Suspected jihadists in central Mali are holding more than 110 civilians they abducted six days ago, local sources told AFP on Monday. Three buses carrying the civilians were stopped on April 16 by “jihadists,” who forced the vehicles and the passengers to head towards a forest between Bandiagara and Bankass, a local group of associations and an elected official said. “We demand the release of more than 110 passengers of three buses abducted on Tuesday by jihadists,” a member of the group, Oumar Ongoiba, told AFP. An elected official from Bandiagara, who wanted to remain anonymous for security ..read more

Kenya’s defense chief and nine other top brass died on Thursday in a military helicopter crash in a remote area of the country, President William Ruto said. “Today at 2:20 pm, our nation suffered a tragic air accident… I am deeply saddened to announce the passing of General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF),” Ruto told reporters. The president, who had convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council after news of the accident emerged, said nine other “gallant military personnel” on board were also killed while two survived. Ogolla, 61, a trained fig ..read more

French shipbuilder Piriou has delivered Cayor, the third and final 58 S-class offshore patrol vehicle (OPV) for the Senegalese Armed Forces, in Concarneau in northwestern France. The handover concluded the OPV program signed in 2019, which covered the acquisition of three 62-meter (203 feet) ships for Senegal’s Maritime Defense and State Action at Sea. Cayor’s first sister ship, Walo, was delivered in June 2023, followed by Niani in November. All three are set to take part in the army’s rescue, anti-trafficking, and anti-sea pollution missions. Piriou President Vincent Faujour stated that the ..read more

Clashes between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary have killed at least 25 civilians in the North Darfur town of El-Fasher, a pro-democracy lawyers committee said Tuesday. The city and its surrounding villages have suffered several days of “arbitrary shelling and air strikes,” according to the Emergency Lawyers, which have been documenting atrocities committed against civilians since fighting began a year ago between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As the war entered its second year, the United Nations and United States have warned the breakdown of the fragi ..read more

Clashes between powerful Libyan armed groups broke out Thursday night in the capital Tripoli, sparking panic among locals celebrating the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, local media reported. The clashes lasted for about one hour but claimed no lives, the reports said. Libya is still struggling to recover from years of war and chaos after the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Although relative calm has returned to the oil-rich country in the past four years, clashes periodically occur between its myriad armed groups. Witnesses said they heard exchanges of fire, in ..read more

A bomb blast has killed six Nigerien soldiers near the border with Mali, Niger’s army said Thursday, adding around 10 “terrorists” were later killed in air strikes. An army patrol vehicle early this week hit a homemade landmine near the southwestern village of Tingara, the defense ministry said in a bulletin. Other soldiers were also wounded and taken to hospital, it added. Niger is ruled by military leaders who seized power in a July coup, citing a worsening security situation as justification for the power grab. But jihadist violence that had already gone on for eight years has continued. Th ..read more

Chinese peacekeepers with the UN stabilization mission in eastern DR Congo attended a departure ceremony on Tuesday as the force withdraws from the war-torn region. The 15,000 MONUSCO troops deployed in the vast central African country started to leave in February at the request of the Kinshasa government, which considers them ineffective. The disengagement is to be carried out in three phases this year. Under phase one, military and police peacekeepers from 14 bases in South Kivu are set to leave by the end of April. Civilian staff are to go by June 30. North Kivu, where M23 rebels have seize ..read more

Mortar fire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed three Tanzanian soldiers who were part of a southern Africa force deployed to help government troops battling M23 rebels. The regional force sent soldiers to North Kivu province in December to help Kinshasa regain ground from the M23 militia in the lawless east. The force includes soldiers from regional military heavyweight South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi. “This unfortunate incident happened after a hostile mortar round had fallen near the camp they were staying,” the 10-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said ..read more

The Nigerian Army has signed an agreement with the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) to convert 30 of its petrol-powered vehicles to CNG-powered capabilities. They will collaborate with the National Institute of Transport Technology to facilitate the vehicle conversions. A two-week conversion technology training for 22 of the army’s engineers will also be facilitated by the institute. The move comes in response to the Standard Organisation of Nigeria pushing for CNG use in road vehicles and related technologies. A Cleaner Nigeria Nigerian Army Public Relations Director Maj ..read more

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