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Mutinous soldiers in Gabon said Wednesday they were overturning the results of a presidential election that was to extend the Bongo family’s 55-year hold on power. The central African country’s election committee announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, had won the election with 64% of the vote early Wednesday morning. Within minutes, gunfire was heard in the center of the capital, Libreville. Read: Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa wins re-election after troubled vote, officials say A dozen uniformed soldiers appeared on state television later the same morning and announced that they had seized power. The soldiers intended to “dissolve all institutions of the republic,” said a spokesman for the group, whose members were drawn from the gendarme, the republican guard and other elements of the security forces. The coup attempt came about one month after mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government, and is the latest in a series of coups that have challenged governments with ties to France, the region’s former colonizer. Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon hasn’t been wracked by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable. Read: Niger's neighbours running out of options as defence chiefs meet to discuss potential military force In his annual Independence Day speech Aug. 17, Bongo said “While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country Gabon to be hostages to attempts at destabilization. Never.” At a time when anti-France sentiment is spreading in many former colonies, the French-educated Bongo met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in late June and shared photos of them shaking hands. The coup’s leaders vowed to respect “Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community.” Bongo was seeking a third term in elections this weekend. He served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in January 2019, while Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, but they were quickly overpowered. Read: At least 10 killed in southwest Congo as intercommunal violence worsens over land rights and taxes In the election, Bongo faced an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose surprise nomination came a week before the vote. There were concerns about post-election violence, due to deep-seated grievances among the population of some 2.5 million. Nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15-24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. After last week’s vote, the Central African nation’s Communications Minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, announced a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and said internet access was being restricted indefinitely to quell disinformation and calls for violence. Every vote held in Gabon since the country’s return to a multi-party system in 1990 has ended in violence. Clashes between government forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed four people, according to official figures. The opposition said the death toll was far higher. Read: 5 killed in Kenya as concerns grow over increasing terror attacks Fearing violence, many people in the capital went to visit family in other parts of the country before the election or left Gabon altogether. Others stockpiled food or bolstered security in their homes.    

One of Libya’s rival prime ministers said Monday he has suspended his foreign minister a day after Israel revealed that its chief diplomat met with her last week — news that prompted scattered street protests in the chaos-stricken North African nation. Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads the government of national unity in the capital, Tripoli, also referred Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush for investigation over the meeting, which was the first ever between top diplomats of Libya and Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Mangoush met in Rome last week. It was a small breakthrough for Israel’s government, whose hard-line policies toward the Palestinians have led to a cooling of its burgeoning ties with the Arab world. Cohen said they discussed the importance of preserving the heritage of Libya’s former Jewish community, including renovating synagogues and cemeteries. The talks also touched on possible Israeli assistance for humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry. The Libyan foreign ministry, meanwhile, sought to downplay the importance of the meeting as “unprepared and an unofficial meeting during a meeting with Italy’s foreign minister. It said in a statement that Mangoush’s encounter with Cohen didn’t include “any talks, agreements or consultations.” Read: 17-year-old Palestinian killed during Israeli military raid in northern West Bank Israel’s foreign ministry did not respond to reporters’ questions early Monday, including whether Cohen’s announcement had been coordinated with Libya. Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich country has been split between the Western-backed government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the country’s east. Each side has been backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Gadhafi was hostile to Israel and a staunch supporter of the Palestinians, including radical militant groups opposed to peace with Israel. Sunday’s announcement of the meeting prompted scattered protests in Tripoli and other towns in western Libya. Protesters stormed the foreign ministry headquarters to condemn the meeting, while others attacked and burned a residence for the prime minister in Tripoli, according to local reports. In the town of Zawiya protesters burned the Israeli flag, while others held the Palestinian flag. There were also protests in the city of Misrata, a stronghold for Dbeibah, according to footage circulated