In the spotlight: emotion and concern after the Kouré massacre

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By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

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“  Barbarian, cowardly, despicable, hateful… , sighs Le Sahel in Niamey. No words are too much to describe the attack perpetrated by armed individuals on Sunday around Kouré, causing the deaths of 8 people, two Nigeriens and six aid workers of French nationality.  "

Beyond the emotion and the grief of the bereaved families and loved ones, this act is "  a blow to tourism and the local populations  ", points out the news site Actu Niger . “  Until then relatively untouched by terrorist attacks, this area of ​​Kouré, which is home to the last giraffes in West Africa, was very popular with Nigerien and foreign visitors, which has led to the development of niche tourism, a the main income-generating activities for the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. (...) It is (therefore)a severe blow for the country's tourism sector in general and for the local economy in particular. From any point of view, it was one of the objectives targeted by the attackers, points out Actu Niger. By venturing as far as Kouré to commit what President Issoufou described as a "cowardly and barbaric attack", a few kilometers from Niamey, the terrorists also demonstrated that they were still capable of striking anywhere in the country, despite the massive deployment of the SDF and allied foreign forces such as the soldiers of the French Barkhane force.  "

Hit everywhere ...

Indeed, adds Jeune Afrique , “  the terrorists attacked a symbol : that of the desire to favor the development of tourism over a 100% security approach. (…) As in Benin, when they attacked in the Pendjari park, the terrorists want to send a message : there is no "orange" zone , they can strike anywhere.  "

“  Who are these killers?  “, Wonders for its part Today in Burkina . "  Do they belong to EIGS, from Al-Sahraoui? Or is it one of those katibas unknown to the battalion ? Or even simple bandits whose road would have crossed that of the French ? The only certainty is that the Nigerien soldiers and the special elements of the Barkhane Force are on their heels. (…) The hunt continues (therefore), and the focus is on three localities in Niger : Dosso, Loga and Filingué, where the fugitives could have taken refuge.  "

Algeria : three years in prison for covering protests

Also on the front page: “  Shame, a journalist in prison  ”. This is the injunction that bars the front page of the Algerian news site Casbah Tribune , whose director Khaled Drareni was sentenced Monday, August 10 to three years in prison for "  inciting an unarmed assembly and undermining unity. national  ”.

"  Indignation and incomprehension  ", exclaims the site ObservAlgerie  : "  Amnesty France qualifies the verdict " scandalous ". RSF, Reporter Without Borders, speaks of "judicial persecution". As for the lawyer Me Zoubida Assoul, she denounces the "relentlessness" of justice against the journalist. "We are in shock," she said. (...) Khaled Drareni did not commit any offense. He only did his job as a journalist covering peaceful demonstrations. He said it during the hearing, he even covered demonstrations that called for elections. " "

The Algerian press gagged

It must be said, underlines Le Monde Afrique , “  that the Algerian justice system multiplies the legal proceedings and the condemnations of Hirak activists, political opponents, journalists and bloggers. Last week, journalist Moncef Aït Kaci, ex-correspondent for France 24, and cameraman Ramdane Rahmouni were arrested and placed in preventive detention for twenty-four hours, before being released amid public outcry. Several Algerian journalists are in prison and trials are underway , Le Monde Afrique notes . Abdelkrim Zeghileche, a pro-Hirak activist and director of an Algerian radio station broadcast on the Internet, Sarbacane, was again imprisoned on June 24 in Constantine. Another journalist close to Hirak, Ali Djamel Toubal, correspondent for the private media group Ennahar, was sentenced on July 14 to fifteen months in prison, in particular for disseminating images showing police abusing anti-regime protesters. Algeria, concludes Le Monde Afrique, is in 146th place (out of 180) in the 2020 world press freedom ranking established by RSF. It fell 27 places compared to 2015.  ”

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