Armed militants from Somalia's Hizbul Islam rebel group walk in a formation as they patrol southern Mogadishu, Thursday. (Feisal Omar / Reuters)
New Somalia government offensive against Al Shabab
The weak, transitional Somalia government may finally bring President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed some badly needed legitimacy if newly trained forces can push back the militant Islamist group, Al Shabab.
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More Africa
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Somali pirates fight over record ransom
Owners of a Greek-flagged oil tanker dropped a record ransom payment of $5.5 million to $7 million on the deck of the ship today, prompting Somali pirates to release the Maran Centaurus.
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Pirates take new territory: West African Gulf of Guinea
Pirates are making headway off the West African coast – the Gulf of Guinea is second only to Somalia in terms of pirate attacks.
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Nigeria president still out: VP Goodluck Jonathan takes over
In Nigeria, a federal court ruled Vice President Goodluck Jonathan could take on the duties of the absent Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua. But his authority is likely to be challenged in court and the political crisis is not over, analysts say.
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Rwanda genocide: Will new report close the book on who started it?
The Mutszini report released Monday collects new Belgian military testimony, ballistics investigations by British experts, previous UN reports, and some 557 witness testimonies – in an effort to take a definitive position on the April 6, 1994 presidential assassination that started the Rwanda genocide.
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Refugee camps in Kenya brace for some 20,000 Somalis
Threatened by Islamic militant group, Al Shabab, the World Food Program last week decided to pull out of southern Somalia. UN aid agencies in Kenya are planning for an increase of refugees into already-packed refugee camps.
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African music festival goes smoothly in Mali despite Al Qaeda threats
This weekend's Festival au Desert in Mali ended without incident, but risks remain high as Al Qaeda threatened Monday to kill a French hostage.
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Is Nigerian president Yar'Adua dead?
Rumors that Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, hospitalized for six weeks in Saudi Arabia, has gone into a coma have put the West African nation on edge.
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African Cup of Nations: Togo soccer team leaves tournament after deadly ambush
Togo's team withdrew from the continentwide tournament on Sunday, two days after suspected separatists in the host country Angola's northern Cabinda region sprayed gunfire into the Togo team's bus killing three and wounding several others.
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Mali moves music festival as tourism threatened by Al Qaeda threat
A string of attacks by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in and around Mali has hurt the tourism mecca of Timbuktu. The popular Mali Festival au Desert was moved closer to the city yesterday for safety.
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UN suspends food aid to southern Somalia
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) pulled out of southern Somalia on Tuesday, citing repeated threats and raids by commanders of Al Shabab, the Al Qadea-linked Islamist militant group.
