AFRICA ARCHIVE :

Please note : Most publications move older stories into their archives which may require a fee to view the full story. Some stories listed below may no longer be available online.

Washington Post, 26 May 08, by Stephanie McCrummen
New Civil War Feared in Sudan As Town Empties
'Analysts have long warned that if the civil war resumed, it would probably start in Abyei, whose boundaries remain one of the most explosive unresolved issues of the peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.'

Christian Science Monitor, 28 Nov 08, by Sarah Simpson
Nigeria militants step up oil attacks
'One year after President Umaru Yar' Adua took power, vowing to bring stability to the oil-rich Niger Delta region, observers say little progress has been made.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 08, by Scott Baldauf
Attacks on foreigners spread in S. Africa
'African immigrants may soon be forced to fight back against attacks by South African mobs.'

Christian Science Monitor, 20 May 08, by David Montero
Somalia violence flares in the wake of U.S. airstrike
'Mogadishu's recent outbreak of violence appeared linked to a May airstrike that killed Hashi Aden Ayro, a Somali Islamist leader who the US says has links to Al Qaeda.'

Washington Post, 21 May 08, by Nora Boustany
Ugandan Rebels Seizing More Children
'Abductions on rise in 3 nations used as bases, investigators say'

New York Times, 01 May 08, by Jeffrey Gettleman and Eric Schmitt
U.S. Airstrike Kills Top Qaeda Agent in Somalia
'Aden Hashi Ayro, one of Al Qaeda's top agents in East Africa and the leader of the Islamist comeback in Somalia, was killed Thursday morning by an American airstrike, according to American and Somali officials. Mr. Ayro was one of the most feared and notorious figures in Somalia ...'

Reuters, 01 May 08
Factbox - Key facts on hunted al Qaeda militants in Somalia
'Aden Hashi Ayro was among six al Qaeda operatives or associates that Washington said were in the Horn of Africa nation ...'

Washington Post, 01 May 08, by Nora Boustany
Intensified Fighting, Inadequate Aid Mar Return of Refugees to S. Sudan
'Clashes between southern Sudanese troops and tribal militias in a contested oil-rich region of Sudan are intensifying, and the return of thousands of war refugees is fueling friction in the absence of adequate relief and basic services, according to the aid group Doctors Without Borders.'

International Herald Tribune, 30 Apr 08, by Warren Hoge and Celia W. Dugger
UN voices reluctance to act on Zimbabwe
'The Security Council heard on Tuesday what an American official called a "sobering" account of electoral stalemate and violence in Zimbabwe, but ended up discouraging proposals for direct United Nations involvement in the crisis.'

Washington Post, 23 Apr 08, by Craig Timberg
Delivery of Weapons to Zimbabwe Thwarted
'A Chinese ship carrying weapons and ammunition for Zimbabwe's military may be headed back home, reports said, after repeated attempts to deliver its cargo were frustrated by a coalition of legal activists, union workers and human rights groups.'

International Herald Tribune, 24 Apr 08, by Celia W. Dugger and Alan Cowell
Rift over Zimbabwe unity plan
'As Zimbabwe's political impasse drags into its fourth week, talk of a power-sharing deal between the governing party and the opposition came to the fore Wednesday, though both sides indicated they were unprepared for the compromises that would be required.'

International Herald Tribune, 09 Apr 08, by Celia W. Dugger
Accounts of violence spread in Zimbabwe
'Ten days after Zimbabwe voted and by most accounts rejected its long-serving, autocratic president, Robert Mugabe, the mood of the country grew more ominous on Tuesday, with the opposition reporting widespread attacks on its supporters, black youths driving white farmers off their land and elections officials arrested for vote tampering.'

New York Times, 03 Apr 08, by Barry Bearak
Mugabe Foes Win Majority in Zimbabwe
'President Robert G. Mugabe and his party have lost control of the nation’s Parliament, official election returns showed Wednesday, giving new impetus to the bigger question: Does that foretell a loss of the presidency itself, the job he has held tightly for the past 28 years?'

Christian Science Monitor, 03 Apr 08, by Scott Baldauf
Mugabe era's end may be near
'Army chiefs loyal to President Robert Mugabe now meet with opposition leaders looking for a smooth end to his ruinous – and often brutal – 28-year reign. Official results from Saturday's elections show he's lost his parliamentary majority. And the opposition has declared an outright win in the presidential race, claiming a razor-thin majority of 50.3 percent of the vote. ... The question observers now ask is not whether this is the end of his rule, but how he'll go out.'

