Somalia's capital Mogadishu hit by deadly car bomb
At least eight people have been killed a massive car bomb in the centre of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, police have said. A BBC reporter in the city says a loud explosion was heard near the National Theatre. Security has improved in Mogadishu over the past year following the withdrawal of the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group. A new Somali government was formed last year tasked with ending instability. BBC
Al-Qaeda in Maghreb near collapse
The death knell is sounding for al-Qaeda's North African branch. As the African and French military campaign against terrorists in northern Mali entered its second month, the Ifoghas Mountains turned from sanctuary to graveyard for several high-profile leaders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The first to fall was perhaps the biggest name: Abdelhamid Abou Zeid. Within days, Chadian troops claimed the killing of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, aka Khaled Abou El Abbas, or "Laaouar", the mastermind of the January In Amenas siege that left 37 civilians dead. Magharebia Terror Haven in Mali Feared After French Leave
With France planning to start withdrawing its troops from Mali next month, Western and African officials are increasingly concerned that the African soldiers who will be relied on to continue the campaign against militants linked to Al Qaeda there do not have the training or equipment for the job. The heaviest fighting so far, which has driven the militants out of the towns and cities of northeastern Mali, has been borne by French and Chadian forces, more or less alone. Those forces are now mostly conducting patrols in the north, while troops sent by Mali's other regional allies, including Nigeria and Senegal, have been slow to arrive and have focused on peacekeeping rather than combat, prompting grumbles from Chad's president, Idriss Déby Itno. The New York Times Al Qaeda calls for new recruits to fight France-SITE monitoring
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has appealed for new recruits from North African Arab countries in its fight against what it said was France's Crusader campaign in Mali, a U.S.-based intelligence monitoring website reported on Sunday. SITE said the appeal was posted on websites used by AQIM on Saturday, urging Islamist militants being pursued by their governments to join its fighters battling French-led forces in Mali or Algeria. Reuters Fifth French soldier killed in northern Mali
A fifth French soldier was killed in the nine-week-old military campaign against Islamist rebels in Mali, the French government said on Sunday. The corporal from the 1st Marine infantry regiment of Angouleme was killed in action, President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement, without giving details. France 24 U.S. Diplomats See Progress in Mali Since January
Immense progress has taken place in Mali since January when an international force of French and African troops arrived to retake the northern part of the country from violent extremists, according to two U.S. diplomats working to resolve the crisis. "The international military intervention has helped restore Mali's territorial integrity and undermined the capacity of terrorist and extremist groups to operate freely in the north of Mali," U.S. Ambassador to Mali Mary Beth Leonard said in a teleconference with reporters March 14. State.gov Head of US Africa command warns of Islamic threat
The chief of the U.S. Africa Command warned on Friday that threats from Islamic extremists in Africa are increasing and if unchecked could pose a greater danger to American interests and allies. Army Gen. Carter Ham faced some wary members of the House Armed Services Committee, who questioned a robust U.S. military involvement in Africa after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ham said the threats in Africa do not match al-Qaida or the Taliban in Afghanistan, "but the trend is not good." AP Africom Helps Partner Nations Grow Capability, Ham Says
Now in its fifth year, U.S. Africa Command brings "markedly increased" capabilities to its mission of defending U.S. interests and developing regional militaries, the command's leader told Congress today. During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Army Gen. Carter F. Ham said both positive progress and emerging threats have this year demonstrated Africa's strategic importance to the United States and its allies. U.S. Department of Defense African roles in the Libyan conflict of 2011
Libya's relationship with sub-Saharan Africa has been complex, troubled and misunderstood, both during the rule of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the conflict that culminated in his overthrow and death. The Libyan conflict of 2011 divided Africa, but nonetheless the African Union (AU) was able to agree on a political strategy aimed at achieving a negotiated settlement and power transition. African Argument South Sudan pulls first troops from border with Sudan
South Sudan began pulling its army out of a buffer zone with its old civil war foe Sudan on Sunday and thousands of troops streamed out of this border garrison town. The creation of a demilitarized buffer zone is seen as a crucial first step in resuming landlocked South Sudan's oil exports through Sudan, which Juba shut off in January last year during a row with Khartoum over fees. Reuters
U.S. Embassy Criticizes Pardons in Nigerian Corruption Cases
Convictions for corruption by top officials in Nigeria are so rare that they are treated as national milestones. So when the government rolled back one of the most prominent of them this week, the shock was commensurate. On Friday, the United States fueled a growing fracas over the pardoning of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the former governor of one of the country's oil-laden southern states, who was convicted in 2007 after jumping bail in London and sneaking back to Nigeria dressed as a woman. His antics were so extreme that even in a place of many obviously ill-gotten gains, he managed to raise eyebrows. The New York Times France: Discretion needed to free Nigeria hostages
France is adopting a "determined and discrete" approach to safeguard the lives of eight French hostages kidnapped by extremist groups in and near Nigeria, an official said Saturday. Laurent Fabius, France's foreign minister, made the comment to reporters at the international airport in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, after a closed-door meeting with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan as part of a West Africa trip that also took Fabius to neighboring Cameroon, where seven of the eight hostages were captured. AP on Starts and Stripes Rebels in Congo Loyal to Warlord Flee or Give Up
