Security

The Somali government said it was working to rescue passengers from a UN helicopter captured by Al Shabaab militants, local media reported. The U.N.-contracted helicopter was conducting an air medical evacuation when a technical problem forced it to make an emergency landing near Hindhere village in central Somalia, an area …

Around eight people who were travelling in a UN helicopter have been taken by the al-Shabab armed Islamist group in Somalia after their aircraft landed, reportedly by mistake, in an area controlled by the group. The security minister for Somalia’s Galmudug region, Mohamed Abdi Aadan, confirmed the incident. He said …

Liberia’s former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and three of her family members have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. The four were arrested and indicted in June last year in connection with the death of Charlotte Musu, who was reportedly Ms Scott’s niece, the BBC reported. In February …

The UN peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) has condemned the recent violence which resulted in a number of civilian casualties in Jonglei State in the east of the country. Nearly 30 civilians were reportedly killed in an attack on a cattle camp in Duk Padiet County on Thursday, in …

A former interior minister of The Gambia goes on trial in Switzerland on Monday accused of crimes against humanity. Ousman Sonko faces a lengthy list of charges, including participating in or ordering the killing, torture and rape of political opponents. Sonko has denied all the charges, AFP news agency reports, …

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has distanced itself from threats by a former commander, who called for the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa from office. This comes after a video of the former officer identified as Sylvester Mangolele went viral on social media on Tuesday. In the video, …

Moroccan police announced the seizure of 1.4 tonnes of cocaine, hidden in the form of bananas, during a joint operation with Spanish police, local media reported. The cocaine was found concealed in banana boxes inside a shipping container that was aboard a vessel originating from South America and headed to …

Sierra Leonean security forces have arrested a bodyguard of former President Ernest Bai Koroma on suspicion of links to last month’s foiled coup. Amadu Koita, an ex-soldier, was arrested on Monday alongside two police officers who were harbouring him, Sierra Leone’s Information Minister Chernor Bah said on Tuesday. He added …

Guinea-Bissau’s president Umaro Sissoco Embalo has issued a decree dissolving parliament after saying that he had survived an attempted coup last week. Heavy battles raged in the early hours of Friday in the capital Bissau between members of the national guard, which is linked to the interior ministry, and the …

South African police have rescued 33 victims of suspected human trafficking after they were found cramped in a room in Benoni, Gauteng province. One suspect has been arrested in relation to the Sunday evening incident, the police said in a statement. It said KwaZulu-Natal detectives were investigating a trafficking syndicate, …