Fresh fighting erupted on Sunday between troops of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former deputy President Riek Machar in Nasir town, Upper Nile State, spokesperson for Kiir’s government troops, Lul Ruia Koang, told Xinhua on Monday.

The clashes followed renewed fighting between the rival army factions on Saturday in Lainya County of Central Equatoria State.

Koang said the clashes in Nasir started on Sunday morning and again on Monday. He accused Machar’s SPLM-IO troops of shelling their positions in Nasir.

Machar’s spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, could not comment on the latest fighting, saying he was still waiting for official reports on the development in Nasir.

Machar fled Juba after some four days of heavy clashes between the rival factions which started on July 7, leaving the fate of a power-sharing government formed in April after more than two years of civil war in the balance.

Tension between the rival troops grew again after President Kiir sacked Machar as first vice president last week following the expiry of a 48-hour ultimatum given for Machar’s return to Juba.

Dak on Sunday accused the government troops of attacking their positions in Lainya on Saturday.

He also called for deployment of a third force in Juba, warning: “Or else we will be forced to act further and march to Juba in order to restore peace and security in the capital.”

However Koang denied the accusations, saying the government troops acted to protect the civilians and didn’t violate a cease fire.

“We had a small engagement with some remnants of the SPLM-IO forces on Saturday. They are on the loose and they have been spreading insecurity. We are not violating the ceasefire. We are only protecting the civilians and their property because this is our mandate,” Koang told Xinhua on Monday.

Koang also dismissed allegations by the SPLA-IO that they would be forced to attack Juba if no third force was deployed to provide buffer for the rival forces.

“The SPLM-IO forces are 90 miles northwest of Juba. What capacity do they have to march to Juba? Juba is not threatened,” said Koang.

Augustino Kiri Gwolo, the commissioner of Lainya County, told Xinhua by phone that the weekend clashes displaced over 3,000 people. He however said calm had returned to the area and people were returning home.

“There were clashes on Saturday on Wundurub-Lainya road. It was only one day. People have started returning home but to empty houses,” said Gwolo.

xinhuanet.com

After a series of deadly attacks, Mali politicians agree to extend the country’s state of emergency by eight months

Mali politicians have agreed to extend the country’s state of emergency by an additional eight months in response to renewed violence in the restive northeast.

Members of parliament unanimously backed the extension in a session of the National Assembly on Saturday, a parliamentary source said.

“I want to reassure that the state of emergency contributes to the stability of the country” and preserves security, Interior Minister Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga told politicians.

The new state of emergency, which gives security services additional authority and restricts public gatherings, will last until March 29, 2017, public broadcaster ORTM said.

The vote came as renewed violence broke out near Kidal in the northeast.

Local sources said former Tuareg fighters stormed an army base in central Nampala, leaving 17 soldiers dead and 35 wounded.

It was the first time the two groups have broken a ceasefire since last September.

Following the attack, the government had imposed a ten-day state of emergency.

Hundreds of government supporters marched through central Bamako on Saturday afternoon to support Mali’s security forces and the peace process, according to an AFP photographer.

Two groups – the Ansar Dine and a newly formed ethnic group known as the National Alliance for the Protection of Peul Identity and Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ) – claimed to have been responsible for what the government described as a “coordinated terrorist attack”.

Several security sources told AFP they doubted whether ANSIPRJ had the means to carry out an attack as such.

Special forces this week said they had caught a senior figure from Ansar Dine’s central combat unit, who they believe helped to coordinate the assault.

Ansar Dine is a mainly Tuareg group that controlled areas of Mali’s northern desert together with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a third local group in early 2012.

Mali declared a state of emergency in November 2015 after fighters stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, killing 20 people in an attack claimed by al-Qaeda’s regional branch.

Attacks have recently become more frequent in the country’s centre, close to its borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.

aljazeera.com

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has voted to deploy a UN police force to restive Burundi, in its toughest measure aimed at helping end over a year of violence in the West African country.

The council adopted a France-drafted resolution Friday authorizing the dispatch of up to 228 officers to the capital, Bujumbura, and throughout Burundi for a preliminary period of one year.

“This is a strong act of preventative diplomacy,” said French Ambassador Francois Delattre, adding that the UN force gives the council “eyes and ears” on the ground to provide early warning of possible mass atrocities.

This is while Burundi has said it would not accept more than 50 UN police forces.

The UNSC resolution also called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ensure a “progressive deployment” of the new force to monitor human rights violations and abuses in Burundi.

