Special Reports

Tunisia has reopened its border with Libya, 15 days after it shut the frontier following a suicide bombing in Tunis claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the interior ministry said Friday. "The border with Libya was opened Thursday at midnight," ministry spokesman Walid Louguini told AFP. The crossing points of Ras Jedir and Wazen-Dhehibe were open on Friday amid extra security, according to an AFP journalist. Tunisia ordered that border crossings with its conflict-str

At least seven civilians were killed Friday in a suicide attack in Kolofata, northern Cameroon, a region where Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists are highly active, local officials said. "A suicide bomber went to a place selling doughnuts and blew up," a regional security source told AFP. "We have eight dead at the site, including the bomber," the source said, without stating whether the attacker was male or female. Another source also confirmed details of the attack and gave the

Heavily-armed gunmen launched coordinated assaults on three army barracks in the Burundian capital on Friday leaving at least a dozen dead in the worst unrest since a failed May coup. Army spokesman Colonel Gaspard Baratuza claimed that 12 attackers were killed and 21 captured while five soldiers were wounded, following the early morning assaults on a base at Ngagara and a military training college in the capital, as well as another base at Mujejuru, 40 kilometres (25 miles)

The "other" front line in the war against ISIS is in Libya. An ongoing civil war has created fertile ground for the Islamist terror group to expand four years after the fall of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Settling differences between two rival governments in the capital of Tripoli and the eastern city of Tobruk is key to shutting down the rapid expansion of ISIS in the North African country. A lasting solution to the conflict between the internationally recognized gove

Tony Blair may be asked to take part in a government inquiry after allegations the former prime minister attempted to save Colonel Gaddafi before the allied bombing of Libya. A forthcoming biography of David Cameron claims Mr Blair was contacted by “a key individual close to Gaddafi” during the 2011 military campaign to topple the Libyan dictator, and subsequently telephoned Number 10 on his behalf. Mr Blair purportedly called Downing Street to say the Libyan leader wanted “a

Internally displaced residents of Ottash camp on the outskirts of Nyala have complained from severe cold that caused a rise in stomach disorders. They said there is an acute shortage of blankets and plastic sheets to protect them from the cold. IDPs leader in the camp, Sheikh Mohamed Ahmed, toldSudan Tribune they had noted an increase in Intestinal flu among the camp residents, in particular among children and elders. “Ever since the beginning of this wave of severe cold, we

The government of South Sudan has formed a preparatory committee that will be tasked to receive the armed opposition’s advance team to Juba. The country’s vice president, James Wani Igga issued an administrative order for the formation of the preparatory committee, the state-ownedSSTV announced Wednesday. Finance minister, David Deng Athorbei heads the preparatory and reception committee and will be assisted by the deputy minister of foreign affairs, Peter Bashir Gbandi. Seve

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has warned of further inevitable split of his faction of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), saying there are those “behaving like dogs” who want to take over leadership from him in Juba. President Kiir made the remarks while planning for the upcoming extraordinary convention of the SPLM scheduled for Saturday, 12 December, even after accepting to reconcile and reunite the party in compliance with the Arusha intra-party pe

Troops in Burundi battled a nearly 100-strong force of fighters, a local governor said Thursday, amid fears that violence is spreading in the troubled nation. Two gunmen have been killed and 11 captured in clashes since Tuesday in the southwestern Rumonge district, said governor Juvenal Bigirimana after a gang of 80 to 100 men entered the town of Burambi, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of the capital Bujumbura. "The security forces went to meet them, there were clashes

Two African extremist movements affiliated with the Islamic State group could become a major threat on the continent if they come together and boost cooperation, US experts warn. For now, Libyan Islamist rebels that have proclaimed allegiance to IS and Boko Haram in Nigeria have traded little more than praise over the Internet, along with probably some fighters and weapons. Boko Haram has renamed itself Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP). But if they change gears th