Mauritanian refugees in SenegalMauritania's new government resigned July 3, pre-empting a no-confidence motion filed by dissidents from the ruling National Pact for Democracy and Development (PNDD). But President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi immediately reappointed Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf. (AFP, July 3) The no-confidence measure was also supported by the main opposition parties, the Democratic Forces Rally (RFD) and New Forces for Change (NFC). NFC Prime Minister Zeine Ould Zeidane was forced to resign in early May, after a year in office marked by a food crisis and terror attacks. Opposition leaders denounced the return to office of many officials from the Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya dictatorship, ousted in 2005. (Afriquenligne, July 3)

Armed Islamic Courts Union fighters assaulted at "cultural boogie" at El-Ghelle village, Balad district, some 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu in Somalia late June 29, residents said. The fighters reportedly opened fire on a circle where drummers, singers and musicians were playing for a traditional dance. A man and women were wounded, while other participants fled barefooted to bush. In their six months in power, the ICU banned music and repeatedly raided wedding parties in Mogadishu. (Shabelle Media Network, Mogadishu, AllAfrica.com, June 30)

A large percentage of Djibouti's population could face food shortages due to drought, rising prices, declining earnings, and high levels of livestock deaths, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net). Some 130,000, including 50,000 in Djibouti's capital, require emergency food assistance, the network found. FEWS Net also noted that the recent border conflict with Eritrea could aggravate the situation. "Approximately 1,000 people have been displaced in and around the conflict zone, and as many as 22,000 could be displaced, should the violence worsen," it stated in an alert.

The international negotiators appointed to broker peace in Darfur have resigned, admitting that their mission has been a failure. The UN's Jan Eliasson announced that he and his African Union counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, would both step down, citing Sudanese government intransigence and the fracturing of the rebel movement into more than 30 factions. "It is a very, very sombre situation," said Eliasson. (The Independent, June 27)

At least four Somali government soldiers were killed and four civilians wounded when a roadside bomb hit a military vehicle in Mogadishu June 22. (Xinhua, June 22) Fighting has killed at least 38 since the "peace deal" was concluded in Djibouti June 10. (Reuters, June 20) However, Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein insisted Ethiopian occupation troops would be withdrawn within 120 days of the signing in Djibouti. "The agreement between us and the opposition is a historic one and the Somali government would implement it," Hussein said. (Xinhua, June 22)

A week after border skirmishes were reported, Djibouti has accused neighboring Eritrea of illegally intruding into its territory. Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssef told AlJazeera June 20 that Eritrean troops crossed the border on the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. "Eritrean troops entered Djiboutian territory and took more land," he said. "Right now, Eritrean troops are stationed inside Djiboutian territories."

In a bizarre irony for a state that rules in the name of Arab nationalism, Mauritanian authorities detained Mohamed Nema Oumar, publisher of Al-Houriya weekly, June 12, holding him for some 30 hours at a police station in the the capital Nouakchott—after an article he wrote criticized a politician for participating in festivities marking Israel's 60th anniversary.

More Nigerian government troops are being mobilized to the Niger Delta region, in preparation for military action against the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), after a militant attack on Royal Dutch Shell's Bonga oil field forced the company to halt production June 19. In a statement, President Umaru Yar'Adua said that the mobilization "does not amount to a declaration of war in the region but that the offensive by the military will be against criminality and criminals who take advantage of the situation in the Niger Delta to perpetrate criminality." (Nigerian Tribune, June 21) He appears to be indicating that the MEND are criminals, no?