OZATP Summary

Ethiopia military: we will use tanks, artillery to capture city of Mekelle. Al Qaeda in North Africa names new leader to succeed Droukdel. DAKAR- Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch has appointed a new leader and confirmed the death of its former leader Abdelmalek Droukdel who was killed by the French army in June, SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday.

Burkina Faso holds election under looming threat of violence

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Voters went to the polls in Burkina Faso on Sunday in a presidential election dominated by jihadist violence that has cost more than 2,000 lives this year and will prevent voting in hundreds of villages.

Ethiopia military: we will use tanks, artillery to capture city of Mekelle

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The Ethiopian military plans to use tanks to encircle Mekelle, the capital of northern Tigray region, and is warning civilians it may also use artillery on the city, state media reported on Sunday.

Ethiopia rejects African mediation, pushes toward rebel-held Tigray capital

NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The Ethiopian government rebuffed an African effort to mediate on Saturday, saying its troops had seized another town in their march towards the rebel-held capital of northern Tigray region.

Nigerian general dismisses bloody Lagos protest videos as fake

LAGOS (Reuters) – A judicial panel investigating claims that Nigerian soldiers shot dead peaceful protesters in Lagos viewed videos on Saturday appearing to show people hurt or saying that they were being fired on, but an army general dismissed the footage.

Al Qaeda in North Africa names new leader to succeed Droukdel

DAKAR (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch (AQIM) has appointed a new leader and confirmed the death of its former leader Abdelmalek Droukdel who was killed by the French army in June, SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday.

Ethiopia denies talks on conflict after African Union names envoys

Ethiopia denied on Saturday that talks on the growing conflict in its northern Tigray region were imminent, just hours after three African former presidents were named to help mediate the two-week-old crisis.

Ethiopia’s Tigray forces rocket neighbouring region; UN plans for 200,000 refugees

Rebel forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region fired rockets on Friday at the distant capital of the neighbouring Amhara region, Amhara authorities said, raising worries the conflict could spill into a wider war.

Aid agencies scramble to respond as Ethiopians flee to Sudan

At the Um Rakuba settlement in Sudan, refugees queue for helpings of cornflour porridge and put up makeshift shelters under scrubland trees, their lives upended by fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

Uganda’s Bobi Wine released on bail as protest death toll rises to 37

Ugandan pop star and presidential candidate Bobi Wine, whose arrest this week triggered protests that led to at least 37 deaths, was released on bail on Friday after being charged with holding rallies likely to spread the coronavirus.

France’s Macron blasts Guinea’s Conde for power grab

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Guinea’s President Alpha Conde of changing the constitution solely to stay in power, a move that he said was serious for the future of Africa’s top bauxite producer.