International Herald Tribune, 31 Mar 08, by Jeffrey Gettleman
Somali town falls to insurgent Raid
'Islamist insurgents overpowered Somali government troops Monday, seizing a strategic town and continuing their steady march across the war-ravaged country.'

International Herald Tribune, 28 Mar 08, by Jeffrey Gettleman
Islamists gain ground in Somalia
'By its own admission, the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia is on life support. ... its leaders say that unless they get more help - international peacekeepers, weapons, training and money to pay their soldiers, among other things - this transitional government will fall, just like the 13 governments that came before it.'

Washington Post, 27 Mar 08, by Stephanie McCrummen
Somalia's Crisis : Insurgents Briefly Capture Key Town in Show of Defiance
'Islamist insurgents battling for control of Somalia briefly seized a strategic town Wednesday, the latest sign of how feeble the country's internationally backed transitional government has become.'

Washington Post, 13 Mar 08, by Craig Timberg
Democracy Ascendant In States of West Africa
Coups, Civil Wars End, Multiparty Politics Rise

Human Events, 05 Mar 08, by W. Thomas Smith, Jr.
U.S. Navy Strikes Inside Somalia
'It wasn't the first time American air or naval forces had attacked enemy positions in Somalia. It was the fourth such attack in 14 months on the lawless East African nation: a result of the increasing expansion of Islamic extremism onto the African continent.'

BBC News, 28 Feb 08
France to change African links
'France will renegotiate its defence deals with African countries, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said. It has military accords with several of its former colonies and recently helped the Chad government repulse rebels. The changes would mark a "major turning point", he said, with further details to be announced in a speech to the South African parliament.'

Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb 08, by Scott Baldauf
In Sudan, another conflict could eclipse Darfur
'The oil-rich region of Abyei could become the next flash point between Arab and African Sudanese.'

Washington Post, 22 Feb 08, by Stephanie McCrummen
U.S. Policy in Africa Faulted on Priorities
' "While democratization has clearly been one of the three major stated objectives of the Bush administration -- the others being security and development -- democratization probably ranks third," said Joel Barkan, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "You can see it in several ways, but it's mainly the subordination of democratization to the so-called war on terror."'

International Herald Tribune/Reuters, 20 Feb 08
In Africa, Bush denies intent to build bases
'President George W. Bush reassured Africa on Wednesday that the United States was not planning to build new military bases there and played down the risk of rivalry with China for influence on the continent.'

International Herald Tribune, 15 Feb 08, by Jeffrey Gettleman
In Kenya's peace process, devils in the details
'Despite soothing words from Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general who is trying to mediate a solution to the Kenyan political crisis, one thing seemed clear on Friday: Kenya is stuck.'

International Herald Tribune, 07 Feb 08, by Lydia Polgreen
Fighting in Chad's capital ebbs, but big problems loom
'The clash has heightened tensions between Chad and Sudan, threatening to pull the two neighbors deeper into each another's vexing problems.'

Christian Science Monitor, 05 Feb 08, by Scott Baldauf and Susan Sachs
As fighting rages in Chad, France's new role revealed
'France did not repel this weekend's coup attempt on its former colony as it has in the past, but the UN Monday approved unilateral French action to support Chad's government.'

International Herald Tribune/AP, 05 Feb 08
Sarkozy says France ready for military intervention in Chad if necessary
'... But the government stressed that France had no immediate plans to step up its military involvement, saying the fighting appeared to be abating.'

New York Times, 31 Jan 08, by Jeffrey Gettleman
Official Sees Kenyan Ethnic Cleansing
'The top American diplomat for Africa said Wednesday that some of the violence that has swept across Kenya in the past month has been ethnic cleansing intended to drive people from their homes, but that it should not be considered genocide.'

AllAfrica.com/Inter Press Service, 24 Jan 08, by Najum Mushtaq
Kenya: State Overpowering People
'Post-election politics in Kenya has become a war of attrition, and President Mwai Kibaki seems to be winning it, the cost to the image and economy of the country notwithstanding.'

International Herald Tribune, 17 Jan 08, by Jeffrey Gettleman
Protests bring new violence in Kenya
'Opposition protests resumed in Kenya on Wednesday, and as many people here feared, violence erupted across the country once again. ... Opposition leaders have vowed to carry on protests for two more days, and it seems that Kenya's security forces, which have deemed all protests illegal, are cracking down harshly.'

2007 Africa archive