Bamako, Mali | AFP | French air power on Wednesday killed at least 10 jihadists in northeast Mali near the border with Algeria, local and foreign military sources said. “French forces on Wednesday led at least one raid near Tinzaouatene, at the Algerian border, against the terrorists,” a local Malian …
Read More »Burundi police threaten opposition to constitution change
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Police in Burundi have threatened to arrest anyone campaigning prematurely against a referendum to revise the constitution, which if passed could allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to remain in power until 2034. Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye issued the warning to anyone who might “try to impede …
Read More »Chibok girls’ kidnapper jailed for 15 years
Kainji, Nigeria | AFP | A man involved in the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeast Nigeria has been jailed for 15 years, the government confirmed on Tuesday. The conviction of Haruna Yahaya, 35, is the first in relation to the mass abduction, which triggered global …
Read More »200,000 displaced by ethnic clashes in DR Congo: sources
Bunia, DR Congo | AFP | About 200,000 people have been displaced in ethnic clashes since mid-December in the northeastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a humanitarian source told AFP Tuesday, as escapees spoke of burnt villages and victims being hacked to death. Hema herders and Lendu …
Read More »Top Ethiopian dissident Bekele Gerba freed from jail
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Top Ethiopian dissident Bekele Gerba was released from jail on Tuesday, state media reported, as anti-government protests by the country’s largest ethnic group closed roads and businesses near the capital. The release of Bekele was a key demand of Oromos, the majority ethnic …
Read More »South Sudan court sentences rebel spokesman to death
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan rebel spokesman James Gatdet Dak was sentenced to death by hanging for treason on Monday, a year after he was deported from Kenya despite having refugee status. “Death sentence by hanging,” Judge Ladu Armenio told Gatdet in the court in Juba, after …
Read More »Egypt anti-jihadist sweep kills 28 militants
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | A major operation against jihadists in Egypt has killed 28 fighters in the Sinai Peninsula since it was launched by the military on Friday, the army said on Monday. Another 126 jihadists have been arrested since “Operation Sinai 2018” was launched in the Sinai across …
Read More »Mass trials of Boko Haram suspects to resume in Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Hundreds of Boko Haram suspects were due back in court Monday to hear if they will be prosecuted, sentenced or released, as proceedings resumed at a military base in central Nigeria. The first major prosecutions of people arrested during the insurgency began last October, involving …
Read More »UK’s Johnson meets Myanmar’s Suu Kyi on Rohingya crisis
Naypyidaw, Myanmar | AFP | Britain’s foreign minister Boris Johnson met with Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s capital on Sunday to press for action on the Rohingya crisis, as the country faces mounting pressure to punish troops accused of atrocities against the Muslim minority. Johnson spoke with the embattled …
Read More »Burundians protest over criticism by UN chief
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Thousands of people joined an official demonstration in Burundi on Saturday, in response to criticism by the United Nations chief about a planned revision to the country’s constitution. The protest was called by the mayor of Bujumbura, the capital, after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used …
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