Special Reports

Somali plane hit by bomb, meant to kill all on board: minister

Somali plane hit by bomb, meant to kill all on board: minister

A blast that punched a hole in the fuselage of a plane this week was caused by a bomb meant to kill everyone on board, Somalia's minister for transport and aviation said on Saturday. One passenger died and two were injured in the explosion on the Airbus A321, operated by Somali company Daallo Airlines. It was forced to make an emergency landing at Mogadishu airport on Tuesday. United States investigators believe the attack was carried out by Somali Islamist militant group al

Mystery of the ‘resolution’ at Addis African Union summit to walk out of ICC

Mystery of the ‘resolution’ at Addis African Union summit to walk out of ICC

A common position by African countries on mass withdrawal from the International Criminal Court will not be reached until June when a committee tasked to engage the UN Security Council reports back. Contrary to reports that 34 African countries resolved during the 26th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January to withdraw from the Rome Statute that established The Hague-based court, a report of the meeting indicates that the leaders only mandated the Open-Ended Committee

Briefing: The new Jihadist strategy in the Sahel

Briefing: The new Jihadist strategy in the Sahel

Security has been intense over the last few weeks in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, with police and soldiers on the streets, vehicle searches, and round-ups of alleged Islamist militants. It’s the response to the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attack in Burkina Faso on 15 January that left 30 people dead. Until the assault on the Cappuccino restaurant and the Splendid Hotel, next door on Ouagadougou’s trendy Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Burkina Faso, like Senegal, felt saf

U.N. experts find bid to smuggle Congo arms via Rwanda to Burundi rebels

U.N. experts find bid to smuggle Congo arms via Rwanda to Burundi rebels

A confidential report to the United Nations Security Council found there have been attempts to smuggle weapons from Democratic Republic of Congo through Rwanda to rebels in Burundi where a political crisis threatens to spiral out of control. The report by experts who monitor sanctions on Democratic Republic of Congo said Congolese authorities arrested Rwandan and Congolese civilians and two Congolese army officers in October and November on suspicion of arms smuggling. They w

Life after Al Shabbab's attack on El-Adde: How will Kenya respond?

Life after Al Shabbab's attack on El-Adde: How will Kenya respond?

According to Kenya’s Defence Chief General Samson Mwathethe, a massive vehicle-borne improvised explosive device triggered the Al-Shabaab attack on the El-Adde KDF camp. While the exact number of Kenyan troops involved has not been divulged, it is estimated to have been a company strength base, around 150 men. Given the size of the initial explosion, General Mwathethe has called for patience in identifying the victims. Al-Shabaab’s haul from the attack appears to include Armo

South Sudan’s rebel leader: ‘I am a hero. I am a victim.’

South Sudan’s rebel leader: ‘I am a hero. I am a victim.’

Despite overseeing the near-total destruction of Africa’s newest country, South Sudan’s liberation hero-turned-rebel leader Riek Machar says that his war is just. In an in-depth interview at his residence, Machar tells SIMON ALLISON that while he has some regrets, he’s not the bad guy and that history will vindicate him. One of Africa’s bloodiest wars is being waged from a three-storey building in a calm, upscale Addis Ababa neighbourhood. It is here, in a typical suburban vi

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