Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast — Burkina Faso's military regime wants to reinstate the death penalty after the West African country abolished it in 2018, a government source told AFP on Saturday.  The latest execution in Burkina Faso was in 1988, according to Amnesty International.  Reintroducing capital punishment to the penal code "is being considered. It's up to the government to discuss it, then make the proposal to the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) for adoption," the source said, adding that the date had not been chosen.  Justice Minister Rodrigue Bayala said Friday — after parliament passed a bill introducing community service — that "the issue of death penalty, which is being discussed, will be implemented in the draft criminal code."  Bayala also said there could be further amendments to the criminal code, "to follow the vision and the guidelines given by the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traore," who seized power in a September 2022 coup.  The Burkinabe government in July passed a bill that included plans to ban homosexuality.  Amnesty International has reported a surge in the use of the death penalty on the African continent, saying in a statement in October that "recorded executions more than tripled and recorded death sentences increased significantly by 66%."  On the other hand, the rights group noted that "24 countries across sub-Saharan Africa have abolished the death penalty for all crimes while two additional countries have abolished it for ordinary crimes only."   "Kenya and Zimbabwe currently have bills tabled to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, while Gambia ... has commenced a constitutional amendment process that will ... effectively abolish the death penalty," it said. 

A senior Somali official insisted Saturday that Ethiopia will not participate in a new African Union peacekeeping mission starting in January. The two nations remain deadlocked over a Memorandum of Understanding that Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region, Somaliland, earlier this year. “I can say that Ethiopia is the only government we know of so far that will not participate in the new AU mission because it has violated our sovereignty and national unity," Somalia Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur said Saturday in a government-run television interview. African Union troops from several countries have been operating in Somalia since 2007. They started with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) before changing the mission and its name on April 1, 2022, to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Its mandate ends at the end of this year. For 17 years, the African Union mission helped Somalia combat al-Shabab, a violent extremist organization that threatened to overthrow the government and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law. The aim of past and upcoming missions is to hand over security responsibility to the Somali National Forces. The nation is preparing for a third peace support operation, set to begin January 1, 2025, when a new mission, the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), replaces ATMIS. According to a United Nations report in August, ATMIS has been drawing down troops from about 20,000 to less than 13,000. The new mission is expected to number at least 12,000. AUSSOM is scheduled to operate until the end of 2028. It is not the first time Somalia has rejected the involvement of Ethiopian troops in a peacekeeping mission in the country. In August, Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said Ethiopian forces would only join AUSSOM once Addis Ababa withdraws from the MoU with Somaliland. Mogadishu, which sees Somaliland as a part of Somalia, has described the agreement as an assault on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Analysts say Somalia’s repeated demands that Ethiopia withdraw from the MoU have fallen on deaf ears, which further alienates Somalia. Professor Sonkor Geyre, a former director of the defense ministry, said Somalia has a right to choose the countries it wants and rejects others. “Somalia has national sovereign rights to exclude Ethiopia from the upcoming AU mission because it sees Ethiopia’s actions, including its MoU with Somaliland, as a national threat,” Geyre told VOA Somali. Last month, the leaders of Somalia, Eritrea, and Egypt signed a security cooperation deal seen as an anti-Ethiopia front, and Mogadishu has also boosted its military ties with Cairo, which has offered troops for the new AU mission. “There is an ongoing procedure that we will share and announce when the time comes regarding the new governments that will join and the previous ones who will not be part of the new mission," Nur, the defense minister, said. Under the current AU mission, at least 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers officially operate as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission fighting al-Shabab. Another 5,000 to 7,000 Ethiopian soldiers are stationed in several regions under a bilateral agreement. Other countries contributing to the current AU forces in Somalia include Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and Uganda.

