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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

International pressure mounted Thursday against leaders of the coup in Niger as the American secretary of state said the United States "stands very much" in support of West African leaders who have threatened to use force to restore the nation's democracy, and Senegal offered troops to help. As hundreds of anti-French protesters rallied in the Nigerien capital in support of the ruling junta, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered general support for the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, though he did not specifically refer to its threat of military action. Blinken told reporters in New York that the U.S. believes the bloc's efforts to reinstate toppled President Mohamed Bazoum are "important, strong and have our support." Senegal's foreign affairs minister said her country would participate in a military intervention if ECOWAS decides to act. "Senegalese soldiers have to go … these coups d'état must be stopped," Aissata Tall Sall said. Also read: Niger crisis deepens as France plans evacuation and coup leaders get support from neighboring juntas Meanwhile, Niger's military leaders sought to exploit anti-Western sentiment to shore up their takeover. The junta suspended broadcaster RFI and France 24 television from broadcasting in the country, according to the French foreign affairs ministry. The suspensions were part of the junta's "authoritarian repression," the ministry wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Last week's coup toppled Bazoum, whose ascendency was Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France in 1960. The coup stirred strident anti-French sentiment and raised questions about the future of the fight against extremism in Africa's Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence. The coup has been condemned by Western countries and the ECOWAS bloc, which has threatened to forcibly remove the junta if it does not hand back power to Bazoum. As tensions have grown in the capital of Niamey and the region, many European countries have moved to evacuate their citizens. Also read: Climate, coups risk African goal of silencing guns by 2030 At Thursday's protest organized by the junta and civil society groups on Niger's independence day, protesters pumped their fists in the air and chanted support for neighboring countries where militaries have also taken power in recent years. Some waved Russian flags, and one man brandished a Russian and Nigerien flag sewn together. "For more than 13 years, the Nigerien people have suffered injustices," protester Moctar Abdou Issa said. The junta "will get us out of this, God willing … they will free the Nigerien people." "We're sick of the French," he added. It remains unclear whether a majority of the population supports the coup, and in many parts of the capital, people went about their lives as normal Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden used the occasion of Niger's independence day to call for Bazoum to be released and democracy restored. "The Nigerien people have the right to choose their leaders. They have expressed their will through free and fair elections — and that must be respected," he said in a statement. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration was still focused on diplomacy. Also read: US sanctions Myanmar officials, military-affiliated 'cronies' ahead of coup anniversary "We still believe there's time and space for that. The window is not going to be open forever," Kirby said. In an address to the nation on Wednesday, the new military ruler, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, lashed out at those who have condemned the coup and called on the population to be ready to defend the nation. He said harsh sanctions imposed last week by ECOWAS were illegal, unfair and inhuman. ECOWAS has set a deadline of Sunday for the junta to reinstate Bazoum, who remains under house arrest. In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Bazoum described himself as a hostage who was one among hundreds of citizens arbitrarily arrested. He said his nation's security situation was improving before the coup but was now at risk because Niger would lose foreign aid and terrorist groups would take advantage of its instability. "In our hour of need, I call on the U.S. government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order," Bazoum wrote in the piece posted online late Thursday. After the deadline set by ECOWAS expires, the bloc is expected to decide by consensus on the next step as recommended by its defense chiefs. At a bloc meeting in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, Brig. Gen. Tukur Ismaila Gusau, a Nigeria defense spokesman, said the defense chiefs have been asked to come up with a military solution, which they hope will be "the last option." The bloc's sanctions include halting energy transactions with Niger, which gets up to 90% of its power from neighboring Nigeria, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. France has 1,500 soldiers in Niger who conduct joint operations with its military against jihadis linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The United States and other European countries have helped train Niger's troops. Niger was seen as the West's last reliable partner in the region, but some in the country see Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which operates in a handful of African countries, as a powerful alternative. The new junta has not said whether it intends to ally with Moscow or stick with Niger's Western partners, but that question has become central to the unfolding political crisis. Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso — both ruled by juntas — have turned toward Moscow. Ahead of Thursday's demonstration, the French Embassy in Niamey asked Niger's government to ensure the security of its premises after it was attacked by protesters and a door was set on fire. The president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, dispatched two delegations Thursday to deal with Niger's crisis. A group from ECOWAS headed by former Nigerian head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar was on its way to Niger. A second group led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe went to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria, said Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president.  

