KINGALI – The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday said it had handed over to Kigali 20 fighters from a militia founded by ethnic Hutus who took part in the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda has long pointed to the alleged presence of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda...
CAIRO – Egypt yesterday rejected attempts aimed at establishing a rival government in Sudan, warning that such moves jeopardised the “unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the war-torn country. Sudan has been locked in a war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for nearly two years, plunging the country into what...
KAMPALA – The Ugandan army confirmed yesterday it had sent troops to another town in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to fight local armed groups, amid fears a raging conflict could spiral into a wider war. “Our troops have entered Mahagi town and we are in control,” Uganda’s defence and military affairs spokesman Felix Kulayigye...
DEHRADUN – The death toll from an avalanche in northern India climbed to seven yesterday as survivors recalled their dramatic rescue after hours buried under the snow and debris. Rescuers recovered one body and were looking for three others still missing, the army said. More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after...
MOSKOW – Moscow said on Saturday it had seized two more villages in the east of Ukraine, while Kyiv officials said Russian strikes had killed one person and wounded 19. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured Sudne and Burlatske south of the eastern Donetsk region. They lie near the town of Velyka...
MOGADISHU – Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Ahmed Ahmed arrived in Somalia yesterday for talks with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud aimed at building on a fragile reconciliation. They will hold talks “on security, politics and diplomacy, economics and the fight against terrorism in the region”, the Somali government said in a statement. Security officials at the airport...
PORT LOUIS – The Indian Ocean tourist meccas of Mauritius and La Reunion braced yesterday for an intense tropical storm, Cyclone Garance, which was labelled a “direct threat” to the islands. Mauritius shut its main airport the previous day, while the nearby French island of La Reunion was set to do the same yesterday. Garance...
GAZA CITY – Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners yesterday, shortly after saying Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over coffins believed to contain the bodies of four hostages. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had received the coffins of “four fallen hostages”, and a process to formally identify them had started. A kibbutz later...
MOGADISHU – More than 70 members of the Islamist armed group Al-Shabaab were killed during an army operation with local forces in Somalia, the information ministry said on Tuesday. Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has been fighting the federal government for more than 15 years to try to establish Islamic law in the impoverished country. “Over 70 extremist...
CAPE TOWN – The erosion of multilateralism threatens global growth and stability, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa warned at a G20 finance meeting in South Africa marked by the absence of the United States (US) treasury secretary. Two days of talks of finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s leading economies opened a...