Kabul, Afghanistan | AFP | Mourners on a cold, barren hill outside Kabul wept Friday as they buried loved ones killed in a suicide attack targeting Shiites, the latest victims in one of the bloodiest years in the war-torn country. At a Shiite cemetery spread over the hills dozens of …
Read More »Gunman kills 9 in attack on Egypt church
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | A gunman opened fire on a church south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least nine people in the latest apparent jihadist attack on Egypt’s Christian minority. The attacker targeted the Saint Mina Coptic church in the district of Helwan, just south of Cairo. Health …
Read More »Mozambique starts security crackdown targeting Tanzanians
Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambique has announced a security crackdown that will target Tanzanians accused of “terrorism” after a spate of attacks in the country’s north blamed by authorities on jihadists. In October armed men laid siege to three police stations in Mocimboa de Praia, close to the Tanzanian border, …
Read More »Cameroon court frees dissident writer, drops charges
Yaounde, Cameroon | AFP | A Cameroon court on Wednesday freed dissident author Patrice Nganang, accused of threatening President Paul Biya on social media, and ordered him to be expelled from the country, media reported. The court in the capital Yaounde ordered an end to legal proceedings against Nganang, which …
Read More »UPDF: 100 ADF rebels killed in DR Congo strikes
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda’s army on Wednesday claimed that its operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed over 100 members of a Ugandan Muslim rebel group accused of murdering UN peacekeepers. “Over 100 terrorists were killed with several others wounded and their logistic stores destroyed,” said general …
Read More »South Sudan govt, rebels accuse each other of breaking truce
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s government and main rebel group on Sunday accused each other of breaking a ceasefire that went into effect shortly after midnight. The ceasefire is the latest bid to end a devastating four-year war which broke out after a falling out between former …
Read More »Rival armed groups sign ceasefire in C.Africa
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Two rival armed groups in the northwest of the Central African Republic have signed a ceasefire agreement, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), which helped mediate the accord, announced on Saturday. The anti-Balaka, a self-proclaimed mostly Christian “self-defence” militia, and the 3R group, …
Read More »Mali army kills 5 jihadists after ambush
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s army said Thursday it killed five jihadists but lost one soldier repelling an attack in the centre of the vast, landlocked nation. The assault happened at a military outpost near the remote town of Niono at around 0130 GMT, a military statement said. The …
Read More »UPDF strikes rebel camps in eastern DR Congo
Ugandan army strikes rebel camps in eastern DR Congo Kampala, Uganda | AFP – Michael O’Hagan | Uganda’s army said Friday it had launched attacks on a shadowy rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the militants killed 14 UN peacekeepers earlier this month. Army spokesman Richard Karemire …
Read More »Need for food, arms spurs Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | A surge in Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria’s restive northeast despite a sustained military offensive against the jihadists is being driven by a need to replenish food and weapon supplies, security and local sources say. In recent months, fighters from two of the main factions …
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