Archive for May, 2016
Turkey, Libya discuss security issues
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Turkey, Libya discuss security issuesTurkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday met with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in the capital city of Tripoli to discuss a series of issues concerned. Cavusoglu told a press conference following his meeting with Serraj that the Turkish visa will be granted electronically to Libya citizens in one month. Cavusoglu also said that […]
Turkey to reopen the embassy in Libya
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Turkey to reopen the embassy in LibyaThe Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Çavuşoglu, said Turkey’s embassy in Libya is going to reopen and visa on Libyans will be cancelled soon. In a joint press conference with the UN-proposed government’s Foreign Minister, Mohammed Sayalah, Monday in Tripoli, the Turkish Foreign Minister said he had come to Libya to discuss reopening the embassy and […]
Algerian troops seize weapons near Libyan border
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Algerian troops seize weapons near Libyan borderAlgerian army troops on Sunday discovered a load of war weapons and ammunition near the border with Libya, Defense Ministry said. The weapons were discovered in the locality of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, in Adrar province, 1543 km southeastern of Algiers, thanks to the permanent patrol operations being conducted by thousands of troops deployed on the […]
Mali : CMA, platform’s members call to speed up transitional authority’s setting up
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Mali : CMA, platform’s members call to speed up transitional authority’s setting upThe Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and the members of the Platform of Mali called Monday, in Algiers, to the need to speed up the setting up of a “transitional authority,” in mutual agreement with all the sides for the implementation of the agreement for peace and reconciliation in Mali, stemmed from the process of […]
DRC, UN take on rebels in North Kivu
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on DRC, UN take on rebels in North KivuA Congolese official says at least 23 rebels have been killed in an operation launched in May to combat rebels in the North Kivu province. North Kivu governor Julien Paluku said on Thursday the joint UN and military operation in Beni has also led to the capture of five rebels, rocket launchers and bombs. Forces […]
Unity government struggles to make impact in Libya
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Unity government struggles to make impact in LibyaTwo months after his dramatic arrival in Libya’s capital, Fayez al-Sarraj’s unity government has won international support but had little impact inside a divided country plagued by jihadists, analysts say. The head of the Government of National Accord sailed into Tripoli under naval escort on March 30 in defiance of a militia alliance that has […]
Deadly attack on UN peacekeepers in Mali
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Deadly attack on UN peacekeepers in MaliAt least five UN peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali by suspected militants on Sunday, the UN and police sources said. The attack is the first time the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, Minusma, has recorded fatalities in the centre of a country long beset by violence in its vast and desolate […]
Egyptian court sentences 36 Islamists to life
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Egyptian court sentences 36 Islamists to lifeAn Egyptian court has convicted and sentenced 36 Islamists, including a top leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, to life imprisonment. The state-run MENA news agency says Mohamed Badie and the other defendants were sentenced on Monday for inciting violence that led to the killing of three people in July 2013.
Chad’s former dictator found guilty, sentenced to life
Monday, May 30, 2016 Comments Off on Chad’s former dictator found guilty, sentenced to lifeA judge has declared Chad’s former dictator Hissene Habre guilty and sentenced him to life in prison for crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. Judge Gberdao Gustave Kam delivered the verdict and sentence on Monday in a packed courtroom.
Head of Libyan Presidential Council Meets Turkish President
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Comments Off on Head of Libyan Presidential Council Meets Turkish PresidentThe Head of Libya Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord Fayez Al Saraj met on the sidelines of the UN-sponsored World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul yesterday the Turkish President Racep Tayeb Erdogan. Bilateral relations were discussed during the meeting which was attended on the Libyan side by Mussa Al Koni and the Foreign […]
Egypt army kills 88 militants in North Sinai
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Comments Off on Egypt army kills 88 militants in North SinaiThe Egyptian army said on Wednesday that its forces have killed 88 militants in central and North Sinai during recent military operations. As a continuation of an earlier campaign which started in September 2015, the army announced that it will begin the third phase of the operation entitled Martyr’s Right. Martyr’s Right is a comprehensive […]
Mali: CMA convinced of need for mobilization to meet security challenges
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Comments Off on Mali: CMA convinced of need for mobilization to meet security challengesThe Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) stressed Tuesday in Algiers that “it is convinced” of the need for the mobilization of all Malian parties to ensure a better response to human needs and meet security challenges so as to improve the situation in Mali.
