Archive for the ‘Africas’ Category

Christians and Muslims in central Nigeria are accusing each other of starting the recent clashes in which hundreds of people were killed in and around the city of Jos in Plateau state. Nigerian police said on Tuesday that at least 326 people have died in the violence in Plateau.... Full story

Moussa Dadis Camara, Guinea's former military leader, has backed a plan to appoint a transitional government, and says he will not seek to reclaim power. Camara, who is convalescing in neighbouring Burkina Faso, was speaking in public for the first time since he was injured in an assassination attempt in December. "I signed in full confidence ... for a rapid exit from the crisis," ... Full story

Somali pirates have released a Greek-flagged oil tanker after receiving millions of dollars in ransom. Sources from among the pirates on Monday confirmed that the Maran Centaurus, one of the largest ships ever hijacked, had been freed. The pirates agreed to release the vessel after an aircraft dropped at least five million dollars in ransom on the deck. The ransom, one of the largest ever paid, appeared to ... Full story

A US-based rights group has urged Nigeria's vice-president to order an immediate criminal investigation into "a massacre of at least 150 Muslim residents" of a town in central Nigeria. In a statement, Corinne Dufka, Human Rights Watch's (HRW) senior West Africa researcher, said the killings in Kuru Karama, 30km south of the city of Jos, required "the authorities to act now". "Something ... Full story

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Guinea's military rulers have said its wounded leader must be sent home from Burkina Faso, where he is recovering from injuries sustained when he was shot by a former aide last month. Thursday's demand directly contradicted an earlier statement from General Sekouba Konate, the government's second-in-command, that said Camara would not be allowed to return to Guinea. Since he took control following the wounding of Camara, Konate ... Full story

A Nigerian court has ruled that Goodluck Jonathan, the vice-president, can take over the duties of the president, who has been sick, without a formal transfer of power. The decision on Wednesday by the chief judge in the Federal High Court in Abuja, the capital, was taken following the absence of Umaru Yar'Adua, the president, from the country since November 28. Yar'Adua, 58, has been receiving ... Full story

South Sudan's former rebels have chosen a northern Muslim as their candidate in April's presidential election, the country's first multiparty poll since 1986. The candidacy of Yassir Arman was announced by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which leads the government in the semi-autonomous south, on Friday after lengthy talks among party officials. "The political bureau have unanimously picked comrade Yassir Said Arman as SPLM presidential candidate for the republic ... Full story