Somalia’s Sufi resistance: our readers write

A majority of readers support the Sufis fighting the fundamentalist Shabab insurgents in Somalia, but do not think the US should arm them.

Sudan: ethnic violence in south ‘worse than Darfur’

At least 185 Lou Nuer tribespeople were killed in South Sudan's Jonglei state by Murle fighters. The fighting has claimed several hundred lives this year—more than in Darfur.

Nigerian “Taliban” leader killed: extrajudicial execution?

International rights groups are demanding an investigation after the leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram rebels reportedly “died in police custody.” Some 300 were killed in the 72-hour offensive.

Nigerian Taliban spread attacks

Rebels of a group known as the “Nigerian Taliban” expanded attacks against security forces to three northern states, leaving at least 80 people dead in two days of clashes.

Sudan: rumors of war

Chad admitted to an air raid on rebel positions in Darfur, but denied attacking Sudan’s armed forces or populace in the raid.

Niger: thousands protest “slow-moving coup d’état”

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Niger to protest President Mamadou Tandja’s plan for a new constitution to abolish term limits and give him more power after 10 years as president.

Sudan: women flogged for wearing pants

Police arrested 13 women in a raid on a cafe in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and flogged 10 of them in public for wearing trousers.

Nigeria frees MEND militant; attacks continue

The Nigerian government freed militant leader Henry Okah, meeting a demand by Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)—one day after rebels blew up an oil depot in Lagos.

Genocide charges for Sudan leader?

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has filed an appeal to have Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir charged with genocide—but AU leaders say they will not cooperate in his arrest.

Nigeria: militants blow up Chevron platform

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) blew up a Chevron platform “in retaliation” for the “abduction of a traditional chief” by Nigeria’s Joint Task Force.

Somalia: West to groom Sufis as proxies?

More voices are raised calling for the West to play a Sufi card against Islamist insurgents in Somalia, as well as Pakistan and elsewhere. But will this only destroy the Sufis’ credibility?

Somalia: insurgent sharia court sentences youth to amputation

A sharia court run by Somalia’s Shabab insurgents in Mogadishu sentenced four teenagers to each have a hand and a leg amputated as punishment for stealing cellphones.