Africa

A year-long conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has reached “disastrous proportions”, the UN political chief told the Security Council on Monday, warning of “grave uncertainty” surrounding the future of the country and stability of the whole Horn of Africa region.  

The UN chief has joined the whole UN system in Sierra Leone in mourning the victims of an fuel tanker collision on Friday night in the capital Freetown, that reportedly left at least 98 people dead, and many more injured.

More than a million people in Burkina Faso have been displaced from their homes, victims of ongoing conflict and poverty. Nevertheless, following a recent visit to the central and northern regions of the country, Barbara Manzi, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burkina Faso, says she met a resilient people keen to find their own solutions, to a better future.

The Members of the United Nations Security Council expressed “deep concern” about the expansion and intensification of military clashes in northern Ethiopia. 

International calls for the restoration of democratic government in Sudan continued on Friday, as the Human Rights Council met in special session in Geneva to discuss the recent military coup. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) to spare no effort in investigating the “unacceptable attack” earlier this week by the presidential guard against a vehicle from the UN mission in the country, MINUSCA. 

All parties involved in the escalating conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray must stop fighting immediately, or else risk pushing the region’s catastrophic humanitarian situation “over the edge”, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said on Wednesday.

Ten unarmed Egyptian peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) were shot and wounded on Monday.  

“Pockets of famine” have now been reported in Southern Madagascar, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.

Multiple mediation efforts are underway in Sudan one week after the military seized power, UN Special Representative for the country, Volker Perthes, told journalists in New York on Monday. 

Kenyans are loving their freedom as Covid restrictions ease, but vaccination rates are alarmingly low.

With mass civil protests against this week’s military coup planned for Saturday in Sudan, the UN Secretary-General has a simple message: “I urge the military to show restraint, and not to create any more victims.” 

The UN Special Representative for Mali told the Security Council on Friday that despite collective efforts, “the reality is that the security situation has deteriorated and the crisis is deepening”, across the northwest African nation. 

It would be unethical to waste doses while thousands are dying with Covid daily, former world leaders say.

Ethiopia has been increasing its wheat production, but this is yet to catch up with growing wheat demand.

The deputy UN chief on Thursday emphasized the “vital importance” of peace and security in Africa, thanking ambassadors in the Security Council for helping the UN shine a spotlight on the issue, and how all Member States can work with the African Union and other regional and sub-regional groups, to make lives more secure across the continent.

A statue of a cockerel has been handed back to Nigeria after being in the UK for over a century.

South Africa's Quinton de Kock apologises after refusing to take a knee against West Indies and says he is "not a racist".

Pressure mounts on the military to restore civilian rule as international bodies respond.

Agnes Wanjiru was allegedly murdered by a British soldier nearly 10 years ago.