. The Syrian presidency had announced a new ceasefire early on Saturday but it quickly collapsed into renewed fighting, underlining the challenge interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in asserting authority over the fractured nation. Solve the daily Crossword
