Category: Africa

9 Dead After Crane Collapses in Kenya’s Capital: Police

NAIROBI, Kenya—Police in Kenya’s capital say nine people are dead after a crane collapsed at a high-rise construction site in Nairobi. Officer Muturi Mbogo said the crane collapsed midday Thursday while it was being dismantled by workers. He said another worker was seriously injured and the collapse is under investigation. A worker at the site,…


Tanzania Says 3 Dead in Gun Battle Near French Embassy

DODOMA, Tanzania—Police in Tanzania say three people, including two police officers, have been shot dead in a confrontation near the French Embassy in Dar es Salaam. Inspector general of police Simon Sirro told reporters that the armed man was a foreigner and police believe he was from Somalia. Sirro also warned that the attack could…


Gunman Kills Four in Attack Near French Embassy in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM—A gunman killed three police officers and a private security guard on a rampage through a diplomatic quarter of Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, before being shot dead while holed up in a guardhouse at the French embassy’s gate. Videos on the internet, apparently filmed by onlookers from buildings across…


Nigeria Pounded by Spread of Sectarian Killings

Christian residents of Nigeria’s Plateau State are ducking for cover as reprisal killings mount both in the state capital of Jos and in the rural conflict zones of Bassa County, 12 miles west of the city. The violence against Christian residents has stepped up after a massacre of 22 Fulani Muslims by a Christian mob…


Nigeria Battered by Spread of Sectarian Killings

Christian residents of Nigeria’s Plateau state are ducking for cover as reprisal killings mount both in the state capital of Jos and in the rural conflict zones of Bassa County, 12 miles west of the city. The violence against Christian residents has grown since a massacre of 22 Fulani Muslims by a Christian mob on…


Desperate Nigerians Sell Homes and Land to Free Kidnapped Children

TEGINA, Nigeria—After armed men snatched seven of Abubakar Adam’s 11 children in northwestern Nigeria, he sold his car and a parcel of land and cleaned out his savings to raise a ransom to free them. He sent his 3 million naira ($7,300) into the bush, together with payments from other families in his town of…


Officials: Egypt Closes Gaza Border Amid Tensions With Hamas

CAIRO—Egypt closed its main border crossing point with the Gaza Strip on Monday amid tensions with the territory’s Hamas rulers, officials said. It was the first time the Rafah crossing was shuttered during a workday since early this year. Egyptian authorities had kept it open during the 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist…


Nigeria Expects to Lift Twitter Ban by End of Year, Minister Says

LONDON/LAGOS—Nigeria expects to lift its ban on Twitter before the end of the year, Information Minister Lai Mohammed told Reuters on Thursday, adding that the government was awaiting a response on three final requests made of the social media platform. The ban, announced in June, has hurt Nigerian businesses and drawn widespread condemnation for its…


Gunmen Kill at Least 17 in Latest Niger Village Attack

NIAMEY—At least 16 people have been killed in an attack on a village in southwestern Niger where Islamist terrorists have repeatedly massacred civilians this year, a local official and a security source said on Saturday. The unidentified gunmen opened fire during Friday prayers in the village of Theim in Tillabery region and killed 16 people,…


Mauritania Rescues 7 Migrants from Sea, but 47 Feared Dead

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania—The Mauritanian Coast Guard has rescued a group of seven migrants from a stranded boat in the coastal Atlantic, though 47 other passengers are feared dead, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday. The boat was carrying West Africans trying to migrate to Spain’s Canary Islands, off northwest Africa, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants…