Lebanon, Mozambique, Eswatini
Today's three stories you should know
Lebanon
Thirteen people were killed and several wounded when Israel struck an area next to a mosque and a football pitch in the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry. Israel said it had targeted a Hamas training facility, but Hamas said it was a playing field for civilians. Earlier, two people were killed in separate Israeli drone strikes elsewhere in southern Lebanon. Israel has continually attacked Lebanon despite agreeing to a ceasefire with the Hezbollah group a year ago.
More from Middle East Eye here.
Mozambique
French energy giant TotalEnergies has been accused of complicity in war crimes related to a massacre outside one of its facilities in Mozambique. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) filed a complaint with French prosecutors accusing Total of complicity in the torture and killing of dozens of civilians who were held in shipping containers at its Afungi peninsula gas project. The energy company has always denied responsibility for the actions of government troops and security forces who guarded the facility. In March 2021, an armed group with ties to ISIS attacked the town of Palma and kidnapped or killed 1,563 people living next to the gas plant, according to investigative journalist Alex Perry. He said locals accused of aiding the armed group were then massacred at the gates of the Total facility. Perry identified 97 people who were killed but said the total was likely at least double that.
More from BBC here.
Eswatini
Eswatini’s finance minister has confirmed his government received $5.1 million from the U.S. in return for agreeing to accept third-country nationals deported by the Trump administration. The deal was one of several the U.S. struck with African nations, including South Sudan, Ghana and Rwanda as part of a Trump plan to deport millions of people in the U.S. illegally in a sweeping crackdown. They are to be kept in correctional facilities before being repatriated to their home countries. Rights groups have heavily criticised the scheme.
More from Africa News here.
PS: I’ve written for Middle East Eye about how it shouldn’t have taken slaughter in el-Fasher for Sudan to finally make headlines in Western media. You can read it here.