Help our local partners realise their vision of hope for their communities
28 April 2017
HART news
- We’re looking for a part time summer Finance and Admin Intern to join our HART team this summer. For more information and to apply please visit our internship page here
Burma
- Despite ongoing atrocities and conflict in Burma, a delegation led by Burma military chief Senior-General Min aung Hlaing arrived in Austria on Sunday to meet with the Chief of Defence of Austrian Armed Forces as part of a European Goodwill visit
- World Bank and government have signed an agreement for a US$100 million World Bank loan to the Myanmar Financial Development Project. The project aims to promote a strong and stable financial sector, expand the banking sector and make changes to improve loan and financial services. There are also plans to improve small-scale financial businesses and insurance companies to support the country’s growth
- The former vice chairperson of the Karen National Union (KNU) has stated that: ‘I do not think we can build peace quickly’. After 60 years of armed resistance, a peace process cannot be rushed, arguing foundations of peace must be built first Nigeria
- The Burmese Military is aimed at annihilating ethnic armed organizations [through] military pressure, neglecting equality and allying with some ethnic armed organization while fighting with others’ according to the Arakan Army (AA) deputy chief of staff. This puts the whole peace process at risk. He went on to say the AA have the support of almost all Arakan people
- The EU has renewed its sanctions against Burma/Myanmar for another year, until 30 April 2018. The sanctions impose an embargo on providing Burma/Myanmar with arms and goods that might be used for internal repression
- The Burmese government has turned down Chinese assistance in addressing refugee crisis in Bangladesh
- The Lisu National Development Party (LNDP) has released a statement accusing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) of killing Lisu people living in Kachin State and demanding the return of their bodies
- The United Nations’ refugee agency has criticized a Burma government plan to resettle Rohingya Muslims displaced by recent violence in “camp-like” villages, saying it risks stoking tensions – the authorities have barred them from rebuilding their homes permanently citing “security restrictions”
Nagorno-Karabakh
- One year has passed since the “Four-Day War” – an unprecedented escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on April 1-5 2016 that claimed the lives of over a hundred soldiers on both sides. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has never been truly frozen, yet the increased intensity of clashes since April 2016 demonstrates that violence can flare up at any time, destabilizing the already fragile region
- The heads of Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian Foreign Ministries plan to meet in Moscow on April 28, the Russian ministry announced – Foreign ministers Elmar Mammadyarov, Sergey Lavrov and Edward Nalbandian will hold a meeting in Moscow, dedicated to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
Nigeria
- Three people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on Monday in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. A female suicide bomber, attempting to sneak into the city, detonated the bomb strapped to her body early Monday morning, killing herself The two other suicide bombers, who were also trying to enter the city, were gunned down by security personnel at the checkpoint in Mamanti
- The governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has stated ‘“The solution to Fulani invasion is ranching…We must ranch our cattle. Nigeria must come together to support herdsmen ranch their cattle’
- Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has stated the federal government it will hold a national conference to discuss and proffer solutions to farmers/herdsmen clashes currently ravaging the country in June 2017 – The government would engage all stakeholders involved in cattle breeding, as well as farmers to discuss and analyse the situation with a view to finding the solution to the crisis. The minister listed other stakeholders to be involved in the conference to include policy makers, the security agencies, Ministry of Interior and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN
- A suicide car bomber, believed to be loyal to factional Boko Haram leader Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, has attacked a military convoy in northeast Nigeria, killing five soldiers and injuring another 40
South Sudan
- Trump is looking to slash US funding to the United Nations by half. The move could result in the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from South Sudan, ending the second-most expensive mission in the world – risking further disarray in the country
- The United Nations says an offensive by the South Sudanese government in the Jonglei region has displaced roughly 100 000 civilians
- As of 20 April 2017, a total of number of civilians seeking safety in six Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites located on UNMISS bases is 218,653
- Humanitarian needs spike in Wau, South Sudan as partners are responding to an influx of more than 22,000 displaced persons since the upsurge of violence on 10 April 2017
- South Sudan has the highest proportion of out-of-school children among conflict zones globally according to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) – at the primary school level with close to 72% of children missing out of education
- U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to impose an arms embargo and additional sanctions on South Sudan to pressure the parties to end the civil war in the world’s newest nation — but Russia and China remain opposed
Sudan
- The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Monday announced they agreed with the African Union chief mediator Thabo Mbeki to postpone peace talks to next July and requested Washington to delay the permanent lifting of sanctions on Sudan for another six-month period
- Sudan is to form a new government of national accord next week. The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) would give up a number of ministries to the political parties participating in the national dialogue