on social media and verified by The Associated Press. Read: Suspected Palestinian shooting attack at West Bank car wash kills 2 Israelis Khalid al-Mishri, an Islamist politician who was the chair of the State Council, a Tripoli-based legislative body, condemned the meeting and called for the dismissal of Dbeibah’s government, which is close to the U.S. and the West. “This government has crossed all prohibited lines and must be brought down,” he wrote on the X platform, previously known as Twitter. The east-based House of Representatives also slammed the meeting as a “legal and moral crime.” It called for an emergency session Monday in the eastern city of Benghazi. In Israel, Yair Lapid, a former foreign minister and prime minister, criticized Cohen for going public with the sensitive meeting. Read more: After Israeli raids, Palestinian police struggle in militant hotbed, reflecting region on the brink "Countries of the world this morning are looking at the irresponsible leak of the meeting of the Israeli and Libyan foreign minister and asking themselves: is it possible to manage foreign relations with this country? Is it possible to trust this country?” Lapid said in a statement.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was re-elected for a second and final five-year term late Saturday in results announced much earlier than expected following another troubled vote in the southern African country with a history of violent and disputed elections. An opposition party spokesperson said within minutes of Mnangagwa being declared the winner that they would reject the results as “hastily assembled without proper verification.” Mnangagwa's victory meant the ZANU-PF party retained the governmental leadership it has held for all 43 years of Zimbabwe's history since the nation was re-named following independence from white minority rule in 1980. Zimbabwe has had just two leaders in that time, long-ruling autocrat Robert Mugabe and Mnangagwa. The 80-year-old Mnangagwa, who has the nickname “the crocodile” from his days as a guerrilla fighter, won 52.6% of the votes in the midweek election, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said in a late-night announcement in the capital, Harare. The 45-year-old main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, got 44%, the commission said. The results were released around 11.30 p.m., about 48 hours after polls closed. They likely will be closely scrutinized after international election observers raised questions over the environment in the buildup to the vote and pointed to an atmosphere of intimidation against Chamisa’s supporters. The observers said they had specific concerns over a ruling party affiliate organization called Forever Associates of Zimbabwe that they said set up tables at polling stations and took details of people walking into voting booths. The head of the African Union mission, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, said the FAZ activities should be declared “criminal offenses.” Dzens of local vote monitors also were arrested and taken to court on allegations of subversion that government critics said were trumped-up charges. And there were problems with the actual vote. The election had been due to be held on just Wednesday, but voting was extended to Thursday after delays with the printing of ballot papers. Results of the presidential election came a surprising two days after voting closed when the final figures were only expected on Monday or even Tuesday considering the election ran over by a day. “We reject any results hastily assembled without proper verification,” said Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesperson for Chamisa's Citizens Coalition for Change Party. “We will advise citizens on the next steps as the situation develops.” Read: Canada's Trudeau wins re-election but faces a divided nation The result will now extend ZANU-PF''s rule to nearly a half century with Mnangagwa's victory. ZANU-PF also retained its parliamentary majority in the election. Mnangagwa won just over 2.3 million of the 4.4 million votes cast. Chamisa received 1.9 million, the electoral commission said. “This is a very happy occasion indeed,” said Ziyambi Ziyambi, an election agent for Mnangagwa and a Cabinet minister. “Zimbabweans have shown confidence in our president and ZANU-PF.” Mnangagwa was a vice president under Mugabe before replacing his former ally after a coup in 2017. Mnangagwa then won a disputed election by a razor-thin margin against Chamisa in 2018, a result that caused unrest and deaths on the streets. Ahead of Saturday's announcement of the 2023 results, dozens of armed police with water cannons guarded the national results center. It was the scene of deadly violence after the previous election five years ago, when soldiers killed six people during protests over delays in announcing presidential election results. Voting this time ran over into Thursday after delays in distributing ballot papers in the capital, Harare, and other urban areas prompted Mnangagwa to extend the election by a day. Voters slept outside polling stations in urban areas that are opposition strongholds to cast their ballots. Read: Indian elections to begin April 11 as Modi seeks re-election Before the election, Chamisa alleged in an interview with The Associated Press that his party’s rallies had been broken up by police and his supporters had often been intimidated and threatened with violence by ruling party supporters. International rights groups said there was a crackdown on opposition officials and supporters by ZANU-PF. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch alleged Mnangagwa’s administration used the police and the courts to silence dissent amid rising tensions due to a currency crisis, a sharp hike in food prices, a weakening public health system and inadequate numbers of formal jobs. Zimbabwe is renowned for having one of the world's worst economic meltdowns, when hyperinflation in 2007-2009 led to the country abandoning its currency. Many people in the country of 15 million are sure to view the result with suspicion, although the opposition CCC party didn't immediately say what its next move would be. Streets in Harare that would normally be bustling with late-night vendors were empty as people were digesting the results. “It's done. It never changes,” said Gerald Chosawa, a security guard at a grocery store. “I had some hope.” “Now it's better to prepare to join the others who have left the country. That's the best option.” Read more: Bolivia's MAS party leads pre-election poll