Congolese rebels loyal to the warlord Bosco Ntaganda have fled into neighboring Rwanda or surrendered to United Nations peacekeepers after being routed by a rival faction, rebels and United Nations officials said Saturday. After weeks of infighting within the March 23 Movement, the leader of another rebel faction, Gen. Sultani Makenga, could now be in a position to sign a peace deal with the government, bringing an end to a yearlong rebellion in eastern Congo. The New York Times U.S. worried about deteriorating security in Central African Republic
The United States is concerned about worsening security in war-torn Central African Republic and urged all sides to implement January's ceasefire deal, the State Department said on Sunday. The rebel Seleka coalition and President Francois Bozize's government signed a ceasefire agreement in Libreville, Gabon, in January to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital Bangui. Reuters Kenya's Raila Odinga lodges legal challenge to election result
Kenya's second-placed presidential contender Raila Odinga has filed a legal challenge against election results that handed a narrow victory to his chief rival Uhuru Kenyatta. The Telegraph Kenya in transition dilemma over election petition
Confusion surrounds Kenya government operations in the wake of a petition challenging the presidential election results after senior state operatives differed over key transition issues. One of the areas of contention is whether incumbent ministers as well as Prime Minister Raila Odinga should continue serving in the government until a new Cabinet is sworn in. Also in contest among political players is the extent to which President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta should exercise the powers of the president. East African Morocco vs Western Sahara: Shifting narratives
Given how both sides like to highlight the other's embarrassments, pro-Moroccan media have been delighted to give prominence to reports that the Mouvement pour l'Unicité et le Jihad en Afrique de l'Ouest (MUJAO) - a major component in the Islamist alliance that took control of northern Mali in 2012 - has swelled its ranks with some 300 fighters from the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Any linkage between the Polisario Front and the Islamist group would underline Morocco's claim to have brought stability to the former Spanish colony, which it sees as an integral part of King Mohammed VI's kingdom, and would paint the Sahrawi liberation movement as a destabilising force rather than a legitimate government in waiting. The Africa Report The Path to Radicalization: Following a German Salafist to Egypt
A year ago, a SPIEGEL editor met a Salafist in Hanover. Following several meetings in Germany, he traveled with him to his new home in Egypt. He could not have anticipated the danger he would encounter there. Spiegle Fire leaves thousands homeless in S Africa
Two people have died and 600 informal homes have been destroyed in South Africa's winelands after a fire razed a shantytown, according to a fire services official. The blaze spread rapidly across a large area in Kayamandi in the wine-producing town of Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, in the early hours of Friday. Al Jazeera Zimbabwe: Referendum Characterised By Intimidation and Voter Apathy
Movement for Democratic Change Secretary General Tendai Biti has complained of abduction and intimidation on the day Zimbabweans were expected to decide the fate of the draft constitution . Speaking to the media at Harvest House, Biti said Samson Magumise an MDC-T activists from Headlands was abducted at gun point in the early hours. allAfrica Robert Mugabe expected to attend Pope Francis's inauguration mass
He came to John Paul II's funeral - where he shook hands with Prince Charles - and he was also at the late pontiff's beatification ceremony. So it should come as no surprise that Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe accused of human rights abuses, is expected at the inauguration mass for Pope Francis on Tuesday. The Italian news agency, Ansa, reported that Mugabe, 89, who has declared himself to be a Catholic, would arrive today at Rome's Fiumicino airport.A presidential source in Zimbabwe confirmed that the 89-year-old would be attending the mass. The Guardian Zambia Removes the Immunity For President Rupiah Banda to Be Tried For Corruption
The Zambian Parliament has removed the legal immunity of former President Rupiah Banda to enable the government to take him to court and answer charges of alleged abuse of office and corruption. The rushed manner in which the motion to remove President Banda's immunity has left a big cloud of doubt of what the true intentions of the government are. This also shows that Zambia never learns, as this is the second time that the southern African copper giant is removing the immunity of a former president, with the first case involving late second republican President Fredrick Chiluba. Policymic Joseph Kony graphic novel illustrates personal stories of violent campaign
Joseph Kony's campaign of violent conflict in the Congo became the notorious cause of well intentioned teens last year when millions shared a viral video. Now Kony is the unlikely subject of a comic book, created by freelance reporter David Axe who spent six weeks in 2010 reporting the violence of the Lord's Resistance Army. The result, published Tuesday, is the graphic novel, Army of God: Joseph Kony's War in Central Africa - the latest addition to the niche genre of "conflict-based, nonfiction comic reporting". The Guardian Moroccan King tours Africa to give new impetus to South-South cooperation This tour is formalized within the scope of historical relationships between the kingdom and these three countries where Morocco has "consolidated its position,". Strong feelings of unity exist between Moroccans and the peoples of Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon. The King's visit aims also to strengthen political and economic cooperation with these countries. Other important topics such the current situation in Mali and North Africa will be discussed on this occasion. Middle East Online
A Cruel Tradition In Congo: When Kids Die, Witch-Hunts Target Parents
[...] It is a tradition here in the western Congolese province of Bandundu. When children die, their friends retaliate by attacking their parents. They beat up the parents, wreck and burn their houses, or the house of an uncle who is suspected of having eaten the dead child. Last year, two houses were burned down in Camp Onatra, a Bandundu neighborhood. Two years earlier, several fathers were killed and dozens of houses burnt to the ground. These last months, however, some children have started rebelling against the violence, taking action to protect the families of their dead friends. Worldcrunch - Syfia International
Africa's 'Demographic Dividend': The Youth Will Decide
Africa's age structure is said to be reaching its 'Goldilocks moment' where things are 'just right'. Falling birth and mortality rates mean there are more people of working age than ever before and fewer dependents for them to support. In the past, when similar situations have arisen elsewhere, this 'demographic dividend' resulted in economic booms. Think Africa Press | 
