News in Brief
Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso establish security alliance
AL JAZEERA– Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have signed a mutual defense pact, as the three Sahel countries aim to help each other against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression.
The charter, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, signed on Saturday binds the signatories to assist one another – including militarily – in the event of an attack on any one of them.
“Any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracted parties will be considered an aggression against the other parties,” it said. It also binds the three countries to work to prevent or settle armed rebellions.
Thousands in Australia rally for Indigenous referendum
REUTERS – Thousands rallied in Australia on Sunday to support recognizing the country's Indigenous people in the constitution, a proposal that is struggling ahead of a referendum next month.
If approved on Oct. 14, the measure would enshrine Indigenous people in the constitution and set up an advisory body to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people input on policies that affect them.
Indigenous Australians, who account for 3.8% of the population, face disadvantages including discrimination, poor health and education outcomes and high incarceration rates.
18 civilians killed by militias in
DR Congo
AFP – Eighteen civilians and one soldier were killed in attacks by militia groups in western DR Congo, where sectarian violence has flared since June 2022, government officials said Sunday.
The civilians were killed in the village of Final in Kimvula, around 190 kilometres southeast of the capital Kinshasa, allegedly by the "Mobondo" militia last Monday, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said after a government cabinet
meeting.