Security

Mali’s northern Tuareg rebels said they had seized a base in Kidal vacated by the United Nations on Tuesday, potentially leading to a showdown in the strategic city where Mali’s army is hoping to wrest back control, local media reported. The U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, has until Dec. 31 …

South African authorities have said the UN should deploy “a rapid protection force” to intervene in the Israel-Gaza conflict “to protect the civilian population from further bombardment”. In a hard-hitting statement, the international relations ministry highlighted the number of children who have been killed so far in the conflict and …

Police in Mozambique suppressed violent protests on Friday as opposition supporters took to the streets to denounce the results of local elections earlier this month, which they say were rigged. According to a police spokesperson, at least nine civilians and one police officer were injured in protests in the city …

Kenyan member of parliament Farah Maalim was ordered to remove the traditional Palestinian headscarf he wore during parliamentary proceedings on Wednesday. The PM said he was wearing the scarf in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas. He said Palestine “needs support of everybody in …

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, after his visit to Jordan this Wednesday. Egypt, from where humanitarian aid passes to the Gaza Strip, is a key player in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Its president, General al-Sissi, who …

North Korea has announced plans to close its embassy in Uganda, ending half a century of diplomatic presence in one of its oldest African allies. The move was announced on Monday, after a meeting between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and North Korean ambassador Jong Tong Hak. A statement from the …

Algeria’s appeal court has sentenced 38 people for the 2021 lynching of a man wrongly suspected of starting wildfires. The court on Monday found them guilty of multiple charges, including murder, torture and incitement leading to murder. The 38 were handed death sentences, but these will be commuted to life …

Nearly 200 French soldiers have left Niger’s south-western Ouallam town amid ongoing withdrawals from the Sahel nation, state-owned Tele Sahel TV station reports. It said that 193 French soldiers based in Ouallam left their camp for Chad on Sunday. The troops reportedly left with 28 lorries as well as 24 …

The governor of Nigeria’s central Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, has denied he was the target of an assassination attempt along the busy Lokoja-Abuja highway. His spokesperson Kingsley Fanwo had earlier been quoted by local media saying that gunmen “dressed in military uniforms” attacked Mr Bello’s convoy on Sunday. Mr Fanwo …

Italian authorities signed on Friday an agreement to welcome some 4,000 Tunisian workers, in line with commitments made to help the North African state stem migrant pressure at its borders. “The deal was signed during a visit by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Tunis, where he was scheduled to meet …