United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council is expected to adopt on Thursday a US-drafted resolution that threatens to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and sanctions against those blocking efforts to end one of Africa’s worst wars. The strongly-worded text is aimed at piling …
Read More »Children increasingly exposed in Syria conflict: UN
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Children are at more risk than ever in Syria’s devastating conflict, the United Nations said Monday as the war approached its eighth year. Twice as many children were killed in the war in 2017 than in the previous year, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said in …
Read More »Erdogan slams NATO for failing to back Syria campaign
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday angrily lashed out at NATO, accusing the Western military alliance of failing to back Turkey’s campaign against Kurdish militia in Syria. Erdogan’s latest comments were among the toughest he has directed in recent times against NATO, which Turkey joined …
Read More »Down but not out: Lord’s Resistance Army haunts Central African Republic
Obo, Central African Republic | AFP | Every morning, Joseph gets on his motorbike to tend to his field of manioc, in the thick bush surrounding the Obo, in southeastern Central African Republic. This day, though, is not ordinary. Joseph is tense with worry. There are rumours that the Lord’s …
Read More »US pushes UN to consider arms embargo on South Sudan
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Wednesday circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution that threatens to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and to take “all appropriate measures” against those blocking peace efforts. The draft text obtained by AFP demands an end to …
Read More »Fearing deportation, Burundi refugees quit DRC for Rwanda
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A group of 2,500 Burundian refugees, fearing repatriation to their home country, moved Wednesday from the Democratic Republic of Congo to nearby Rwanda, a spokesman said. The refugees belong to an obscure Catholic sect that follows a female prophet called Zebiya and claim to have …
Read More »Nine civilians killed as Syria regime strikes shake Ghouta
Douma, Syria | AFP | At least nine civilians were killed Tuesday in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta as fresh regime air strikes and clashes shook the rebel enclave outside Damascus, a monitor and AFP correspondents said. Regime air strikes killed nine civilians in the town of Jisreen early Tuesday, the Britain-based …
Read More »DR Congo survivors recount nightmare of ethnic massacre
Bunia, DR Congo | AFP | The assailants were methodical. They came in waves. First came the ones who killed. Then came the ones who torched homes. And finally, the ones who looted anything of value. Ahead of them, terrorised villagers fled for their lives — the latest victims of …
Read More »Niger attack video released by IS shows group’s ‘depravity’: Pentagon
Washington, United States | AFP | A graphic video apparently captured by the helmet camera of one of the US soldiers killed in an Islamic State ambush in Niger highlights the jihadists’ depravity, the Pentagon said Monday after IS released the footage. The Defense Department “is aware of alleged photos …
Read More »Trailed by legal woes, Netanyahu to meet ‘true friend’ Trump
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have a brief respite next week from the deluge of legal woes he faces when he heads to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump. Even as he prepared for his trip, Netanyahu was again questioned by police in …
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