Africa (except North Africa)

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Two former prime ministers of Guinea-Bissau are vying for the presidency in a runoff election Sunday after the incumbent failed to reach the second round in the tumultuous West African country once described by the United Nations as a narco-state.

President Jose Mario Vaz, in power since 2014, has vowed to respect the results in a rare gesture of political stability. Vaz is the first democratically elected president to complete a full term without being deposed or assassinated since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1974.

TASS, December 28: The number of people killed in a car bomb explosion in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu may have exceeded 90, Member of Somali Federal Parliament Abdirizak Mohamed stated on Twitter.

"I was informed the death toll stands over 90 including 17 Somali police officers, 73 civilians and 4 foreign nationals. May Allah have mercy on the victims of this barbaric attack," he wrote.

BUJUMBURA, Dec 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Burundi’s president has again indicated he will not run for another term next year in the politically volatile East African nation.

Pres Pierre Nkurunziza told reporters he planned to hold another press conference “before handing power to our successor.”

His insistence on running again in 2015 led to deadly political turmoil and allegations by human rights groups of widespread abuses. The government later became the first country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court as the government rejected criticism of its actions.

LUSAKA, Dec 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zambia’s state power firm Zesco said it will increase the price of electricity by an average 113 percent for all customers beginning next month as the African nation seeks to attract investment into power generation, according to the country’s energy regulator.

Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board said it had allowed Zesco to increase electricity tariffs by more than 200 percent for residential customers consuming the least amount of power.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 61 people were killed and dozens were wounded in an explosion at a bustling checkpoint in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Saturday, an ambulance service official said, the latest in a string of deadly attacks.

Rescuers carried dead bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and a minibus taxi smeared with blood.

“So far, we’ve carried 61 dead people and 51 others injured. There are more casualties and the death toll is sure to rise,” Abdikadir Abdirahman Haji Aden, founder of Aamin ambulances, told Reuters.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government on Friday condemned extremists linked to the Islamic State group after a video circulated of 11 hostages, most of them Christians, being executed. They were thought to be killed on Christmas Day.

President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement he was “profoundly saddened and shocked by the death of innocent hostages in the hands of remorseless, godless, callous gangs of mass murderers that have given Islam a bad name through their atrocities.”

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Islamic extremists on motorcycles killed 14 security force members who were escorting election officials in the West African nation of Niger, the first large attack there since 71 soldiers were killed in a massive ambush earlier this month, authorities said Thursday.

The attack took place Wednesday night near Sanam, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the capital of Niamey, according to a government statement. Officials from the national electoral commission were in the area to conduct a census before next year’s vote.

BANGUI, Dec 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 30 people were killed in fighting between militiamen and traders in a restive district of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, a security official and a local imam said.

“Thirty bodies have been brought to the mosque,” said Awad Al Karim, the imam of the Ali Babolo mosque in a district called PK5 that became a haven for many Bangui Muslims at the peak of Christian-Muslim clashes in the country.

LUSAKA, Dec 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US has recalled its ambassador to Zambia amid a diplomatic row after he criticised the imprisonment of a gay couple.

US embassy sources confirmed to news agencies and local media that Foote had been recalled by Washington.

Last month, Daniel Foote said he was “horrified” that a judge had sentenced the men to 15 years in prison after they were caught having sex in 2017.

The government accused him of trying to dictate policy, and President Edgar Lungu declared him persona non grata.

26 December 2019; AFP: A jihadist attack that left 42 dead in the north of Burkina Faso, the worst assault in the country for five years, plunged the nation into mourning over Christmas and sparked messages of solidarity from the United Nations and Pope Francis.