BBC News Africa

BBCCopyright: BBC

Unknown assailants have killed at least 90 people in a village in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz state during a Wednesday dawn attack, residents have told the BBC.

The attack come a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, together with top government and military officials, visited the state to discuss the recurrence of ethnic-based violence.

A nurse at a local clinic told the BBC that more than 30 people who sustained wounds were admitted to the facility, some were in critical condition.

Some sustained gunshot wounds while others were stabbed, the nurse added.

Beyene Melese, a spokesperson for the state’s government blamed what he called "anti-peace elements" for the attack.

"The exact number of those killed is not determined yet, but there’s information that it’s very high,’ Mr Beyene told the BBC.

Dozens of civilians have been killed in the state in at least four attacks since September.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Tunisia will extend its nightly curfew until mid-January, health authorities have said.

The decision was announced on Tuesday night following the recommendations of the country's Covid-19 scientific committee.

More than 120,000 positive cases have been recorded since March but the majority of infections are from recent months.

The health ministry said the new strain of Covid-19 has not been recorded in Tunisia but added that the country was expected to roll out vaccines in April.

Official figures show that the death rate is averaging more than 40 a day and 77% of ICU beds across the country are now occupied.

But there is growing public frustration over the continued restrictive measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Read: Tunisia deploys police robot on lockdown patrol

The United Nations says the town of Bambari in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been retaken from rebels who seized it on Tuesday.

A spokesperson said UN peacekeepers and national security forces were in control, having pushed the militants back into the bush.

He said civilians who had fled the fighting were starting to return.

The CAR is due to hold elections on Sunday.

The government has accused the former president, François Bozizé, of joining up with armed groups in an attempt to stage a coup - something he has denied.

Russia and Rwanda have sent hundreds of additional troops to bolster the government, as the rebels try to advance towards the capital Bangui.

Watch: Why is Russia cosying up to the CAR?

AFPCopyright: AFP

A union representing lecturers in Nigeria has announced the suspension of a nine-month strike that has crippled learning at public universities.

Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, the national president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, told the BBC that the union decided to suspend the strike after "concrete agreements" were reached with the federal government on Tuesday.

Prof Ogunyemi said lecturers will return to the universities from Thursday but warned that the union would resume the strike action if the government failed to fulfil a return to work deal.

The union has been pushing the government to implement a 2009 agreement that promised equipment for universities and an increase in lecturers' pay.

The union said students will be invited back to universities after measures are put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenyan MPs have voted to end tax cuts put in place in early April to help citizens to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the relief just weeks after the country recorded its first coronavirus case.

The measures included reduction of income tax, value-added tax and corporate tax by between 2% and 5%.

The steps were meant to cushion Kenyans and businesses from the pandemic which greatly affected the tourism and agriculture sectors which are the backbone of the country’s economy.

But on Tuesday MPs said the measures were not sustainable.

Last week, the finance minister announced that the country had lost nearly $600m (£450m) in revenue since the tax breaks began.

The MPs move has astounded and angered Kenyans who say the pandemic has ravaged the economy with millions of people losing their jobs and thousands of businesses closing down for good.

The country is also facing a growing health challenge as it records an increase in coronavirus cases amid a strike by doctors working in public hospitals.

The doctors have been complaining about poor working conditions and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Despite insisting it has no money, the government is pushing forward with controversial plans to hold a referendum on changing the constitution that will cost millions of dollars.

It has also been accused of mismanaging donations and aid meant to help the country tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

GETTY IMAGES / EPACopyright: GETTY IMAGES / EPA

A joint Israeli-US delegation has arrived in Morocco aboard the first direct commercial flight from Israel.

It was made possible by a recent US-brokered agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties.

The visiting delegation will sign a series of travel and other accords that will help cement the warming relationship.

Over the last few months there have been a series of deals in which Arab countries have moved closer to normalising their ties with Israel.

The process has bitterly disappointed the Palestinians.

They wanted any such nomalisation to wait until after their dispute with the Israelis had been resolved.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The UN says it is increasingly concerned about the plight of civilians in Ethiopia's Tigray region and has once again called on the government to allow full access so that allegations of war crimes can be investigated.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said two humanitarian assessment missions were able to enter the region on Monday.

But she said due to restrictions it had not yet been possible to investigate allegations of artillery strikes on populated areas, extrajudicial killings and widespread looting.

The UN said it had received consistent reports of artillery strikes last month on homes and a hospital in the town of Humera on the border with Eritrea

AFPCopyright: AFP

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has announced its plan to conduct the postponed national election in late May or early June next year.

Soliana Shimelis, the board's communication adviser, told the BBC that preparations were underway.

Opposition parties have however complained that a government crackdown against its officials had disrupted their plans to prepare for the polls.

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) said almost all of its leaders and party officials are under arrest while its offices including the main office in the capital Addis Ababa are either "ransacked, closed or are under state under control."

The government has not responded to these allegations.

Another opposition party Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) has also announced that it was going to be difficult for it to take part in the upcoming election with its leaders and members in jail.

Its prominent member Jawar Mohammed and the party’s deputy chairman Bekele Gerba were arrested in June following protests that broke out after the murder of popular musician Hachalu Hundessa.

They are both facing terror charges among others.

The Ethiopian government accuses them of inciting violence and "trying to alter the constitutional order."

Election officials expect at least 50 million people will vote to elect members of the House of Peoples Representatives, national parliament, and regional state councils.

Since coming to power in 2018 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has promised to ensure free and fair elections.

Election officials postponed the poll, which had been scheduled to be held this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Sudan and Ethiopia have begun negotiations to demarcate their border following a clash in a disputed area last week.

Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen is in Khartoum and is meeting Sudan's cabinet minister, Omar Manis.

Ethiopian forces reportedly ambushed Sudanese troops along the border, killing four and wounding more than 20 others.

Sudan has since deployed troops to the Al-Fashaqa region.

In the contested area is some fertile land which Sudan claims but which has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers.

The area borders Ethiopia's Tigray region where fighting last month forced more than 50,000 refugees to flee into Sudan.

GETTY IMAGES / EPACopyright: GETTY IMAGES / EPA

An Israeli aircraft is making the first direct commercial flight between Israel and Morocco.

This follows the two countries' recent agreement to upgrade their diplomatic relationship.

The plane is emblazoned with the word "peace" in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

It is carrying a high-level Israeli delegation that will have further talks on the details of diplomatic accord.

The deal was brokered by Washington, and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy Jared Kushner is accompanying the Israeli team.

The agreement was part of a series of deals in which Arab countries have moved to normalise their ties with Israel.