AFRICA

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Fourteen suspected jihadists killed during an alleged escape attempt by Mali troops were “summarily executed,” community leaders told AFP Sunday. “This was in no way an escape attempt. Our sources are certain. These people were victims of summary executions,” Nouhoum Sarr of Tabital Pulaaku, the main …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Libyans mourned Sunday after the discovery of the bodies of three small children from the same family kidnapped in 2015 on their way to school near the capital. Investigators said that based on the confession of one of their kidnappers, the children’s decomposed bodies were …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Six miners were killed and two injured when the roof of a tunnel collapsed at a gold mining site operated by US-based Newmont in Ghana’s southern region, the company said Sunday. “I can confirm six fatalities to you. Two others were treated at the clinic …

Aden, Yemen | AFP | A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources and the insurgents said Saturday. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels hit the Sudanese military convoy in the northern province of Hajjah before …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | The leaders of Benin and Niger have given their backing to Chinese involvement in a controversial major rail infrastructure project set to span several countries. “We have taken stock of the railway issue (and) we tried to see which measures could be taken to move …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s beaten presidential hopeful Samura Kamara, who narrowly lost a run-off vote, congratulated victor Julius Maada Bio Saturday and vowed to throw his party’s support behind a new administration. “I’m here to congratulate our new president with executive members of my party,” Kamara …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | A peacekeeper from Niger was shot dead by militants in northern Mali on Friday, the UN’s mission to the country said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on “Blue Helmets” in the conflict-torn country. “Today at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) two unidentified gunmen opened …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s new president, Julius Maada Bio, on Friday promised civil servants they need not fear a purge despite a historic shift in the country’s politics. Bio, whose election has ended decade-long rule by the All People’s Congress (APC), praised state workers and “gave them …

N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s legislative elections, originally due to take place in 2015, “should take place in November”, President Idriss Deby told opposition parties Friday, state radio reported. Deby, named in a US corruption probe, had already promised earlier that the elections would finally take place this year. The …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Kidnappers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have freed a priest in exchange for a ransom but three other people abducted in the troubled region have been killed, sources said Friday. Father Celestin Ngango was taken away by armed men on Sunday shortly after …