New European taskforce takes on Mali’s elusive militants
Ansongo, MaliReuters When the soldiers reached the end of the road, they descended from their trucks and motorbikes and partially deflated the tyres to make it easier going across the soft terrain of eastern Mali. Then they rumbled onwards in the moonlight along a grassy trail that snaked through Islamic State’s stronghold there. “We are […]
Joy as parents reunited with kidnapped Nigerian students
Maiduguri, Nigeria Reuters Ninety children abducted from a school in Nigeria were reunited on Friday with their parents after being held captive for nearly three months, part of a wave of mass kidnappings by armed gangs that have spread fear across the north of the country. “Today is the happiest and most joyful day for […]
Death toll from Burkina Faso attack rises to 80
Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoReuters The death toll from an attack on civilians and the military in northern Burkina Faso has risen to 80 people, the government said in a statement on Thursday. The attack occurred on Wednesday when Islamist militants raided a civilian convoy that was being escorted by military police near the town of Arbinda, […]
Updated: Dozens die in Burkina Faso as Islamist militants raid convoy
Updated: 10.40am (AEST)Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoReuters Dozens of people were killed in northern Burkina Faso on Wednesday when Islamist militants raided a civilian convoy that was being escorted by military police, the latest in a spate of attacks across West Africa’s Sahel region this month. President Roch Kabore ordered three days of national mourning following the […]
Parents of kidnapped students in Nigeria plea for help; elsewhere 18 villagers killed in suspected Islamist attack
Kano, NigeriaAP Praying, crying and waiting for news about their children, the parents of more than 120 Nigerian students abducted by armed bandits at the Bethel Baptist High School in the nation’s northern Kaduna state have been gathering at the school awaiting updates about their children. Some weeping mothers pleaded for help from Kaduna State […]
Essay: Offshore gas finds offered major promise for Mozambique – what went wrong?
In an article first published on The Conversation, THEO NEETHLING, a professor of Political Science at the University of the Free State, looks at the situation in Mozambique where hundreds were killed and thousands forced to flee after an attack by Islamist militants on the town of Palma…
Filipino troops kill rebel commander, rescue last hostage
Manila, PhilippinesAP Philippine troops killed an Abu Sayyaf rebel commander blamed for years of ransom kidnappings and on Sunday rescued the last of his four Indonesian captives, the military said. Marines wounded Amajan Sahidjuan in a gunbattle on Saturday night and he later died from loss of blood on Kalupag Island in the southernmost province […]
Islamist militants fuel Christian persecution in Kenya, faith leaders say
Nairobi, KenyaRNS The majority of this East African country’s population is Christian, and churches are free to proliferate. It’s also not unusual to find preachers setting up loudspeakers to call people to Jesus. Christian literature is sold on the open street, and phrases like “Praise God” and “Amen” are part of the common greetings. But […]
In northern Kenya, al-Shabaab militants target Christian teachers
RNS After the militant group al-Shabaab killed three of his colleagues in a recent attack on Christian schoolteachers here, Jared Nyanchong’i packed his few belongings and boarded a bus to the capital, Nairobi. “These people call us black Satan, devil and kafir,” said Nyanchong’i, 40, a father of three. “The life of teachers is very important. […]