Bloody clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Upper Nile state has renewed fears that the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement is breaking down.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone found three former RUF guerrilla leaders guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in the country’s civil war.
Islamist rebel factions in Somalia have formed a united front to fight the transition government, while Turkey announced it is sending a warship to help police the Somali coast against pirates.
From the BBC News, Feb. 1: Scores killed in Kenya oil fire At least 111 people have died in Kenya after an overturned petrol tanker caught fire on a highway and exploded. Reports say the fire broke out after hundreds… Read moreKenya: disaster reveals desperation
George Obama, half-brother of President Barack Obama, was arrested for possession of one joint in Nairobi on Friday. He is denying the charge against him. Kenya has some of the world’s harshest marijuana laws.
Tokyo is preparing to dispatch destroyers to protect Japanese vessels from pirates off Somalia. Meanwhile, the Shabab militia is taking over positions evacuated by departed Ethiopian troops.
Government forces reportedly again bombed a village in Darfur, as Sudan’s foremost Islamist opposition leader Hassan Turabi called for President Omar al-Bashir to turn himself in to the UN Criminal Court.
Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda was arrested by Rwandan forces in an apparent deal for a joint Congo-Rwanda crackdown on Hutu militias said to have been involved in the 1994 genocide.
The US Navy’s Combined Task Force 151 is leading a 20-nation force against Somalia’s pirates—who claim to be protecting the Horn of Africa coast from illegal toxic waste dumping by European firms.
Ethiopia began pulling its military forces out of Somalia at the beginning of the year, having pledged to withdraw from the country by the end of 2008. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s office said the withdrawal would take several days…. Read moreEthiopia begins Somalia withdrawal —chaos or peace next?
Following peace talks hosted by Eritrea, the government of Ethiopia announced a peace deal with the Oromo Liberation Front rebels. The deal guarantees rebel leaders the right to participate in Ethiopia's political process in exchange for laying down arms. The OLF has long been backed by Eritrea, and the pact comes one month after a formal end was declared to the two-decade state of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, with Ethiopia ceding its claim to the contested border town of Badme. This points to a softening of positions under Ethiopia's new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. The Badme deal was also said to have been quietly brokered by the United Arab Emirates, which has emerged as politically isolated Eritrea's most significant foreign patron, part of an apparent design to encircle Yemen. (Photo: Yassin Juma)
Heavy fighting erupted in central Somalia Dec. 27, with two religious militias seeking control of the town of Guri El in Galgadud region, Radio Garowe reports. At least 10 people were killed and 12 others wounded during the battle, in… Read moreSomalia: Sufis resist al-Shabaab insurgents