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were both absent as leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies started a three-day summit in South Africa on Tuesday. Putin's travel to Johannesburg was complicated by an outstanding International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest over the abduction of children from Ukraine. His participation as the bloc named for member nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa opened its first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic came in the form of a 17-minute prerecorded speech. Xi, who was in South Africa and held a bilateral morning meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, did not join his host and the leaders of Brazil and India for a business forum at the primary summit venue. No reason was given for his absence, and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao read Xi's speech. Also read: PM Hasina reaches Johannesburg to attend BRICS summit The summit's main session in Johannesburg's financial district of Sandton is scheduled for Wednesday, when Xi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ramaphosa were expected to meet as BRICS mulls a possible expansion. The bloc already is home to 40% of the world's population and responsible for more than 30% of global economic output, and more than 20 nations have applied to join, according to South African officials, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi planned to attend the summit. Also read: BRICS leaders to discuss expansion as Global South countries line up to join The five current member countries will have to agree on the criteria for new members before any countries are admitted, but a bigger BRICS is seen as a policy favored by China and Russia amid their deteriorating relations with the West. Brazil, Russia, India and China formed the bloc in 2009. South Africa was added in 2010. While Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was representing Russia in Johannesburg, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Putin would fully engage in the summit while participating remotely. Local officials said Putin would "virtually" attend a Tuesday welcome dinner hosted by South Africa. The agenda also lists him as giving a speech via video link on Wednesday. Also read: Russia, China look to advance agendas at BRICS summit of developing countries in South Africa Overall, around 1,200 delegates from the five BRICS nations and dozens of other developing countries are are in South Africa's biggest city, and more than 40 heads of state were expected to take part in some of the summit meetings, according to Ramaphosa. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also was expected to attend. On Tuesday's opening day, there were calls for more economic cooperation and collaboration in areas such as health, education and climate change while reflecting a growing sentiment in some parts of the world that institutions seen as Western-led, including the the U.N., the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, do not serve developing nations. Also read: BRICS Summit 2023 unveils potential geopolitical paradigm shift: Modern Diplomacy While in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, earlier Tuesday for his meeting with Xi, Ramaphosa said he was seeking "Chinese support for South Africa and Africa's call for the reform of global governance institutions, notably the United Nations Security Council." Africa and South America have no permanent representatives on the Security Council despite being home to nearly 2 billion people. Xi, who has gradually resumed foreign travel after the lifting of his country's strict COVID-19 restrictions, joined Ramaphosa to watch a ceremonial parade by soldiers at the Union Buildings, the official seat of the South African government. Xi made brief comments at the event, saying China was ready for more cooperation with Africa's most advanced economy "to take our comprehensive strategic partnerships to new heights." BRICS officials have pushed back at suggestions the the bloc is taking an anti-West turn under the influence of China and Russia, saying it is rather looking out for the interests of the Global South. But the BRICS stance is at odds with the United States and its Western allies on a number of issues, not least over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The European Union called on Xi, Lula, Modi and Ramaphosa to use this week's gathering to condemn Russia and Putin for the war in Ukraine, but that's unlikely to happen. If anything, BRICS has been a forum for Russia to express its anti-Western rhetoric, with Lavrov using a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in June to lambast the West for its "hegemony" and using "financial blackmail" to serve its "selfish interests." A small protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine was held Tuesday at a public park more than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the summit venue. The U.S. and EU will be closely monitoring events in Johannesburg, with the long list of countries lining up to join BRICS suggesting that the bloc's calls for a reorganization of the global governance structure might be hitting home with many.

