June 2006 in Africa

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Events in Africa

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

June 1, 2006 (Thursday)

*The 16th World Economic Forum on Africa is convened in Cape Town, South Africa. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5036470.stm (BBC)] .

June 3, 2006 (Saturday)

*Human Rights Watch releases a video showing South Sudanese Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon bribing cult and rebel leader Joseph Kony and his second-in-command Vincent Otti of the Lord's Resistance Army to not attack southern Sudanese citizens. [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00068.htm (Scoop)] [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04552071.htm (Reuters)]

June 4, 2006 (Sunday)

*The Islamic Courts militia captures the key town of Balad, located near the Somalian capital Mogadishu, from a member of the warlord coalition, ARPCT. Reports say at least 15 people are killed in the fighting. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5046402.stm (BBC)]

June 5, 2006 (Monday)

*The Islamic Court Union announces that it has captured Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, after battles with the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism, a group of secular US-backed warlords. [http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/06/05/ap2793250.html (AP)]

June 6, 2006 (Tuesday)

*Chad-Sudan conflict
**The Sudanese Janjaweed steal 350 head of cattle from Goz Beida, Chad. [http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-06-voa17.cfm (Voice of America)]
**Rebel leader Timane Erdimi's UFDC-SCUD forces kill 32 people and wound 50 others in attacks from Sudan into the Chadian city of Tine. Rebels briefly took control of the city before the Military of Chad chased them back over the border. [http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=273709 (Mail and Guardian)]

June 8, 2006 (Thursday)

* A delegation from the rebel Lord's Resistance Army arrives in Juba, Sudan for peace talks with the Ugandan government to be mediated by Riek Machar, Vice President of Southern Sudan. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5060666.stm (BBC)]
* Conflict in Iraq

June 13, 2006 (Tuesday)

*President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Paul Biya of Cameroon officially resolve their dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula. Obasanjo promises to withdraw troops within 60 days and to transfer the territory completely within the next two years. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200606130612.html (allAfrica)]

June 15, 2006 (Thursday)

*Hundreds are wounded in fighting between rival factions of the Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance led by Salif Sadio, who supports the continuation of the Casamance Conflict, and Magne Dieme, who supports reconciliation with the Government of Senegal. The fighting has spread to The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau may intervene. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200606150864.html (allAfrica.com)]
*Burundi rebel group Fighters of the National Liberation Forces, the last active rebel group in the country, shell the capital Bujumbura with 15 60mm mortars injuring at least eight civilians despite ongoing peace talks between the group and the Government of Burundi in Tanzania. [http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1952189,00.html (News24.com)]
* The United Kingdom agrees to jail former Liberian president Charles Taylor if he is convicted, removing a key obstacle to a proposed trial to be held at The Hague under the auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5082664.stm (BBC)]

June 16, 2006 (Friday)

*Evangelist Gilbert Deya is arrested by police at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in relation to allegations by Kenyan police of involvement in child trafficking. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5083534.stm (BBC)]

June 20, 2006 (Tuesday)

* Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia, leaves Sierra Leone for his human rights trial at The Hague. [http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/newswire.php/news/reuters/2006/06/20/world/liberia39s-taylor-flown-from-sleone-for-trial-vp.html&template=/news/templates/newswire/news_story_reuters.html (Reuters)]

June 21, 2006 (Wednesday)

*The Government of Chad demands that the Security Council act to stop Janjaweed and UFDC incursions into Chad. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060621/ap_on_re_af/un_chad_sudan_1 (Reuters)]
*In a press conference in South Africa, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says that United Nations peacekeeping forces shall never enter Sudan because they are controlled by an international Jewish conspiracy involving "heavy propaganda and media campaigns." [http://www.sudantribune.com/article.php3?id_article=16309 (SudanTribune)]

June 23, 2006 (Friday)

*Human Rights Watch estimates that several hundred civilians in eastern Chad have been massacred by Sudanese Janjaweed and UFDC attacks in the past week alone. HRW also accuses the Government of Sudan of using child soldiers. HRW Africa Director Peter Takirambudde refers to the attacks as "havoc," and that civilians "are trapped between the carnage in Darfur and Chad's downward spiral into chaos." [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/06/22/sudan.chad.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest (CNN)]

June 25, 2006 (Sunday)

* The Sudanese government announces the lifting of a partial ban on United Nations operations in the conflict-hit Darfur region. The ban was made after the government accused the UN of transporting a rebel leader who opposes a recent peace deal. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5114216.stm (BBC)]

June 27, 2006 (Tuesday)

* Chadian rebels attack the neighboring Central African Republic. They have reportedly formed an alliance with CAR rebels. Large areas of both countries have descended into violence. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5121792.stm (BBC)]

June 29, 2006 (Thursday)

*The cabinet Balkenende II of the Netherlands resigns after a row between the coalition partners about the citizenship of Somalian born former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=31207&name=D66+withdraws+support+from+coalition%3B+confusion+reigns (Expatica.com)] , [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5131240.stm (BBC)]