France prepared to evacuate French and European nationals from Niger on Tuesday, telling them to carry no more than a small bag, after a military coup there won backing from three other West African nations ruled by mutinous soldiers. The French Foreign Ministry in Paris cited recent violence that targeted the French Embassy in Niamey, the capital, as one of the reasons for the decision. The closure of Niger's airspace also "leaves our compatriots unable to leave the country by their own means," the ministry said. The evacuation comes amid a deepening crisis sparked by the coup last week against Niger's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. It was starting Tuesday for French and European citizens who wish to leave, the French ministry said in a statement. It gave no other details. The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday and said it would use force if the coup leaders don't reinstate Bazoum within one week. Bazoum's government was one of the West's last democratic partners against West African extremists. In a joint statement, the military governments of Mali and Burkina Faso said that "any military intervention against Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali." Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, Mali's state minister for territorial administration and decentralization, read the statement on Malian state TV Monday evening. The two countries also denounced the ECOWAS economic sanctions as "illegal, illegitimate and inhumane" and refused to apply them. ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks. Niger relies heavily on foreign aid, and sanctions could further impoverish its more than 25 million people. Mali and Burkina Faso have each undergone two coups since 2020, as soldiers overthrew governments claiming they could do a better job fighting increasing jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. ECOWAS has sanctioned both countries and suspended them from the bloc, but never threatened to use force. Also on Sunday, Guinea, another country under military rule since 2021, issued a statement in support of Niger's junta and urged ECOWAS to "come to its senses." "The sanctions measures advocated by ECOWAS, including military intervention, are an option that would not be a solution to the current problem, but would lead to a human disaster whose consequences could extend beyond Niger's borders," said Ibrahima Sory Bangoura, general of the brigade, in a statement from the ruling party. He added the Guinea would not apply the sanctions. In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing France, waving Russian flags along with signs reading "Down with France" and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling the international community to stay away. There has been no clear explanation of the references to Russia, but some demonstrators regard the country as symbolizing their anti-Western feelings. Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows at the French Embassy before the Nigerien army dispersed them. The evacuation was announced by France's embassy in an email sent to French nationals in Niamey. The message said the evacuation would be an airlift and that the spouses and children of French nationals were also eligible. It asked people to pack one small bag per person and to also take water, a bit of food, phones and batteries. Niger could be following in the same footsteps as Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which saw protesters waving Russian flags after their respective coups, analysts say. After the second coup in Burkina Faso in September, protesters also attacked the French Embassy in the capital, Ouagadougou, and damaged and ransacked the Institut Francais, France's international cultural promotion organization. If ECOWAS uses force, it could also trigger violence between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say. While unlikely, "the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic," said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank. Lyammouri does not see a "military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday commended the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to "defend constitutional order in Niger" after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family. Also Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane banned the use of social media to put out messages he described as harmful to state security. He also claimed without evidence that Bazoum's government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum. Observers believe Bazoum is being held at his house in Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chad President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta. Both the United States and France have sent troops and hundreds of millions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid in recent years to Niger, which was a French colony until 1960. The country was seen as the last working with the West against extremism in a Francophone region where anti-French sentiment opened the way for the Russian private military group Wagner. After neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso ousted the French military and began working with Wagner mercenaries, Blinken visited Niger in March to strengthen ties and announce $150 million in direct assistance, calling the country "a model of democracy." The U.S. will consider cutting aid if the coup is successful, the State Department said Monday. Aid is "very much in the balance depending on the outcome of the actions in the country," said department spokesman Matt Miller. "U.S. assistance hinges on continued democratic governance in Niger." The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday. "When people say there's an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it's extremely difficult for people. ... Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community," he said. In the capitalr, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they can't pay rent. They scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children. Since the 1990s, the 15-nation ECOWAS has tried to protect democracies against the threat of coups, with mixed success. Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020. In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president's predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission.  

Chinese state media report 11 people have died and 27 are missing amid flooding in the mountains surrounding the capital Beijing. Days of heavy rains have prompted authorities to close train stations and evacuate people in vulnerable communities to school gyms, state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday. Homes have been flooded, roads torn apart and cars piled into stacks. READ: Flooding and a landslide in eastern China leave 5 dead and 3 missing The level of rainfall is highly unusual for Beijing, which generally enjoys a moderate, dry climate. Flooding in other parts of northern China that rarely see such large amounts of rain have led to scores of deaths.  

