Helicopter-borne Egyptian and Sudanese troops, backed by Italian commandos, rescued the 19-member tour group kidnapped in Egypt and taken by their abductors on a 10-day trek through the Sahara to the border with Chad. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said… Read moreItalian commando in Sudan hostage rescue
Russia has dispatched the warship Neustrashimy to intercept a Ukrainian freighter, the Faina, carrying 33 Russian-built tanks and other war material seized by pirates off Somalia while en route to Kenya for an arms delivery. US naval ships are also… Read moreSomalia: pirate show-down overshadows refugee crisis
At least 30 people were killed in fierce fighting between Islamist rebels and Somali government forces in capital Mogadishu’s main market Sept. 23. Rebels reportedly attacked two African Union peacekeeping bases in Mogadishu and shelled the city’s main airport as… Read moreSomalia: murderous mayhem in Mogadishu market
Reports in the Nigerian press indicate that the European Union, Russia and China are all wooing the government for rights to build the proposed $21 billion Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project, which would export gas from the Niger Delta to Europe… Read moreEU, Russia, China in race to build Trans-Saharan Pipeline
Nigeria’s main militant group in the Niger Delta declared an “oil war” against foreign-owned companies working in the region in a Sept. 14 statement. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had launched an operation… Read moreNiger Delta rebels declare “oil war”
Mauritanian authorities re-arrested ousted prime minister Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef Aug. 21 after he led a protest march in opposition to this month’s military coup. Deposed president Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi has been held by the army since… Read moreOusted Mauritanian prime minister arrested after march against coup
A Sudanese court Aug. 18 sentenced eight Darfur rebels to death, including the half-brother of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim. Abdul Aziz Ashur and others were found guilty on charges related to a May rebel attack on… Read moreSudan: Darfur rebels sentenced to death
The international community is condemning the Aug. 6 military ouster of Mauritania’s President Sidi Mohamed ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Prime Minister Yahya ould Ahmed Waghf. The coup started just hours after a presidential decree that declared the dismissal of Mauritania’s… Read moreCoup d’etat in Mauritania: slave system strikes back?
No, it’s not a football match. Our July issue featured the story “Shake Djibouti: Eritrea Crisis Destabilizes Imperialism’s Horn of Africa Beachhead” by Sarkis Pogossian, on the brief war between the two states in June. Pogossian writes: “While Eritrea increasingly… Read moreEritrea vs. Djibouti: our readers write
From Human Rights Watch, July 21, via Congo Planet: Congo Peace Accord Fails to End Killing of Civilians Brussels — The killing and rape of civilians in the eastern province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues… Read moreHuman Rights Watch: rapes, killings continue in Congo
The Chinese Railway Engineering Company is rebuilding 2,050 miles of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo, abandoned in the jungle after the Belgian colonialists pulled out 48 years ago and further shattered by years of war. The vast project,… Read moreChina biggest player in Congo mineral rush
BBC’s Panorama TV crew claims to have uncovered the first evidence that China is providing military aid to Sudan’s Darfur counter-insurgency operations, in violation of an international embargo. The crew, traveling deep in Darfur’s desert with a rebel faction, reportedly… Read moreBBC: China “fueling war in Darfur”
