More than 700 children have died in Somalia nutrition centres, UN says
Geneva, Switzerland/Mogadishu, Somalia Reuters Hundreds of children have died in nutrition centres across Somalia, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Tuesday, a day after the global body warned that parts of the country will be hit by famine in coming months. An official in one Somali region described famished people walking long distances with […]
Updated: At least 21 killed in Somalia hotel siege, many hostages freed
Updated: 7:15am, 22nd August, 2022Mogadishu, Somalia Reuters Security forces have ended a siege by al Qaeda-linked militants at a hotel in Somalia’s capital in which more than 20 people were killed and dozens injured, authorities said on Sunday. Dozens of people who had been taken hostage in the stand-off at the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu […]
At least 12 killed as Somalia hotel siege enters second day
Mogadishu, SomaliaReuters At least 12 people were killed when al Qaeda-linked militants attacked a hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, seizing hostages who authorities were still battling to free 24 hours later, an intelligence officer said on Saturday. The attackers blasted their way into the Hayat Hotel on Friday evening with two car bombs before opening […]
Unidentified attackers seize control of hotel in Somali capital
Mogadishu, SomaliaReuters Unidentified armed attackers have taken control of a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, following two car bomb blasts and gunfire, police and intelligence officers said on Friday. “Two car bombs targeted Hotel Hayat. One hit a barrier near the hotel and then the other hit the gate of the hotel. We believe […]
UN seeks urgent support for refugees after deadly Burkina Faso attack
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, called on Friday for urgent support to some 16,000 newly displaced people who fled one of Burkina Faso’s deadliest militant attacks last weekend that left at least 100 people dead. Soldiers have recovered 86 bodies since the attack on Saturday night in the northern province of Seno, the […]
More than 500 killed in Mali clashes as military junta loses grip
Dakar, SenegalReuters More than 500 civilians died in attacks carried out by armed forces and Islamist groups in Mali from January to March this year, the United Nations said in a report on Monday that detailed a rapid unravelling of an already desperate security situation. The killings represented a 324 per cent rise over the […]
Essay: Jihadism and coups in West Africa’s Sahel region – a complex relationship
In an article first published on The Conversation, FOLAHANMI AINA, of King’s College London, looks at the links between West Africa’s recent coups and Islamist insurgencies…
Pakistan struggles to quell violence on its Afghan border
Islamabad, PakistanReuters Pakistan’s military has stepped up operations along the Afghan border in recent weeks after a spate of militant attacks that has dashed any hope the frontier might see more peace and stability after the end of the war in Afghanistan. Islamist and separatist factions have killed at least 14 Pakistani soldiers in attacks […]
US condemns militant attack in Mali that killed 31
Reuters The United States “strongly condemns” a militant attack on a bus in central Mali that killed at least 31 people and wounded 17, the State Department said on Sunday. Unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire on the bus as it travelled from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara, 10 kilometres away. […]
Colombian nun held hostage in Mali since 2017 has been freed
Bamako, MaliReuters A Colombian nun who was kidnapped in 2017 by Islamist militants in Mali has been freed, Mali’s presidency said on Saturday. Gloria Cecilia Narvaez was kidnapped by the Macina Liberation Front, an al-Qaeda-linked group, in February, 2017, near the border with Burkina Faso. “The presidency of Mali salutes the courage and bravery of […]