Africa

The European Union has announced it is to launch a security mission to support internal security forces in Mali and armed forces in the Central African Republic. The Council of the European Union, composed of representatives of the 28 EU member states, made the decision on Monday, two days after gunmen attacked a UN …

The Mansoura Criminal Court issued verdicts Monday on 75 alleged Muslim Brotherhood supporters in 11 cases of violence, “terrorism” and joining a banned group. The defendants were given sentences ranging from three years to life imprisonment. Three were sentenced to seven years, 33 to five years, two were sentenced to …

Egypt closed its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, as some of the worst violence to flare up in months engulfed the city. The fighting began on Monday, as gun battles between Houthi militias and the national army erupted in the proximity of the presidential palace the same …

France on Monday strongly condemned the latest attacks in Nigeria and Cameroon by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram and also praised the support role of Chad in moving forces to combat the militants in the region. Deadly attacks and kidnappings were reported in north-east Cameroon on January 17-18, which coincided …

The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday welcomed the “initial progress” made in UN-brokered talks to end Libya’s civil war, conducted this week in Geneva. “Some steps in the right direction have been taken,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement, adding however that there is “still …

Libya’s army announced a ceasefire on Sunday, joining an Islamist-backed militia alliance in declaring a truce that the UN hailed as a “significant” step towards ending months of violence. “We declare a ceasefire from midnight [22:00 GMT] Sunday,” the army said, stressing however that it would continue to pursue “terrorists”, …

The foreign minister assistant for neighbouring countries Osama Al-Magdoub, and the Egyptian ambassador in Libya Mohamed Abu Bakr, met representatives from the Libyan tribe Awlad Solieman in Cairo on Sunday. “The meeting aims at keeping track of the security situation in Libya, especially in the southern part,” the foreign ministry …

The UN Security Council has welcomed a ceasefire announced by an Islamist-backed militia in Libya and threatened to impose sanctions on those who obstruct peace efforts. The 15-member council voiced support for a second round of UN-brokered talks to be held in Geneva next week and strongly urged all warring …

If U.N. attempts to get peace talks going between rival Libyan factions fail, there is a risk of full-scale civil war which would pose a serious threat to Libya’s neighbours and to Europe, the British special envoy for Libya said. The U.N.-sponsored talks, which began in Geneva on Wednesday, aim …

A new era is open in the bilateral relations between Algeria and Senegal following Senegalese President Macky Sall’s four-day state visit to Algeria, during which a boost was given to the multidimensional relations between the two countries. President Sall, during his stay in Algiers and the visits he made to …