In a joyful atmosphere, hundreds of pet lovers gathered in Egypt's Mediterranean North Coast in the Matrouh Governorate for an annual pet carnival. Aleef is a pet Carnival that is usually held in Egypt's capital Cairo. Being the country's largest of its kind, it provides pet lovers and owners a chance to meet experts in pet care, breeding, and nutrition. "We have been holding this event for 12 years, but this is the first time to organize it in the North Coast, which is a plus for us," said Nadine Hamdy, marketing manager of the carnival. Read: Coup leaders appear to have gained the upper hand in Niger, analysts say A number of veterinarians, pet nutritionists, and pet trainers participated in the event, which took place on Saturday. It includes activities of pets medication and training and offers a number of recreational activities for pets, such as swimming trainings and shows. Such event would help people better get along with animals, Hamdy said. For Adam Kilani, a visitor from neighboring Alexandria Governorate, the event is an unforgettable experience for him, as his five-year-old pet dog Gawaher had learnt to swim for the first time in a year. Read: 11 dead and 27 missing in flooding around Beijing after days of rain  "It is a great chance for me to learn about pet care in an amusing way," Kilani said, as he watched his dog swim. Holding such events, especially in tourist resorts during the summer, will significantly promote the culture of pet ownership in Egypt, said Kilani. "I have seen people here who have never touched a dog, but they were very happy to play with Gawaher. Some of them said they would love to keep a dog at home soon," Kilany said. Read: More than 60 Senegalese migrants are feared dead on a monthlong voyage to Spain Lina Kamal, who brought her three-year-old dog to the carnival, said the event was important because it raised the issue of stray animals and offered solutions to their plight. "We should have stronger awareness to protect animals...this is one of the things that the carnival advocates," said Kamal.

West African defense chiefs met Thursday to discuss the crisis in Niger after coup leaders there ignored their deadline to step down, leaving the region's countries with few options in their effort to restore democratic rule. Niger's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was overthrown in July and remains under house arrest with his wife and son in the capital, Niamey. Defence chiefs from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, were meeting Thursday in Ghana to discuss next steps in their stated goal of restoring Bazoum. Coup leaders in Niger already have ignored a deadline to restate him or face military intervention.  Read more:                              Russia hits Ukrainian grain depots again as a foreign ship tries out Kyiv's new Black Sea corridor                     This is the first meeting since ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby force” last week to restore constitutional rule in the country. It’s unclear if or when troops would intervene. A force would likely consist of several thousands soldiers from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Benin and could take weeks or months to prepare, say conflict experts. ECOWAS has a poor track record in stemming the region’s rampant coups: neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali have each had two within three years. Niger's coup was seen by the international community and ECOWAS as one too many and in addition to threatening a military invasion, the bloc has imposed severe economic and travel sanctions. But as time drags on with no military action and a standstill in negotiations, the junta is entrenching its power, leaving ECOWAS with few choices. “ECOWAS has few good options ... particularly as the (junta) seems unwilling for the moment to cede to outside pressure," said Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow with the Clingendael Institute, a think tank. "An intervention could backfire and damage the organization in numerous ways, while a failure to extract major concessions from the (junta) could weaken the organization politically at an already fragile time," he said. The top security body of the African Union met Monday to consider whether it would support military intervention but has yet to make public its decision. The AU's Peace and Security Council could overrule a military intervention if it felt that wider stability on the continent was threatened by it. If it rejects the use of force, there are few grounds under which ECOWAS could claim legal justification, said Lebovich. But on Thursday, Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, told reporters that the bloc was working with the United Nations on Niger's situation and didn't “need any approval from the Security Council to find a solution to the crisis." In recent years, Western countries have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of aid into Niger, which was seen as one of the last democratic countries in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert that it could partner with to beat back a growing jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. France and the United States have approximately 2,500 military personnel in the country, which trained soldiers and, in the case of France, conducted joint operations. Since the coup, both countries have suspended military operations, which Sahel experts say is leading to an increase in attacks. On Tuesday, at least 17 Nigerien soldiers were killed and nearly two dozen wounded in the Tillaberi region in the biggest attack by jihadis in six months. Former militants have told The AP that active jihadis would leverage the coup to move around more freely and plan further violence while Niger's security forces are distracted in Niamey and Western assistance has halted. Read more: Pakistan arrests 129 Muslims after mob attacks on churches and homes of minority Christians Displaced people who fled jihadi violence and are now living in makeshift huts in Niamey say they've suffered enough from the extremists. They don't want more problems from their neighbors. “I ask God not to bring (ECOWAS). We lost more than 600 people (from jihadi violence). I support the military, and God curse anyone who doesn’t love Niger,” said Daouda Mounkaila. Last year he, his wife and their 11 children were chased from their home in Tillaberi, one of the hardest-hit regions in the country. Others in the capital are trying to cope with the impact of the ECOWAS sanctions. Read more: China's Xi calls for measures to mitigate disastrous flooding amid economic slowdown Niger relies on neighboring Nigeria for up to 90% of its energy, which has in part been cut off. The streets are littered with generators powering shops. Restaurant owners say they can't keep their fridges cold and have lost customers. The sanctions are making it hard for aid groups to get food and supplies in. Before the coup, more than 4 million people in Niger — a country of some 25 million — were in need of humanitarian assistance, a number that's now expected to surge, say aid groups. Read more: Taliban official says women lose value if their faces are visible to men in public Trucks are stuck at the borders with Benin and Nigeria. Routes through countries that have ignored the sanctions, such as Burkina Faso, are dangerous because they're infiltrated with extremists. “With the closure of land and air borders, it’s hard to bring aid into the country,” said Louise Aubin, the U.N. resident coordinator in Niger. Supplies such as food and vaccines could run out. It’s unclear how long the current stock will last, she said.

