Addis Ababa – The African Union on Wednesday threatened to sanction Burundi’s rival factions if they failed to attend peace talks next month, as it pushes the government to accept a peacekeeping force. Burundi’s government and opposition, who met in Uganda on Monday, are due to meet again in January …

Bamako – Mali has extended by three months a nationwide state of emergency initially imposed following a deadly jihadist attack on a hotel in the capital in November, officials said on Wednesday. The government on Monday submitted a bill authorising the fresh extension to March 31 “because of serious threats …

New York – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for peaceful and credible elections in the Central African Republic. The presidential and parliamentary vote on Wednesday will test the country’s progress toward stability after a coup in 2013 unleashed a wave of violence. Ban urged “all national stakeholders …

Beni – At least eight people are dead after fighting between rebels and the Congolese military, an army spokesperson told dpa on Saturday. Seven Mai Mai militants and one civilian are reported to have died during clashes in the city of Bunyakiri. The Mai Mai armed group, made up of …

Ouagadougou – A Burkina Faso military official says about 20 soldiers have been arrested since last week for planning to break the leader of a short-lived coup out of prison. Military spokesperson Guy Herve Ye said more than 10 soldiers were arrested on December 23 while in a meeting in …

Mogadishu – The Islamist group al-Shabaab on Monday took a village in southern Somalia following an attack on a military base that killed at least 10 people, officials and witnesses said. “Our troops retreated from the army base in Warmahan village in Lower Shebelle region after a heavy attack from …

At least 133 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes between two groups belonging to an Arab tribe in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, a tribal leader said on Thursday. The clashes between Awlad Omran and Al-Ziyoud groups of the Arab Mesiria tribe began with a dispute …

Khartoum – Sudanese rebels have attacked an army garrison in South Kordofan state, a military spokesperson said on Monday, with both sides giving conflicting versions of the fighting. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North launched the attack at Mazlagan, west of the town of Dilling, after President Omar al-Bashir announced a …

Nairobi -Seventy-nine “enemies” and eight government soldiers died during and after Friday’s coordinated attacks on three military bases in Burundi, an army spokesperson said on Saturday. “The final toll of the attacks yesterday is 79 enemies killed, 45 captured and 97 weapons seized, and on our side eight soldiers and …

Rome – Foreign ministers are expected to endorse a UN-brokered national unity plan for Libya at a Rome conference aimed at prodding the North Africa country’s bickering factions to fulfil their commitment to sign the agreement and abide by its terms. Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and …