More than a dozen Ethiopian military trucks crossed the border into Somalia this week, as Islamist insurgents launch an all-out offensive for the capital Mogadishu.
Darfur rebel leader Bahar Idriss Abu Garda appeared before the International Criminal Court at The Hague to face war crimes charges over an attack that killed 12 African Union peacekeepers.
Thousands fled their homes in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, after at least 35 people were killed over the weekend, while masked Islamist fighters were seen heading toward the city.
The UN Security Council condemned an offensive by rebels battling Chadian government government forces, saying “any attempt at destabilization of Chad by force is unacceptable.”
The planned diamond mine at the centre of an international controversy over the forced relocation of Botswana’s Bushmen has been shelved due to the global recession.
Suspected Somali pirates who attempted to board an Italian cruise ship but were repulsed by Israeli security guards were later picked up by the Seychelles coast guard backed up by French forces.
Mauritanian exile and refugee organizations are calling for an independent commission to investigate the crimes of former dictator Maouya Ould Taya before scheduled elections go ahead in June.
A Sudanese court sentenced 11 members of Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to death by hanging in relation to last year’s attack on Khartoum.
Kenyan prosecutors brought piracy charges against 18 Somali nationals who were captured at sea by European naval forces over the past two months and handed over to Nairobi.
A Rwandan court rejected a lawsuit brought by captured Congo rebel leader Laurent Nkunda seeking his release. Nkunda may be extradited to Congo, or to The Hague to face war crimes charges.
At least seven were killed and 15 wounded as a clan militia in the southern Somalia town of Bulo Haji fought Shabaab insurgents who attacked the village. It is uncertain who is now in control.
The Somali parliament voted to adopt Islamic sharia law as part of a cease-fire agreement with the country’s Hizb al-Islamiya and al-Shabaab rebels.