At least 16 people, including three children, were killed by a leak of a toxic nitrate gas being used by illegal miners to process gold in a settlement of closely packed metal shacks, South African police and local officials said late Wednesday. Emergency services initially announced that as many as 24 people might be dead in the Angelo settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg. But police and Gauteng Province Premier Panyaza Lesufi later said the number of deaths had been confirmed as 16 after a recount of the bodies. “It’s not a nice scene at all ... It’s painful, emotionally draining and tragic,” Lesufi, who visited the scene, was quoted as saying in news reports. Teams were searching the area looking for other casualties deep into the night. The bodies of the victims remained lying on the ground hours after the leak was reported around 8 p.m. as emergency services waited for forensic investigators and pathologists to arrive to process the scene. The bodies were still there at 3 a.m. Read: New UN survey highlights progress in global trade facilitation despite polycrisis disruptions “We can’t move anybody. The bodies are still where they are on the ground,” said emergency services spokesman William Ntladi. A forensic investigator was seen covering the body of a small child with a blanket. Another body could be seen covered in a white cloth with a shoe sticking out. It lay under a strip of yellow police tape cordoning off the area. Police said the three children killed were aged 1, 6 and 15. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment, police said. Boksburg is the city where 41 people died after a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas got stuck under a bridge and exploded on Christmas Eve. Ntladi said Wednesday's deaths were caused by a nitrate gas that leaked from a gas cylinder being kept in a shack. He said the cannister had emptied out in the leak and teams were able to begin going over an area stretching out 100 meters (100 yards) from the cyclinder to check for more casualties. Read: Leaders of Italy and Poland say European Union should focus on stopping migration Investigators were searching through narrow alleys between shacks, cast into darkness by the lack of streetlights — a common situation in the deeply impoverished informal settlements found in and around South Africa's cities. Six police cars, an armored vehicle and one ambulance were parked at the entrance to the Angelo settlement. Ntladi said the information authorities had indicated the cylinder that caused the leak was being used by illegal miners to separate gold from dirt and rock. Lesufi, the Gauteng premier, tweeted videos of the dusty inside of a shack where at least four gas cyclinders can be seen on metal stands. The video also shows what Lesufi said was the cylinder responsible for the leak lying on the floor next to the entrance of the shack. Authorities didn't say if the illegal miners they believed to be responsible for the gas leak were among the casualties. Illegal mining is rife in the gold-rich areas around Johannesburg, where miners go into closed off and disused mines to search for any deposits left over. Mining fatalities underground are also common and the South African government department responsible for mining announced recently that at least 31 illegal miners were believed to have died in a gas explosion in a disused mine in the city of Welkom in central South Africa. The cause was methane gas, the mining department said. Read: Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of preparing imminent attack on Europe's biggest nuclear plant Wednesday's tragedy was likely to stoke more anger at illegal miners, who are often migrants from neighboring countries, operate in organized gangs and are blamed for bringing crime into neighborhoods. Violence against illegal miners erupted last year and raged for days in an area west of Johannesburg after a group of 80 men, some of whom were believed to be illegal miners, were charged with gang raping eight women who were working on a TV shoot at a disused mine.

A truck rammed into several other vehicles and market traders in western Kenya killing at least 51 people, police said. The Friday evening accident occurred at a location known for vehicle crashes near the Rift Valley town of Londiani, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Officers at the scene counted 51 bodies, but more people were believed to be trapped in the wreckage, Rift Valley police commander Tom Odera told The Associated Press. The Kenya Red Cross Society said on Saturday 32 people were injured and hospitalized, and asked Kenyans to donate blood. It also said heavy rainfall interrupted rescue efforts and people were still trapped in wrecked vehicles. Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen visited the scene on Saturday morning and said the government would relocate markets away from the highways to prevent such future accidents. President William Ruto tweeted a condolence message to bereaved families describing the accident as "distressing" and urging motorists to be "extra cautious." Witnesses quoted by local media said the truck veered off the major highway and hit several vehicles before hitting pedestrians and traders. Witnesses shared photos of the vehicle wreckages mangled beyond recognition. Police had said on Friday rescue operations would continue into the night. The Kenyan Red Cross Society said they have set up stations at hospitals where people can report loved ones still missing and are providing psychological support to those affected. At least 51 people killed in road accident in western Kenya, 32 injured, police and Red Cross say NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A truck rammed into several other vehicles and market traders in western Kenya killing at least 51 people, police said. The Friday evening accident occurred at a location known for vehicle crashes near the Rift Valley town of Londiani, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Officers at the scene counted 51 bodies, but more people were believed to be trapped in the wreckage, Rift Valley police commander Tom Odera told The Associated Press. The Kenya Red Cross Society said on Saturday 32 people were injured and hospitalized, and asked Kenyans to donate blood. It also said heavy rainfall interrupted rescue efforts and people were still trapped in wrecked vehicles. Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen visited the scene on Saturday morning and said the government would relocate markets away from the highways to prevent such future accidents. President William Ruto tweeted a condolence message to bereaved families describing the accident as "distressing" and urging motorists to be "extra cautious." Witnesses quoted by local media said the truck veered off the major highway and hit several vehicles before hitting pedestrians and traders. Witnesses shared photos of the vehicle wreckages mangled beyond recognition. Police had said on Friday rescue operations would continue into the night. The Kenyan Red Cross Society said they have set up stations at hospitals where people can report loved ones still missing and are providing psychological support to those affected.

