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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 11 February 2020
South Sudan’s leader wins

dubious ‘spoiler of peace’ award

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP)
— South Sudan President
Salva Kiir on Monday was
named the top “spoiler of
peace” in a new award
that seeks to shame him
In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, young desert and others into taking se-
locusts that have not yet grown wings jump in the air as they rious steps to end bloody
are approached, as a visiting delegation from the Food and conflict in the world’s
Agriculture Organization (FAO) observes them, in the desert near youngest country.
Garowe, in the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia.
Associated Press Kiir and rival leader Riek
Machar are under grow-
U.N. warns of 'major ing pressure to form a South Sudan's President Salva Kiir arrives for the opening
session of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit at the AU
shock' as Africa locust coalition government this headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020.
month, the significant next
Associated Press
step in a fragile peace
outbreak spreads deal signed in 2018 to end was declared, that there Uganda.
a five-year civil war that is no agreement on a The “spoiler of peace”
killed nearly 400,000 peo- number of issues,” U.N. award citation accuses
By CARA ANNA arrives, they say. ple. Secretary-General Anto- Kiir of being unwilling to
Associated Press "There is the risk of a catas- The deadline has been nio Guterres said over the compromise on major is-
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — trophe," U.N. humanitarian extended twice and the weekend. “Respect your sues needed to form the
Uganda scrambled to re- chief Mark Lowcock told international community people.” coalition government.
spond to the arrival of the a briefing in New York on is signaling impatience. Now a Uganda-based It also asserts that under
biggest locust outbreak Monday, warning that a re- The upcoming deadline is group, Atrocities Watch his command and con-
that parts of East Africa gion where 12 million peo- Feb. 22. Africa, is citing Kiir and trol, government-backed
have seen in decades, ple already face severe “It is for me totally unac- others for their roles in fighters killed thousands
while the United Nations food insecurity can't afford ceptable that we are still the conflict that also has of people and committed
warned Monday that "we another jolt. again close to the dead- displaced at least 2 mil- atrocities such as looting
simply cannot afford an- Without enough aerial line of a new period that lion people. Many fled to and razing villages. q
other major shock" to an spraying to stop the swarms,
already vulnerable region. turn into a plague, "and Egypt moves toward toughening
the locust outbreak could
An emergency govern-
the locusts were spotted it takes years to control," up draconian anti-terror law
ment meeting hours after when you have a plague,
inside Uganda on Sunday Dominique Burgeon, emer-
decided to deploy military gency and resilience direc- By SAMY MAGDY
forces to help with ground- tor with the U.N. Food and Associated Press
based pesticide spraying, Agriculture Organization, CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's legis-
while two planes for aerial told The Associated Press lature on Monday gave its
spraying will arrive as soon last week. initial approval for tough-
as possible, a statement The outbreak also is mov- ening up already draconi-
said. Aerial spraying is con- ing toward South Sudan, an anti-terrorism laws, with
sidered the only effective where another several mil- amendments that include
control. lion people face hunger life sentences and capital
The swarms of billions of lo- as the country struggles to punishment for funding ter-
custs have been destroy- emerge from civil war. rorism, the state-run news
ing crops in Kenya, which The U.N. has asked for $76 agency said.
hasn't seen such an out- million in immediate aid. So The sweeping anti-terrorism
break in 70 years, as well far just under $20 million is law was enacted in August
as Somalia and Ethiopia, in hand, officials said. The 2015. It established an ex-
which haven't seen this in a United States said Monday tremely broad definition In this Feb. 13, 2016 file photo provided by Egypt's state news
agency MENA, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi,
quarter-century. The insects it has released $800,000 of terrorism, describing it in addresses parliament in Cairo, Egypt.
have exploited favorable and the European Union one article as any act that Associated Press
wet conditions after unusu- has released 1 million eu- disturbs public order with
ally heavy rains, and ex- ros. force. Some charges, such to protect Egyptian secu- pand the definition for the
perts say climate change is "The response today is not as leading or organizing a rity forces from prosecu- crime of funding terrorist
expected to bring more of gonna work, unless there's terrorist group, carry the tion, establish stiffer prison acts. These would now in-
the same. a big scale-up," Lowcock death penalty. sentences for terror-related clude providing a place
U.N. officials warn that im- said. The law and the amend- offences, as well as heavy for training one terrorist or
mediate action is needed The locusts are eating the ments are widely seen as fines for those who publish more; giving them weap-
before more rainfall in the vegetation that supports part of an unprecedent- "false news" and a special ons or documents in any
weeks ahead brings fresh vibrant herder communi- ed crackdown on dissent judicial circuit for terrorism way or form; offering sup-
vegetation to feed new ties in the region, and Ke- waged by President Abdel cases. port and financing in or-
generations of locusts. If nyan Ambassador Lazarus Fattah el-Sissi since coming Journalists who do not toe der to help terrorists travel,
left unchecked, their num- Amayo warned of the "in- to power in 2013. the government line could even if the provider does
bers could grow up to 500 herent risk of communal The original anti-terrorism be punished under the law. not have a direct link to the
times before drier weather conflict over pastures." q law also included provisions The new amendments ex- terrorist crime.q