West Africa

At least 13 people were killed and many others injured when a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine in western Ghana detonated, flattening a rural community, the police said on Friday. Smouldering timber and torn-up sheet metal marked where hundreds of houses had stood in Apiate, a settlement about …

A stampede at a church gathering in the Liberian capital Monrovia killed 29 people overnight, the deputy information minister told state radio on Thursday. The incident occurred during an all-night Christian worship event at New Kru Town, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital, Jalawah Tonpo said. “The doctors …

Gambian President Adama Barrow was sworn in for a second term on Wednesday in the presence of many personalities from the sub-region. He pledged to work to jumpstart the economy and ensure broad-based development gains, as he is starting his second term. Adama Barrow, 56, came to power in 2017 …

Four French soldiers from the Operation Barkhane taskforce were injured in an explosion in Burkina Faso, French media including Le Monde, Le Figaro and Agence France Presse reported. Their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). The four soliders – one of whom was seriously wounded – have …

Authorities in Ghana have denied an information that the country is planning to host asylum seekers from the United Kingdom, as reported by several British media. Several British media had reported that the UK was drawing up plans to send thousands of asylum seekers to countries “such as Ghana and …

The President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio has sacked the Minister of Justice Anthony Yeiwoh Brewah, also Attorney General and replaced by Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley. The reasons of his sacking were not mentionned. Mr Brewah sat on a committee that made recommendations to the president for the pardoning of …

The Nigerian interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola has ordered prison guards across the country to shoot and kill anyone who attempts to run away from prisons. During a visit to the southern city of Ibadan, minister Rauf Aregbesola told prison staff that they should not shoot to injure but should instead …

Former Guinean President Alpha Condé left the country on Monday to travel abroad for a medical check-up, a source close to him said and confirmed by a government official. The military leaders in December said the ex-president would be allowed to travel on medical grounds but could not remain abroad …

The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Mali ( MINUSMA) has suspended its flights amid discussions over sanctions that have shut air and land borders to the West African country. “MINUSMA has to temporarily suspend all flights. We are in discussion with our Malian partners on the new mechanism for approving …

Dozens of people including two soldiers and a police officer have been killed and others abducted by gunmen in the north-western Nigerian state of Kebbi, local media report. The attack happened on Friday in the village of Dankade in Danko-Wassagu area but details are just emerging because there is no …