The violence has triggered fears of mass atrocities similar to those that shook neighboring Rwanda in 1994.

Four countries on the 15-member council abstained from the council vote, which passed with 11 votes in favor. The abstentions came from China, Egypt, Angola and Venezuela, which cited the need to secure Bujumbura’s consent for the police force.

Burundi has been gripped in chaos since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans in April last year to run for a third term, which he went on to win.

More than 500 people have been killed, many of them in extrajudicial executions blamed on Burundian police, security forces and militias linked to the ruling party, according to a UN report. At least 270,000 others have also fled the country.

presstv.com

thestar.com

For more than two millennia, inhabitants of Djenné, Mali, have lived inside of ancient mud homes, part of a settlement that now contains roughly 2,000 historic structures. The West African town is also home to the world’s largest mud-brick building and one of the finest examples of Sudanese architecture, the Grand Mosque.

But these remarkable World Heritage sites are now in danger of deterioration as rebel groups like al-Qaeda continue to threaten the area, according to UNESCO. The instability means that preservationists are unable to safely work and access materials needed to maintain the ancient structures in the face of erosion and urbanization.

When an UNESCO team visited Djenné earlier this year, they were alarmed to find evidence of deterioration. The organization is working with the Malian government on conserving the elaborate mud buildings, but more financial resources are needed.

A rich cultural and trade center, Djenné’s historical Sudanese-style structures—some of the oldest in existences—are made of mud bricks covered in plaster. Larger important buildings like the Grand Mosque feature wooden beams extending beyond the facade.

curbed.com

Nigerien Defense and Security Forces (FDS) have unilaterally launched a major operation against Boko Haram terrorist group within the territory of neighbouring Nigeria, local media in Niamey reported.

According to different sources, a long line of FDS armoured vehicles on Monday passed through Diffa to “Doutsi” bridge along Komadougou Yobe river that separates Niger and Nigeria.

The objective is to neutralize resistance by Boko Haram sect and capture the Nigerian town of Damasak which is considered as a stronghold of the terror group.

The Nigerien soldiers are more determined to eliminate this terrorist sect, the same sources reported.

However, the government has not revealed any information regarding the said operation.

Boko Haram sect which launched attacks in 2009 in northern Nigeria and later in other neighbouring countries like Niger, Cameroon and Chad, has killed over 20,000 people and led to displacement of over 2 million others.

In Niger in particular, since February 2015, the terrorist sect has carried out numerous deadly attacks in the eastern regions neighbouring Nigeria like Bosso and Diffa, leaving hundreds of civilians and soldiers dead, and thousands others displaced.

xinhuanet.com

A military approach, needed to be complemented by holistic means, followed by stabilisation measures to stop Boko Haram attacks, says top UN official

The threat that Boko Haram poses to the Lake Chad Basin region will not be defeated by military means alone, a top United Nations political affairs official has warned.

“To bring an end to the Boko Haram threat in the Lake Chad Basin region, affected countries must address the root causes that have contributed to the emergence of the group, including the social, economic and political grievances of marginalised communities,” Jeffrey Feltman, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs told the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York during an open debate on peace and security in Africa.

A military approach, while essential, needed to be complemented by holistic means, followed by stabilisation measures to stop Boko Haram attacks, said Feltman.

Attacks continue

Attacks by the militants continue, mainly in north-eastern Nigeria and southern Niger, and to a lesser extent, in northern Cameroon and the Lac region of Chad, said Feltman.

Despite commendable regional efforts, the group continues to threaten regional stability, as illustrated by the June 3 attack on a military base in Bosso town, south-eastern Niger.

The regional offensive involving Chadian, Cameroonian, Nigerian and Nigerien troops operating under the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), has recaptured 80 percent of areas once under Boko Haram control, freed thousands of captives and prevented terrorist attacks.

Feltman said, however, that Lake Chad Basin countries had expressed their growing impatience over delays by international partners to support the MNJTF financially, as the Force’s success depends on timely and actionable intelligence, as well as specialised counter-terrorism skills and equipment, given the evolving tactics of Boko Haram.

More than 100 persons had to flee from one of the small islands in Lake Chad after Boko Haram insurgents attacked their village.

The UN and the five countries from the Sahel – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – will together produce the outline of a capacity building framework for counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism, including concrete regional projects, he said.

On the human rights front, Feltman said the UN has received reports of increased incidents of sexual and gender-based violence among the displaced. States must adopt measures to protect civilians and respect due process when dealing with persons arrested for Boko Haram-related charges.

