Pro-government forces in Somalia Sunday attacked bases of the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab militants in a southern town sparking fighting in which seven people died, officials and witnesses said. The clashes erupted at noon on the fringes of Dhobley and continued for about five hours. Witnesses said both sides used heavy machine guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns.

Thousands of Senegalese fishermen and boatowners have demonstrated against the presence of foreign ships, which they said were authorised by the government and pillaging natural resources. Small scale fishermen and boatowners condemned the issuing of 'illegal' licences to some 20 boats that have been in Senegalese waters for several months.

Guinea’s former junta leader Gen Sekouba Konaté has lashed out against the newly elected civilian government of President Alpha Condé for not justly rewarding him. 'Instead of thanking and congratulating me for the service rendered to the country, I have been abandoned and turned over to the vindictive population,' he said. Gen Konaté made the statement in Niger where he was invited by the outgoing military regime to share his experience on the transition to civilian rule.

Nearly 60 international civil society organisations urged the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday (4 April) to earmark some 2.8 billion dollars in profits from the agency’s gold sales for cancelling the debts of the world’s poorest nations. In a joint statement, the groups, which included ActionAid International, Oxfam International, the International Trade Union Confederation, and the global Jubilee networks, said the profits should be used to help poor indebted countries weather external shocks, including the 2008-2009 financial crisis and, more recently, the sharp rise in global food and fuel prices.

The Libyan government should immediately comply with the first binding ruling against a state by the newly operational African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights (EIPR), Human Rights Watch, and Interights said. In its pioneering decision, issued on 25 March and published on 30 March, the court unanimously ordered Libya to end any actions that would cause the loss of life or violation of anyone’s 'physical integrity' in violation of international human rights law.

The clock is ticking to get help to neglected refugees fleeing Ivory Coast, Oxfam has warned. More than 100,000 people have already crossed the border from Ivory Coast to Liberia and are living in dire conditions in border villages. Unless more is done to get people to safe and serviced areas further inland, they risk being cut off as the rainy season approaches.

Despite the fact that South Africa spends a higher proportion of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health than any other country in Africa, its health record compares badly against those of many poor African countries. 'As a country we spend 8,7 per cent of our GDP on health in both the public and private sectors, yet we have little to show for it compared with many countries that are a great deal poorer than us and spend much less on health,' says Daisy Mafubelu, chairman of the organising committee for the Department of Health's upcoming Nursing Summit in Sandton from 5 to 7 April.

Nearly 50 grassroots women's groups from 13 sub-Saharan African countries are convening in Arusha for crucial talks on pertinent issues of women's ownership and control of land and resources to secure livelihoods. Dubbed as the 2011 ‘Women's Land Link Africa (WLLA) Grassroots Women's Land Academy', hosted by Maasai Women Development Organisation (MWEDO), it is facilitated by the Huairou Commission with its base in New York, in the US.

Burkina Faso president's said he would meet disgruntled army officers and the head of the armed forces announced a curfew after a series of protests, but appeals for calm went unheeded on Wednesday as soldiers continued to protest. Shots were fired into the air in some neighbourhoods and the mayor's residence in Ouagadougou, the country's capital, was wrecked, witnesses said.

The 'Impact 2.0 iGuide: New mechanisms for linking research and policy', is a guide designed to help researchers identify the right Web 2.0 tools for establishing links with policy makers, for building their online presence and credibility and for effectively communicating their research.

The Press Ombudsman has denied an ANC Youth League (ANCYL) request for a probe into The Star and the Daily Sun newspapers’ use of incorrect quotes attributed to Julius Malema. The Star newspaper quoted Malema as saying: 'Since he got into power, comrade Zuma has been surrounded by bad advisers'. In its apology the newspaper admitted that Malema had not referred to Zuma and 'unreservedly' apologised to Malema for 'whatever embarrassment' he was caused by the report.

Up to 30 children suffering from acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) are treated daily at the Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, medical staff told IRIN. Although the exact number of children affected by AWD across the city could not be established, the medical source, who requested anonymity, told IRIN some deaths had been reported.

More than 24,000 refugees have recently entered Grand Gedeh County, south of Nimba, in Liberia and the scramble is on to put needed infrastructure in place there despite vast funding gaps. The UNHCR requested 55 million dollars for an anticipated 50,000 refugees in January. Now, with more than twice that number estimated in Liberia alone, the agency says it needs more than 132 million dollars. To date, it has received only about 17.5 million dollars.

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe have issued a statement noting with 'grave concern', cases related to arbitrary detentions, harassment and intimidation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members of the organisation by law enforcement agents, family and community leaders.

Kenya has expressed concern over the instability in Somalia as cross-border raids by insurgents increase and a steady influx of refugees cross the porous frontier. Fighting between Somali government troops and al Shabaab Islamist insurgents has forced hundreds of thousands to flee the lawless Horn of Africa nation, with Kenya hosting more than 500,000 in several camps.

Health campaigners in east and southern Africa want the United Nations to develop a policy framework to ensure that countries honour and implement the right to health care. At a meeting in Johannesburg, campaigners aired their fears that health as a human right was not receiving the attention it deserves. Chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Nonkosi Khumalo, said this was evident in many African countries, especially given how AIDS has impacted on health service delivery.

A report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the Fourth Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) slated to take place in Istanbul, Turkey in early May expressed a strong critique of the snail's pace of development, but stopped just short of calling for radical new policies to be implemented. The report, entitled 'Growth, Employment and Decent Work in the Least Developed Countries', solidified widespread fears that the 'graduation' rate of LDCs was abysmally low, with only three countries out of 51 - the Maldives, Botswana and Cape Verde - moving out of the category since it was created by the United Nations in 1970.

Documents published by WikiLeaks reveal important details about the crimes committed by French imperialism in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Rwanda, and the existing ties between French and African politicians. The cables published by WikiLeaks confirm that 50 years after 'decolonization', corrupt networks - binding together the banks, oil companies, the French armed forces and the African regimes - have continued to function in order to plunder Africa as well as attack French workers by contributing to the maintenance of the Chirac and Sarkozy governments.

African countries have committed to migrating to digital broadcasting by June 2015. A new website developed by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Balancing Act is part of an initiative which aims to help policy-makers and others focus their efforts on how to lower the cost of digital migration and look at how a wider range of benefits can be reaped. The website provides African policy-makers, regulators, broadcasters and civil society organisations with information on the benefits and challenges that come with the process and the policy issues that need to be addressed.

Zimbabwean MPs have re-elected a close ally of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as the speaker of parliament after his 2008 election was nullified. Lovemore Moyo from the MDC party took 105 votes, defeating a candidate from President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who took 93 votes. The vote in the hung parliament was controversial following allegations of bribery and the arrest of some MDC MPs.