South Africa ‘downplayed’ casualties in CAR fighting

Many more South African troops died during a rebel offensive in the Central African Republic than Pretoria has admitted, local sources have told RFI. The same sources said the soldiers were fighting to protect South African mining and oil contracts.                

Doubts have been raised over the number of South African soldiers killed during a coup d’état in the Central African Republic (CAR) in late March.
Officially, South Africa says that 13 of its soldiers died fighting rebels from the Seleka alliance that toppled deposed CAR president François Bozizé's regime.
But according to the rebels, as many as 36 South Africans were killed, raising questions over why the soldiers were stationed there and why the South African government would want to cover up the number of deaths.

Mali conflict: 'Tortured Tuaregs die in Bamako jail'

The Malian army has been accused of targeting ethnic Tuaregs

Two people have died in detention in Mali after being tortured by the military and denied ventilation in a cell, a rights group has said.

One of them had expressed fears of dying "from the heat" in temperatures likely to be higher than 38C (100F), US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

The men were ethnic Tuaregs accused of supporting Islamist militants recently ousted from northern Mali, it said.

Nigeria's Boko Haram rejects Jonathan's amnesty idea

Abubakar Shekau uses the internet to send out his messages

The Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has rejected the idea of an amnesty.

Last week President Goodluck Jonathan asked a high level team to look into the possibility of granting the militants a pardon.

The announcement was made via an audio statement believed to be from the group's leader Abubakar Shekau.

Francois Hollande's camel: Mali 'to replace eaten animal'

An official says Mali is to send the French president a replacement camel after the first, given to him as a gift, was eaten, Reuters reports.

Francois Hollande had left the creature with a family in Timbuktu for safekeeping, after it was presented to him by local residents in February.

But it was promptly slaughtered and used in a tagine.

Somalia acknowledges rape by soldiers

After months of denial, Somalia's government has for the first time acknowledged that its security forces were involved in rape cases that drew an international outcry by human rights groups.

Army commanders often denied accusations that soldiers were involved in a spate of rapes, attributing the crimes to al-Shabab fighters who allegedly wore army uniforms to smear the reputation of the military.

"Those few among the security forces who rape and rob our citizens must be fought and be defeated just like Shabab," President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said while speaking to military cadets at a training camp in the capital, Mogadishu, on Monday.

"Criminals who commit rape ought to be opposed just like [al]-Shabab," Mohamud said in a statement issued by his office.

He also affirmed that his government would "fight those who rape as he'd fight al-Shabab", referring to the rebel group fighting his government and the African Union forces in Somalia.

Decline in rapes

In March, the New York based Human Rights Watch accused Somalia's security forces and armed groups of raping and beating displaced Somalis who came to Mogadishu fleeing famine and armed conflict.

Somalia has begun military tribunals in which soldiers have been punished and the number of rapes have declined since then, residents say.

"The president's commitment to tackle abuses,including rape, by security forces, is an important first step but needs to be followed by concrete action, including proper vetting of police and military," Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said.

Malawi adjourns treason trial of ex-officials

A court in Malawi has adjourned a treason trial against the former foreign minister and other high-ranking former government officials until April 16.

Peter Mutharika, brother of Malawi's late president Bingu wa Mutharika, and other high-profile figures had been in court on Wednesday for allegedly trying to get the military to stage a coup. 

Ex-leader Mutharika died of a heart attack on April 5, 2012. According to Malawi’s constitution, the vice president is to be sworn in following the death of a sitting president.
The government contends that the accused officials undermined the constitution by plotting to prevent then-vice president Joyce Banda from being installed as president following Mutharika’s death.

Peter Mutharika, the former foreign minister who Bingu had allegedly been grooming for presidency, asked the military to assume power after his brother's death.

He is accused of seeking to block Banda from taking over.

Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa, speaking from Lilongwe, said the case was adjourned until next week Tuesday. 

Silence on Awkward Topics at Inauguration of Kenya’s President

NAIROBI, Kenya — Once again, a Kenyatta has taken the reins.

On Tuesday, under a brilliant blue sky flecked with a few puffs of crisp white clouds, Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s first president, was sworn in as the nation’s fourth head of state amid a full day of pageantry, with a who’s who of Africa in attendance.

But there was a certain subject that no amount of sunshine or triumphant cannon fire could blast away: theInternational Criminal Court, which has charged Mr. Kenyatta with crimes against humanity.

Little digs — and not-so-little digs — were defiantly sprinkled into several of the celebratory speeches. Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, saluted Kenyans for what he called “the rejection of the blackmail of the International Criminal Court,” which he said was steered by “arrogant actors” to “install leaders of their choice in Africa and eliminate those they don’t like.”

Mozambique: Political Violence Rises

Members of a Mozambican opposition party’s militia killed four police officers in an attack on a provincial police station to try to free more than a dozen party members arrested in a police raid on their headquarters, the police said Friday. The opposition party, Renamo, confirmed that its members carried out the attack on Thursday in the town of Muxungue in Sofala Province, home of the party headquarters that the police had raided a day earlier. The party’s security chief, Osufo Madate, said the attack showed Renamo’s refusal to tolerate “oppression” by the governing party, Frelimo. The episode was one of the worst outbreaks of political violence in a decade and raised concerns about next year’s elections.

