Africa

Turkish PM visits Greece

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım will make a working visit to Greece on June 19 at the invitation of Greek his counterpart Alexis Tsipras, ahead of Cyprus reunification talks in Switzerland. During his visit to Athens, Prime Minister Yıldırım will be received by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Yıldırım’s visit is …

Read More »

Mali urges UN to support anti-jihadist force for the Sahel

Mali’s foreign minister on Friday pressed the UN Security Council to quickly adopt a resolution endorsing the creation of a special force to fight the jihadists increasingly plaguing north Africa’s Sahel region. The minister, Abdoulaye Diop, expressed the “deep concern” of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who heads a five-nation …

Read More »

5 killed in jihadi attack on Mali resort outside capital

Islamic extremists who stormed a resort area in Mali popular with foreigners killed five people, including a Portuguese soldier who had been serving in the European Union mission to stabilize this West African country wracked by mounting extremism, authorities said on Monday. The death toll rose after a Malian soldier …

Read More »

Macron in Morocco to discuss Libya, Qatar crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron was in Morocco on Wednesday on a 24-hour visit for talks on battling terrorism as well as the Libyan conflict and Qatar’s dispute with its Gulf neighbours. As he stepped off the plane for his first visit to Morocco since his election in May, the French …

Read More »

France says UN likely to support Sahel anti-jihadist force

France’s foreign minister said on Thursday he was confident “we will get there” in convincing a reluctant United States to give United Nations backing to an anti-jihadist force drawn from five African countries. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, which make up the so-called G5 Sahel, have agreed to …

Read More »

EU announces $160m to support northeast Nigeria

The European Union has announced a support package of nearly $160m for recovery and reconstruction in Nigeria’s Borno state, which has been devastated by attacks from homegrown Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. The EU said on Thursday the northeastern state is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has …

Read More »

EU maritime to continue to seize arms off Libya

The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Monday to allow the European Union’s (EU) maritime force to seize illegal weapons off Libya’s coast for another year, a move aimed at helping restore peace to the deeply divided north African nation. The British-drafted resolution authorises EU ships in Operation Sophia to …

Read More »

AU calls for dialogue to solve Gulf crisis

African Union chairperson Alpha Conde on Sunday put himself forward as a mediator in the crisis between Qatar and other Gulf countries, urging dialogue after several African nations also recalled their ambassadors to Doha. Conde, who is president of Guinea which has close ties to Saudi Arabia, said in a …

Read More »

UN peacekeeper killed in Mali

The United Nations says a fourth peacekeeper from the West African nation of Guinea was killed in an attack by jihadists last week on a UN camp in northern Mali. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday the peacekeeper was missing after last Thursday’s attack on the camp east …

Read More »

US forces conduct strike against Somalia's Al-Shabaab

US forces carried out a strike in conjunction with Somali special forces on Sunday against Al-Shabaab approximately 300km southwest of Mogadishu, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon said the operation occurred at approximately 0600 GMT “in coordination with regional partners as a direct response to Al-Shabaab actions, including recent attacks …

Read More »