Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Mali on Sunday to boost Western backing for a regional anti-jihadist force, with France urging greater support for the Sahel region amid mounting insecurity. The so-called “G5 Sahel” countries south of the Sahara – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – have pledged …

Egypt says it will host a meeting of Arab nations that have cut off ties to Qatar. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid says foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will meet in Cairo on Wednesday. He says the meeting will discuss the future …

Egypt’s military says its air force destroyed 12 vehicles loaded with weapons, ammunitions and explosives, after receiving intelligence that “criminal elements” were attempting to cross the western border with Libya.

Egyptian cabinet decided on Thursday to extend the state of emergency in the country for three more months. The decision to extend the emergency state was made during a cabinet meeting.

Fresh clashes on Saturday between government troops and a militia in Nord-Kivu province in the troubled east of Democratic Republic of Congo have left two soldiers and four fighters dead, the army said. The army’s position in Kaseghe was attacked around dawn “by the Mai Mai (militia) which caused the …

Eight Chadian soldiers were killed in fierce fighting with Boko Haram insurgents at the weekend on islands on Lake Chad, which borders four countries on the edge of the Sahara, Chad’s army said on Monday. “Our forces attacked Boko Haram elements on five islands near Nigeria on June 24 and …

Clashes between militants and government troops on Thursday left 16 dead in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said. The fighting erupted in the eastern suburbs of Beni, a city in the troubled North-Kivu province, with residents hearing gunshots and heavy weapons fire. The province …

The United Nations secretary-general is making a plea for protection of refugees around the world, saying some richer countries haven’t been as tolerant as some in Africa. Antonio Guterres on Friday addressed a UN-backed summit in Uganda that seeks $8bn for nearly a million South Sudanese refugees and the host …

The United States ambassador to Somalia says the US once again will have a permanent diplomatic presence in the country after it opens offices in Mogadishu later this year. The US embassy was closed in 1991 as the Horn of Africa nation slid into decades of chaos. Former Secretary of …

The foreign ministers of Algeria and France on Tuesday urged Libya’s rival armed factions to seek a political solution in the North African country to help stem the spread of militant groups there and potential spillover across its borders. Algeria has joined with North African neighbor Tunisia to seek support …