Nigeria: Taliban kill 25 in beer garden bombings

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Men riding motorcycles threw bombs into outdoor beer gardens Sunday night in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 25 people in attacks bearing striking similarities to others carried out by a radical Islamic sect in the region, police said.

The bombs exploded in the restive city of Maiduguri, home to the sect known locally as Boko Haram. While the sect did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack late Sunday, the assault bore the hallmarks of the group now waging assassinations and attacks against the Nigerian government.

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Libya: Gaddafi vows to fight to the end

Libyan leader says he will not surrender or kneel to enemies as NATO intensifies air strikes in Tripoli.

Tunisia repels Libyan government troops

TUNIS (15th May): Tunisian forces have repelled a 200-strong force of Libyan government troops that had entered Tunisian territory earlier today.

Tensions have flared on the border in recent weeks as fighting in Libya has spilled over into Tunisia, which is struggling to restore stability after an uprising earlier this year that sparked revolts around the Arab world.

Libya: Royal Navy destroy shore-based artillery battery

British Royal Navy warship HMS Liverpool destroyed a Libyan shore battery this week which had opened fire on the ship and its helicopter.

Whilst engaged on surveillance operations off the Libyan coast, the ship was tasked to intercept small, high-speed inflatable boats approaching the port of Misurata, suspected of attempting to mine the harbour.

A Libyan artillery battery on the coast fired rockets at HMS Liverpool whereupon she immediately returned fire with her 4.5-inch (11.5cm) gun, silencing the shore-based aggressors. As a result of the prompt action by HMS Liverpool and her fellow NATO vessels, Colonel Gaddafi's boats were forced to abandon their operation.

Algeria: 7 soldiers killed

ALGIERS, 13th May: Seven soldiers were killed and two others injured on Friday by a terrorist attack in Algeria's northern province of Jijel, local French speaking El Watan daily reported on its website.

The joint security forces then launched a counterattack operation in the region and eliminated three armed Islamists, according to the report.

An eighth soldier was still missing, while two other soldiers suffered injuries.

Source: Xinhua

Sudan: gunmen shoot four UNMIS peacekeepers

KHARTOUM, 11th May: Unidentified gunmen shot and wounded four Zambian peacekeepers belonging to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), who were on patrol in Sudan's Abyei area, UNMIS said in a statement today (Wednesday).

The shooting took place on Tuesday afternoon in Goli, some 25 km north of Abyei town, the statement said, adding the four peacekeepers, one of whom is in a serious condition, have been taken to Abyei town for treatment.

"UNMIS strongly condemns this unprovoked attack and has commenced an investigation into the incident," the statement said.

The attack came after an agreement reached between north and south Sudan governments to withdraw all their forces unauthorized to be deployed at the disputed Abyei area and to implement a security agreement inked earlier under the support of the African Union.

Libyan refugees rescued after boat sinks

Hundreds of refugees were rescued by Italian coast guards after their boat hit rocks off the island of Lampedusa forcing many, including women and children, to jump into the sea.

Italian coast guards and local fisherman saved all 500 refugees on a boat from Libya early Sunday after their vessel hit rocks off the island of Lampedusa, an operation one rescuer described as a "miracle".

Refugees threw themselves into the water in the night, with some clinging to ropes strung between the rusty fishing boat and the shoreline by rescuers, as officers and local residents dived in to help along the rocky coast.

"There were about 500 people on board. It was a difficult situation. Our patrol boats couldn't come close because of the shallow water and the undertow was very strong," said Antonio Morana, a coast guard spokesman.

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Journalist shot dead in Algeria

A journalist for several French-language newspapers was shot dead in a region where the north African branch of al-Qaeda is known to be active, but there has been no confirmation that militants linked to it were responsible.

The journalist, Ahmed Nezar, was shot dead on Friday afternoon in his hometown of Baghlia, about 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Nezar was a local freelance correspondent for several French-language newspapers in Algeria, an energy exporter which won its independence from France in 1962.

“The journalist lived in this dangerous area where several local officials have been killed in the past few years,” the security official said.

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Tunisian protesters tear-gassed

Tunisian police used teargas to disperse anti-government protesters in the capital Tunis on Sunday 8th May, one day after authorities imposed an overnight curfew amid growing unrest in the country.

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Gaddafi offers truce but not exit

Gaddafi offers truce but not exit - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Ivory Coast warlord killed

An Ivory Coast militia leader has been killed by forces of the country's new President Alassane Ouattara.

The leader of the so-called Invisible Commandos, Ibrahim Coulibaly, was killed in an offensive on Wednesday, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The Commandos had helped Mr Ouattara gain control of parts of Abidjan during a post-poll dispute.

But they had since fallen out and their respective forces clashed on Wednesday in the city, Ivory Coast's largest.

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French blogger wounded in Misrata

A French blogger has been wounded in the neck in Misrata after travelling to Libya to report on the revolt against Moamer Kadhafi, according the Rue89 website which published some of his reports. 

French officials are trying to repatriate the man, named only as Baptiste, after a first operation in Libya.

He was hit by a stray bullet fired by pro-Kadhafi troops on Sunday, although he was not close to the fighting at the time, a group calling itself “Friends of Baptiste” says. They have not made his surname public out of consideration for his family. 

He underwent surgery in Misrata but the French authorities are trying to send him back to France so as to be operated on in more hygienic conditions, they say, adding that the conflict is making the plan difficult.

Baptiste went to Libya as part of a group of French activist-bloggers who covered the Libyan conflict and other uprisings in the Arab world. Rue89 published his account of the battle for Misrata.

Egypt: gas pipeline bombed

An explosion in Egypt's North Sinai has rocked a terminal that supplies natural gas to Jordan and Israel.

Flames shot into the air at the al-Sabil terminal on Wednesday, sending nearby residents fleeing from their homes.

A security official blamed saboteurs for the blast south of the town of El-Arish, 50km from the border with Israel.

"An unknown armed gang attacked the gas pipeline near Arish city," the unnamed security source told the Reuters news agency, adding that the flow of gas to Israel and Jordan had been hit.

"Authorities closed the main source of gas supplying the pipeline and are working to extinguish the fire," the source said.

On February 5, an explosion at a different section of the pipeline severed gas exports to neighbouring Israel and Jordan in an incident that came during an 18-day popular uprising that forced former president Hosni Mubarak from power.

Egypt's natural gas company blamed the February incident on a gas leak, although local security officials said they suspected sabotage in that blast.

Bedouin tribesmen of the Sinai Peninsula attempted to blow up the pipeline last July as tensions intensified between them and the Egyptian government, which they accuse of discrimination and of ignoring their plight.

Source: agencies

3 killed as Yemen accepts Gulf plan

Yemen's opposition has decided to be part of a transitional government under a Gulf-brokered plan for president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step aside, an opposition source told Reuters. According to the plan, Saleh will stay in power for a further 30 days before quitting, and the opposition had earlier said it would stay out of a unity government.

As opposition leaders gathered in Sanaa to discuss the proposal, Yemeni forces killed three protesters at rallies outside the capital, witnesses said. In the city of Taez, witnesses said security men opened fire on protesters. A woman watching the clash from her balcony was shot dead, and medical sources said 25 others were shot and injured in this southern town.

Clashes reported also in the town of Ibb, where one protester was shot dead and a dozen were hurt by live bullets as police tried to break up a march, witnesses said. Security forces also shot dead a protester in the southern province of al-Baida.

source: Al Bawaba News