February 2006 in Africa

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Events in Africa

"This page deals with February 2006 events in or of interest to the continent of Africa."

28 February 2006 (Tuesday)

* Congolese government forces and United Nations peacekeepers (part of the MONUC mission) engage militia fighters in the wartorn Ituri district in a battle to retake the town of Tchei. The operation is in conjunction with a more aggressive disarmament policy by the U.N. peacekeepers in the region. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/28/congo.fighting.reut/index.html (CNN)]

25 February 2006 (Saturday)

* Chad President Idriss Déby announces that the 2006 Chad Presidential Election will take place on May 3. Several opposition leaders have already stated plans to boycott the election, and Mohammed Nour continues to threaten further violence if a national forum is not held soon. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/541b3dc826568bc01bc69a1492edc8b0.htm (Reuters AlertNet)]
* Ugandan general election, 2006: Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda since 1986, is re-elected. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4750040.stm (BBC)]

24 February 2006 (Friday)

* An explosion and gunshots are reported at Abqaiq, home of largest Saudi Arabian oil facilities. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4747488.stm (BBC)] [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/24/saudi.refinery.ap/index.html (CNN)]

23 February 2006 (Thursday)

* Uganda holds first multiparty election in 25 years. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2055668,00.html (Times Online)]
* A magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred at 12:19am local time (Feb.22, 2219 UTC) in southern Mozambique, 140 miles southwest of the coastal city of Beira, centered near Espungabera, a small farming town in a remote and sparsely populated area near the border with Zimbabwe. [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/usjlca.php (USGS)] , [http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/02/23/ap2548300.html (AP)]

22 February 2006 (Wednesday)

* Ethiopia: The trial date of 80 individuals accused of treason, genocide, and outrages against the Constitution relating to demonstrations last October, has been set for Thursday. The defendants include elected parliamentary members and leading members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, journalists, and human rights activists. [http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/ethiopia/document.do?id=ENGAFR250052006 (Amnesty International)]

21 February 2006 (Tuesday)

* 33 people are killed and dozens are wounded amidst fighting between the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and the Islamic Courts militia in Daynille, Mogadishu, Somalia. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060221/wl_afp/somaliaunrest (AFP)]

18 February 2006 (Saturday)

* Former Malawian Minister of Education and head of the country's anti-corruption campaign Yusuf Mwawa is sentenced to five years in prison for fraud and corruption. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4712534.stm (BBC News)]
* Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez threatens to cut off oil supplies after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice claims that the Venezuelan government poses "one of the biggest problems" in the region. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/02/18/chavez.oil.ap/index.html (CNN)]
* Egypt records the presence of the H5N1 Avian influenza virus for the first time. [http://english.people.com.cn/200602/18/eng20060218_243728.html (People's Daily online)]
* Nigeria: Sixteen people are killed in northern Nigeria as demonstrators protest the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons by storming and burning Christian churches and businesses. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/18/cartoon.roundup/index.html (CNN)]

17 February 2006 (Friday)

* In Libya, at least eleven protesters are killed in riots protesting the Muhammad cartoons in Tripoli outside the Italian consulate in Benghazi. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11383819/ (MSNBC)]
* Uganda: Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony narrowly escapes an attempted assassination by Ugandan troops attacking in Sudan. Several of his bodyguards are killed as he flees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16753384.htm (Reuters)]

16 February 2006 (Thursday)

* Oxfam reports hundreds of thousands are affected by severe water shortages in Kenya and Somalia. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200602160191.html (AllAfrica.com)]
* Tens of thousands of refugees are homeless in the Western Sahara after rains wiped out their shelters. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200602160180.html (AllAfrica.com)]

14 February 2006 (Tuesday)

* Kenyan Police instruct 20 leading figures not to leave the country as investigations into two corruption scandals, the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals continue. Among the people told to hand in their passports is George Saitoti whose resignation as education minister was announced by President Mwai Kibaki yesterday. Meanwhile, 80 Members of Parliament have demanded the resignation of Deputy President Moody Awori, who is accused of involvement in the Anglo Leasing affair. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4711546.stm (BBC)]

13 February 2006 (Monday)

* In a televised address to the nation, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announces the resignations of two government ministers in connection with two separate corruption scandals, the "Goldenberg" and "Anglo Leasing" affairs. Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi and education minister George Saitoti both deny any wrongdoing. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4711546.stm (BBC)]

9 February 2006 (Thursday)

* A large-scale slaughter is planned at a Nigerian farm where thousands of chickens have died from bird flu. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4696878.stm (BBC)]

8 February 2006 (Wednesday)

* Chad and Sudan sign the Tripoli Agreement, ending the Chadian-Sudanese conflict. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08583702.htm (AlertNet)]

7 February 2006 (Tuesday)

* Côte d'Ivoire: 11 people were killed when unidentified assailants attacked a village in the volatile western region of Côte d'Ivoire, 20 km from the town of Guiglo which has seen a series of deadly ethnically motivated clashes in 2005 and violent anti-UN protests in January 2006. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200602070685.html (All Africa)]
* Somalia: 1 person was killed and 3 others injured in Bosaso, the fourth largest city in Somalia, during a protest against Jyllands-Posten's publication of Muhammad cartoons in Denmark. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200602070294.html (All Africa)]
* African Union declares that the next 10 years as the Second Decade of Education aiming to extend access to education for all children. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200602070122.html]

6 February 2006 (Monday)

* Ethiopia: UNICEF Emergency Program Director, Dan Toole, said that 56,000 children are suffering from moderate and severe malnutrition as a result of current drought in Ethiopia. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200602070322.html]
* Hailu Shawul, leader of the Ethiopian opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy, is at risk of losing his sight as a result of his participation in a hunger strike with 23 other jailed CUD leaders. Ethiopian officials state that they are aware of his condition, but they cannot take him to a hospital because they have lost his files. [http://ethiopianreview.homestead.com/index_Feb6_2006.html Ethiopian Review] [http://www.sudantribune.com/article.php3?id_article=14119 Sudan Tribune]

3 February 2006 (Friday)

* The M/V al-Salam Boccaccio 98, a ferry carrying 1272 passengers and 105 crew, sinks in poor weather in the Red Sea while travelling between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. 314 people have been rescued so far. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4676916.stm (BBC)]