UN approves Congo ‘intervention brigade’
The UN Security Council unanimously approved the first-ever “offensive” UN peacekeeping brigade to battle rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN Security Council unanimously approved the first-ever “offensive” UN peacekeeping brigade to battle rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Workers went on a 72-hour strike at the Chinese-owned Somina uranium mine in northern Niger, demanding better wages and the release of unpaid bonuses.
Tuareg rebels called on the International Criminal Court to investigate what they called war crimes committed by Malian government forces during the current conflict.
Some 100 US troops have been mobilized to Niger to establish a drone base, while across the border in northern Mali French-led forces face growing jihadist resistance.
A document found in a demolished building in Timbuktu purports to reveal plans by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to establish "command and control" over northern Mali.
Tension remains high in Gao after a pitched battle over the weekend as French troops beat back an attempt by MUJAO fighters to retake the remote northern Malian city.
Troops from Chad have been sent in to take Kidal, the town in northern Mali that remains under the control of Tuareg separatist rebels, as France seeks to avoid confrontation.
Thousands massed in Tunis for the funeral of slain opposition leader Chokri Belaid, with the city shut down in a general strike called by the main union federation, the UGTT.
With French forces carrying out air-strikes in preparation for an advance on Kidal, it remains unclear if the remote town is under the control of jihadists or Tuareg separatists.
Amid music and celebration in northern Mali since a French-led advance swept the jihadists from power, come growing reports of Tuareg and Arab residents forced to flee in reprisals.
Jihadist forces upon fleeing Timbuktu for the desert torched the Ahmed Baba Institute—a library housing a priceless collection of centuries-old Islamic manuscripts.
In a mission slated to last two weeks, US Air Force C-17 transport planes are ferrying troops and material from France to Mali for the offensive against jihadist rebels.