Tripoli, Libya | AFP | An armed group in Libya said on Facebook Saturday it has freed Seif al-Islam, the son of dead dictator Moamer Kadhafi who has been in custody since November 2011. The Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Brigade, a militia of former rebels that controls the town of Zintan …
Read More »At least 15 killed in latest South Sudan road ambush
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Unknown gunmen on Thursday ambushed a convoy on the main road connecting South Sudan’s capital with the Ugandan border, killing at least 15 people, officials said. Nine others were wounded in the attack on a civilian convoy escorted by the military on the insecure …
Read More »Trump will not move US embassy to Jerusalem for now
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump postponed moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem on Thursday, avoiding what would be a provocative decision as he tries to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly pledged that he would shift the embassy from …
Read More »South Sudan troops tried for rape, murder in Juba compound attack
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | A South Sudan military court on Tuesday opened the trial of 13 soldiers accused of raping foreign aid workers and murdering a local journalist during fighting in Juba last July. The chilling attack cast a spotlight on atrocities by government troops but also led …
Read More »Yemen rebel missile shot down near Saudi capital ahead of Trump arrival
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia said it shot down a ballistic missile, fired by Yemeni rebels, southwest of the capital Riyadh late Friday, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s arrival in the Sunni-led kingdom. Air defence units “intercepted a ballistic missile that was launched by Huthi militias”, …
Read More »Three Somali soldiers killed defusing bomb
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | At least three members of the Somali security forces were killed Wednesday as they tried to defuse a bomb inside a vehicle in the capital Mogadishu, police said. “The vehicle was seized and the security forces were trying to defuse the bomb inside when it …
Read More »Sacked South Sudan army chief Malong returns to Juba
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Sacked South Sudanese army chief Paul Malong, returned to the capital Juba on Saturday claiming he had been asked to return by the authorities and insisting that he’d never had any intention of rebelling. “If I want to rebel I can rebel here (in …
Read More »Kiir seeks to assert South Sudan authority after sacking army chief
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s president insisted Friday that the security situation was “normal” and that people had no reason to worry, three days after dismissing powerful army chief Paul Malong. President Salva Kiir’s dismissal of Malong on Tuesday night has raised concern among the population who …
Read More »Somalia strikes new international pact to stabilise ravaged state
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Somalia struck a new stability pact with the international community on Thursday, aimed at steadying the fragile state by bolstering its security, staving off famine and rebooting its economy. New President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed hailed a “historic day for Somalia” after concluding the pact …
Read More »Erdogan urges US to ‘immediately’ reverse decision on arming Syrian Kurds
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called on the United States to immediately reverse a decision on arming Syrian Kurdish fighters considered by Ankara to be a terror group. “I hope very much that this mistake will be reversed immediately,” Erdogan said after Washington …
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