African Union

BENGHAZI, Libya — An African proposal to end Libya's more than month-old conflict unraveled Monday in the opposition's de facto capital, where rebel leaders insisted that they would not make a deal unless leader Moammar Gaddafi agreed to leave office immediately. The rejection came less than 24 hours after South African President Jacob Zuma, who led an African Union delegation to Libya, said Gaddafi had accepted the "road map" to peace . The plan called for an immediate cease-fire , safe passage for humanitarian...

ERITREA Amnesty: 10,000 dissidents being held Eritrea's government has jailed about 10,000 dissidents without charge or trial over the years, a rights group said Thursday, describing the Horn of Africa nation as one of the world's most repressive and secretive states. The new report by Amnesty International said those held in detention include suspected critics of the government, politicians, journalists and "anyone who refuses to comply with the repressive system.

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi accepted a political road map Sunday proposed by the African Union, calling for an immediate cease-fire and a dialogue with the opposition about reform. But rebels, before seeing details of the plan, said they would be satisfied only with the ouster of Gaddafi and his family. They are deeply skeptical about the neutrality of the African Union, which they see as packed with Gaddafi's allies. They are also likely to be disappointed by a peace plan that fails to wring any...

LONDON — International donors heeded warnings about the need for increased support for Somalia by pledging more than $300 million Tuesday toward bolstering security, justice and financial institutions in the conflict-scarred east African nation. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and British Prime Minister David Cameron co-hosted a one-day conference in London to bolster the beleaguered government in Mogadishu, the capital. Mohamud called the level of support at the...

David Bosco is an assistant professor at American University's School of International Service. His book on the International Criminal Court, "Rough Justice," will be published this fall. Follow him on Twitter: @multilateralist . Almost 15 years ago, delegates from more than 100 countries gathered in a crowded conference room in Rome, cheering, chanting and even shedding a few tears. After weeks of tense negotiations, they had drafted a charter for a permanent court tasked with prosecuting genocide, crimes...

ERITREA Amnesty: 10,000 dissidents being held Eritrea's government has jailed about 10,000 dissidents without charge or trial over the years, a rights group said Thursday, describing the Horn of Africa nation as one of the world's most repressive and secretive states. The new report by Amnesty International said those held in detention include suspected critics of the government, politicians, journalists and "anyone who refuses to comply with the repressive system.

LONDON — International donors heeded warnings about the need for increased support for Somalia by pledging more than $300 million Tuesday toward bolstering security, justice and financial institutions in the conflict-scarred east African nation. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and British Prime Minister David Cameron co-hosted a one-day conference in London to bolster the beleaguered government in Mogadishu, the capital. Mohamud called the level of support at the...

The heart of the Obama administration's strategy for fighting al-Qaeda militants in Somalia can be found next to a cow pasture here, a thousand miles from the front lines. Under the gaze of American instructors, gangly Ugandan recruits are taught to carry rifles, dodge roadside bombs and avoid shooting one another by accident. In one obstacle course dubbed "Little Mogadishu," the Ugandans learn the basics of urban warfare as they patrol a mock city block of tumble-down buildings and rusty shipping...

North and South Sudan are at war . The reasons for the conflict are complex, but the solution is not: To stop the killing, the international community must arm South Sudan. Unlike interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States need not fire any shots. Just as we have provided weapons to support Israel but never put our own troops at risk, we can help bring peace to this region. We need only make sure that, for the North, attacking the South is a little bit harder than shooting fish in a...

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Seven people were killed Sunday morning when a suicide bomber attempted to ram a car laden with explosives into a military convoy escorting a four-member Qatari delegation. Gen. Garad Nor Abdulle, a senior police official said the members of the Qatari delegation who were being escorted in the interior minister's convoy were unharmed and safely reached their hotel. Abdulle said the interior minister was not in the convoy. Mohamed Abdi,...

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Seven people were killed Sunday morning when a suicide bomber attempted to ram a car laden with explosives into a military convoy escorting a four-member Qatari delegation. Gen. Garad Nor Abdulle, a senior police official said the members of the Qatari delegation who were being escorted in the interior minister's convoy were unharmed and safely reached their hotel. Abdulle said the interior minister was not in the convoy. Mohamed Abdi, an officer at the...

David Bosco is an assistant professor at American University's School of International Service. His book on the International Criminal Court, "Rough Justice," will be published this fall. Follow him on Twitter: @multilateralist . Almost 15 years ago, delegates from more than 100 countries gathered in a crowded conference room in Rome, cheering, chanting and even shedding a few tears. After weeks of tense negotiations, they had drafted a charter for a permanent court tasked with...

The Obama administration is contemplating broad military, political and humanitarian intervention to stop a slide toward chaos and Islamic extremism in Mali , the top State Department diplomat for Africa said Thursday. The international but largely U.S.-funded effort to expunge al-Qaeda-linked militants and restore political order in Somalia could present a model for Mali, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson said. Since 2007, the United States has spent more than...

NAIROBI — Kenya's military declared Friday that it had captured the last stronghold of Somalia's al-Shabab militia, potentially crippling the al-Qaeda-linked group financially and forcing it to rely on insurgent and terrorist attacks to advance its agenda. It remained unclear, however, how much of the port town of Kismayo the Kenyans actually controlled and whether they were facing resistance there from the al-Shabab fighters . Maj....

The heart of the Obama administration's strategy for fighting al-Qaeda militants in Somalia can be found next to a cow pasture here, a thousand miles from the front lines. Under the gaze of American instructors, gangly Ugandan recruits are taught to carry rifles, dodge roadside bombs and avoid shooting one another by accident. In one obstacle course dubbed "Little Mogadishu," the Ugandans learn the basics of urban warfare as they patrol a mock city block of tumble-down buildings and rusty shipping...

North and South Sudan are at war . The reasons for the conflict are complex, but the solution is not: To stop the killing, the international community must arm South Sudan. Unlike interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States need not fire any shots. Just as we have provided weapons to support Israel but never put our own troops at risk, we can help bring peace to this region. We need only make sure that, for the North, attacking the South is a little bit harder than shooting fish in a...

NAIROBI — Kenya's military declared Friday that it had captured the last stronghold of Somalia's al-Shabab militia, potentially crippling the al-Qaeda-linked group financially and forcing it to rely on insurgent and terrorist attacks to advance its agenda. It remained unclear, however, how much of the port town of Kismayo the Kenyans actually controlled and whether they were facing resistance there from the al-Shabab fighters . Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, a spokesman for the...

THE FAMINE IN Somalia continues to spread. Last week the United Nations added a sixth area of the country to the zone where starvation has become acute and said 750,000 people could die in the next four months if aid does not get through. Already, tens of thousands have perished, most of them children; hundreds more are buried every day . Some 400,000 people seeking food have flocked to Mogadishu, the capital, while hundreds of thousands more have fled to neighboring Kenya. The international response to this terrible...