Africa

UN strongly condemns attack on Tunisian consulate in Tripoli

The top United Nations official in Libya has strongly condemned an attack on the Tunisian consulate in the Libyan capital of Tripoli which resulted in the capture of ten consulate staff members. In a press release issued earlier today, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of …

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Nigerian President to ask UK support in fight against Boko Haram

Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari is planning to visit Cameroon to cement a regional fighting force against Boko Haram, he said on Monday. Buhari met his counterparts from Niger, Chad and Benin at a summit in Abuja last week but Cameroon’s leader Paul Biya was noticeably absent and represented by his …

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Tunisian security forces, extremists clash near Algerian border

Tunisia’s government says a gunbattle between security forces and extremists preparing an imminent attack has left three troops and one of the attackers dead. Mohamed Ali Aroui, a spokesperson for Tunisia’s interior ministry, says the firefight in the tense region of Sidi Bouzid began around dawn on Monday when security …

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Sudanese President arrives in Khartoum

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir arrived in the capital Khartoum on Monday, a witness said. Television footage showed Bashir descending from a plane that had flown him from Johannesburg where he attended the African Union summit. He appeared relaxed as he greeted various Sudanese officials.

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Mali troops make first forays in northern region

For Malian troops making their first forays into the country’s north since jihadists took control, French military support provides reassurance at a time when they are strangers in their own back yard. Islamist militias linked to Al-Qaeda — some foreign fighters but most homegrown jihadists — seized the vast expanse …

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AU official: political solution is the only option for Libya

There is “no alternative” to the “quick” implementation of the political solution in Libya, Minister for the Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League, Abdelkader Messahel declared. Questioned on Thursday by APS on the conclusions of the meeting held on Wednesday in Berlin on Libya, Messahel welcomed the fact that …

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Somali PM predicts Shabaab to be defeated by end of 2015

Somalia’s prime minister predicted Monday that al-Shabaab extremists will be defeated militarily by the end of the year but he said tackling the root causes that attract young people to the al-Qaeda-linked group will take some time. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the UN …

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Suspected jihadists kill policeman in southern Mali

Suspected jihadists killed a policeman in a rare attack in southern Mali Wednesday, hoisting their black flag at the local military base, just days before the country’s main Tuareg-led rebel movement is expected to sign a peace deal. The West African nation remains divided among rival armed factions, plagued by …

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