Kenya got the  continental body’s support in a secret ballot last week.

But Djibouti, which has been passed over three times, now says it will seek support from its friends at the world organization.

Somalia is believed to be behind the Djibouti move that has thrown the African Union into confusion.

Djibouti has powerful friends like the United States, China, France and  Japan who have military bases on its strategically-placed Red Sea port.

The question is will these countries also break with tradition and overrule the AU choice in the vote next June for the next East African country to fill a rotating seat on the UN powerhouse.

The post Djibouti approaches powerful friends about getting a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The International Oganisation for Migration fears the death toll from the sinking of two crowded boats could be high higher.

Djibouti has become a major launch site for migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, heading for the Arabian peninsula.

Crossing the Red Sea is less considered hazardous than braving the Mediterranean which claimed six lives a day in 2018, according to a United Nations report.

This figure takes in launchings from Libya in the east and Morocco in the west.

Yesterday’s tragedy underlines the harsh reality that vast numbers of people are prepared to risk their lives and those of their families seeking economically more prosperous  and politically more peaceful futures away from Africa.

The post Scores drown trying to drop the Red Sea from Djibouti appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The Horn of Africa country has fewer than a million inhabitants but occupies a strategic position on one the world’s busiest shipping routes.

ends intro

A divided opposition and lack of strong challengers virtually ensures Ismail Omar Guelleh a fourth mandate.

Term limits have been scrapped in Djibouti that’s had only two presidents since independence from France in 1977.

France, the United States and Japan have military bases in the country on the Bab el Mandeb Strait.

China is building its first foreign naval base there – skirting volatile regions in Africa and Middle East.

Guelleh has promised to use revenue from these military visitors to ease the grinding poverty affecting a quarter of his population.

The post Djibouti goes to the polls with Guelph assured of victory appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.