Africa

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

A joint anti-jihadist force linking countries in the Sahel began operations on Wednesday, the French military mission in the region, which is providing support, told AFP. “The deployment of Malian, Nigerien and Burkinabe troops in the G5 Sahel force began this morning,” said a colonel for France’s Barkhane mission, speaking …

he President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, on Monday said the European Union (EU) will help Tunisia deal with multiple challenges it faces. Tajani made the remarks when addressing the deputies of Tunisian parliament. The European Parliament chief is on a two-day official visit to Tunisia, starting from Monday.

he United States will pledge $60m to support the new G5 Sahel regional counter-terrorism force, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday, ahead of UN talks on the operation. “This is a fight we must win, and these funds will play a key role in achieving that mission,” he …