Children used by Boko Haram should be treated as victims and dealt with in accordance with international standards for juvenile justice.

Economy devasted

The Boko Haram crisis has devastated the region’s economy. Economic growth dropped sharply with the decline of oil prices and other commodities.

Decreasing resources affected the states’ ability to deliver basic social services and to pay the salaries of security forces and civil servants.

Insecurity has disrupted trade routes between Chad and Nigeria, interrupting the supply of basic goods and producing price hikes.

Youth unemployment was at a worrisome high, providing recruitment ground for Boko Haram, Feltman noted.

Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, stressed the need to urgently strengthen international attention on the “neglected” situation in the Lake Chad Basin, which hosts Africa’s fastest growing displacement crisis.

Humanitarian assistance

Across the Lake Chad Basin, the UN estimates that over nine million people need humanitarian assistance, said O’Brien. About 2.8 million of these people have been displaced, fleeing violent attacks in their towns and villages. Children are particularly vulnerable, especially the 1.7 million children who have been displaced across the Lake Chad Basin.

Nigeria is bearing the brunt of the crisis. Nigeria accounts for seven million of the nine million people in need across the Lake Chad Basin.

Last month, the Nigerian authorities rightly declared a nutrition emergency for Borno state. Reports from the field indicate that affected communities are rapidly running out of food.

mgafrica.com/

A network of Islamic State terror cells is operating across Southern Africa, according to the affidavit of a police officer in the SAPS’s crimes against the state unit

The affidavit of Warrant Officer Wynand Olivier was handed in at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday during the bail application of terror accused Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie.

The application was postponed to tomorrow when lawyer Annelene van den Heever, acting for the 23-year-old identical twins, will argue that their arrest in anti-terror raids earlier this month, and their detention, was unlawful.

Olivier’s affidavit was used in the police application for search warrants .

It purports to lift the lid on IS operations in Southern Africa, and alleges that siblings Ibrahim and Fatima Patel, also arrested in raids this month, were involved in recruiting for IS.

The four are accused of planning attacks against US and Jewish interests in South Africa using explosives, of recruitment for IS, and of providing and receiving training, of soliciting support for IS and of financing terrorism.

In his affidavit, Olivier says the police would search for material “relevant to the planning and carrying out of attacks, including identifying potential targets, maps and routes to and from the targets, and communications between individuals and IS networks.

“Material will reveal the identities and communication methods and lists containing these details and names, pseudonyms of all role-players and in particular material related to Simba, Umm Hurayra and Rachel Levi of the IS network.”

Olivier alleges that a Cape Town teenager who was stopped trying to leave the country last year appears to have been recruited “via social media” and telephonic communications with persons using the names Umm Hurayra and Rachel Levi.

“It’s been established that the persons responsible for the recruitment were using addresses in Azaadville. The addresses were occupied by Ibrahim and Fatima Patel.”

He said that after being told that an airline had refused to allow the twins and a Ronaldo Smit to fly to Turkey, he monitored them on social media and learned that they had posts promoting support for IS.

“Liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies has established that Tony-Lee Thulsie uses the pseudonym Simba and is in communication with persons outside the country with strong links to IS.”

Van den Heever said the Thulsies would ask the High Court to set aside the search warrant.

timeslive.co.za

Explosions rocked an African Union peacekeeping base and the airport in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, police and local residents said Tuesday.

Details of the number of blasts and casualties were not immediately clear. However, local journalists reported that there were fatalities.

A suicide car bomb was detonated close to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base near the airport, police told Reuters. The base is in the “green zone” of Mogadishu, which also contains the United Nations offices as well as foreign embassies.

A police official told The Associated Press that a suicide bomber had targeted a U.N. office, killing three people.

Somali terror group al Shabaab told regional news channel Al Jazeera it had carried out the attack. NBC News could not immediately verify that claim.

Writer and photographer Sakariye Cismaan, who lives in a residential zone close to the airport, said his house was covered in dust and from the explosion, and a small rock.

“I heard one massive blast, followed by another one few minutes later,” he told NBC News. “I spoke with a friend who works at the airport. He told me that a few friends of his are hurt by stray glass from exploded car and the airport’s windows.”

The AMISOM base was previously infiltrated by al Shabaab in December 2014.

nbcnews.com

Piracy and armed robbery at sea have fallen to their lowest level since 1995 in the first half of the year amid a decline in attacks in Indonesia and Somalia, an international watch group said Monday.