Africa

2,000 Libyans feared dead in severe flooding

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2023

2,000 Libyans feared dead in severe flooding

More than 2,000 people in Libya are feared dead in severe flooding, as Storm Daniel swept through the eastern part of the country.

The head of Libya’s eastern parliament-backed government, Osama Hamad, announced the death toll on Monday, according to a report from state news organization Libyan News Agency.

“Osama Hamad said in press statements that residential neighborhoods disappeared after the torrents swept them into the sea along with thousands of their residents, and the situation is catastrophic and unprecedented in Libya,” LANA reported.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the number of deaths, and Hamad did not give a source for the number of dead and missing.

Footage shared on social media shows submerged cars, collapsed buildings and torrents of water rushing through streets.

Hamad called on medical personnel and medical assistants to go to the badly affected city of Derna in eastern Libya to provide assistance immediately.

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Phone lines were down in Derna and pictures shared by the Red Crescent showed severely flooded streets.

The Red Crescent in Benghazi said on Monday they estimate 150 to 250 people are dead in the city of Derna, according to Reuters.
Hospitals in the eastern city of Bayda were evacuated after severe flooding from rainfall caused by a heavy storm, videos shared by the Medical Center of Bayda on Facebook showed.

This rain is the result of the remnants of a very strong low-pressure system, which was officially named Storm Daniel by the national meteorological services in southeastern Europe.

The storm brought catastrophic flooding to Greece last week before moving into the Mediterranean and developed into a tropical-like cyclone known as a medicane. These systems can bring dangerous conditions to the Mediterranean Sea and coastal countries, similar to tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic or typhoons in the Pacific.

The remains of the storm are affecting northern Libya and will slowly head east toward northern Egypt. Rainfall for the next two days could reach 50mm – this region averages less than 10mm across the whole of September.

“The United Nations in Libya is closely following the emergency caused by severe weather conditions in the eastern region of the country,” said the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

2,000 Libyans feared dead in severe flooding

Africa

Over 120 inmates escape prison in Chad shoot-out

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2025

Trends Admin

Over 120 inmates escape prison in Chad shoot-out

No fewer than 120 inmates escaped a Chad prison during a shoot-out that left three people dead and wounded a state governor visiting the facility, officials told AFP.

The breakout occurred late Friday when an uprising happened in the high-security penitentiary five kilometres (three miles) from the town of Mongo, in the centre of Chad.

“There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” Hassan Souleymane Adam, secretary general of the Guera province in which Mongo is located, said.

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A local Mongo official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, disclosed that prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns.

“A shootout with guards ensued at the same time the governor arrived. He was wounded,” he said.

The Mongo official confirmed there were three killed and a total number of 132 prisoners escaped.

He disclosed that the prisoners revolted after complaining about a lack of food.

In a telephone chat with AFP, Chad’s Justice Minister Youssouf Tom stated that he was about to fly to the region and would be able to give “precise information once I am at Mongo in the coming hours.”

Over 120 inmates escape prison in Chad shoot-out

Africa

DR Congo boat fire kills 143 passengers

Published

4 days ago

April 19, 2025

Trends Admin

DR Congo boat fire kills 143 passengers

No fewer than 143 people died, and dozens more went missing after a boat carrying fuel caught fire and capsized in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said Friday.

Hundreds of passengers were jammed onto a wooden boat on the Congo River in northwest DRC on Tuesday when the wildfire broke out, according to Josephine-Pacifique Lokumu, head of a delegation of national MPs from the region.

The calamity struck near Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur Province, at the junction of the Ruki and the massive Congo River, the world’s deepest.

“A first group of 131 bodies was found on Wednesday, with a further 12 fished out on Thursday and Friday. Several of them are charred,” Lokumu told AFP.

According to Joseph Lokondo, a local civil society activist who helped bury the remains, the “provisional death toll is 145: some burnt, others drowned”.

According to Lokumu, the blaze was triggered by a fuel explosion sparked by an onboard cooking fire.

“A woman lit the embers for cooking. The fuel, which was not far away, exploded, killing many children and women,” she said.

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Videos circulating on social media showed flames leaping from a big boat stranded far from shore, smoke rising from the wreckage, and passengers on smaller vessels watching on.

The precise number of passengers on board the tragic vessel was unknown, but Lokumu estimated it to be in the “hundreds”.

Some people were rescued and admitted to the hospital, Lokondo added.

However, he said that “several families were still without news of their loved ones” on Friday.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a huge Central African nation spanning 2.3 million square kilometres (900,000 square miles), suffers from a shortage of passable roads, and planes serve just a few cities and villages.

As a result, people frequently travel on lakes, the Congo River (Africa’s second longest river after the Nile), and its winding tributaries, where shipwrecks are common and mortality tolls are high.

The persistent lack of passenger lists frequently hinders search activities.

In October 2023, at least 47 people perished when a boat travelling the Congo sank in Equateur.

According to local authorities, a boat sank on Lake Kivu in eastern DR Congo in October of last year, killing more than 20 persons.

Another shipwreck on Lake Kivu killed approximately 100 lives in 2019.

DR Congo boat fire kills 143 passengers

Africa

Niger Republic adopts Hausa as national language

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

Niger’s military ruler Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani

Niger Republic adopts Hausa as national language

In a significant cultural shift, Niger’s military-led government has officially designated Hausa as the country’s national language, marking a break from the nation’s colonial legacy where French held prominence.

The announcement was made in a new national charter released on March 31, as published in a special edition of the government’s official journal.

According to the document, “The national language is Hausa,” and “the working languages are English and French.”

Hausa is already widely spoken across Niger, especially in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua. With an estimated population of 26 million, the majority of Nigeriens speak Hausa, while only about 13 percent—roughly three million people—are fluent in French.

Alongside Hausa, the charter also officially recognizes nine other indigenous languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic, as “the spoken languages of Niger.”

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This language policy change follows a national consultative meeting held in February, during which the junta gained increased support. The assembly also approved a five-year extension for junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani to remain in power.

Since the coup that ousted civilian president Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, the military government has taken steps to sever ties with France. These include expelling French troops, cutting diplomatic relations, and renaming roads and public buildings previously named in French.

Niger’s move mirrors similar actions taken by fellow former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso—both under military rule—as they too distance themselves from France and its institutions.

All three countries have also withdrawn from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, a body that promotes the French language and cultural ties among member nations.