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China complains to Ghana after detentions in mining crackdown

June 6, 2013 07:39
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday the government had complained to Ghana's president after 124 Chinese citizens were detained in a crackdown on illegal gold mining. Ghana is Africa's second biggest gold producer after South Africa. As gold prices have hit record levels in recent years, the sector has been increasingly plagued by illegal diggers, including a rising number of undocumented Chinese immigrants. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it wanted the people detained in Ghana to be treated properly.

About 100 Chinese arrested in Ghana for illegal mining

Agence France-PresseJune 6, 2013 07:20
Police in Ghana have arrested about 100 Chinese citizens this month on charges of illegal mining, a senior embassy official said on Wednesday. "The Ghanaians have claimed that those Chinese are engaged in illegal mining," Yu Jie, told AFP in the capital Accra. "It is nearly about 100 since June 1," he said, adding "they will be deported back to China." It is unclear if they would be charged in court in Ghana. The arrests took place around the country, including in the central Ashanti region, long known for its rich gold veins.

Armed inmates kill two Niamey prison guards

Agence France-PresseJune 1, 2013 22:30
Inmates in Niamey's main prison killed two guards Saturday, officials said, a week after twin suicide bombings claimed 20 lives in the west African country. Three inmates charged with terrorist offences tried to had break out of the prison, prosecutor Ibrahim Wazir Moussa said on state television. "They attacked the guards; the guards fought back," he added. Two of the guards had been killed and another three wounded, one of them seriously, he said.

Armed inmates kill three Niamey prison guards

Agence France-PresseJune 1, 2013 21:45
Four inmates in Niamey's main prison killed three guards Saturday, Justice Minister Marou Amadou said, a week after twin suicide bombings claimed 20 lives in the west African country. The attack was carried out by "four individuals detained at the civilian prison of Niamey and prosecuted for terrorism," Amadou told AFP. Three guards were killed and three were injured, one seriously, said Amadou, who is also the government spokesman in the impoverished west African state.

Armed inmates kill two Niamey prison guards

Agence France-PresseJune 1, 2013 15:01
Four inmates in Niamey's main prison killed at least two guards in an armed attack on Saturday, Justice Minister Marou Amadou said, a week after twin suicide bombings claimed 20 lives in the west African country. The attack was carried out by "four individuals detained at the civilian prison of Niamey and prosecuted for terrorism," Amadou told AFP, adding that another guard was seriously wounded. "Three have been taken" alive, said Amadou, who is also the government spokesman, adding that "the fourth is in the prison grounds".

Gunmen attack prison in heart of Niger's capital

June 1, 2013 13:30
NIAMEY (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a prison in the center of Niger's capital Niamey on Saturday, witnesses said, a week after al Qaeda-linked fighters launched twin attacks on a military base and a French uranium mine in the West African nation. Local residents said the assault began at around 3 p.m. (1500 GMT) when the attackers opened fire on guards at the entrance to the prison. They said they also heard a loud explosion.

Guinea's Conde orders probe after clashes kill 12 in past week

May 29, 2013 12:00
CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinean President Alpha Conde has ordered a judicial inquiry into unrest that has killed at least 12 people in the past week in an apparent effort to defuse protests against preparations for a long-delayed election. Investor confidence in the world's top bauxite exporter has been undermined by repeated clashes since March pitting police and supporters of Conde against opposition demonstrators who fear the election outcome will be rigged.

Insight: Nigerian pirate gangs extend reach off West Africa

May 29, 2013 11:55
By Joe Bavier ABIDJAN (Reuters) - As the afternoon sun glinted off the waters in Ivory Coast's port of Abidjan, a team of gendarmes set out in a leaky wooden pirogue with no weapons and nothing more than mobile phones for communication. Their mission: to hold the front line against piracy in the world's new hotspot for maritime crime, the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa.

Niger leader says Chad next target after Islamist attacks

Agence France-PresseMay 27, 2013 10:15
Niger's president said Monday that attackers who bombed an army base and French-run uranium mine, leaving 38 people dead, entered his country from southern Libya, where he warned further attacks were being planned on Chad. "For Niger in particular, the main threat has moved from the Malian border to the Libyan border. I confirm in effect that the enemy who attacked us... comes from the (Libyan) south, where another attack is being prepared against Chad," said President Mahamadou Issoufou.

Hollande vows to help Niger 'destroy' militants

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 19:34
French President Francois Hollande on Thursday vowed to help Niger "destroy" the militants who launched deadly attacks against a military base and a French-run uranium mine in the west African country. Hollande, speaking to AFP in Germany, said France would support "all the efforts of Niger to stop the hostage situation" in the town of Agadez, where the military base is. He said that France would not tolerate such aggression. "We will not intervene in Niger as we did in Mali, but we have the same willingness to cooperate to fight against terrorism," he said.
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