Africa

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is seeking some 2 500 more peacekeepers to reinforce the UN mission in Mali, which has seen 12 of its members killed in May alone. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday the troops would include a rapid reaction force, an aviation unit and specialists in high …

The Kenyan government’s plan to close the Dadaab refugee camp is “logistically impractical”, according to Somalia’s ambassador to the US. Ahmed Awad sounding a warning on Thursday, saying that shutting the complex – which is home to at least 340 000 people – could damage relations between Kenya and Somalia. …

Six people have been killed after militants attacked a boat belonging to Nigeria’s state-run oil firm, the army says in the latest violence to hit the country’s increasingly restive oil-producing region. The Niger Delta Avengers group, which has been attacking pipelines and facilities since early this year, denied involvement but …

Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi says he will support a government of national unity, as long as it includes Nobel Prize winning groups the UGTT union and UTICA. Any change of government would require the decommission of the current government followed by negotiations between all the groups involved, including political …

The Troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued 247 captives from the men of the Boko Haram Sect in Borno State. The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Wednesday that captives were rescued by the troops of the 81 Battalion, the 251 Task …

French Foreign Minister John Marc Aurliet is to meet the UN Special Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler to discuss the latest developments of the Libyan crisis. A French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Roman Nadal told reporters on Monday his country supported the work of the UN mission in Libya to bring …

Eight individuals involved in terrorism cases during the week of May 23 to 29, 2016 were arrested by Tunisian security forces. In a statement, the Interior Ministry confirmed that the National Guard units had conducted 955 raids after consultation of the Public Prosecutor.

Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed and one other seriously injured in an ambush in central Mali on Sunday, the United Nations said. A convoy of soldiers in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was attacked 30 kilometres) west of Sevaré, the UN said.

Egypt will receive its first amphibious assault helicopter carrier Mistral from France on Thursday, Youm7 reported the Egyptian Ministry of Defense. The warship will be named after late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egyptian Minister of Defense Sedki Sobhi will raise the Egyptian flag on it in French Mediterranean submarine …

Algerian counterterrorism troops killed eight armed militants Wednesday in the eastern province of Setif, the Algerian Defense Ministry said. “A joint security unit managed on Wednesday overnight to ambush a terrorist group in the locality of Guelta Zarka in the upper woods of Setif, killing eight terrorists,” the source said …