Africa News from Afro News 22 JAN 2015 afronewsmail@gmail Libya Militias Agree to Halt in Fighting, With Caveats The main factions fighting in Libya agreed to a provisional cease-fire on Sunday, apparently in response to pressure from the United Nations Security Council. The cease-fire, beginning midnight Sunday, is the closest that international mediators have come to ending the violence in Libya since it began to escalate last summer with the breakdown into two rival national alliances of competing militias. The wording of the truce, however, left much room for doubt - including one sides vague qualifications about continuing to fight terrorists. Supporters of the general behind that statement, Khalifa Hifter, routinely refer to most of their opponents as terrorists or their collaborators. The New York Times Opposition cries foul in Zambia presidential poll One of the frontrunners in Zambias presidential elections cried fraud just hours after polling stations opened on Tuesday in a tightly contested race to replace Michael Sata, who died in office last year. Opposition candidate Hakainde Hichilema (52) of the United Party for National Development (UPND), said some remote parts of the country had not received ballot papers halfway through the polling day. Why are there no ballot papers in our strongholds, someone is scheming around. Its fraud, Hakainde told reporters after casting his ballot at a school in Lusakas affluent Kabulonga suburb. Hichilema is tipped as the main challenger to Defence Minister Edgar Lungu (58) who represents the ruling Patriotic Front (PF). At stake is the remaining year and a half of Satas five-year term in the copper-rich southern African nation. Mail and Guardian Somali clans clash At least 40 people were killed on Tuesday in fighting between two clans in central Somalia, officials and residents said. Fighting erupted between armed militias in Deefow and other villages 35km south-west of Baladwayne, the capital of Hiiraan province, local official Abdifah Hasan Afrah said by telephone. Several people were wounded and witnesses said that many houses were torched while hundreds of people fled the area. Tension is running high, resident Mahad Muse said. Clans have repeatedly clashed over land ownership in the area. SAPA on News 24 Egypt interested in purchasing Rafale fighters, FREMM frigates Egypt is interested in procuring 20 Rafale fighter jets as well as two FREMM frigates from France in a potential deal worth nearly six billion euros. French newspaper La Tribune reported that France has offered two DCNS FREMM multi-mission frigates worth 1.8 billion euros and 20 Dassault Rafales worth 3.6 billion euros, with representatives from the companies visiting Egypt this week to promote the deal. La Tribune quotes reliable sources as saying the deals could be finalised soon, with contracts signed in the coming weeks. MBDA would supply missiles for both the ships and aircraft. Egypt apparently expressed interest in up to 24 Rafales in September last year during a visit by French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The country had originally shown interest in the Rafale in 2011 during the Arab Spring. DefenceWeb Niger declares three days of mourning after deadly cartoon demos Niger declared three days of mourning from Monday after violent protests over a Prophet Mohammed cartoon published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 10 people dead and dozens of churches torched. Flags will fly at half-mast in memory of those killed during the riots that erupted in the capital Niamey and Zinder at the weekend. The violence left 10 people dead and 173 injured in both cities and saw at least 45 churches set ablaze in the capital alone, police said. A Christian school and orphanage were also set alight and a French flag was burned, national police spokesman Adily Toro told a press conference. AFP on Yahoo News Morocco toughens terror laws Morocco is toughening up its laws to prevent citizens from leaving the country to join foreign terrorist groups. A Moroccan parliamentary commission on Wednesday (December 14th) agreed to impose 5-15 year prison sentences on citizens attempting to join Daesh jihadists in Syria or Iraq, Having already strengthened laws against money laundering, the government has been working on legislation to criminalise participation in the Islamic State (ISIS) and other foreign terror organisations. Magharebia
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 06:30:26 +0000
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