A new bout of violence in the Central African Republic that has killed nine peacekeepers this year risks derailing years of efforts to restore a fragile stability, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday. Guterres condemned the killing of two Moroccan peacekeepers who were ambushed in the southeast town …
Read More »Egypt sets up national council to combat terror
Egypt has created a “national council” to combat the rise of Islamist “terrorism” which has targeted its security forces and Coptic Christian minority, in a presidential decree issued on Wednesday. The decree, published in Egypt’s official gazette, sets up a “national council to combat terrorism and extremism” by adopting a …
Read More »Sudan clashes kill up to 10 in Darfur
Clashes between two Arab tribes in Sudan’s war-torn state of East Darfur have killed up to 10 people, tribal leaders told AFP on Sunday. The fighting that began on Saturday comes as the United Nations and African Union prepare to downsize their peacekeeping mission in Darfur, saying that overall violence …
Read More »Rival Libyan leaders in France to hold talks on crisis
Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj holds French-brokered talks Tuesday with Khalifa Haftar, the rival military commander who controls the east, to try to end the chaos in the conflict-ridden country. French President Emmanuel Macron has organised the talks but his office has stressed that it has modest expectations of …
Read More »Over 40 militants killed in campaign by Egypt military
Egypt’s military said on Tuesday it has killed more than 40 extremists in a wide-ranging campaign in the Sinai Peninsula where the Islamic State group has been waging a deadly insurgency. The announcement came a day after seven civilians were killed in a foiled attack on a checkpoint with an …
Read More »Egypt launches largest military base in Middle East
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the largest military base of the Middle East in the coastal city of Alexandria. The president raised the Armed Forces flag on the new base in el Hammam city, west of Alexandria. The military base was named after late president Mohamed Naguib, …
Read More »US warns South Sudan regional plan is last chance for peace
The United States warned on Thursday that a new regional plan to shore up South Sudan’s failing peace agreement was the last chance for Juba’s leaders to end the war, now in its fourth year. US Deputy Ambassador Michele Sison told the UN Security Council that Washington will reconsider its …
Read More »Egypt forces kill 30 extremists in Sinai
Egyptian forces have killed 30 extremists during several days of security operations in the Sinai Peninsula involving the army, air force and police, the military said on Saturday. The Egyptian authorities are battling an insurgency by the Islamic State (ISIS) group in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of members …
Read More »Czech FM: EU military role in Libya to reduce migrants
The Czech Republic’s foreign minister has suggested that the European Union consider a military engagement in Libya to reduce the flow of migrants arriving by boat from there to Europe. Lubomir Zaoralek says that “we must speak very openly what the real instruments are to stabilize Libya.” He told the …
Read More »UN to close five bases in eastern DRC
Five UN peacekeepers’ bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo are to close at the end of July, the UN mission there announced on Wednesday, describing it as a change in operational style. But the closures come against the background of cuts to the overall peacekeeping budget pushed through under …
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