At least three UN peacekeepers were killed on Sunday when their vehicle hit an explosive device in Mali’s troubled north, the UN’s mission to the conflict-torn country said. MINUSMA said the attack, which also left another five soldiers seriously wounded, took place early on Sunday on a road between the …
Read More »US airstrikes killed 17 ISIS members in Libya
The United States says it has launched airstrikes in Libya that killed 17 Islamic State militants and destroyed three vehicles. In a statement on Sunday, US Africa Command says that in coordination with Libya’s internationally recognised Tripoli-based government, it struck a camp on Friday some 241km southeast of the coastal …
Read More »Iraq starts operation to retake Hawija from IS
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced on Thursday that the first phase of the liberation to retake the town of Hwaija from the so-called Islamic State (IS) has begun. Al-Abadi said in a press statement that the operation began at dawn on Thursday, just two days after Iraqi forces began …
Read More »Tunisia backs UN drive to hold Libya elections this year
Khemaies Jhinaoui, Tunisia’s foreign minister, used his address to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Friday to give strong backing to the special envoy’s roadmap for Libya. Mr Jhinaoui said Tunis was co-ordinating closely with Egypt and Algeria as Libya’s neighbours to back Ghassan Salame’s drive to …
Read More »EU, US blast DRC army for excessive force
The United States and European Union on Wednesday urged Congolese security forces to refrain from using “excessive force” after soldiers fired on Burundian refugees last week, killing over 30. “The US government is dismayed by the violence and death of more than 30 Burundian nationals and a Congolese soldier in …
Read More »UN makes new push for Libya stability
The United Nations on Wednesday launched a new push to bring stability to Libya, which has been ravaged by chaos since the 2011 ouster of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and a new UN envoy on Libya, Ghassan Salame, met on the sidelines of the …
Read More »Trump to consider resuming military aid to Egypt
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signaled he would consider resuming military aid to Egypt which had been frozen because of concerns over its human rights record. “We’re going to certainly consider it,” Trump said as he met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly …
Read More »CAR calls on UN to send more peacekeepers
The Central African Republic’s president urged the United Nations on Friday to send more peacekeepers to his strife-torn country and ease an arms embargo in the way of equipping his weak army. Addressing the UN General Assembly, President Faustin-Archange Touadera said a recent upsurge in violence was linked to a …
Read More »Pence, Pakistani PM discuss South Asia strategy
Vice President Mike Pence met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in New York on Tuesday and discussed the US strategy in South Asia, according to the White House. During their conversation, Pence highlighted ways Pakistan could work with the US to “bolster stability and prosperity for all in …
Read More »NATO chief welcomes US new strategy for Afghanistan
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) that he welcomed the announcement by US President Donald Trump that the US is now going to be in Afghanistan on a condition-based mission and said NATO will also increase troop numbers to train Afghan forces. He …
Read More »