Eurasia

At least 16 people have been killed in heavy fighting in the Libyan city of Benghazi between forces allied with the official government and Islamic State fighters, a military commander said on Wednesday. Benghazi, caught up in fighting for more than a year, is just one front in Libya’s multi-sided …

Harare – Leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, reportedly arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday where he held a closed door meeting with his counterpart, President Robert Mugabe, in the capital Harare. According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues …

Abuja – Nigerian troops killed four suspected Boko Haram suspects and set free 61 people, mainly women and children, held by the jihadist group in the flashpoint north-eastern Borno state, the army said Thursday. In an operation, troops under air cover cleared Boko Haram camps “and in the process rescued …

New York – The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Thursday that could pave the way for peacekeepers to be deployed to Burundi after months of violence raised fears of Rwanda-style mass killings. The French-drafted measure strongly condemned the wave of killings, torture, arrests and other rights violations …

Kigali – Peace will only return to Burundi if President Pierre Nkurunziza steps down and respects the two-term presidential limit, the country’s main opposition party said Friday. The opposition is ready to talk but only if fresh elections are held without Nkurunziza taking part, said Leonard Nyangoma the chairperson of …

New York -France on Monday presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council aimed at toughening the international response to the violence in Burundi, where fears of Rwanda-style mass killings are rife. The measure threatens targeted sanctions against Burundian leaders who foment violence or hamper efforts to end the …

New York – Somalia’s prime minister says ending the crisis in Yemen is “crucial” to preventing al-Shabaab rebels from exploiting their recent allegiance with the Islamic State extremist group and forming a “terror network” that threatens Somalia and the region again. Omar Sharmarke told the UN Security Council on Monday …

Dakar – Islamic extremists are expanding their reach in West Africa, using porous borders and exploiting political chaos to further their attacks, security experts said on Monday at the opening of a regional conference on the jihadist threat. At least 800 security officials and analysts from across the region are …

Benghazi – At least 13 members of Libya’s army were killed by “terrorist” violence on Tuesday in the east of the war-torn country, an army spokesperson said. “Most of the soldiers were killed by landmines planted by terrorist organisations,” spokesperson Miloud al-Zawi told LANA, the official news agency of the …

New York – The UN peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic is adding hundreds of troops and police before next month’s elections, but their arrival is expected to be too late for Pope Francis’ visit to the violent country. A UN official said on Tuesday the mission and the Vatican …