Full Coverage: North Africa

30.01.2007 African leaders yesterday picked Ghana as the new chair of the African Union, turning down Sudan's bid because of the government's failure to end the conflict in Darfur.

29.01.2007 Unless action is taken on Darfur at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa this week it will be too late, aid agencies warned.
+ AU in strongest test yet
+ Populations displaced by violence remain isolated and deprived of assistance

19.01.2007 The enforced resignation of the managing editor of a Casablanca-based weekly "confirms a significant decline in the level of press freedom in Morocco", according to a leading international journalists' protection group.
+ Prominent Moroccan publisher resigns in bid to save weekly

18.01.2007 While Darfur burns, Sudan's north-south peace agreement is fraying, reports Simon Roughneen.

18.01.2007 Repeated military attacks in Darfur, arbitrary bombing of villages and the targeting of aid workers threaten to permanently disrupt the fragile lifeline ensuring the survival of millions of people, the UN warned yesterday.

16.01.2007 Although ceasefires have failed time and again in the region, Refugees International has hailed the latest move toward peace, hoping that the personal involvement of Sudan's president in the talks would add pressure to both the government and rebel groups to comply.

16.01.2007 While all sides claim they are still committed to the peace process, Ugandan rebels have demanded talks be moved from South Sudan to a "neutral" country like Kenya or South Africa. Sudanese leaders say comments that sparked the rebel outcry were taken out of context.

14.01.2007 In the Darfur region of Sudan, civilians are raped and killed, not for land or goods, but because of who they are. The killing is an end in itself, says Brian Brivati.

10.01.2007 A leading Africa lobbying group welcomed the commitment of new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to prioritizing Darfur and noted new U.S. diplomatic overtures, but condemned the lack of progress toward implementing a UN peacekeeping force as civilians continue to face death and displacement.

09.01.2007 Sudan’s peace negotiations have been characterised by an elite power-bargaining approach, with many constituencies and concerns excluded, and have not dealt comprehensively with the causes of conflict, according to a policy briefing published today.

05.01.2007 Nancy Pelosi isn't the only woman to have broken a long-standing "marble ceiling" recently. In Iran, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates women have been elected as well.

04.01.2007 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced yesterday that four peacekeepers had been dismissed following investigations into allegations of sexual exploitation in southern Sudan.

04.01.2007 Five people have been killed in a bombing raid on civilians in the western Sudanese Darfur region, according to the African Union mission in Sudan. Attacks on villages near Kutum in North Darfur, was carried out by a government Antonov plane, according to the AU force commander, Luke Aprezi. The raid came two days after the AU mission and the United Nations mission held meetings with rebel commanders in the area.