Africa Features International

Red Cross Workers in Mali Abducted by Al Qaeda-Linked Islamists

A Red Cross team working in northern Mali has been kidnapped by an al Qaeda-linked Islamist group known as the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), a spokesperson for the militants said earlier this week. The MUJAO official also told the media by telephone fromm the country’s capital, Bamako, that the members […]

Africa Features International

UN Warning of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ in Central African Republic

Muslims in the Central African Republic (CAR) were facing “ethno-religious cleansing” as French troops struggle to contain the Christian ‘anti-balaka. militias, warned UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, in an interview with FRANCE 24 earlier this week. This warning comes after an alarming discovery by French troops on patrol in a rural region west […]

Africa Europe Features International

Spanish Security Minister Touring the Sahel:Anti-Terrorism and Regional Integration in Focus

Spain’s minister of state for security, Francisco Martinez Vázquez, recently completed his visit to Mauritania and Senegal that started on 4 February. The aim of his tour of the region was to bolster Sahel ties and discuss ways to tackle imminent threats to the region such as clandestine immigration, crime, drug trafficking, and cross-border terrorism. […]

Africa Americas Europe Features International

France won’t fight against terrorists in Libya

France on Monday made an announcement refusing Niger’s appeal, last week, for western military action against Islamist fighters who have established bases in Southern Libya since the 2011 overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Niger’s call for help is a desperate one as Islamist attacks and kidnappings on its mineral-rich soil have posed a threat to […]

Africa Europe Features International

EU Troops Authorized to Use Force in CAR

A resolution authorising European Union troops to use force in the Central African Republic (CAR), which has been torn apart by inter-religious violence over the past few months, was approved in a crucial UN Security Council earlier this week. This follows the EU’s own approval of a military operation, in which up to 600 soldiers […]

Africa Europe Features International

EU to Dispatch Forces to CAR Divided by “Deep, Ingrained Hatred”

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (20 January) agreed to dispatch a battalion-sized force counting up to 1,000 soldiers to Central African Republic (CAR) to help to stabilize the war-torn African country. Being effectively the EU’s first major army operation in six years, the intervention by the 28-nation bloc comes after UN […]

Africa Americas Europe Features International

The Storm Is Not Over Yet:Increasing Instability in the Sahel

While South Sudan is witnessing a rebellion and possibly the onset of a civil war, Western nations have airlifted their citizens from Africa’s youngest country. At the same time, French soldiers are patrolling the streets of the Central African Republic (CAR) along with African peacekeepers flown in from Burundi and Cameroon among others. 3700 African […]

Africa Asia Europe Features International

Morocco Calls for Fostering Trust between Parties to Mideast Peace Process

Morocco has stressed the need to foster trust between the parties to the Middle East peace process and urged these parties to show the much needed sense of realism and spirit of compromise in order to push forward the peace process. The call was launched by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI during the opening of the […]

Africa Asia Features International

Jerusalem Committee to Send Strong Message to Israel

The Al-Quds Committee which is holding its 20th session in Marrakesh this January 17-18 under the presidency of Mohammed VI, King of Morocco and chairman of the Committee, is poised to send a strong message to Israel about its unlawful practices in the holy city, deemed by Muslims, Christians and Jews as a common heritage. […]

Africa Asia International

China and Japan Criticize Each Other’s Policies in Africa

China and Japan are criticizing each other’s policies in Africa as each country pledges more money for the continent. While Tokyo has censured China’s foray into mineral-rich Africa, saying its approach is unhealthy for development on the continent, Beijing accuses Japan of courting African support for its effort to secure a place in the United […]