Kenya military clash with al-Shabaab extremists
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Comments Off on Kenya military clash with al-Shabaab extremistsKenyan troops in Somalia may have killed 21 suspected al-Shabaab extremists who were plotting an ambush in southern Somalia, said a Kenyan official. A lone gunman shot at the Kenyan troops on Tuesday and fled while the troops were on the way to Tabda in southern Somalia, military spokesperson Colonel David Obonyo said on Wednesday. […]
UN ends sanctions on Liberia
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Comments Off on UN ends sanctions on LiberiaThe last remaining United Nations sanctions on Liberia were lifted on Wednesday in a decision the United States said was a tangible sign of how far the West African country had come. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to lift an arms embargo on rebel groups that was imposed 13 years ago to support a […]
UN Security Council slams deadly terrorist attack on blue helmets in Mali
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Comments Off on UN Security Council slams deadly terrorist attack on blue helmets in MaliThe UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned Wednesday’s deadly terrorist attack on UN peacekeepers in north Mali and reiterated that “any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable.” “The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack on 18 May 2016 against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional […]
AU urges international police force for Burundi
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Comments Off on AU urges international police force for BurundiAn African Union human rights report called on Friday for an international police force and more military and rights observers to be sent to troubled Burundi. The AU rights investigators said it was “necessary that, apart from strengthening AU human rights monitors and military observers, an international police mission is deployed”. Last year the AU […]
Burundi peace talks resume without opposition
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Comments Off on Burundi peace talks resume without oppositionPeace talks aimed at solving Burundi’s year-long crisis resumed on Saturday in Tanzania, but with the opposition barred from the meeting, there was little hope it would help strike a deal. The talks in the northern town of Arusha brought together Burundian government officials, diplomats and civil society representatives.
UN chief appoints new head of UN mission in South Sudan
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on UN chief appoints new head of UN mission in South SudanUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki of Kenya as the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). Lieutenant General Ondieki will replace Lieutenant General Yohannes Gebremeskel Tesfamariam of Ethiopia, who will complete his assignment on June 17, 2016, […]
S.Sudan agrees on release of prisoners of war
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on S.Sudan agrees on release of prisoners of warSouth Sudan’s transitional government has agreed on the release of prisoners of war from both sides of the more than two-year conflict, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said. Lueth announced the decision to reporters in the capital, Juba, on Friday, without specifying when the releases will take place nor the number of people involved. A […]
China sends 195 peacekeeping troops to Mali
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on China sends 195 peacekeeping troops to MaliA 195-strong peacekeeping force left Changchun, capital of China’s Jilin Province, on Wednesday for a United Nations mission in Mali. The team is part of China’s fourth peacekeeping group consisting of 395 people to the country. The rest will arrive by May 26 to relieve the third group. The troops are composed of military engineers, […]
IS, Libyan army clash near Sirte
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on IS, Libyan army clash near SirteIS and the Libyan army clashed on Wednesday at Bawirat al-Haswon. The Misrata Central Hospital counted at least 28 killed and 20 wounded after the fighting. Bawirat al-Haswon is a city to the west of Sirte, Daesh’s main operating city in Libya. On May 18, Libyan army forces took control of Abu Grain and multiple […]
Algeria condemns attack on MINUSMA in Kidal
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on Algeria condemns attack on MINUSMA in KidalAlgeria has condemned in “the strongest terms” the attack on Wednesday in the region of Kidal, Mali, on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Missionin Mali (MINUSMA), which claimed the lives of five Chadian blue helmets, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdelaziz Benali Cherif told APS Thursday.