TikTok has overtaken Instagram to secure the second place among the "Big Five" social media platforms in South Africa, challenging Facebook's dominance in the country. Facebook, with a commanding 56.7 percent penetration of South Africans aged 15 and over in urban areas, continues to dominate the social media realm, according to the South African Social Media Landscape 2023 study, released by brand intelligence consultancy Ornico and market research house World Wide Worx, local media reported Saturday. Read: 2 friends ‘making TikTok videos’ dead after truck hits their bike in Lalmonirhat  However, TikTok has seen rapid growth and surpassed Instagram to claim second position at 30.6 percent. The platform's appeal also extends beyond its under-15 target audience, expanding its influence in the 15+ market, according to the study. Instagram maintains its popularity among South African social media users, boasting a penetration rate of 27.6 percent, while Twitter remains in the fourth place at 22.5 percent, the study said. Read: TikTok attorney: China can’t get U.S. data under plan LinkedIn is far behind in fifth at 14.7 percent. However, its penetration is still healthy for a professional networking platform that does not hold much youth appeal. The study used a mixture of data from Ask Afrika's Target Group Index, which surveyed 24,744 respondents, and Ornico and World Wide Worx's own survey of social media usage by South Africa's biggest brands. Read more: Why does US see Chinese-owned TikTok as a security threat?

The United Nations said Tuesday the surging violence in Sudan is likely to drive more than 1 million refugees out of the African country by October, as the 10-week conflict shows few signs of easing. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Since then, over 3,000 people have been killed, the country’s Health Ministry said, while about 2.5 million people have been displaced, according to the U.N. The violence has been most acute in the capital, Khartoum, but also in the western Darfur region, where RSF and Arab militias are reportedly targeting non-Arab tribes, local rights groups and the U.N. said. Most of those who have escaped have fled east to Chad. “We were talking about 100,000 people in six months (fleeing to) Chad. And now the colleagues in Chad have revised their figures to 245,000,” said Raouf Mazou, assistant secretary-general at United Nations High Commission for Refugees, at a news conference in the Swiss city of Geneva. Burhan and Dagalo separately declared a truce to mark the beginning of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha this week. Dagalo, in a voice recording posted on his social media page late Monday, said the truce would last Tuesday and Wednesday; while Burhan, in a televised speech broadcast Tuesday evening, said a “unilateral cease-fire” would take place on Wednesday. There have been at least nine cease-fires since the conflict erupted in April and all have foundered. During the same TV speech, Burhan called on Sudan’s youth and others capable of fighting to support the Sudanese army, either from “their place of residence or by joining the military movement.” It remains unclear if the call-up is mandatory. Read: Sudan officials say airstrike kills 17, including 5 children, in capital Khartoum In May, the country’s Defense Ministry made a similar appeal, calling on retired soldiers and army reservists to report to the nearest military command to fight against the RSF. The province of West Darfur has seen some of the worst violence. In a report last week issued by the Dar Masalit sultanate, the leader of the African Masalit ethnic community accused the RSF and Arab militias of “committing genocide against African civilians.” He estimated that more than 5,000 people were killed in the province’s capital, Genena, over the past two months. So far over 560,000 Sudanese have escaped to neighboring countries, with Egypt being the primary destination. “We expect, unfortunately, looking at the trends, that the conflict will continue and that many in Sudan will opt to (go to) Egypt,” Mazou said. Peace negations mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in the Saudi coastal town of Jeddah have all but broken down. The talks were formally adjourned last week with both mediators publicly criticizing the RSF and the army for continually violating truces the two nations had brokered. Throughout the conflict, residential areas and hospitals in Khartoum have been pounded by army airstrikes, while RSF troops — who have the upper hand on the city’s streets — have commandeered civilian homes across the capital and turned them into bases. Sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls, has been reported in Khartoum and Darfur. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which hasn’t responded to repeated requests for comment. Read: South Sudan struggles to clear mines after decades of war as people start returning home Late on Monday, the RSF said it would establish an internal body to assess and punish paramilitary troops accused of “violations and misconduct.” However, on that same day, Dagalo said many of the purported crimes have in fact been committed by affiliates of former Islamist leader Omar al-Bashir and other militias who had disguised themselves in RSF uniforms. Former president al-Bashir, who led Sudan for 30 years, was toppled in a popular uprising in 2019. From the start of the conflict, Dagalo has accused the army of harboring Islamists and other affiliates of the ousted president within its ranks. Over the past few days, new clashes also erupted between the Sudanese army and the country’s largest rebel force, the Sudan Popular Liberation Movement–North, in the remote Blue Nile state. The outburst of fighting has pushed hundreds of civilians into neighboring Ethiopia, the U.N.'s mission in Sudan said. It remains unclear how many people have been killed in the clashes The southeastern pocket of the country was the scene of intense tribal clashes that killed over 170 people in October last year. Read more: Sudan military ruler seeks removal of UN envoy in letter to UN chief, who is 'shocked' by the demand