DR CONGO DR Congo rebels chased from strongholds, UN says

The M23 rebels that have been terrorising the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have abandoned most of their strongholds, a senior UN envoy said Monday, speaking after Congolese government forces backed by UN troops launched a fresh offensive.

US strike in Somalia kills senior al Shabaab members

A US military strike targeting al Shabaab in Somalia on Monday hit a car carrying senior members of the Islamist militant group, killing at least two, the AP reported, citing US intelligence officials.

More than one million protest Kenyan leniency on rape

More than one million people have signed a petition demanding justice after three of six men accused of brutally raping a Kenyan teenager before dumping her in a ditch were ordered only to cut grass in punishment before being set free.

'Renamo attack' on Mozambique's Maringue police station

Mozambique's opposition Renamo movement has attacked a police station in the central town of Maringue a day after annulling a 1992 peace accord with the government, officials say.

Kenya's General Karangi rebuffs army looting claims

Kenya's army chief has denied his troops were involved in looting during last month's siege at a Nairobi mall.

UN calls for quick deal as DR Congo peace talks falter

The United Nations on Monday renewed calls for a quick deal to bring peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid signs that talks in Kampala between the government and the DRC's M23 rebels were headed toward collapse.

Nigerian military kills 40 Boko Haram fighters

Abuja: The Nigerian military on Tuesday confirmed it killed 40 Boko Haram in the northeastern Borno state, Xinhua reported. 
  

Kenyatta can perform official duties during trial, ICC says

The ICC will allow Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to perform some official duties and will not require his “continuous presence” as he faces trial starting November 12 for orchestrating 2007's post-election violence, the court said Friday.

            

Angolan troops enter Congo, ‘kidnap soldiers’

Angolan forces have entered neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville and taken a number of Congolese troops hostage, a Congolese military source said Thursday. The Angolan soldiers were allegedly pursuing separatist rebels from the country’s Cabinda province. 

Boko Haram slaughters motorists in northeast Nigeria

                                                      Gunmen belonging to the Boko Haram Islamist militant group shot and hacked to death 19 motorists after blocking a highway in Nigeria's restive northeast Sunday, according to reports from locals and a survivor.

Guinea ruling party 'wins' parliamentary poll

President Alpha Conde's ruling party in Guinea took just under half of the seats in last month's parliamentary poll, electoral officials have said.

They said the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) secured 53 seats in the 114-member parliament.
The main opposition party had 37 seats, while the rest went to smaller parties.
The opposition said it would not recognise the result of the poll, which international observers said was marred by "irregularities".

South Africa soap opera stand-off stops filming

The producer of the South African soap opera Generations has told the BBC he does not intend to comply with the contract demands of striking actors.

Nearly the entire cast of South Africa's most popular drama series did not turn up on set when filming of the show was supposed to restart on Monday.
They refused to sign contracts with "out clauses" which allow for characters to be killed off.
Producer Mfundi Vundla said flexibility was needed to make a ratings success.
The soap opera, which is produced by Mr Vundla's Morula Pictures for South Africa's SABC 1 channel, is also hugely popular across Africa and a big revenue earner for the public broadcaster.
'Well paid' Mr Vundla said the trouble began at an anniversary party last month to celebrate 20 years of the show, which is set in the cut-throat advertising industry in Johannesburg and centres around the lives of the Moroka family.

Uganda alert after US warns of 'Westgate-style' attack

Security has been increased in Uganda after the US warned of a terror threat similar to last month's attack by militants in neighbouring Kenya.

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire in Kampala says that car boots and pedestrians' bags are being searched as they enter the Nakumatt Oasis shopping centre.
Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told the BBC he was glad that the US had passed on its intelligence.

International monitors cite 'irregularities' in Guinea vote

UN monitors and diplomats observing Guinea's first parliamentary vote in more than a decade cited "irregularities" Tuesday in the September 28 poll amid opposition accusations of fraud and calls for the ballot to be annulled.

Kenya names four suspects in Westgate mall attack

believed to have taken part in an attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall last month. At least 67 people were killed in the assault, which lasted for four days.Kenya’s government said a Sudanese man trained by al Qaeda was among the leaders of a raid on a Nairobi shopping mall in which at least 67 people were killed, the worst attack in the country in 15 years.

Tough questions for Kenyan authorities after mall siege

The deadly siege at the Westgate shopping mall may have ended, but for families of the missing seeking information and for ordinary Kenyans seeking answers, difficult questions remain.

 

On Tuesday night, as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the end of the Nairobi mall siege, crowds gathered around TV screens at bars, restaurants and shopping centres across the Kenyan capital as a distraught nation desperately sought closure on a harrowing four-day ordeal.
The next day, at the start of a three-day mourning period, crowds flocked to a blood donation drive at Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi as residents responded to the Westgate tragedy in an overwhelming display of solidarity and voluntarism.

Boko Haram suspected in mass murder of students

Suspected members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram shot dead dozens of students, some of them while they slept, at a college in northeastern Nigeria in the early hours ofSunday morning.

Suspected Islamist militants stormed a college in northeastern Nigeria and shot dead around 40 male students, some of them while they slept early on Sunday, witnesses said.
The gunmen, thought to be members of rebel sect Boko Haram, attacked one hostel, took some students outside before killing them and shot others trying to flee, people at the scene told Reuters.

Red Cross says 39 still missing after Nairobi mall attack

At least 39 people remain missing after a four-day siege last week on the Westgate mall in Nairobi by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, the Red Cross said on Monday. Sixty-seven people are known to have died in the attack.