Fleeing battle for Tripoli, Libyan families take refuge in abandoned factory

Fighting continues in Ethiopia, where rebel groups are advancing on the capital Addis Ababa. While much has been said about the northern front, where the army is at war with the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), another armed group – allied to Tigrayans – is fighting from the south and west of the country. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) now controls a large swathe of territory. Together, the TDF and OLA plan to topple the government and take over the capital. The government accuses these rebel groups of committing crimes against civilians, including several massacres. Our regional correspondent reports.

France is hosting an international conference to help Libya prepare for elections at the end of 2021. The oil-rich nation is ruled by a fragile unity government put in place after nearly a decade of civil war. European leaders are especially keen to stabilize the country.

A parliamentary committee has said holding the vote would be "impossible." The country's election board has now suggested January 24 as an alternative.

After much speculation, Libya's polls have been postponed. Organisers said it’s ‘impossible’ to hold the vote on Friday. The electoral commission has suggested January 24th as the new deadline. A Tunisian court sentences an ex-President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison. He’s a vocal critic of the current leader, who has described current leader Kais Saied as a "dictator". Nigeria destroys more than million doses of expired Covid vaccines. As rich countries donate jabs with short shelf life, poorer nations continue their fight against vaccine hesitancy.

A video that shows park rangers in a helicopter in Central African Republic has been used to incorrectly point the finger at the French army for supporting terrorists in Mali. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Heavy gunfire could be heard coming from several military camps in Burkina Faso early on Sunday (January 23), the government said, but it denied the military had seized power. Heavy arms fire at the capital Ouagadougou's Sangoule Lamizana camp, which houses the army's general staff and a prison whose inmates include soldiers involved in a failed 2015 coup attempt, began at least as early as 5:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), a Reuters reporter said. The reporter later saw soldiers firing into the air in the camp. A witness also reported gunfire at a military camp in Kaya, around 100 kms (62 miles) north of Ouagadougou.

After being driven out of Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army ran riot in the Central African Republic, where it behaved more like a criminal gang than a terrorist militia. Now the LRA's days seem to be numbered.

This week on The Observers, we investigated an incident in Nia Ouro, Mali on January 4. Residents claimed that men dressed in Malian military uniforms killed four civilians and reduced buildings in the village to ashes. We spoke to an eyewitness, analysed videos taken after the event and cross-referenced satellite imagery to put together the days events.

France says nearly 60 fighters from Islamist militias were killed in the days leading up to the coup. The jihadists were killed by forces involved with Operation Barkhane led by France.

we spoke to members of two refugee communities currently blocked in countries and requesting resettlement. First, in Indonesia, members of the Hazara ethnic minority from Afghanistan told us about their rising desperation to be moved to a third country after police violence and a suicide in their community. Some of these refugees have spent over a decade in Indonesia, where they are unable to drive, work or go to school.

Libya faced the challenge of two prime ministers Thursday after parliament named a rival to the existing unity government's chief Abdulhamid Dbeibah, hours after his convoy was targeted in a drive-by shooting. The appointment of a second prime minister threatens to spark a new power struggle in the war-torn nation.

Libya faced the challenge of two prime ministers Thursday after parliament named a rival to the existing unity government's chief Abdulhamid Dbeibah, hours after his convoy was targeted in a drive-by shooting. The appointment of a second prime minister threatens to spark a new power struggle in the war-torn nation.