Eight UN peacekeepers detained in Congo over sexual abuse claims – sources
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters Eight UN peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo have been detained over allegations of sexual abuse, sources told Reuters on Thursday, as the UN said it would investigate unspecified serious misconduct. The UN peace-keeping mission in eastern Congo, known as MONUSCO, said in a statement that it had suspended […]
France to pull troops out of Niger following coup
Paris, FranceReuters France will pull its soldiers out of Niger following a July coup in the West African country, President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, dealing a huge blow to French influence and counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel region. Macron said 1,500 troops would withdraw by the end of the year and that France, the […]
Karabakh’s Armenians start to leave en masse for Armenia
Stepanakert, Azerbaijan Reuters Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began a mass exodus by car on Sunday towards Armenia after Azerbaijan defeated the breakaway region’s fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era. The Nagorno-Karabakh leadership told Reuters the region’s 120,000 Armenians did not want to live as part of Azerbaijan for fear of persecution and […]
Somalia asks UN to delay peacekeeper drawdown after “significant setbacks”
United NationsReuters Somalia has asked the United Nations to pause a planned drawdown of 3,000 African Union peacekeepers for three months to allow its security forces time to regroup after a militant attack forced them to withdraw from several recently captured towns. The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which is mandated by the […]
Karabakh Armenians say no deal yet with Azerbaijan, first food delivery arrives
Near Kornidzor, Armenia Reuters The ethnic Armenian leadership of breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh said on Friday that no agreement had yet been reached with Azerbaijan on security guarantees after this week’s Azeri offensive as emergency food deliveries reached the enclave’s residents. The future of Karabakh and its 120,000 ethnic Armenians hangs in the balance: Azerbaijan wants to […]
Azerbaijan halts Karabakh offensive after ceasefire deal with Armenian separatists
Yerevan, Armenia Reuters Azerbaijan said on Wednesday it had halted military action in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after its battlefield success forced Armenian separatist forces to agree to a ceasefire that will see the area fully return to Baku’s control. Under the agreement, outlined by Azerbaijan and the Russian Defence Ministry, which has peacekeepers […]
Niger military council takes over, US says room for diplomacy remains
Niamey, NigerReuters Leaders of a coup in Niger declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state on Friday days after saying they had ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years. African countries, Western powers and regional and international organisations have voiced […]
Withdrawal request: Mali faces spectre of anarchy after demanding UN’s departure
EDWARD MCALLISTER and DAVID LEWIS, of Reuters, report the MINUSMA mission and what it’s end could mean…
NATO soldiers injured in Kosovo clashes with Serb protesters
Leposavic, Kosovo Reuters Around 25 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters on Monday, while Serbia’s President put the army on the highest level of combat alert. KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission to Kosovo, condemned the violence. “While countering the most active fringes of the […]
Al-Shabaab attacks African peacekeepers in Somalia, big death toll feared
Mogadishu, SomaliaReuters Islamist al-Shabaab militants attacked a military base housing Ugandan forces with the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Friday, and a Somali army captain said both sides suffered heavy casualties. Al-Shabaab has since 2006 has been fighting to topple the Horn of Africa country’s Western-basked government and establish its own rule based […]