Chad's government said on Wednesday its army had regained control of a major town which rebels said they had attacked and occupied the previous day. But the exact military situation at Mongo - 400 km (250 miles) east of the capital N'Djamena - and nearby Bitkine remained confused, with one rebel leader saying his fighters still "controlled the zones" around the towns. He said their objective was to push on to the capital.

Reform of the justice system needs to be a top priority for Liberia’s new government and donors alike, says the International Crisis Group. "After fourteen years of civil war, the system is in shambles. Impunity prevails, and in this atmosphere, the government cannot adequately address economic governance, transformation of the military and reconstruction of war-scarred physical infrastructure – all primary areas for reform and reconstitution in 2006. Courts that do not prosecute those who siphon resources from government coffers impede progress in all other areas."

Africa Action marked the International Day of Reflection on the Rwandan genocide by emphasizing the urgent need for action on the continuing genocide in Darfur. "On this day, when the international community pledges its commitment to avoiding another tragedy like that of Rwanda 12 years ago, the crisis in Darfur continues to grow. Africa Action notes the mounting security concerns and increasing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, and urges the United Nations (UN) Security Council to overcome obstacles to the rapid authorization of a multinational peacekeeping mission in Darfur."

"As part of the genocide commemoration this year, Saturday 8 April will be devoted to children. Among the horrific accounts of the Rwandese genocide which African Rights has gathered since 1994, the stories told by children have enormous impact. An entire generation lost their childhood and will be forever scarred by their memories. Children were slashed with machetes, shot at and subjected to all manner of abuse during the genocide; girls, some as young as six or seven, were frequently raped. Many child survivors lost their parents or siblings in the massacres; many witnessed the murders themselves. They watched as their neighbours, teachers and the parents of their friends and classmates—and sometimes even their relatives—killed their parents and close relatives. They have been left to bear the legacy of physical injuries and emotional anguish, often without even minimal support of a social network. Their views of human relationships were subverted overnight, and their incomprehension in the face of the catastrophe permeates their moving testimonies. Nonetheless, the visions of the genocide offered by its child victims also contain astonishing revelations and examples of resilience."

Corruption and inequality have fed insurrection among impoverished youth in Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer. The tension is rising in the period before next year’s presidential election; at the same time, the oil from new wells is beginning to flow, reports this Le Monde Diplomatique article.

It was one of the deadliest encounters United Nations troops had ever engaged in. Guatemalan Special Forces, operating under UN command in north-eastern Congo, made contact with 300 Lord's Resistance Army fighters who had crossed from Uganda into the Garamba National Park. After a fierce gun battle, eight Guatemalans were dead. The terrorists beheaded the commander and escaped. How could one of the world's most experienced special forces be outfought by what is usually described as a cult of half-crazed cannibals whose tactics are murder, rape and pillage? How could their leader, a dreadlocked psychopath called Joseph Kony with no military training, lead such a successful army?.

Over the past year, the security situation along the border that Chad shares with Darfur has significantly deteriorated. Since September 2005, Chadian militias and Sudanese Janjaweed have attacked Chadian villages, resulting in the displacement of nearly 30,000 people. As recently as April 10th, a rebel group, the United Front for Democratic Change (FUCD), allegedly attacked several villages and a refugee camp near Goz Beida, a town near the border in southeastern Chad.

A group of young refugees and asylum seekers are to get a rare opportunity to influence the asylum debate at a conference in Westminster on 19 April. The young people, aged 15 - 21, come from a range of unstable and war-torn countries including Angola, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. They meet as part of 'Brighter Futures' - a Save the Children project that works to change perceptions of young refugees and asylum-seekers.

Facing nursing shortages, health systems in developed countries are recruiting nurses from other developed and developing countries. What is the impact of this short term solution on recipient and source countries?  How can health systems plan for the effects of increasing migration of nursing staff? Research by the World Health Organisation explores the international migration of nurses and the implications.