Zambia gay rights activist Paul Kasonkomona gets bail

Homosexual acts are banned in many African countries

A prominent human rights activist has been granted bail in Zambia after he was arrested for appearing on a live television calling for homosexual relationships to be decriminalised.

Paul Kasonkomona pleaded not guilty at the magistrate's court in the capital, Lusaka, to the charges - being idle and disorderly in a public place.

Homosexual acts are illegal in deeply conservative Zambia.

Mr Kasonkomona could face one month in prison or a fine if he is found guilty.

Rebels inch closer to South Darfur capital

Latest violence comes as major donors conference in Qatar's capital pledges $3.6bn to help rebuild war-ravaged region.

Rebels in Sudan's Darfur have moved within kilometres of a key town in the violence-racked region, local media have reported.

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) confirmed that Sudan Liberation Army's Minni Minnawi faction had "attacked and seized" two towns over the weekend.

The fighting came as protests continued in the region against a two-day donors' conference in the Qatari capital, Doha, that sought to raise funds to rebuild Darfur.

Five Indian UN troops killed in South Sudan

Five Indian peacekeepers escorting a UN convoy in South Sudan have been killed in an ambush by rebels, the office for the UN secretary-general has said.

The peacekeepers were serving with the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (Unmiss).

Two Unmiss national staff and five civilian staff contractors were also killed in the attack. Nine others were injured, some seriously.

The violence happened in Jonglei state, a haven for armed groups.

Save the Children highlights war-zone child sex crimes

The charity Save the Children says the majority of victims of rape and other sexual violence in many of the world's conflict zones are children.

Its report is based on data and testimonies from several countries including Colombia, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Save the Children says programmes to stop such violence and help children recover are chronically underfunded.

The issue will be discussed by foreign ministers of the G8 group this week.

The UK has said it will give priority to the issue of sexual violence in conflict during its presidency of the G8 this year.

Uhuru Kenyatta Sworn in as Kenyan President

Uhuru Kenyatta has been sworn in as Kenya's new president, following his victory in March against Raila Odinga.

Dignitaries and tens of thousands of people witnessed the inauguration at a stadium in the capital, Nairobi.

Mr Odinga did not attend the ceremony after his attempt to overturn Mr Kenyatta's victory in court failed.

Mr Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, face charges at the International Criminal Court relating to post-election violence five years ago.

Congo's Mining Heartland a Volatile "Powder Keg": Lawmaker

Growing unrest in Democratic Republic of Congo's copper-rich Katanga province risks scaring off investors and derailing its thriving mining sector, said the lawmaker heading an inquiry into a rebel attack on the provincial capital last month.

Katanga, in the country's south, has been seen as insulated from the violent unrest that much of the rest of Congo. Billions of dollars have poured into the province to develop mining projects aiming to tap its underexploited mineral wealth.

However, security is steadily eroding as rebel groups, some of them seeking independence for Katanga, sweep down from the north of the province, massacring civilians and emptying villages.

Ivory Coast Leader Gets Decree Power Over Economy

Ivory Coast's parliament granted President Alassane Ouattara the power to take decisions concerning the economy by decree this year, giving him a free hand to implement programs aimed at spurring the West African nation's post-war recovery.

The world's top cocoa producer is emerging from a decade-long political crisis that ended with a brief civil war in 2011 and is in the midst of an economic revival, having posted GDP growth of 9.8 percent last year.

Heavy investment in infrastructure renewal and energy production coupled with the expansion of the nascent mining and petroleum sectors are intended to restore the country's status as a regional economic powerhouse.

Police Killings, Ambushes Put Mozambique Peace on Edge

The deadliest attacks in Mozambique in more than a decade by suspected opposition gunmen have rekindled memories of a 1975-1992 civil war and put pressure on the ruling party to rethink the marginalization of its main political foe.

Four policemen and three civilians were killed in ambushes of a truck and two buses at the weekend - a tactic widely used by guerrillas in the 1980s - raising fears that the mineral-rich southern African nation's two-decade peace may be under threat.

Renamo, the guerrilla movement founded around independence in 1975 with the backing of white-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa to take on the Marxist Frelimo party which has ruled the country ever since, has denied it attacked civilians.

Mandela returns home from hospital

Former South African president released after 10 days in hospital in Johannesburg for treatment for pneumonia.

Deadly attack on Nigeria politician's home

Attacks, including bombings, linked to Boko Haram have left about 3,000 people dead since 2009 [AFP]

Attackers have stormed the home of a Nigerian deputy governor and slit the throats of two of his guards, while killing nine others in the same village in the restive northeast, police said. It was unclear who was behind the attack in Midlu village of Adamawa state in the early hours of Saturday, Mohammed Ibrahim, police spokesman, said.

France begins withdrawing troops from Mali

France plans to leave a 1,000-strong force in the country alongside the UN-mandated African force [AFP]

France has withdrawn its first batch of soldiers from Mali, as it begins to pull out troops sent to battle rebel fighters in the west African nation.   Paris, which sent 4,000 troops to Mali in January to block a feared advance on the capital Bamako from the north, is preparing to hand over to a UN-mandated African force of 6,300 in the coming weeks.