More than 60 migrants are feared dead after a Spanish fishing vessel rescued a boat off the Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde that originally had more than 100 people aboard, authorities and migrant advocates said Thursday. Seven bodies were found on the boat and an estimated 56 people are missing at sea and presumed dead, said International Organization for Migration spokesperson Safa Msehli. According to Senegal’s foreign affairs ministry, 38 people were rescued earlier in the week near Cape Verde, about 620 kilometers (385 miles) off the coast of West Africa. The Spanish migration advocacy group Walking Borders said the vessel was a large fishing boat, called a pirogue, which had left Senegal on July 10. Families in Fass Boye, a seaside town 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of the capital, Dakar, reached out to Walking Borders on July 20, after 10 days without hearing from loved ones on the boat, group founder Helena Maleno Garzón said. Read: Small plane crashes in Malaysia, with at least 9 bodies recovered Cheikh Awa Boye, president of the local fishing association, said survivors called home from Cape Verde after the rescue. Boye said two of his nephews are among those missing. Mamour Ba, a 30-year-old student from Fass Boye, lost his younger brother Mame Cheik on the pirogue. His brother, a fisherman and a father of one, was 23 when he died trying to reach Spain with two other brothers and a nephew, who survived. Mamour said they were still in shock when they relayed the news on Tuesday from a borrowed phone in Cape Verde. “They had to leave for Spain to feed their families,” explained Mamour, who has himself tried and failed twice to reach Europe. Mame Cheik’s son still does not know what happened. “Each time we were together he asked (for him), ‘father, father, father.’ He doesn’t know, he’s just a kid,” Mamour said. Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service confirmed that a Spanish fishing boat named the Zillarri rescued 38 people and recovered seven bodies from a Senegalese pirogue on Aug. 14 after spotting it adrift northeast of Cape Verde. An official of the tropical tuna fishing company PEVASA, which operates the Zillarri, said the survivors were asking for help and were in a “bad state.” Read: Muslim mobs attack churches in eastern Pakistan after accusing Christians of desecrating the Quran The route from West Africa to Spain is one of the world’s most dangerous, yet the number of migrants leaving from Senegal on rickety wooden boats has surged over the past year. The boats try to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, an archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa that has been used as a steppingstone to continental Europe. Nearly 1,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea in the first six months of 2023, Walking Borders says. Worsening youth unemployment, political unrest, violence by armed groups and climate change push migrants across West Africa to risk their lives on overcrowded boats. Nearly 10,000 people have reached the Canary Islands by sea from the northwest coast of Africa so far this year, according to Spanish Interior Ministry figures. On Aug. 7, the Moroccan navy recovered the bodies of five Senegalese migrants and rescued 189 others after their boat capsized off the coast of Western Sahara. Read: Rescuers recover 33 bodies from a landslide at a Myanmar jade mine, with 3 people still missing In 2021, an AP investigation found at least seven migrant boats from northwest Africa had become lost in the Atlantic and were found drifting across the Caribbean and even off Brazil, carrying only lifeless bodies.

