Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia has held its first boxing competition in more than three decades, with young fighters in the conflict-torn nation dreaming of a career in international rings. The three-day lightweight boxing competition that wrapped up Sunday took place in the capital Mogadishu, where athletes squared off …
Read More »Canada will not extend Mali peacekeeping mission: minister
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Canada will not extend its peacekeeping mission in Mali beyond July 2019, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in an interview that aired Saturday. Sajjan, interviewed by CBC Radio on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum, said that UN officials were “working with other …
Read More »UN taps private sector for humanitarian funding
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The United Nations on Thursday launched what it called a “global first” to harness private-sector funding and expertise to help tackle humanitarian crises around the world. The Nigeria Humanitarian Fund Private Sector Initiative (NHF PSI) has been set up to strengthen the response to the …
Read More »UN chief revives bid opposed by US to fund Sahel force
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is renewing his call for UN financing to shore up a regional force fighting an insurgency in the Sahel, despite opposition from the United States. Guterres said in a report to the Security Council seen by AFP on Wednesday …
Read More »Tackle poverty and birth rate to end Boko Haram: emir
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | One of Nigeria’s leading and respected Islamic figures on Tuesday renewed calls to tackle endemic poverty and rapid population growth to help end deadly Boko Haram violence. More than 27,000 people have been killed since the start of the insurgency in the country’s remote northeast …
Read More »UN ‘increasingly alarmed’ by fighting in eastern DR Congo
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN has sounded the alarm over fighting in eastern DR Congo, warning that violence, which is unfolding alongside an Ebola outbreak, could hamper next month’s elections. Leila Zerrougui, head of the UN stabilisation mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, said the …
Read More »3 civilians killed in attack on UN contractor in Mali
Bamako, Mali | AFP | At least three Malian civilians were killed and four foreigners working for a UN-contracted mine-clearing operation wounded in a suicide attack Monday in the country’s violence-hit north, the security ministry and other official sources said. The attack, claimed by a group linked to Al-Qaeda, took …
Read More »175 dead, over 10,000 affected by Nigeria cholera outbreak
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Suspected cholera cases have jumped in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram violence has forced tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in crowded camps, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Monday. The humanitarian group said 10,000 people have been affected by the fast-spreading cholera outbreak …
Read More »Hundreds flee after Boko Haram raid in northeast Nigeria
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Hundreds of villagers fled their homes in Nigeria’s northeast late on Saturday after an attack by Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group, militia officials and witnesses said. The raid highlighted fragile security in Nigeria’s northeast, where the army is still battling to end a …
Read More »ADF Rebels kill six, kidnap five in east DRCongo
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | Suspected Ugandan rebels killed six people, hacking one woman to death, and kidnapped five others — mostly children — in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive east, officials said on Sunday. Officials blamed the two attacks in Beni near the country’s border with …
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