Sept. 29 Lesbos, Greece: Protesting migrants set two fires at the Moria refugee camp, demanding to be transferred to mainland Greece from the small, overcrowded eastern island of Lesbos. The fires killed at least one person, but there are unconfirmed reports of a second death. The Moria refugee camp was designed to hold a maximum of 3,000 people but currently is at more than quadruple that number with approximately 12,000 migrants and refugees, according to Al Jazeera. While Greece has long been a destination for migrants and refugees, the numbers have increased in recent months with over 8,000 people arriving in September 2019.
Oct. 1–6 Baghdad, Iraq: Demanding reduced unemployment rates, the end of corruption and the provision of better services to the general public, thousands of Iraqis staged demonstrations across southern Iraq with the epicenter of the protests located in the country’s capital, Baghdad. By the end of the first day of protests on Oct. 1, 200 protesters were injured and one was killed. Iraqi authorities used tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, stun guns and live ammunition to disperse the crowd, but the protests continued. The death toll reached 91 by Oct. 5, with over 2,000 people wounded. “We are peaceful protesters, but the security forces treated us with brutality as if we were animals, not humans demanding our rights,” protester Ibrahim Ahmed Yusuf told The New York Times. Yusuf was injured in the neck during the protests.
Oct. 1 Jakarta, Indonesia: The Indonesian Parliament unanimously elected the country’s first female House Speaker, who leads discussions in the House of Representatives. Puan Maharani Nakshatra Kusyala is the granddaughter of Indonesia’s first president and has served as the coordinating minister for human development and cultural affairs since 2014. She is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is the largest political party in the Indonesian Parliament and is led by Kusyala’s mother. “This will be the first female House Speaker after 70 years,” Kusyala said, according to Al Jazeera. “I hope it will be an inspiration.”
Oct. 3 Paris, France: An unnamed computer assistant attacked Paris Police Headquarters and killed four people with a knife before officers shot and killed him. The attacker—who had been an employee of the Paris police force since 2003—also injured one person who went through surgery and is now recovering in the hospital. The motivation behind the attack remains unknown as the attacker had not previously presented as a dangerous person. “He had never presented any behavioral issues; he had never presented the slightest cause for alarm before going on his deadly rampage,” French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said at a press conference, according to Al Jazeera.
Oct. 4 Kinigi, Rwanda: Several unknown attackers killed eight people and injured 18 more near Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, a popular tourist destination to see endangered mountain gorillas. “Those criminals killed eight people, including six who were killed using traditional weapons and two who were shot dead,” police spokesman John Bosco Kabera said at a press conference, according to Al Jazeera. While authorities have yet to identify the attackers, they are investigating Hutu rebels and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Both groups have staged similar attacks in the past.
Oct. 4 Soum, Burkina Faso: A group of attackers killed 20 people at a gold mining site in northern Burkina Faso. “Armed individuals attacked the gold mining site at Dolmane…leaving around 20 dead, mainly gold miners,” an unnamed security source told The Guardian. Authorities have yet to release an official statement, and no further information was provided to the public. Reuters reported increased violence and rebel insurgency in Burkina Faso over the last several years. Approximately 585 people have died since 2015 as a result of this violence, according to Al Jazeera.
