BAIDOA, Somalia (AA) – The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has completed the handover of 21 military bases to the Somali national army, marking the official end of the three-phase troop withdrawal process, the mission has announced. The peacekeeping mission has withdrawn a total of 9,000 troops from Somalia in preparation f...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – The UK has pledged £5 million ($6.6 million) in aid to the Somali national army through the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) Trust Fund, aimed at bolstering the country’s security forces. UNSOS has said that the aid will provide essential non-lethal support, including food rations and communications eq...
NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has condemned Israel’s incursion into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, saying it has resulted in continuous loss of life and widespread devastation for civilians. Mahamat said in a statement that the African Union “firmly condemns the extension of this ...
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – AFP The head of the African Union Commission voiced concern on Saturday about the political crisis in Senegal but said he hoped “free and transparent” elections would be held there soon. Moussa Faki Mahamat’s comments at the opening session of the AU summit came after Senegalese President Macky S...
KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) – President of UN General Assembly Dennis Francis renewed his call for a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli bombardment since October 7 has killed more than 24,000 people, left the territory in ruins, and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Addressing the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Kampala, the capital o...
ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) – The UN Security Council is suffering from “almost complete paralysis” over the siege of Palestine and Palestinians’ ongoing suffering at the hands of Israel, Algeria’s president has said. “The Israeli settlement occupation is indifferent to the UN Security Council, does not pay any attention to what it says, does ...
Berlin, Germany – AFP The African Union said Monday that Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack last month was “inexcusable”, warning that civilian casualties would fuel further “extremism”. “The acts (of Hamas) are reprehensible… but the response is inexcusable,” AU chairman Azali Assou...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) announced Sunday that it has begun the second phase of a drawdown of its peacekeeping troops from Somalia. ATMIS said the second phase of its withdrawal started with the handover of the Biyo Cadde Forward Operating Base to the Somali National Armed Forces. ...
New Delhi, India – AFP The African Union joined the Group of 20 leading economies at its summit on Saturday, giving the continent broader representation in the often-divided bloc. “With everyone’s approval, I request the African Union head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member,” Modi said in his opening address, ba...
NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger from various institutions and activities until the restoration of constitutional order following a recent political upheaval that saw the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum. The AU urged its 55 member states to “reject this unconstitutional change of government and t...
