AFRICA

Anka, Nigeria | AFP |  Haruna Hasaman knew she only had moments to get away when the roar of motorbikes ruptured the quiet of her village in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria. She scrambled for her five children and fled just as the gunmen screeched in and opened fire. “They killed many …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP |  Two youths were killed in Guinea on Monday at the start of open-ended protests against President Alpha Conde’s suspected bid to prolong his rule. The West African country has been wracked by demonstrations since mid-October over concerns that Conde intends to use a planned constitutional reform …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Ivory Coast authorities have rescued 137 children from neighbouring countries who were destined to work as labourers or prostitutes, the national body fighting child labour said Monday. The operation took place last week in the country’s east, the National Monitoring Committee (CNS) to fight child labour and trafficking. “We …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The United States wants to reduce its military presence in Africa, Washington’s top military officer said, as France hosts Sahel leaders as it seeks to bolster the fight against jihadists in the region. Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, said …

  Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Rwanda on Monday backed DR Congo’s military crackdown on Hutu rebels, who accuse the neighbouring nations of trying to “massacre” them and “balkanise” the DRC’s volatile east. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebel group operates freely in the North …

Uganda ranked among worst performers as progress stalls on continent | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has been ranked among the four countries with the lowest electricity connections in Africa which is the darkest continent in the world. According to an analysis by Carolyn Logan, the Deputy Director of the research …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP |  Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday asked South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in a long-running dispute with Egypt over a massive dam being built on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia’s ties to Egypt have soured since the east African country launched …

  Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa survived scares on Saturday to become the first qualifiers for the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. Five-time champions Mazembe fell behind after eight minutes against Primeiro Agosto of Angola in …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, forced into exile in 2017, has been heard in a leaked recording demanding that his right to return be respected by the authorities. Jammeh has hardly been heard from since fleeing to Equatorial Guinea. His comments were made public in a …

Benghazi, Libya | AFP |  Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar on Saturday announced a ceasefire in his months-long battle to control the capital Tripoli after calls for a truce from Russia and Turkey. The North African state has seen an escalation of the turmoil that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising killed …