Nairobi — A prominent human rights group is calling for the deployment of peacekeepers in Sudan, following a recent wave of attacks on civilians in Al Jazirah state widely blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring sides in the country’s ongoing conflict. Human Rights Watch says the situation has become so grim that a mission is needed to protect the population.  According to a local pro-democracy group, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, 169 people have been killed since the violence started in southeastern Jazirah state on Oct. 20.   The attacks began after a commander for the Rapid Support Forces defected and joined the Sudanese army. Rights groups report that in response, RSF forces entered villages and towns in the area where the commander was from and carried out targeted killings and abuse.   Laetitia Bader, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division, said the violations have added more problems for a population reeling from more than 18 months of war.   "Sudanese women's rights groups have been documenting cases of sexual violence against women and girls in these towns and villages. And we're talking here about over 30 towns and villages which have been attacked in recent weeks, and these attacks are ongoing,” Bader said. “It led to massive displacement of the civilian population in an area where people had already fled to and from. So it's just adding to the layers of suffering."  The RSF has denied attacking communities in Jazirah state and has accused Sudanese forces of arming local communities.   The RSF and Sudan’s military have been at war since April of last year. Rival generals lead the parties and are locked in a power struggle.  Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch and other observers are calling for the deployment of peacekeepers to Jazirah and other parts of Sudan, in hopes of protecting civilians.   Getting a presence on the ground could deter further attacks and help monitor humanitarian obstruction, Bader said, and also play a role in bolstering local cease-fire efforts and efforts by emergency response teams to provide assistance.  “Right now the problem is that what is happening at the local level cannot act alone," Bader added.  Ahmed Hashi, a Horn of Africa political and security commentator, said troops are needed, and strong action must be taken against the leaders of the warring groups.   "There is a need to send at least 50,000 United Nations soldiers. There is a need to take the criminal generals to the International Criminal Court and issue a warrant for their arrest,” Hashi said. “It is important for the United Nations to put its foot down on conflicts because they are going to metastasize into a massive humanitarian catastrophe."  In a report issued last month, the office of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the human rights violations often witnessed in Sudan’s western Darfur region being repeated in the Jazirah area.  The United Nations Security Council is slated to discuss the report on Sudan later this month.

Abuja, Nigeria — The Nigerian military welcomed a report by a human rights group that found “no evidence” the military secretly carried out thousands of illegal abortions as part of its fight against Islamist insurgency. The Reuters news agency says it stands by its three reports in 2022 which lodged the allegations.  In a statement over the weekend, Nigerian Defense Chief General Christopher Musa praised the report by the seven-member investigative panel set up by the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.  Musa said no amount of false accusations will distract the armed forces from defending Nigeria's integrity.  On Friday, the Nigerian investigative panel said it found “no evidence” that the Nigerian military secretly carried out illegal abortions or had such a policy in its operations against terror groups.   The panel's probe lasted 18 months and was based on 199 testimonies from witnesses including Musa, who was leading the counterinsurgency campaign at the time.  In December 2022, Reuters news agency published three reports alleging that the Nigerian military ran a mass abortion program for victims of the long-running Boko Haram insurgency and massacred children in the northeast.  The report alleged that the military had carried out more than 10,000 abortions since 2013.  "The panel made its findings meticulously on each of the issues," said Hillary Ogbonna, secretary to the investigative panel. "For the abortion assault, the panel did not find evidence that the Nigerian armed forces committed a systematic, secret or policy-driven abortion in the northeast to the tune of 10,000 abortions."  The committee, however, agreed with a Reuters report alleging the military committed human rights violations, including infanticide, during a military operation in June 2016.  "The panel found the military culpable of infanticide and the killing of community members in the village of Abisare in Borno State. We've received witness testimonies including those of the survivors and relations of the deceased," Ogbonna said.  Responding to the panel's report, Reuters said it stands by its investigation, stating that it satisfied their standards for independence, accuracy and impartiality.  On Monday, a Nigerian human rights group, Women Concerns, called on Reuters to withdraw the report and apologize to the Nigerian military.  But security analyst Chidi Omeje said when there's disagreement between two parties, an independent committee can be set up to review the reports.  "I don't know how the human rights commission went about the investigation. I really cannot say whether it was a thorough job done or whether there was some influence somewhere. Maybe some other independent organizations should be able to wade in," Omeje said. "I know that [the] human rights commission, even though I'm not trying to doubt their integrity, it has some allegiance to the government because it's a government agency."  Years of military offensives against terror groups in Nigeria have been embroiled in allegations of human rights violations. Soldiers have been accused of mistreating civilians and carrying out extrajudicial killings.  "It tells you how it is very difficult to maintain or stick to that professionalism if you're dealing with this kind of asymmetric warfare. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish who the adversaries are," Omeje said.  Recently, the military launched a public relations campaign, seeking to repair its reputation.

