World Tour - Peace in Sudan, and an arrest in Rwanda

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with Africa reporter Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Sudan signs peace deal with rebels—We start today here in Africa.

AUDIO: [SUDAN PEACE DEAL APPLAUSE]

Sudan’s government has signed a peace deal with the rebel alliance to end 17 years of conflict. A coalition of five rebel groups signed the agreement Monday at a ceremony that capped off almost a year of negotiations.

About 300,000 people have been killed in the region since rebels took up arms in 2003. Former President Omar al-Bashir tried to crush the unrest with more violence, sometimes targeting civilians. The military ousted al-Bashir last year and a transitional council has ruled ever since.

The final agreement covers key issues dealing with land rights, security, and power sharing. People who fled their homes because of the war can return home. Rebel forces will disperse and fighters will integrate into the national army.

Paul Rusesabagina arrested—Next, we go to Rwanda.

AUDIO: [RUSESABAGINA ARREST ANNOUNCEMENT]

A man known for saving more than 1,000 people during the Rwandan genocide has been arrested on terror charges. During the 1994 slaughter, Paul Rusesabagina is credited with sheltering thousands of ethnic Tutsis in a hotel he managed. That story was later told in the film Hotel Rwanda.

But on Monday, Rwandan police announced they had arrested Rusesabagina for sponsoring and arming violent terror groups. Rusesabagina’s daughter says the charges are completely made up, and that officials targeted him because he has frequently criticized the current government.

Rusesabagina has received several international awards, but some Rwandans still contest his story of protecting survivors during the genocide.

China expands Uighur camps, Uighur model imprisoned—Next, we go to Asia.

AUDIO: [CHINA UIGHUR PROPAGANDA]

A young Uighur man has disappeared after leaking video footage from inside a Chinese internment camp. Merdan Ghappar is a prominent fashion model. Officials placed him in a so-called “reeducation camp” in January.

A few weeks later, Ghappar managed to send a few text messages and a video of himself to his family. The video shows Ghappar handcuffed to a bed in a tiny cell. Propaganda announcements blare in the background. In his text messages, Ghappar said he is covered in lice. Sometimes he hears people screaming all day. No one has heard from Ghappar since he sent those messages.

China calls the camps “vocational schools,” and denies any human rights abuses.

Reports estimate that more than 1 million Uighurs are imprisoned in the camps, and that China continues to expand its fortified detention facilities.

Israeli teenagers find trove of gold coins—Finally, we end today in the Middle East.

AUDIO: [ISRAELI TEENAGER]

Two Israeli teenagers unearthed a trove of gold coins from 1,000 years ago. The teens were working at an archaeological site, and originally thought they’d found some very thin leaves buried in a clay jar.

But the jar actually contained more than 400 coins, all pure 24-carat gold. Such a large collection of coins is a rare find: Gold was often melted down and reused by later civilizations. These coins date back to the end of the 9th century when an Islamic caliphate ruled the territory from Algeria to Afghanistan.

That’s this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

(Photo/Associated Press, Sudanese Cabinet) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan in Khartoum on Tuesday. 

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