Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said Sunday that “the time has come” to slap sanctions on those blocking peace in South Sudan, one of the most intractable wars facing African leaders as they meet in Ethiopia. At the opening of the 30th annual …
Read More »Do not ‘squander’ S.Sudan peace push, mediators told
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | African nations mediating South Sudan’s peace efforts must not “squander” the opportunity of a renewed push to end the country’s war, the head of an international ceasefire monitoring team said Saturday. Festus Mogae, a former president of Botswana who leads the Joint Monitoring and …
Read More »US military probes purported Niger ambush video
Washington, United States | AFP | The US military has opened an investigation after images surfaced online this week that appear to have been taken from the helmet camera of one of the US soldiers killed in an ambush in Niger. Grainy photographs posted and circulated on Twitter purportedly show …
Read More »Erdogan vows no let-up in Syria campaign as US tensions rise
Antakya, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday vowed Turkey’s campaign against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria would press on for as long as required, after telephone talks with Donald Trump failed to douse soaring tensions with Washington. The six-day campaign against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection …
Read More »US calls for South Sudan arms embargo after failed truce
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Wednesday called for an international arms embargo to be imposed on South Sudan following the failure of the latest ceasefire aimed at ending the four-year war. US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council that President Salva Kiir’s government …
Read More »US puts pressure on Turkey over Syria push, Erdogan defiant
Kirikhan, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to press Turkey’s offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria until “the last terrorist” was killed, as the US ramped up its concerns over the campaign. Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” together with Syrian rebels and Turkish …
Read More »World powers step up pressure on Syria, Russia over chemical attacks
Paris, France | AFP | Two dozen countries agreed Tuesday to push for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying Russia “ultimately bears responsibility” for such strikes. Twenty-four nations approved a new “partnership against impunity” for the use of chemical weapons, just …
Read More »Pence in Jerusalem pledges embassy move by end of 2019, faces protest
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | US Vice President Mike Pence pledged to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by the end of 2019 on Monday in a speech to Israel’s parliament that saw Arab lawmakers expelled after they shouted in protest. As Pence spoke, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived …
Read More »Tripoli flights still suspended after fighting
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The Libyan capital’s only working international airport remained closed to flights on Tuesday, the airport said, a day after fighting killed at least 20 people and damaged several planes. Mitiga airport said in a statement that all scheduled flights had been rerouted through the western …
Read More »Clashes force closure of Tripoli airport in Libya
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Fierce fighting forced the closure of the Libyan capital’s only civilian airport on Monday, officials said, after a militia in charge of security there said it had been attacked. The Facebook page of Mitiga International Airport, in eastern Tripoli, said “flights have been suspended because of …
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