Regional envoys, Islamists to meet for Mali peace talks

Regional envoys met with Islamist group Ansar Dine on Sunday for talks on resolving Mali's political crisis in the wake of media reports saying the militants are ready to distance themselves from al Qaeda's North African branch, also known as AQIM.

Senior mediators in the Mali crisis will try to convince one of the Islamist groups controlling the country's north to cut ties with Al-Qaeda's North Africa branch, an official said Saturday, as an Algerian newspaper said the group was considering such a move.

West Africa bloc Ecowas agrees to deploy troops to Mali

Militant Islamists in northern Mali are imposing strict Sharia law despite opposition from the local Muslim population

West African regional leaders have agreed to deploy 3,300 soldiers to Mali to retake the north from Islamist extremists.

At a summit of Ecowas, the group's chairman said it was ready to use force to "dismantle terrorist and transnational criminal networks".
The soldiers would be provided mainly by Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Islamist groups and Tuareg rebels took control of the north after Mali's president was overthrown in March.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Outtara told reporters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that the soldiers could be deployed as soon as the UN approved the military plan.

Tunisia to grant US access to Benghazi attack suspect

Tunisia will allow US investigators access to a suspect in the September attack on the American consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, US senators said Friday. Ali Ani al Harzi was arrested in Turkey in October and deported to his native Tunisia.

By News Wires (text)

The Tunisian government will allow the United States access to a suspect in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, two senators said Friday.

Islamist Mali rebels Ansar Dine urge dialogue

Islamist Mali rebels Ansar Dine urge dialogue

Ansar Dine, an Islamist group occupying northern Mali, called for dialogue Tuesday as it faced the prospect of a violent ouster by interstate troops, dispatching envoys to Burkina Faso and Algeria in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis.

By News Wires (text)

Ansar Dine, an Islamist group occupying northern Mali, called Tuesday for other fighters to join them in political dialogue, as military chiefs plot strategies to expel the extremists using force.
As diplomatic efforts for a military solution to the seven-month occupation of Mali's vast arid north intensify, Ansar Dine has dispatched envoys to Burkina Faso and Algeria in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis.

Mali arrests French radical Ibrahim Ouattara 'for Islamist ties'

The al-Qaeda linked militants have introduced strict Islamic law

French radical Muslim Ibrahim Ouattara has been arrested in central Mali, defence officials have said.

The 24 year old is suspected to have links to Islamist militants who took control of the north earlier this year.
Earlier this week West African army chiefs adopted a military plan to expel the al-Qaeda linked rebels.
It was reported last month that groups of foreign fighters from Algeria and Western Sahara were arriving in northern Mali to boost Islamist forces.
The details of the plan adopted by the military chiefs have not been made public - and came as one of the main Islamist groups, Ansar Dine, committed to peace talks with the new unity government in Bamako.
'Too moderate'

Somalia to get first female foreign minister

Abdi Farah Shirdon took office as prime minister last month

Somalia is to get its first female foreign minister in a cabinet formed by new Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon.

Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan is among 10 politicians joining a cabinet that has been significantly reduced in size.

She described her inclusion as "historic" for both the country and Somali women in particular.

However, correspondents say Mr Shirdon may struggle to get his choices through parliament because some clans feel they have not been properly represented.

Mr Shirdon, an ex-businessman, took office last month after his nomination - by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud - was approved by MPs.

The election of Mr Mohamud in September was considered the first fair poll in the capital Mogadishu for 42 years.

They take on a country that has been without effective central authority for more than 20 years while clan-based warlords, Islamist militants and Somalia's neighbours all battled for control following the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre.
Big challenge
"After long discussions and consultations, I have named my cabinet which consists of only 10 members. Among them is a female foreign affairs minister for the first time in Somali history," the prime minister said.

Ms Adan hails from the self-declared independent state of Somaliland and lived for a long time in Britain, the AFP reports.

"My nomination as the foreign minister is historic for the Somali country and particularly for the women of Somalia, it turns a new page for the political situation of our country and will lead to success and prosperity," she said.

The biggest challenge facing Somalia's new UN-backed leaders is the al-Qaeda-aligned Islamist group, al-Shabab.

Despite losing key towns over the last few months, the militants still control large areas of rural southern and central Somalia.

Al-Shabab supporters have carried out a number of suicide attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, since the group was driven out of the city by African Union and pro-government forces last year - including several since Mr Mohamud's election.

Kenya policeman killed, 11 injured in church attack

The injured were taken to Garissa district hospital, with some then airlifted to the capital Nairobi for further treatment

A grenade attack on a church in a police compound in eastern Kenya has killed one police officer and injured at least 11 other people, reports say.

The man who died was serving as pastor of the targeted church, in Garissa town near the border with Somalia.

Most of the wounded are also reported to be police officers; some of whom were airlifted to hospital in Nairobi.

In July, 15 people were killed in raids on churches in Garissa, and suspicion fell on the al-Shabab militant group.

Police blamed the Somalia-based group and its sympathisers for the attack, and said they were angry over Kenya's role in a UN-backed intervention force.

Kenya's capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa have suffered a series of grenade attacks since Kenya sent troops into Somalia last October.
'Confusion'
Witnesses were quoted as saying that the grenade in Sunday's attack was thrown from outside the compound, and landed on the iron-sheeted roof of the church while the officers and their families were inside attending a prayer session.

"It is believed to be a motor thrown or a grenade because it penetrated the roof before landing within the crowd. There is confusion," one police officer at the scene was quoted by Kenya's The Standard as saying.

Gunfire was also reportedly heard at the scene of the explosion.

Kenya's Red Cross said 11 wounded people were taken to hospital in Garissa, with three evacuated by air to Nairobi for further treatment.

Regional police chief Philip Tuimur said a major operation was under way to track down the attackers.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will once again fall on al-Shabab.

In September, one child was killed and three seriously injured in a grenade attack on a church in Nairobi.

A mob later rounded on Somalis living near the church, injuring 13 people with sticks and stones.