Africa (except North Africa)

BENI, Congo, June 28 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's army said on Monday an Islamist militia which claims links to Islamic State (IS) was responsible for two blasts in the eastern city of Beni, as the mayor closed local schools, churches and markets in a tightening of security.

The army said Sunday's attacks bore the signature of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has used improvised explosive devices in the past.

RUBAVU (Rwanda), June 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi met at Rwanda’s border town Rubavu on Friday to discuss bilateral relations.

Tshisekedi was received by Kagame at La Corniche One-Stop Border Post in Rubavu before the two leaders toured Rubavu to assess the damage caused by the recent earthquakes following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano in eastern DRC.

Later in the day, the two presidents held a closed door bilateral meeting in Rubavu.

DAR ES SALAAM, June 26 (Reuters) - President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Saturday that Tanzania will look to revive a $10 billion stalled port project on the eastern coast of the country.

Tanzania inked a framework agreement in 2013 with China Merchants Holdings International to construct the port and a special economic zone that aimed to transform the east African country into a trade and transport hub to rival its neighbours.

BAMAKO, June 25 (Reuters) - Fifteen U.N. peacekeepers, including several from Germany, were wounded in northern Mali on Friday in an attack on their camp involving a vehicle-borne explosive, the U.N. mission in Mali and the German military said.

The attack targeted a temporary base set up by the peacekeepers near the village of Ichagara in northern Gao region, where Islamist insurgents linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State are active.

The wounded were being evacuated, the U.N. mission said in a post on Twitter without giving further details.

24 June 2021; MEMO: Former Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has been arrested after a judge in charge of a corruption probe ordered his incarceration for failing to abide by the terms of his judicial supervision.

According to RT, the judge heard the arguments of Ould Abdel Aziz in the Palace of Justice before deciding to refer him to detention.

Strict security measures were imposed in the vicinity of the Palace of Justice during the hearing.

ABUJA, June 24 (Reuters) - Northeast Nigeria's conflict with Islamist insurgencies had killed nearly 350,000 people as of the end of 2020, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said on Thursday.

The toll, given by the U.N. agency in a new study on the war and its impact on livelihoods, is 10 times higher than previous estimates of about 35,000 based only on those killed in fighting in Nigeria since the conflict's start 12 years ago.

"The full human cost of the war is much greater," the UNDP said in a report, released with Nigeria's Ministry of Finance.

LUANDA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Angola argued for the lifting of an arms embargo against the Central African Republic (CAR), according to a press release from the Angolan presidency distributed here.

The issue was raised by Angolan President Joao Lourenco during a UN session convened to discuss the security situation in the CAR, when he was speaking in his capacity as the acting president of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

Lourenco highlighted that the arms embargo has prevented the CAR from building up its armed forces for several years.

ABIDJAN, June 23 (Reuters) - An Ivory Coast court on Wednesday sentenced former prime minister Guillaume Soro to life imprisonment in absentia on charges he plotted a coup against President Alassane Ouattara.

23 June 2021; MEMO: Facebook blocked former Mauritanian Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould Maham from posting on his page after he welcomed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who is visiting Nouakchott, Safa news agency reported yesterday.

The former official welcomed Haniyeh and the accompanying delegation who arrived in the country to hold meetings with several popular and official figures.

ABUJA, June 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigerian police killed 14 gunmen after repelling their attempted attack on a police station in central Nigeria’s Benue state on Sunday morning, police said.

Catherine Anene, a spokesperson for Benue police, said in a statement a group of gunmen numbering about 50 launched an attack in early hours of Sunday on a police station at Katsina-Ala town of the state, in a bid to free some suspected bandits who were arrested by police on Saturday and detained in the station.