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
Sweden joined the Netherlands this week in suspending new aid payments to Rwanda after a UN report accused the central African country of supporting guerillas in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. President Paul Kagame responded: “The people of Rwanda… Read moreRwanda aid suspended over Congo war
The Indian navy announced Dec. 13 it had captured 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates while coming to the defense of an Ethiopian-flagged merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking before a Bahrain conference… Read moreSomali coast pirate wars escalate
Islamist al-Shabaab insurgents seized two districts in central Somalia without violence Dec. 7, including the stronghold of a Sufi group that traditionally abjures violence. Residents in Galgadud region reported that fighters aboard armed trucks peacefully entered the provincial capital Dhusamareb…. Read moreSomalia: insurgency spreads, Sufis appeal for peace
Thousands of people from an informal settlement 20 kilometers south of Khartoum are now living in makeshift shelters after their homes were razed by Sudan’s government. Local officials said 4,000 homes were destroyed under a plan to reorganize the “Mandela”… Read moreSudan: “Mandela” refugee settlement destroyed by regime
A federal jury in San Francisco Dec. 1 cleared Chevron Corp. of responsibility in the 1998 shooting of Nigerian villagers by military forces during a protest at an offshore oil platform. Survivors of the incident, under the name “Concerned Ilaje… Read moreChevron acquitted in Nigeria human rights case
The army is patrolling the streets of Jos, in central Nigeria, after four days of violence between Muslims and Christians left hundreds dead. A Muslim charity says it has collected more than 300 bodies that had been brought to local… Read moreNigeria: hundreds dead in sectarian clashes
Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker moved the vessel from its location at the port city of Harardhere, in the autonomous Puntland region, after Islamist militias threatened to attack them and rescue the ship. Both the exiled Islamic Courts… Read moreSomalia: Islamists to attack Puntland pirate bases?
