Category: Rest of Africa

The resolutions were made after the 43rd Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, the highest organ of the southern African bloc.

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the number of military coups has declined sharply. However, francophone West Africa now accounts for approximately two-thirds of all military coups that have occurred since then.

The southern African country heads to the polls on August 23 to elect the president and legislature in what analysts expect to be a tense affair, marked by a crackdown on dissent and fears of vote-rigging.

The clashes between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, two of the myriad of militias that have vied for power since the overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, erupted on Monday night and raged through Tuesday.

But talks at the AU's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa coincided with a flare-up over threats by the regime to prosecute Niger's deposed president.

The strike on Sunday marked the deadliest reported since clashes between members of the Ethiopian army and a local militia known as Fano erupted in towns and cities across Amhara after months of tensions.

The clashes between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa Force, or Special Deterrence Force, erupted on Monday night and carried over into Tuesday, an interior ministry official said.

The meeting on Thursday and Friday -- originally scheduled for last weekend but then postponed -- came after Ecowas leaders last week approved deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger, whose president was toppled on July 26.

The forthcoming elections hold immense significance for Zimbabwe's political landscape, as citizens eagerly await the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights and shape the future direction of their nation. 

The migrants, primarily from Sub-Saharan African countries, had been driven to the desert area of Ras Jedir by Tunisian authorities and left there to fend for themselves, according to witnesses, rights groups and UN agencies.