Eurasia

Iraqi forces tightened the noose on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in its stronghold of Anbar on July 13 with a ground operation teed up by a record number of coalition air strikes. Iraqi security forces, Shiite paramilitaries and Sunni tribal fighters advanced towards Ramadi and …

French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius was to visit the Central African Republic (CAR) Monday before travelling to Ethiopia for A UN conference on development finance. Fabius’s fifth visit to the CAR’s capital Bangui in less than two years was planned to show support for President Catherine Samba-Panza, the French …

NATO warships have entered the Black Sea ahead of military exercises this weekend. The training aims at reaffirming the US-led alliance’s commitment to defending the member states, in the wake of Russia’s apparent military aggression in eastern Ukraine.

Two Ukrainian government soldiers were killed in clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, an official said on Wednesday. In a press conference in Kiev, presidential spokesman Alexander Motuzyanik claimed the separatists had violated the Minsk cease-fire agreement 40 times over a 24-hour period.

The EU Thursday condemned the continued human rights violations in South Sudan and called for the leaders of the country to be held accountable for the suffering of the people. “Four years ago, leaders from around the world gathered in Juba to celebrate the birth of an independent South Sudan. …

Algeria was mobilising the army on Thursday after 22 people were killed in the worst ethnic clashes between Berbers and Arabs in years, as more details emerged of the violence. The fighting erupted late on Tuesday in the town of Guerara in the M’zab valley, a Unesco world heritage site …

At least 14 people were killed in battles in Libya’s second city Benghazi between militiamen and forces loyal to the internationally recognised government, hospital officials said on Thursday. The fighting erupted on Wednesday morning in the centre of the city, cradle of the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that toppled and killed …

Tunisia’s prime minister says the army and private contractors are building a barrier along the border with Libya to keep out extremists following recent terror attacks claimed by ISIS. Habib Essid said construction aimed at rendering the border “impassable” by jihadi fighters and vehicles is expected to run through year-end.

Cameroon’s army has repulsed an attack by Boko Haram and killed three of the Nigerian Islamist militants in heavy fighting in the Far North region of the country, a Cameroon government spokesperson said on Thursday. The attack represented a change of tactics by the militants following a series of battlefield …

The United States on July 9 asked the UN Security Council to set up an investigative panel to identify those behind deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria. The panel comprised of experts from the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) chemical watchdog could be …