France’s foreign minister said on Thursday he was confident “we will get there” in convincing a reluctant United States to give United Nations backing to an anti-jihadist force drawn from five African countries. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, which make up the so-called G5 Sahel, have agreed to …

The European Union has announced a support package of nearly $160m for recovery and reconstruction in Nigeria’s Borno state, which has been devastated by attacks from homegrown Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. The EU said on Thursday the northeastern state is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has …

Iraqi forces on Tuesday reported progress in the US-backed campaign to dislodge Daesh from Mosul, announcing the capture of a district just north the city’s historic centre. With the loss of the Zanjili neighbourhood, the enclave still held by Daesh in the northern Iraqi city has shrunk to two districts …