Deadly clashes between rival militias in Libya’s capital killed at least 27 people and left residents trapped in their homes on Tuesday,unable to escape the violence,medical authorities said. The fighting appears to be the most intense to shake Tripoli this year. There were at least four people dead but it was not immediately clear if they were militiamen or civilians, an official said.The clashes erupted late on Monday between militiamen from the 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force, according to local media reports. Tensions flared after Mahmoud Hamza, a senior commander of the 444 brigade, was allegedly detained by the rival group at an airport in Tripoli earlier in the day, the reports said. Read also:Bangladesh climbs 5 spots in latest passport ranking, still behind Sri Lanka and Libya Over 100 people were injured in the fighting, Libya's Emergency Medicine and Support Center, a medical body that is deployed during humanitarian disasters and wars, said early Wednesday.It is unclear how many of the dead were militiamen or civilians. The Red Crescent did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Throughout the fighting Tuesday, the Health Ministry urged the warring sides to allow ambulance and emergency teams to enter the affected areas, primarily in the south of the city, and for blood to be sent to nearby hospitals. Read also:Italy agrees to lift ban on flights from conflict-stricken Libya after 10 years OPSGroup, an organization for the aviation industry, said late Monday that a large number of aircraft departed from Tripoli due to the clashes. Inbound flights were being diverted to the nearby city of Misrata, it said. The escalation follows months of relative peace after nearly a decade of civil war in Libya, where two rival sets of authorities are locked in a political stalemate. Longstanding divisions have sparked several incidents of violence in Tripoli in recent years, although most have been over in a matter of hours. Read also:Don’t want US foreign policy failures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya repeated in Bangladesh: Elected Bangladeshi-American officials, activists write to Biden In a statement Tuesday, the U.N. mission in Libya said it was following with concern "the security incidents and developments" and called for an immediate end to the ongoing clashes.Both of Libya's rival administrations also condemned the fighting in separate statements Tuesday. The House of Representatives, which is based in the eastern city of Benghazi, blamed its rival, the Tripoli-based government, for the violence. The U.S. and British embassies in Libya issued statements expressing concerns over the violence. The United States called for an "immediate de-escalation in order to sustain recent Libyan gains toward stability and elections," the American Embassy said. The oil-rich country has been divided since 2014 between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by an array of well-armed militias and different foreign governments. The North African nation has been in a state of upheaval since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

One week after a deadline passed for mutinous soldiers in Niger to reinstate the country's ousted president or face military intervention, the junta has not acquiesced. No military action has been taken and the coup leaders appear to have gained the upper hand over the regional group that issued the threat, analysts say. The West African bloc ECOWAS had given the soldiers that overthrew Niger's democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum until last Sunday to release and reinstate him or they threatened military action. On Thursday, the bloc ordered the deployment of a “standby” force to restore constitutional rule in Niger, with Nigeria, Benin, Senegal and Ivory Coast saying they would contribute troops. But it's unclear when, how or if the troops will deploy. The move could take weeks or months to set into motion, and while the bloc decides what to do the junta is gaining power, some observers say. “It looks as though the putschists have won and will stay ... The putschists are holding all the cards and have cemented their rule,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank. ECOWAS is unlikely to intervene militarily and risk dragging Niger into civil war, he said, adding that ECOWAS and Western countries would instead likely press the junta to agree to a short transition period. Europe and the United States will have little choice but to recognize the junta in order to continue the security cooperation in the region, Laessing said. The July 26 coup is seen as a major blow to many Western nations, which viewed Niger as one of its last partners in the conflict-riddled Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert that they could work with to beat back a growing jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The U.S. and France have more than 2,500 military personnel in the region and together with other European countries have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance and training Niger's forces. There was still little clarity about what would happen days after ECOWAS announced the "standby" force deployment. A meeting of the region’s defense chiefs was postponed indefinitely. The African Union is expected to hold a meeting on Monday to discuss Niger’s crisis. The group's Peace and Security Council could overrule the decision if it felt that wider peace and security on the continent were threatened by an intervention. The delay of the defense chiefs' meeting to discuss the “standby” force shows that ECOWAS views the use of force as a last resort, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. “Given the likely challenges an intervention would face, (the use of force would) require a high degree of consensus and coordination not just within ECOWAS, but within the African Union and international community writ large,” he said. But those with ties to the junta say they are preparing for a fight, especially