French special forces carried out a raid in northern Mali targeting the jihadist group al-Murabitoon—but a pro-government Arab militia said four of its fighters were killed.
As China establishes its first foreign military base at Djibouti, rumors have Beijing seeking a second base in Namibia—where Chinese uranium interests face labor unrest.
The deadly hotel siege in Mali's capital was apparently ordered by Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar—who was twice reported killed in military operations over the past two years.
An Ansar Dine militant was turned over to the International Criminal Court, accused of destruction of religious monuments and other war crimes committed in Timbuktu.
The democratic transition begun by last year's popular revolution was aborted by a military coup d'etat in Burkina Faso, sparking street protests in which three have been killed.
Advance units of a thousands-strong Chadian intervention force arrived in Cameroon to fight Boko Haram rebels. A critical oil pipeline passes through the war-torn border.
Eight are dead in anti-Charlie Hebdo protests in Niger, with street clashes also reported from Algeria and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, a cleric praised the attackers as "true mujahedeen."
France expands military operations across the Sahel to chase down jihadist insurgents, as Mali opens peace talks with Tuareg separatists that have seized much of the country.
The Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) was blamed for a massacre of some 30 Tuaregs in a road ambush near the desert city of Gao in northern Mali.
A French court opened trial against former Rwandan intelligence chief Pascal Simbikangwa in the country's first trial of a suspect in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
The death of a US national in Benghazi thrust Libya briefly into the news—as lawless militias, ethnic conflicts and labor strife daily claim lives across the country.
France is escalating its military mission in the Central African Republic, airlifting troops and equipment to the capital Bangui ahead of an anticipated UN-backed intervention.
