Africa

A 29-year-old man has been arrested in the Liberian capital, Sierra Leone, as he tried to sell his 10-year-old son. It was apparently a desperate attempt to raise funds to replace a stolen motorcycle. After his arrest, the man told investigating officers in the capital, Monrovia, that he needed around …

Dozens of residents have reportedly been killed by gunmen who raided several communities in the Anka and Bukkuyum areas of Nigeria’s north-western Zamfara state, local media reported. Motorbike-riding bandits attacked villages, shooting indiscriminately and setting houses on fire, villagers told the BBC. Multiple sources have given different casualty figures – …

Four Kenyan police officers have been killed in an ambush in Lamu County, a coastal region near the country’s border with Somalia, local media are reporting. “We had an incident today morning and we have lost four police officers. Their vehicle was hit and caught fire,” Lamu County Commissioner Irungu …

The United Nations said on Thursday an air strike hit a refugee camp in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, killing three Eritrean refugees, including two children. The strike on Wednesday hit Mai Aini refugee camp near the southern Tigrayan town of Mai Tsebri, the United Nations said. “Three Eritrean refugees, two …

The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield will replace Jeffrey Feltman as the U.S special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Feltman, a veteran U.S. diplomat, assumed the post in April and quickly found himself in the middle of two …

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the country is working to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 as the country battles the growing number of cases of the virus. According to health experts, Nigeria needs to triple its vaccination drive from just over 100,000 doses a day to meet its target of …

The wife of detained Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has sued the country’s police chiefs demanding that they produce him, BBC News reports. A court on Tuesday directed the police to release Mr Rukirabashaija unconditionally, but he is still in custody. Eva Basima sued the special forces command chief and police …

China on Thursday said it would appoint a special envoy to the turbulent Horn of Africa and wanted to shift focus on the continent to trade over infrastructure. Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the comments in Kenya, which has been active in diplomatic efforts to halt war in Ethiopia since …

Pro-democracy activists in Sudan have said they will take to the streets across the country until military leaders step down and restore civilian rule. “We have no option but to go out and demonstrate against the military,” the spokesperson of the Sudanese Professionals Association said. “Our people decided to bring …

A manhunt has been launched for three Chinese nationals who were abducted earlier this week, police in central Nigeria said. The victims were working at a hydro-power plant near the town of Zungeru, according to the Niger state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun. Four Chinese workers were rescued, but two local …