Africa, Militants | featured news

Donors need to pour aid into Mali over the next six months to rebuild its strife-hit north and stop defeated militants taking advantage of the chaos to return, France's development minister said on Tuesday.

International backing for French forces battling Islamist militants in Mali gathered momentum Tuesday, as U.S. military aircraft flew French troops and supplies into the African nation and Italy's lawmakers voted to lend support.

France called on Saturday on other world powers to commit money and logistical support for African armies readying their troops to join French soldiers already battling al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali.

Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the middle of the Sahara desert on Saturday in a "final assault" that ended a four-day-old hostage crisis, according to the state news agency and two foreign governments. At least 19 hostages and 29 Islamist militants have been killed.

Within the past few days, French combat forces have deployed to the West African state of Mali to halt the advance of militant Islamist fighters toward the capital and to help the Malian army begin to reclaim towns previously occupied by the militants.

The first Ugandan soldiers to fly into Somalia 5 1/2 years ago came under attack as soon as they arrived: Militants fired mortars at the new mission's welcome ceremony. Today, backed by a sweeping multinational effort that includes $338 million in U.S. equipment, wages and training, the force of Ugandans, Burundians, Kenyans and Somalis that was deployed to take on the country's Islamic radicals can claim a degree of success that had initially seemed highly unlikely.

They came in Toyota pick-up trucks, dozens of heavily armed masked men, firing machineguns and waving the black flag of al Qaeda as terrified residents and police huddled indoors, and then disappeared again, melting away into the mountains and remote villages of Egypt's Sinai desert.

Nigeria reportedly plans to give 10% of oil revenues to people in the Niger Delta, a key demand of militants there.

Nigerian security forces said Saturday they rescued 10 hostages kidnapped this week, including six foreigners, and destroyed a key militant camp in the heart of Africa's biggest oil industry region.

Oil militants in Nigeria call for an 'all-out war' against the government, accusing military planes of bombing a village.