Under fire in eastern Aleppo

The historic town in northern Ethiopia is famous for its 12th-century rock-hewn churches. The US has urged for rebels to "protect this cultural heritage" and to end the violence.

Ethiopia's Tigrayan rebels have seized the UNESCO World Heritage site Lalibela. The town, located in the northern Amhara region, is known for its rock-hewn churches dating from the 12th century. Some residents claimed fighters from the TPLF, Tigray's ruling party, entered Lalibela without a fight on Thursday, as security forces withdrew ahead of their advance. The United States has urged the TPLF to protect the historic site.

More than 40 villagers were massacred by suspected extremists in northern Mali, while 12 troops were killed in neighboring Burkina Faso.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called for all eligible citizens to join the army, as fighting rages against Tigrayan rebels in several regions. The call represents a further crumbling of the unilateral ceasefire Abiy's government declared two months ago. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) retook most of Tigray in June and have since pushed into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

Abiy Ahmed has said civilians should take up arms to halt the advance of Tigrayan forces "once and for all." A conflict, which has killed thousands since November, is spreading with no end in sight.

South Sudanese former rebels attend their first parliamentary session alongside members of Salva Kiir's party. We speak to Dr. Andrew Yaw Tchie, Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, about whether the move is a promising sign of stability. Plus, the runner-up in Tunisia's 2019 presidential election is reportedly arrested in Algeria. Nabil Karoui is being investigated for alleged money laundering and tax evasion.

Rebels in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region have been looting aid warehouses, the US aid agency said on Tuesday, calling the alleged thefts a "great concern for humanitarians".

Limited electricity supply is hampering Syria's industrial revivial, as manufacturing grinds to a halt at 6pm in the former economic hub of Aleppo.

Authorities in Amhara accuse rebels from the neighbouring Ethiopian region of Tigray of having killed dozens of civilians after a military loss. Also, Moroccans turn out to the polls for legislative and regional elections that are likely to be a close race. Finally, a woman in Uganda gives coding classes to children in her garden in a bid to encourage more young people to discover maths and science.

Nine people are reported to have died after Nigerian air force jets fired on a village in Yobe State whilst targeting Boko Haram militants in the area.

With an increase of attacks from Boko Haram, ordinary people in northern Cameroon have banded together to stop the militants from terrorizing their villages. But there are many challenges facing the local vigilante members, who are putting themselves at risk for others.

"We apologize and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says of a drone strike in the Afghan capital Kabul that mistakenly killed 10 civilians, including children, during the chaotic US pullout last month. Kirby was delivering the message on behalf of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a press briefing at the Pentagon.