The United Nations refugee agency will repatriate some 4,500 Sudanese refugees from Ethiopia during the next two months, an exercise made possible by the restoration of peace in southern Sudan after two decades of civil war, officials said. Civil conflict pitting the Sudanese government and the former rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) ended in January 2005, when the two parties signed a definitive peace agreement after several years of peace talks in Kenya. The SPLM is now a partner in Sudan's government of national unity and administers southern Sudan.

Seventy percent of the population in war-affected northern Uganda live in absolute poverty, with each adult's consumption expenditure at about 20,000 Uganda shillings (US $11) per month, according to a survey released this week. A government study of the living conditions and social welfare of people living in northern Uganda, many of whom have been displaced by civil conflict, revealed a dire humanitarian situation in the region. Dwellings were substandard, and most of the population lived on less than $1 a day.

The Kwale district commissioner has warned non-governmental organisations in the area against misleading local farmers about the Sh9 billion titanium mining. Farmers are set to be compensated for their land in June and the project had almost reached implementation stage, but some NGOs were giving the farmers confusing information, according to the district commissioner. Local NGOs have warned that they would not rest until justice for the local community was done in the titanium mining deal.

The Burundian government will expel all Rwandan asylum seekers who fail to meet conditions for their acceptance as refugees, Interior Minister Evariste Ndayishimiye has said. Burundi's northern provinces currently host at least 19,000 Rwandan asylum seekers. The Rwandans started arriving in Burundi in April 2005 - mainly from the province of Butare. They said they were fleeing prosecution under Rwanda's traditional justice system known as gacaca.

Several months after the onset of a crisis that displaced 150,000 people in central Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the humanitarian situation is beginning to improve. The UN World Food Program has begun airdrops of food to Dubie, promising to deliver 80 tons over the next several days, with additional airdrops planned for Mitwaba and Sampwe after April 10. This should begin to reduce mortality rates, which, according to Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), are well above emergency thresholds of 4.3 per 10,000 people per day.

Yemeni security forces and coastguards seized about 2,000 refugees and illegal immigrants in March, mostly Somalis who were displaced from the Horn of Africa, according to an official report. 539 of those illegal immigrants were Ethiopian nationals while the remaining were Somalis.

Can the story of happy return be consolidated into a new beginning or will the present optimism turn sour under the weight of unfulfilled promises? The south is a land for the large part without schools, hospitals, roads, jobs or a working government. Hopes of a new dawn, fuelled by a wealth of oil and gold, are tempered by fears that outbreaks of militia fighting could spill over into renewed conflict if frustration at the slow pace of change continues to fester.

This report examines the perceived clash between 'principled' and 'pragmatic' approaches to peace negotiation. It lays out the dilemmas and trade-offs that negotiators and mediators face when they consider human rights and, based on country studies, suggests how such difficulties can be managed and sometimes resolved. The report argues that human rights can make a practical and positive contribution to many areas of conflict resolution, both during the negotiation process and in the implementation of peace agreements. The publication is available for download and in printed format.

The formation of the African Union in 2002 reaffirmed the commitment of African political elites to foster a peaceful and safe continent, a commitment fleshed out through the creation of the African Security Council. Later, an African Stand-by Force was established, with the intention of intervening in conflicts and offering civil protection. Against this background, the studies in this book reflect on the current situation as regards defence, military and human security across the African continent.

More than a year after it was signed, Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is showing signs of strain, says the International Crisis Group (ICG). "While the agreement ended one of Africa’s longest and bloodiest civil wars, it was an agreement between only two parties, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), and continues to lack broader support throughout the country, particularly in the North."

The United States is opposing the inclusion of any Sudanese official on a potential UN Security Council sanctions list of individuals blocking peace in Darfur, two diplomats said on Wednesday. The United Nations is trying to halt atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur where the government is accused of backing Arab militia, known as Janjaweed who have raped, killed and driven more than 2 million African villagers from their homes. But the United States recommended for the sanctions list just one middle-ranking Janjaweed militiaman.