WASHINGTON — According to the Somaliland National Electoral Commission, more than 1 million registered and eligible voters head to the polls Wednesday to elect their president for the next five years. Three candidates, including incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi, seek to consolidate the region’s fragile democracy, boost economic growth and gain international recognition that the Somali enclave has struggled to secure for 33 years. Abdi, of the ruling Peace, Unity and Development Party, also known simply as Kulmiye, seeks a second term in Wednesday’s polls. He is running against Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as "Irro,” of the Waddani party and Faisal Ali Warabe of the Justice and Development Party, or UCID. Promises In an interview with VOA Somali, each of the three candidates promised to strengthen democracy, boost economic growth and seek international recognition for the breakaway region. Abdi, 76, who was elected head of the region in 2017, has pledged there will be progress on a controversial maritime deal that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland earlier this year. “On our side, we [Somaliland] are free, we are ready to implement the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], and we are waiting from the Ethiopian side so that we can go ahead with it,” Abdi said. “Ethiopia needs access to sea, and we need recognition, and this MOU is about these needs.” This is the fourth presidential election since the region on the northwestern tip of Somalia broke away from the rest of the country, following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The territory declared independence that year but has never achieved international recognition. Despite this, Somaliland has a functioning government and institutions, a political system that has allowed democratic transfers of power between rival parties, its own currency, passport and armed forces. According to Freedom House's 2024 flagship annual report, which assesses the condition of political rights and civil liberties around the world, Somaliland experienced an erosion of political rights in the past several years. The report said, “Journalists and public figures face pressure from authorities. Minority clans are subject to political and economic marginalization, and violence against women remains a serious problem.” Talks between Somaliland, which is seeking full statehood, and Mogadishu, which fiercely opposes the move, have been held on and off between 2012 and 2020 but failed to bear fruit. Irro, of the Waddani party, who also served as speaker of the House of Representatives of Somaliland’s lower chamber of parliament for more than 11 years, said he would resume talks with Somalia. “It was not our choice to talk to Somalia because our goal has always been getting recognition, but the international community urged us to talk. If I am elected, I will resume the talks if the Somaliland interest lies there, and [at] the same time we will review the previous failed talks,” said Irro. Warabe, of the Justice and Development Party, said that if elected, he would seek recognition through the establishment of a national unity government in Somaliland. “The return of Bihi [Abdi], who has been for seven years in power, and his party, which has been in power since 2010, is not [an] option for Somaliland voters,” Warabe said. “If I am elected, I will lead Somaliland to recognition and [a] more prosperous road.” Regional tension Somaliland’s Wednesday vote comes at a time when tensions remain high between Somalia and Ethiopia over the controversial Memorandum of Understanding that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland. The deal would grant Ethiopia a 50-year lease of access to 20 kilometers of the Red Sea coastline in exchange for the potential recognition of Somaliland's independence, which Somalia views as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The deal signed on January 1 in Addis Ababa by Abdi and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sparked anger in Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland as part of its national territory. The opposition to the deal plunged the two neighboring countries into a deadlocked situation. In April, Somalia expelled Ethiopian Ambassador Muktar Mohamed Ware, alleging "internal interference" by Ethiopia. Somalia also ordered the closure of Ethiopia's consulates in Somaliland and Puntland, although they remained open. Last month, Somalia expelled Mogadishu-based Ethiopian diplomat Ali Mohamed Adan, who was a counselor at Ethiopia's embassy in Mogadishu. In July and August 2024, two rounds of talks between Ethiopia and Somalia, mediated by Turkey, failed to solve the dispute, with Somalia demanding Ethiopia withdraw from the deal and Ethiopia insisting that it does not infringe on Somalia’s sovereignty. On Saturday, Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur repeated the Somali government position against Ethiopian troop involvement in a new African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia starting in January. “I can say that Ethiopia is the only government we know of so far that will not participate in the new AU mission because it has violated our sovereignty and national unity," Nur said Saturday in a government-run television interview. Somaliland’s last presidential elections were held in 2017. The current presidential election was originally set to take place in 2022 but was postponed until 2023 and then again pushed back to November 2024, following a controversial extension of Abdi’s mandate by the parliament’s upper house. The Somaliland National Election Commission, or NEC, said at the time that the delays were due to “time, technical and financial constraints.” Opposition parties vehemently denounced the delays. The president is directly elected for a maximum of two five-year terms and appoints the Cabinet. Sahra Eidle Nur and Harun Maruf contributed to this report.