since the soldiers are unwilling to negotiate unless ECOWAS acknowledges its leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who overthrew the president, as the new ruler. Read: International pressure mounts on coup leaders in Niger while hundreds rally in support of junta “ECOWAS is demanding that (the junta) immediately release President Bazoum and restore him as head of state. Is this a joke?” said Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who assists Niger’s new military rulers with their communications and says he is in direct contact with them. “Whether Bazoum resigns or not, he will never be Niger's president again." As time drags on, there is mounting concern for the safety of Bazoum, who has been under house arrest with his wife and son since the coup. Those close to him say his situation is deteriorating with no water, electricity and a lack of food. Niger’s junta told a top U.S. diplomat that they would kill the deposed president if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule, two Western officials told The Associated Press. Most Nigeriens are trying to go about their lives as the standoff continues between the coup leaders and regional countries. For the most part, the streets in the capital, Niamey, are calm with sporadic pockets of pro-junta demonstrations. Any pro-Bazoum demonstrations are quickly silenced by security forces. On Sunday people marched, biked and drove through downtown Niamey, chanting “down with France” and expressing anger at ECOWAS. “Niger is in a deplorable situation. We are very happy there was a coup d'etat. Now everyone can go into the streets without a problem ... (but) if ECWOAS allows people to attack Niger, it will cross a red line,” said resident Saidou Issaka. Read: Niger crisis deepens as France plans evacuation and coup leaders get support from neighboring juntas On Friday hundreds of people, many waving Russian flags, marched toward France's military base demanding the French leave. Mercenaries from the Russian-linked Wagner group already operate in a handful of other African countries and are accused of committing human rights abuses. Earlier this month during a trip to neighboring Mali, which is also run by a military regime and cooperates with Wagner, the junta reportedly asked the mercenaries for help. Boubacar Adamou, a tailor in the capital, said he had made at least 50 Russian flags in the weeks since the coup. But many Nigeriens don't have time for protests and are more focused on feeding their families. The country of some 25 million people is one of the poorest in the world and the harsh travel and economic sanctions imposed by ECOWAS are taking a toll. Moussa Ahmed, a food seller in Niamey, said the prices of food items such as cooking oil and rice had increased by 20% since the coup and there wasn't enough electricity to power the fridges in his shop. Niger gets up to 90% of its power from neighboring Nigeria, which has cut off some of its supply. Aid groups that were already grappling with the challenges of helping more than 4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance say the crisis will exacerbate an already dire situation. “We cannot overstate the impact on civilians, both in terms of humanitarian and protection needs, when military imperatives take precedence over civilian governance," said Jan Egeland, secretary general for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Read more: Jihadists in Niger kill at least 100 in mounting violence The sanctions and suspensions of development aid are expected to have a dramatic impact on living conditions for a country already under heavy strain, he said.

A militia group armed with guns and machetes killed at least 10 people in intercommunal violence in southwestern Congo, local authorities said. The attack is the latest episode in a deepening crisis that has been overshadowed by conflict on the other side of the vast Central African nation. According to provincial government spokesperson Adelard Nkisi, a militia group known as the Mobondo attacked civilians and burned down several houses in the village of Ipongi, just over 230 miles (370 kilometers) south of the capital Kinshasa, on Friday. An unknown number of people were tied up and kidnapped by the militia members, who fled into the bush, Nkisi said. The provincial government sent defense and security forces to restore security in the area. Read: 9 killed in violence as India's West Bengal votes for rural body elections Tensions flared in June 2022 over land rights and customary taxes in Congo’s southwest, between the Teke, historical inhabitants of the region, and farmers from various other ethnic groups including the Yaka, who settled near the Congo River more recently. According to spokesperson Nkisi, Friday’s violence broke out after a leader of the Yaka-majority Mobondo militia was arrested and taken into custody in a town nearby. The incident is the latest in a cycle of violence that killed at least 300 people between June 2022 and March 2023 amid disagreements between Teke and Yaka communities about tax increases and access to farming land, according to Human Rights Watch. Read: 5 dead in Philadelphia shooting in worst violence around US Independence Day Symphorien Kwengo, vice-president of a regional civil society organization, called for community dialogue with the Mobondo militia to ease the deadly tensions in southwest Congo. Meanwhile, an older, larger-scale conflict across the country displaced hundreds of thousands of people in 2022 alone, according to the UN refugee agency. In Congo’s northeastern provinces, close to the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, more than 120 armed groups continue to fight for control of valuable mineral resources and some to protect their communities. Frequent mass killings by rebel groups trigger exoduses of civilians, which in turn drive food insecurity, sexual violence, and the spread of disease. Read more: France will deploy 40,000 police officers to quell violence that followed deadly police shooting