Trapped in conflicts, the children of West and Central Africa are the most recruited by armed groups in the world and also have the highest number of victims of sexual violence, says a report released Tuesday by the United Nations Children’s Fund. For five years the region has seen increased …
Read More »France killed 19 civilians in Mali in January, violated international human rights law: Report
A report by a UK-based investigative group says an airstrike by France in Mali early this year killed 19 civilians and was a “complete violation of international human rights and international humanitarian law.” The report, released by the London-based international law firm Stoke White Investigations on Monday, said that French …
Read More »Gunmen kidnap Chinese, Mauritanian workers in Mali
Assailants also destroyed equipment belonging to Chinese and Mauritanian construction companies. Gunmen have abducted three Chinese nationals and two Mauritanians from a construction site in southwestern Mali, according to the country’s armed forces. The assailants stormed the site 55km (34 miles) from the town of Kwala on Saturday, and made …
Read More »Ghana culls thousands of chickens, bans poultry movement amid avian flu outbreak
Ghana has destroyed 4,500 chickens and restricted the movement of poultry after nearly 6,000 birds were found to have died of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu, the country’s veterinary services director said on Saturday. The birds originated from seven farms in Ghana’s Greater Accra, Central, and Volta regions, and …
Read More »French forces kill 33 militants in Mali: Macron
France killed 33 militants in Mali on Saturday using attack helicopters, ground troops and a drone near the border with Mauritania where a group linked to al Qaeda operates, the French army said. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the operation in a speech to the French community in Ivory Coast’s …
Read More »Mauritania releases Facebook blogger convicted of blasphemy.
A blogger in Mauritania who drew international attention after he was sentenced to death over blasphemy has been released, his lawyer and campaign group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkhaitir, 36, was sentenced to death in 2014 over a Facebook post about Islam but was then …
Read More »Mauritania set for a first democratic transition of power.
Mauritania is heading to the polls in what may result in the first democratic transition of power since the West African country achieved independence in 1960. President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seized power in a coup in 2008 but has agreed to step down and abide by a two-term limit …
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