West Africa

West Africa

• 

  Ghana election, a democracy test

  With five peaceful elections under its belt, Ghana has shed its past of military coups and is poised to choose a president and a 275-seat parliament ... 

• US military planners focused on Mali intervention

  U.S. military planners are working closely with African nations in advance of an offensive to wrest control of northern Mali from al-Qaida linked ... 

• African leader aims for Mali mission in early 2013

  U.N.-mandated African forces could intervene early next year to dislodge al-Qaida-affiliates from their new stronghold in northern Mali, Ivory Coast's ... 

• Somalia bottoms out in transparency survey

  Somalia has bottomed out in an annual ranking of the perceived corruption of nations, joining Afghanistan and North Korea. 

• 

  Islamist sect in Nigeria grows more deadly

  The radical Islamist fighters gather around piles of weapons and ammunition they've stolen and shout praises to God as they shoot into the expanse of ... 

• Mali separatists, Islamists make key pledges

  Ethnic Tuareg rebels have agreed to stop pursuing a separate state in Mali's north, while one of the extremist Islamist groups in the area has pledged ... 

• 

  Foreign poachers target Cameroon elephants: Expert

  Despite armed guards, Cameroon's dwindling elephant population is being decimated by heavily armed gangs of international poachers, according to a top ... 

• US military: Intervention in Mali now would fail

  The top US military commander in Africa warned Monday against any premature military action in Mali, even as he said that al-Qaida linked extremists ... 

• Leader of al-Qaida unit in Mali quits AQIM

  An Algerian-born jihadist who heads one of the most powerful and feared cells of al-Qaida's North African branch has decided to leave the al-Qaida ... 

• Senegal trial of Chad dictator operational soon

  Victims of Chad's ex-dictator may finally have their day in court, as a tribunal set-up to try the former leader is due to become operational in ... 

• Niger's president vows to help Mali

  Niger's president says his country is ready to help Mali regain its northern region which is occupied by Islamist rebels. Niger President Mahamadou ... 

• At least 10 killed in northeast Nigeria violence

  A security official says at least 10 people were killed in attacks in northeast Nigeria likely carried out by a radical Islamist sect. The security ... 

• Burkina Faso parliamentary vote on heels of unrest

  Voters in Burkina Faso lined up for parliamentary and municipal elections on Sunday that come after clashes and army mutinies shook the president's ... 

• 

  Coup era over, Ghana showcases African democracy

  The year was 1966 and a 7-year-old boy named John Dramani Mahama was standing by the door of his boarding school, wondering why his father wasn't ... 

• More than 60 graves desecrated in Benin

   Benin officials say that more than 60 graves were desecrated in the village of Dangbo, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the capital, Porto-Novo. 

• Shell restores Forcados export levels from Nigeria

  Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has lifted a six-week-long production warning on Forcados crude exports from Nigeria's oil-rich delta following pipeline ... 

• Mauritanian president returns to France

  Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz left Nouachott Friday, saying he was going back to France for "planned medical tests," less than a week ... 

• African Union asks UN for immediate action on Mali

  In an open letter Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the president of the African Union urged the U.N. to take immediate military action ... 

• Mali: 6 young people get 100 lashes in Timbuktu

  Timbuktu residents say that Islamist extremists controlling the city publicly whipped 6 young people, males and females aged between 16 to 22 years, ... 

• Islamists push secular Tuaregs into Mali desert

  Islamists in northern Mali say they have pushed the secular Tuareg rebels out of a northwestern town and into the desert and now control the main Mali ... 

• Thousands continue to flee homes in Ivory Coast

  Thousands of people in Ivory Coast continue to flee their homes because of ongoing land conflicts and residual tension from last year's postelection ... 

• S. Africa group pays $335M for MTN Nigeria share

  A South African investment group has purchased a minority stake in MTN Group Ltd.'s operation in Nigeria for $335 million. Shanduka Group said in a ... 

• 10 killed in central Nigeria violence

  Gunmen sprayed bullets from a moving van Monday night, killing ten people in a predominantly Christian town in a region beset by religious tensions, ... 

• Attack frees Nigeria police inmates, leaves 2 dead

  Gunmen attacked a major police station near Nigeria's capital Monday that holds members of a radical Islamist sect, freeing prisoners and killing two ... 

• Frenchman kidnapped in Mali asks gov't for help

  A French national who was kidnapped by an al-Qaida-linked extremist group in Mali appeared on a video published this weekend and made available on ...