Ethiopia base in Somalia attacked by al-Shabab
Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab says it has killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on an African Union base in central Somalia. The AU mission (Amisom) says it repulsed the attack, killing 110 militants. Residents in Halgan told the BBC they had heard a huge bang followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire. Amisom supports the government as it fights to regain control of the country from al-Shabab. In a series of tweets it has said its soldiers, alongside troops from
Activists: Kiir-Machar Proposal Would Undo South Sudan Peace Deal
Civil society activists in South Sudan are angry over an opinion piece apparently penned by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. In the piece, Kiir and Machar call for a truth and reconciliation commission instead of a hybrid court, as stipulated in the August peace agreement. Activists said the two leaders are trying to eliminate the formation of a fair court and allow those who committed atrocities during Sout
UN calls for Eritrea leaders to be tried for crimes against humanity
UN human rights investigators accused Eritrean leaders on Wednesday of crimes against humanity including torture, rape, murder and enslaving hundreds of thousands of people and called for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court. Europe announced this week that it was considering working with Eritrea and Sudan as part of a €62 billion development plan to encourage African countries to do more to reduce migration flows to the EU. The move risks a backlash fr
Nigerian chaos leaves refiners cold and oil unsold amid outages
LONDON (Reuters) - Refineries from India to the United States are backing away from buying Nigerian oil amid heightened uncertainty about deliveries as the country squares up to militants in the restive Delta region. Their reluctance to buy is limiting the prices Nigeria can get for its oil even as there is less of it – another hit to the finances of a country battling its worst economic crisis in decades. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has staged a number of
Chad deploys 2,000 soldiers to troubled Niger
Troops sent across border to tackle Boko Haram in Niger after group invades Bosso town, forcing 50,000 to flee. About 2,000 troops from Chad have arrived in Niger, where Boko Haram fighters have inflicted losses and displaced tens of thousands in the country's southeast, the Reuters news agency has reported. Citing two unnamed military sources, Reuters said Chadian troops had arrived in the neighbouring country on Tuesday and were advancing on Bosso, a town near Lake Chad tha
Can Fragile Peace Hold in South Sudan?
South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, has halted its civil war by putting the leaders of both sides together in a transitional government meant to keep the country functioning ahead of elections in two years. President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka tribe, coexists with First Vice President Riek Machar, a member of the Nuer tribe, as they did during South Sudan's first two years following its independence. And for now, the peace that ended more than two years of