Mali: five peacekeepers killed in ambush
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on Mali: five peacekeepers killed in ambushThe UN on Thursday said five Chadian peacekeepers had been killed and three others wounded during an ambush in northeastern Mali, raising concern over the rising body count of its mission in the country. The attack, which took place on Wednesday, occurred as the soldiers were escorting a convoy in Aguelhok in the Kidal region. […]
Tunisia says its war on ‘terror’ has cost $4 bn
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on Tunisia says its war on ‘terror’ has cost $4 bnTunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi said in Doha on Thursday that his country’s battle to fight “terrorism” has cost it around $4 billion diverted away from the country’s economy. “The war against terrorism has cost Tunisia a lot, about $4 billion,” Essebsi told reporters in Qatar, at the end of an official three-day visit to […]
DRC crisis stokes fears of widespread violence
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Comments Off on DRC crisis stokes fears of widespread violenceA simmering political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo that the US and its allies have been unable to defuse, is stoking fears in Congress that one of Africa’s largest countries is on the verge of slipping into widespread violence.
Lamamra urges Mali partners to help removing obstacles
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on Lamamra urges Mali partners to help removing obstaclesMinister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ramtane Lamamra urged all the Mali partners to provide this country with all the help so it can remove the obstacles that can hamper the application of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in this country. “All the partners of Mali are today challenged to urgently […]
Libya says it wants planes to fight IS
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on Libya says it wants planes to fight ISLibya’s unity government called Tuesday for warplanes and helicopters to fight jihadists as it hailed international support for granting it an exemption to a longstanding embargo on weapons sales. On Monday, the United States, Italy and Libya’s allies and neighbours agreed in Vienna to arm the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) to confront the […]
Kerry visits Egypt
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on Kerry visits EgyptU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo Wednesday to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in his short trip. It’s Kerry’s second visit to Egypt in less than a month. He will discuss with Sisi a range of bilateral and regional issues.
Algerian security forces kill one terrorist and arrest another one
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on Algerian security forces kill one terrorist and arrest another oneAlgerian anti-terrorism forces on Tuesday killed a militant and arrested another one in a wide-scale operation in the province of Bouira, 120 km to the southeast of the capital city of Algiers, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
US ready to loosen Libya arms embargo
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on US ready to loosen Libya arms embargoThe US government is ready to loosen a ban on arms exports to Libya, in a bid to help the country’s fledgling unity government fight the Islamic State group, officials and diplomats have told AFP. Under White House-backed plans, the United Nations would carve out exemptions to an embargo introduced by the Security Council in […]
Nigeria hosts summit on Boko Haram
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on Nigeria hosts summit on Boko HaramNigeria was on Saturday hosting talks on Boko Haram with regional and Western powers, as the UN warned of the militants’ ties to the Islamic State group and its threat to African security. Leaders from Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger were among the delegates, alongside French President Francois Hollande, and high-ranking diplomats from the US, […]
No military solution to Libya: AU
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on No military solution to Libya: AUEnding conflict in Libya can only be achieved through a political deal, Libyan and regional leaders said Wednesday after African Union-led talks. “The only solution to bring an end to the current crisis in Libya is a political settlement,” Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayri said after meeting with the AU’s International Contact Group for Libya, […]
African nations back moves to arm Libya govt
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Comments Off on African nations back moves to arm Libya govtThe African Union on Wednesday threw its weight behind Italian and US-led moves to stabilise Libya that include arming a national unity government to fight Islamic State militants. Western powers are also keen to see Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s fledgling administration establish its authority over the whole country so it can actively contribute to efforts […]
US helps Tunisia with military hardware to fight against IS attacks
Monday, May 16, 2016 Comments Off on US helps Tunisia with military hardware to fight against IS attacksThe US on Thursday delivered a batch of military hardware to Tunisia to help the North African country, which has suffered several attacks by the Islamic State (IS) group, secure its borders. Light aircraft, jeeps and communications systems were among the equipment handed over at a ceremony attended by US official Amanda Dory and Tunisian […]
Two Malian soldiers killed in landmine explosion
Monday, May 16, 2016 Comments Off on Two Malian soldiers killed in landmine explosionTwo Malian soldiers, one of them a colonel, died in an explosion on Wednesday after their vehicle stepped on a landmine in northern Mali, military sources said. The incident occurred in Gao region and left many other soldiers critically injured. The injured were admitted at Gao hospital, according the same sources. On Tuesday, an attack […]