Africa

Ten countries account for 80% of the new coronavirus testing taking place across Africa, a regional body said on Thursday, indicating that little testing is taking place in many countries around the vast continent. COVID-19 confirmed cases across Africa have accelerated and are close to hitting a million this week, …

More than 1,300 people have been killed in the first half of 2020 by armed groups in DR Congo, three times more than in the same period in 2019, according to a report published by the United Nations. Between January and June 2020, fighters of all armed groups were responsible …

Libya’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Jalal Saleh Shuwaidi has warned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi against plans to send troops to assist militias loyal to putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, saying that the Libyan desert would swallow Egypt if it proceeded. Noting that the Egyptian military has no power to enter another …

The World Health Organization has warned the coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm strained public health systems in Africa. On Wednesday, the continent was approaching a million infections and around 21,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally. Here are measures some countries are taking to curb the virus. SOUTH AFRICA With more …

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) sent a message to Washington on Sunday calling for international control of land and sea border crossings and ports to prevent weapons from being sent to the capital’s government, Al Arabiya TV channel reported. “The LNA insists on international control over land …

Suspected militants from terrorist group Boko Haram killed at least 13 people and wounded eight others in a grenade attack in northern Cameroon on Sunday, a security source and a local official told Reuters. The unidentified assailants threw a grenade into a group of people inside a camp for displaced …

A wave of violence in Sudan’s Darfur region has forced Save the Children to close facilities providing health services and food for 14,000 children, the charity said Friday. The move came after hundreds of armed men attacked Masteri, a town largely inhabited by farmers from non-Arab minority groups, killing more …

More than 100 civilians including children were killed by ground fighting, explosive remnants, and air raids in Libya between April and June, according to the United Nations. The figure is an increase of 65 percent from the first three months of the year, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) …

The Libyan armed forces loyal to the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) are waiting for a political solution to enter the city of Sirte “peacefully”. A spokesman for the Sirte and Al-Jafra operation of the Libyan armed forces, Brigadier Abdul Hadi Dara, said the Libyan army wishes to …

Egypt and Sudan criticized Ethiopia for what they called unilateral filling of its Blue Nile dam at a new round of talks that kicked off on Monday to regulate the flow of water from the huge project. Sudan and Egypt both fear the $4 billion hydroelectric dam could lead to …

More than 60 people have been killed and another 60 wounded in fresh violence in the West Darfur region of Sudan, UN officials announced Sunday. Around 500 armed men attacked Masteri Town, north of Beida, in Darfur on Saturday afternoon, said the statement from the UN Office for the Coordination …

Stephanie Williams, the deputy head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for political affairs, said there is a “huge risk” of direct confrontation between rival foreign powers in Libya, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Williams said the chances of a miscalculation around the rebel-held Mediterranean city of …

Morocco will stop people entering and leaving some of its biggest cities from midnight to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases, the interior and health Ministries said on Sunday. The cities to be locked down include the economic powerhouse of Casablanca as well as Tangier, Marrakech, Fez, and Meknes. The …

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Saturday said that 72 migrants have been intercepted by the Libyan coast guard off the country’s western coast. The UNHCR tweeted that “72 people were brought back to Tripoli Naval Port by Libyan Coast Guard late last night. UNHCR and the …

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Saturday designated the interior minister as the new prime minister to succeed Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned over allegations of a conflict of interest, the presidency said. New premier Hichem Mechichi pledged to respond to the social and economic demands that have spawned constant protests in …

A large manhunt has been launched in South Africa after a group of prisoners escaped as they awaited trial. The inmates made a break from Malmesbury Correctional Centre in the Western Cape on Friday afternoon. Police were deployed to the area to search for them on foot and in vehicles, …

The United States military has said Russia appears to be sending more military equipment to its mercenaries in Libya, including in the flashpoint city of Sirte, in breach of an arms embargo. The US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Friday there was mounting evidence from satellite photos of Moscow’s …

He was the country’s third president after independence from Britain in 1962. Ruling the East African country for two terms from 1995 to 2005, he’ll be remembered for working to end the conflict in the Great Lakes. Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa has died age 81 at a hospital in …

Turkey warned Egypt against any deployment of forces in the Libyan civil war and sharply criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s role, highlighting the threat of escalating violence and geopolitical rivalries in the oil-rich country. The remarks by Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, come days after Egypt’s …

Five aid workers abducted last month in north-east Nigeria’s Borno State have been killed, reportedly by terrorists. The men were working for Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee, Rich International and the country’s State Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria’s president confirmed. Muhammadu Buhari blamed Boko Haram and vowed to bring …