Stressing the urgent need to help Mali and other countries the Sahel address cross-border terrorism and organized crime, Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday invited the United Nations Security Council to “be ambitious” in deciding how the UN supports the region’s newly-established joint force.
Read More »Libyan factions split over army leadership
Libyan factions involved in UN-brokered peace talks are still far apart on the issue of the leadership of a future national army, the head of one of two rival parliaments said on Monday. Abdulrahman Swehli said delegations from both the Tripoli State Council that he leads and from a parliament …
Read More »UN could increase peacekeepers in CAR
The Security Council is deciding whether to increase the number of United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR), one of the recommendations put forward by Secretary-General António Guterres for strengthening the operation, which was discussed at today’s meeting in New York.
Read More »Niger to let US forces arm drones in counter-terrorism fight
Niger will allow US forces stationed in the country to arm the drones being used to track jihadists, having previously allowed their use only for surveillance, the government said on Saturday. The decision comes a month after jihadists ambushed a joint US-Niger patrol in a volatile area near the border …
Read More »Sisi, Macron discuss co-operation in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron met Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Tuesday during a three-day visit to France focusing on economic co-operation and the fight against extremism. Macron on Tuesday declined to publicly comment on the rights record of his Egyptian counterpart Sisi, saying he was in not in …
Read More »UN chief urges dialogue in CAR
Militia groups in Central African Republic (CAR) should lay down their arms and join the political process, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said late Thursday. “Central African religious communities — Christians, Muslims and others — have always lived together,” he told a news conference in the capital Bangui, according to …
Read More »US carries out first airstrikes against ISIS in Somalia
he US military for the first time has conducted two airstrikes against Islamic State group fighters in Somalia, where the group is a growing presence in a country long threatened by the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabaab. A US official said the strikes were carried out in northeastern Somalia, with the …
Read More »UN chief visits Central African Republic
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for 900 extra peacekeepers to be deployed to the Central African Republic. In 2012, the country was plunged into turmoil when Seleka rebels overthrew the president.
Read More »At least 12 killed in east Libya air strike
At least 12 people have been killed in an air strike in Libya’s besieged eastern jihadist stronghold of Derna, a medical source said on Tuesday. Most of the victims, including women and children, are from the same family, the source at the Harish hospital said, adding that three people were …
Read More »Egypt air force kills militants after attack
Egypt’s military said Tuesday its air force had carried out a desert raid, killing “a large number of terrorist elements” responsible for the deaths of 16 policemen earlier this month. The policemen were killed in an October 20 shootout with militants on the road between Cairo and the Bahariya oasis …
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