The breakaway region of Somaliland in East Africa is due to hold general elections on November 13th. As the self-declared republic pushes for recognition from the international community and begins to play a larger role in the wider region, what could the outcome mean for Somalia, the Horn of Africa and beyond? Henry Wilkins reports.

United Nations — The United Nations renewed its appeal for an immediate cease-fire in Sudan on Tuesday, with officials warning that civilians are paying a high price for the fighting, as external parties fuel the conflict by supplying weapons.  “It is long past time for the warring parties to come to the negotiating table,” said U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo. “The only path out of this conflict is a negotiated political solution.”  DiCarlo said that in the absence of a nationwide cease-fire, local ones could give civilians some respite and create openings for dialogue for a more comprehensive agreement.  She told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the rival leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appear convinced that they can each win on the battlefield and have escalated their military operations and attacks.  “This is possible thanks to considerable external support, including a steady flow of weapons into the country,” she said. “To put it bluntly, certain purported allies of the parties are enabling the slaughter in Sudan. This is unconscionable, it is illegal, and it must end.”  Russia and Egypt are reported to be among the countries providing the SAF with arms and equipment.  Meanwhile, Sudanese officials have publicly accused the United Arab Emirates of funneling weapons to the RSF militia through neighboring Chad. The UAE vehemently denies the accusation, but a U.N. panel of experts said earlier this year there was substance to media reports that cargo planes originating in the UAE capital had landed in eastern Chad with arms, ammunition and medical equipment destined for the paramilitary group.  Sudan’s ambassador stood by the claim on Tuesday, telling the council that the RSF is using humanitarian convoys to smuggle both weapons and foreign mercenaries through the Adre border crossing with Chad. Sudan’s authorization for that crossing is about to expire and humanitarians — and most council members — want it to remain open.  “We commend the Sudanese authorities for opening the Adre border crossing in mid-August,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. “This single route allowed aid organizations to bring enough food, health and nutrition supplies to serve more than 1.9 million people. Now, Sudanese authorities must keep Adre border crossing open indefinitely. Millions of lives depend on it.”  Eleven million people have been displaced and half of Sudan’s population, an estimated 25 million people, are struggling with crisis-level food insecurity, according to the U.N. Famine was confirmed in August in the northern part of Sudan’s Darfur region.  “In North Darfur, fighting in and around El Fasher continues to intensify and block the movement of aid supplies into the area,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the coordination division of the U.N. office on humanitarian affairs.  El Fasher is the capital of North Darfur and has been the epicenter of a battle for the last seven months between the RSF, who are poised to capture the city, and the SAF, which are trying to hold on to it. More than 1.5 million civilians in El Fasher, many of them displaced from other parts of Sudan, are caught in the crossfire.  Humanitarians have confirmed famine conditions in parts of El Fasher, including at the Zamzam camp for displaced persons, which houses more than 400,000 people. Rajasingham said about a third of the children in the camp are malnourished, including 10% who are severely malnourished.  Since Oct. 20, tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced from eastern Al Jazirah state, following a wave of RSF attacks on villages there that reportedly killed more than 120 civilians. Women and girls were raped, markets looted, and homes and farms were burned to the ground. “The international community must take what’s happening in Sudan seriously and must take urgent action to address it,” Rajasingham said of the spreading conflict. On Friday, the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions committee for Sudan designated RSF commanders Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla and Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed for sanctions for their roles in the violence in Darfur.  The United States said Tuesday that it is adding Barkalla to its own sanctions list and noted it had already designated Hamid in May 2024. The U.N. Security Council is working on a draft resolution focused on the protection of civilians through the implementation of commitments both parties made last year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as well as supporting mediation that would lead to a cease-fire. No date for a vote has been announced.

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