Africa

Charles Taylor convicted of war crimes

The Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted Liberia’s former president Charles Taylor on all 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war.

Africa

Narco-coup in Guinea-Bissau?

The latest coup d’etat in Guinea-Bissau is being linked by Western diplomats to the international drug trade. Presidential candidate Carlos Gomes may have ran afoul of the military by pledging to crack down on cocaine transshipments.

Africa

Sudan: pipelines targeted in renewed North-South war

South Sudan accused Khartoum April 5 both of bombing an oil pipeline near the town of Heglig, in South Kordofan state, and of trying to build an “illegal” pipeline crossing the border towards the South’s oil fields.

Africa

Somalia ex-PM will not contest war crimes claims in US court

Former Somali prime minister Mohamed Ali Samantar accepted legal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in US federal court. The civil suit was brought by survivors of his repression who now have asylum in the US.

Africa

Somalia: Ethiopian advance takes Baidoa from Shabaab

As Ethiopian forces press their offensive in Somalia, Shabaab rebels relinquished control of Baidoa, a key southern city that had been under their control for three years. The rebels still control the largest swath of Somalia’s south.

Africa

Nigeria: Chevron oil spill fouls coastal communities

Chevron and coastal communities in Nigeria’s Bayelsa state are odds on whether oil from a spill at the offshore KS Endeavor platform has affected local communities, but state authorities say they are rushing in emergency aid.

Africa

Amnesty: Chinese, Russian arms sales fuel Darfur violence

Arms sales from China and Russia are fueling human rights violations in Darfur, Amnesty International said. While the war has disappeared from headlines, some 70,000 were displaced from Darfur in 2011, in a renewed wave of ethnically targeted attacks.