UN News Centre - Africa

Following a run-off election for the Presidency of Madagascar which saw former leader Andry Rajoelina declared the winner on Tuesday, the UN chief has commended all those who contributed to the “peaceful and orderly” voting process that began at the end of November.

UN peacekeepers in Mali have given what villagers in a remote part of the West African country have called a “real glimmer of hope.” 

More than a week after voters went to the polls to choose a new President in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), results have yet to be announced and all primary telecommunications remain shut down – prompting a UN expert on Monday to urge the authorities to restore internet services as “a matter of urgency”.

More than 40 civilians have been reportedly killed during intercommunal clashes this week in northern Burkina Faso, prompting UN Secretary-General António Guterres to issue a statement on Friday night condemning the violence and “deteriorating security situation” in parts of the West African country.

The UN Secretary-General said on Friday he “deeply regrets” the Somali Government’s decision to expel his Special Representative in the country, adding that he had “full confidence” in Nicholas Haysom’s abilities and track record as an international civil servant.

The post-election environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is “calm but tense” as the country waits for the results of the presidential poll, the UN Human Rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday.

Somali Government efforts to build a lasting peace through political reform and transformation have progressed along a “positive trajectory” but everyone involved in the process needs to “pull in the same direction”, the UN Special Representative in the country told the Security Council on Thursday.

In the wake of an ongoing Ebola outbreak affecting the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), neighboring Uganda is implementing a series of preventative response measures to keep the deadly disease at bay.

An attack on a village in central Mali earlier this week in which at least 37 civilians died, is to be investigated with the help of United Nations human rights experts, the UN stabilization mission in the country (MINUSMA), announced on Thursday.

Solar power is helping make universal healthcare a reality in places where unreliable power supplies regularly affect access to vital services, and can out people’s lives at risk, thanks to support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday’s attacks against the UN compound in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, saying that intentionally attacking UN personnel may constitute "a violation of international humanitarian law.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all those playing an active political role in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to “continue working together” to ensure free and fair elections, as the country heads to polls this Sunday.

The excessive use of force during large-scale demonstrations against food and fuel shortages in Sudan is alarming, and an infringement on the right of peaceful assembly, said UN independent experts on Friday.

After fleeing terrorist attacks, as well as clashes between Government forces and militia, more than 2,000 newly displaced Nigerians have arrived in an already over-stretched camp known as Teacher’s Village, in Maiduguri, the capital of the country’s Borno State.

Unless political actors in Guinea-Bissau demonstrate renewed good faith to hold “genuinely free and fair elections,” the country is set to face a continuous cycle of instability, the United Nations Security Council warned on Thursday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly condemned an armed attack in Al Jala Hospital in Libya’s second-largest city of Benghazi, which took place on Tuesday, warning that further assaults could shutter the key facility.

The United Nations peace mission in Libya has “strongly” condemned a terrorist attack on the country’s foreign ministry in the capital, Tripoli.

The construction of sand dams which retain water above and below sand bars, is improving access to water supplies for people in Somalia as the country continues to weather periods of damaging drought.

The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) has condemned “in the strongest possible terms” Saturday’s twin bombings in the nation’s capital, Mogadishu, which claimed a number of lives.

The United Nations Security Council has called for continuous dialogue and transparency with all political stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following the postponement of presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections, until 30 December.