Presidential candidate sentenced to 20 months imprisonment
Presidential candidate sentenced to 20 months imprisonment
A Court has confirmed an imprisonment sentence earlier handed down to a presidential contender ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday in Tunisia.
The appeals court in the city of Jendouba in western Tunisia had upheld the 20-month jail sentence against detained presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel, his lawyer said.
The ruling can be appealed and will not affect Zammel’s candidacy, his lawyer said.
Last month, a lower court issued the sentence against Zammel, a businessman and the head of the liberal Azimoun party, on charges of falsifying electoral endorsements.
The Oct. 6 polls are pitting incumbent President Kais Saied against Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui of the leftist nationalist People’s Movement.
Serious challengers to Saied, who is seeking a second term in office, have been excluded, according to observers.
The election commission has recently refused to reinstate three more presidential hopefuls who won court appeals to run for president.
Critics have accused the panel of lacking in independence and clearing the way for Saied to win, accusations that the panel has denied.
The vote will take place “against a backdrop of increased repression of dissent, muzzling of the media, and continued attacks on judicial independence,” Human Rights Watch said last month.
Since 2021, Saied has consolidated his power by dissolving the parliament and calling early elections, steps that the opposition called a “coup.” (dpa/NAN)
The attack took place on Friday between the northern cities of Gao and Ansongo, they said.
The death toll was initially put at 10 but soon rose to 32.
“We have more than 30 bodies from the scene,” said a hospital source in Gao.
“The jihadists ambushed a civilian convoy escorted by Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries,” a local official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
“There are civilians and soldiers among the dead.”
A medical source said many of the dead and wounded had been transferred to Gao, the main city in northern Mali.
A source from a transport trade union said: “According to a transporter who managed to escape, jihadists ambushed the convoy’s escort and opened fire on everyone at random to cause the largest number of victims.”
Another local official told AFP: “The Malian soldiers and Wagner (mercenaries) were in around 10 vehicles protecting a convoy of 22 minibuses with civilian passengers, six large buses and eight lorries.”
“At least five lorries were destroyed by Islamic State (IS) jihadists.”
The Malian army has not officially commented on the reported attack.
“We control the situation on the ground between Ansongo and Gao,” a military source said.
The route between Ansongo and Gao has seen several attacks in recent months blamed on jihadists or bandits.
Another local official said the civilian victims were mainly foreigners travelling to a gold mine in Intahaka, the main gold mining region in northern Mali.
The country is one of Africa’s top gold producers, though production has plunged recently.
Mali has faced serious security problems since 2012 linked to violence both by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and IS and by local criminal gangs.
In January the Malian army said it had arrested a top IS leader and killed several “jihadist” fighters in an operation in the Gao region.
It named the suspect as Abou Hach, a “wanted terrorist long known to the intelligence services”.
The impoverished west African country has been plunged into instability by a series of coups since 2012 and has struggled to deal with the security crisis in the north.
Foreign News
Gaza Strip; You were elected to rule USA not the World-Another President tells Donald Trump
Gaza Strip; You were elected to rule USA not the World-Another President tells Donald Trump
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to govern the United States, not “to rule the world.”
“I respect the election of President Trump who was elected by the American people to govern the United States,” but “he was not elected to rule the world.”
The U.S. president has to maintain “democratic and civilised” relations with the rest of the world, Lula noted, with reference to Trump’s intention to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Trump said on Tuesday at a news conference that the United States would take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are relocated elsewhere.
The Brazilian president also criticised the United States for promoting itself as “a symbol of democracy and ‘sheriff’ of the world.”
He describe Trump’s statements on the occupation of certain countries and territories as “provocations.” (Xinhua/NAN)
Foreign News
46 Soldiers reportedly shot dead in deadly gunmen attack
46 Soldiers reportedly shot dead in deadly gunmen attack
In a brutal and coordinated assault on Saturday, at least 46 soldiers from the Nigerien Defense and Security Forces (SDF) were killed when militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) launched a devastating attack on an SDF outpost in the country.
The assault took place in Iknewane, Tilia Department, near Niger’s border with Mali, a region that has become increasingly vulnerable to extremist violence.
Security sources reported that the attack was highly sophisticated and caught the military off guard.
Heavily armed militants overran the base in what appeared to be a well-planned ambush.
They destroyed or seized nine of the 16 military vehicles stationed at the post and looted substantial amounts of weapons and ammunition.
In addition to the deaths, around a dozen soldiers were taken captive, while others remain missing.
Some soldiers managed to flee the scene on foot and were later rescued by military units.
The full scale of the damage is still being assessed, as search and rescue operations continue in the area.
In response, the Niger Armed Forces (FAN), along with reinforcements from the National Guard (GNN), quickly mobilised a convoy of around 20 vehicles from the nearby town of Tahoua to launch a counteroffensive and secure the region.
This attack is not the first of its kind at the Iknewane base.
On September 18, 2024, EIGS militants staged a similar strike, which resulted in the deaths of at least 24 soldiers.
The resurgence of militant violence in the Tahoua Region, especially along the porous border with Mali, highlights the ongoing security challenges faced by the Nigerien government as armed groups continue to target both military and civilian populations.
The Nigerien government remains in a heightened state of alert, grappling with increasing instability and mounting pressure from extremist factions operating in the Sahel region.