05/20/2013 21:00 GMT

UNITED NATIONS, May 20, 2013 (AFP) - The Lord's Resistance Army has killed more than 100,000 people during a reign of terror in Central Africa over the past 25 years, UN leader Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

The guerrilla group led by Joseph Kony, whose global notoriety was increased by the Invisible Children Internet video, is also blamed for the abduction of between 60,000 and 100,000 children and the displacement of 2.5 million people.

05/20/2013 14:40 GMT

BANGUI, Central African Republic, May 20, 2013 (AFP) - At least four people died and several were injured in fighting between military police and Seleka rebels in the Central African Republic at the weekend, a military police official said Monday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the fighting broke out Sunday in the town of Bimbo south of the capital after members of the Seleka rebel coalition "stole and hid" several vehicles.

50,000 vaccines are available, augmented by an emergency order for 246,500 more, including 100,000 for routine vaccinations and 146,500 for the measles outbreak in Bangui.

05/18/2013 15:39 GMT

BANGUI, Central African Republic, May 18, 2013 (AFP) - Armed men raided several houses in a town in the northeastern Central African Republic, leaving six people dead, a military official told AFP Saturday.

"The assailants arrived in several cars and fired shots as they entered the town, so residents fled," said the official of the attack in Bouca, 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of the capital Bangui, on Friday.

"Then they headed to the houses and began looting. Six bodies were found after the attack."

Serge St-Louis revient de neuf mois en République centrafricaine (RCA) où il était chef de mission pour MSF. Il était donc sur le terrain quand - fin 2012 - la Séléka (nouvelle coalition de groupes rebelles centrafricains) a pris le contrôle de plusieurs villes du pays avant de finalement rentrer - fin mars - dans Bangui, la capitale, où elle a achevé sa prise de pouvoir. Il fait le point sur la situation post-conflit, les enjeux et les perspectives pour le pays, pour son système de santé et pour MSF.

Au menu:

· Tchad : ouverture d'un sommet sur le développement durable, la pauvreté et le climat (AFP, 11/05/13)

· Le Tchadien Djimet Adoum nommé secrétaire exécutif du CILSS (AFP, 13/05/13)

· Canada provides emergency assistance for refugees and displaced in eastern Chad (CIDA, 13/05/13)

· Nigeria declares 'massive' military campaign on borders (BBC, 15/05/13)

· Greening: We must break the cycle of food shortages in Western Africa (DFID, 15/05/13)

· UN envoy says CAR in 'state of anarchy' (Al Jazeera, 16/05/13)

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Thu, 16 May 2013 10:15 AM

By Isaiah Esipisu

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The future of cassava, one of the most climate-resilient crops in Africa, may be under threat because rising temperatures have led to a dramatic increase in the number of whiteflies, tiny insects that spread the deadly cassava brown streak virus.

Read the full article on AlertNet

Headlines

• In post-coup Central African Republic insecurity persists, seven weeks after the Seleka rebel alliance seized power in a military coup in the capital Bangui.

• The security situation remains highly volatile as looting and violence continues in the capital and in the interior of the country.

• Self-proclaimed interim President Michel Djotodia calls for the restoration of law and order in the capital.

Amnesty International is calling on the new government in the Central African Republic (CAR) to end the scourge of human rights violations and the humanitarian crises currently affecting the country.
The African Union together with the United Nations and foreign governments must use their influence to ensure that the administration in Bangui takes immediate measures to protect civilians from human rights abuses and bring an end to impunity.