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Africa at a glance

Tuesday October 22 2019
Rally

Botswana President and leader of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Mokgweetsi Masisi addresses an election campaign rally at his home village in Moshupa, on October 22, 2019. Polls opened Wednesday for the diamond rich country's most closely fought election since independence in 1966. PHOTO | MONIRUL BHUIYAN | AFP

By AFRICAREVIEW.COM

  • Voting starts in Botswana's closest ballot

Polling stations have opened in Botswana in a general election seen as the most closely fought since the diamond-rich country gained independence in 1966.

More than 900,000 registered voters will decide the contest between the ruling Bostwana Democratic Party (BDP) and a coalition of opposition parties under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

The country's politics have been shaken up by former President Ian Khama, who has denounced his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, for reversing many of his policies and is supporting the opposition coalition.

  • Cameroon starts voluntary repatriation of Central African Republic (CAR) refugees

Cameroon starts the repatriation of 6,000 Central Africa refugees who have expressed a wish to return home on Wednesday.

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Cameroon Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji told state broadcaster, the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) that about 500 would return home today while others would follow up to December.

The return follows a June 29 tripartite agreement between the governments of Cameroon which hosts 280,000 CAR refugees in the east region, CAR and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera, who came to power in March 2016, has made the rehabilitation of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons a key prong in reconstruction of the war torn country.

  • Burundi police kills 14 militia from DRC

Mistrust between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo could deepen after Bujumbura police said they had killed 14 armed men on Tuesday who had crossed the common border with Dr Congo.

Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said the 14 were among a group of eighteen who had infiltrated the Musigati commune of Bubanza province with the aim of carrying out a mass killing.

Militia operating from DRC killed 26 people in Cibitoke last year as the country went into a referendum on the constitution.

  • Border between E. Guinea and Cameroon remains closed

The border between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, scene of past tensions, has not reopened more than 10 days after it was closed by Malabo ahead of its independence holiday on October 12.

Local officials said authorities generally close borders ahead of national holidays and reopen them two or three days later after the celebrations.

There have been tensions in the past along the frontier where Equatorial Guinea has accused Cameroon of letting foreigners enter its territory illegally.

In 2017, some 30 foreign armed men from Chad, Central African Republic and Sudan came across the border and were arrested in what Equatorial Guinea says was a foiled coup attempt.

  • Rocket kills 2 children in Libya capital

Two children were killed on Tuesday when a rocket hit their home in Salaheddine, a neighbourhood of the Libya capital Tripoli, according to the ministry of health.

The UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) blamed the strike on the forces of east Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar who launched an offensive on Tripoli in April .

The government said three other family members -both parents and another child - were wounded as Haftar's forces confirmed airstrikes on military sites and armouries.

  • Ivory Coast tourism attracts $5bn from Arab investors

Ivory Coast announced Tuesday that Arab investors had pledged $5 billion to support its programme to attract foreign tourists to the West African nation.

The tourism ministry said the pledges were made during a two-day round table of investors in Dubai that ended on Monday October 21.

The charm offensive in the United Arab Emirates dubbed 'Sublime Cote d'Ivoire' enlisted retired star footballer Didier Drogba and A'Salfo, lead singer with the pop group Magic System, who gave two concerts.

  • Nigeria charges two Britons in connection with $9bn claim

Nigeria has charged two British nationals with fraud and money laundering over a failed gas project at the centre of a multi-billion-dollar arbitration award in London.

Suspect James Nolan appeared in court in Abuja on Monday while co-defendant Adam Quinn was charged in absentia. They are both directors of Goidel Resources Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) said the duo over "their alleged complicity in the controversial $9.6bn arbitral award to Process and Industrial Development Limited by a United Kingdom commercial court."

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