Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | An American soldier was shot dead and two others wounded in a night-time raid with Somali forces against Shabaab militants in Somalia, the US military said Friday. “On May 4, one US service member was killed during an operation against Al-Shabaab near Barii, Somalia, approximately …
Read More »President returns to Mogadishu after young Somalia minister’s killing
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia’s president cut short a trip to Ethiopia on Thursday, the day after a cabinet minister was accidentally shot and killed in Mogadishu by another official’s guards. “The president of the republic, who is now outside the country, decided to cut his trip short to …
Read More »Thirty-five British troops arrive in South Sudan
Juba, South Sudan | The latest deployment of British troops has arrived in South Sudan to continue support to the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping mission, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. An additional 35 UK military personnel will join the current UK presence providing support to the UN Mission in …
Read More »China demands immediate halt to US missile shield in South Korea
Beijing, China | AFP | China called Tuesday for the immediate suspension of a controversial missile defence system hours after Washington confirmed the shield was now operational in South Korea. “China’s position is clear-cut and firm. We oppose the deployment of the THAAD system in (South Korea) and urge relevant …
Read More »Libyan oil production now more than 760,000 bpd
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Libya’s oil production, the country’s main source of revenue, rose Monday to more than 760,000 barrels per day for the first time since 2014, the National Oil Corporation said. Oil is Libya’s main natural resource, with reserves estimated at 48 billion barrels, the largest in …
Read More »‘Baghdaddy’: New York turns Iraq war into musical
New York, United States | AFP | The Iraq war may not sound like musical comedy, but an Off-Broadway revival is spinning intelligence failures and tragedy into a farce that offers potent messages for Donald Trump’s America. “Baghdaddy” officially opens on Monday, telling the true story of an Iraqi defector, …
Read More »Algeria praises UN vote on disputed Western Sahara
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria on Saturday hailed a UN Security Council resolution endorsing a new peace initiative on the disputed territory of Western Sahara as a “diplomatic success”. Friday’s vote came as UN military observers confirmed that Polisario Front forces, fighting for independence in Western Sahara, had withdrawn …
Read More »CONGO: Militia clashes kill 29 in eastern DRC
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Twenty-nine people have been killed in three days of clashes between rival factions of a militia group in a village in Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive east, an official said Friday. The two factions are fighting for control of the village of Bweru in …
Read More »Inflated egos remain as Burundi enters 3rd year of turmoil
After two years, no end in sight to Burundi’s deadly turmoil Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Two years after Burundi’s president plunged the central African country into turmoil, the regime shows no signs of easing up on a crackdown that has forced hundreds of thousands to flee. The UN estimates …
Read More »Security forces deny access to site of US blast in Afghanistan
Jalalabad, Afghanistan | AFP | Security forceswere still blocking accessWednesday to the site in eastern Afghanistan where the US dropped a massive bomb on an Islamic State group stronghold six days ago. The US military dropped its GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, dubbed the “Mother of All Bombs”, in combat …
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