Libya’s army has asked residents to evacuate a central district of Beghanzi, where the country’s seaport is located, as it prepares a military operation against Islamists, Reuters news agency reported citing Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman for the army’s chief of staff.

At least 230 people have been killed since the army, which is backed by forces loyal to a former general, waged an offensive against Islamist groups in Libya’s second-largest city. It is part of the ongoing strife that has taken over the oil-producing North African country three years after the ousting for its former dictator president Muammar Gaddafi.

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A car bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop in the northeast Nigerian city of Gombe, killing at least 10 people and wounding several others near the end of the morning rush hour on Friday, a source in the emergency services said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for a string of bomb attacks in the region this year. Gombe is close to Nigeria’s northeast Borno state, the epicentre of the insurgency.

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Burkina Faso’s army seized power on Thursday after protesters burned government buildings in anger over President Blaise Compaore ’s plan to extend his 27-year rule.

The landlocked nation had been one of the most stable in tumultuous West Africa, until the army declared Mr. Compaore’s government dissolved. It said it would stage elections within a year, in a statement stamped and signed by Gen. Honoré Nabéré Traoré.

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A military spokesman says pro-government troops have entered central Benghazi after nearly 10 days of fierce fighting. The battle for Benghazi started in the summer when Islamic militants seized the city.

An official source said on Wednesday government troops had entered central Benghazi following a battle for the city that had killed dozens of people and forced hundreds of families to flee.

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The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) will meet the Sudanese government will meet for talks on a cessation of hostilities in line with an African Union roadmap for peace in Sudan.

A rebel spokesperson of the Darfurian rebel group said they have received an invitation from the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to engage in talks with the Sudanese government in Addis Ababa on 22 November.

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Egyptian Apache helicopters bombed terror bases in northern Sinai, killing ‘’15 jihadists'’ and destroying an arms depot, security sources told ANSA on Monday.

Helicopters carrying troops also arrived overnight.

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A state of emergency was declared in parts of North Sinai after at least 31 members of the Egyptian security forces were killed in two separate attacks in the governorate on Friday.

Twenty-eight soldiers were killed – according to the latest figures reported by local satellite channel CBC – and another 30 injured when a car bomb exploded at the Karm Alkwadis security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid.

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