Daily News on Issues Affecting Africa for July 16th

Continue reading for a summary of recent news stories relating to some of the most pressing issues on the continent. We draw on a wide range of respected news sources, both from Africa itself and around the world. The themes of today's In the News post are: Al-Shabaab's increasing attacks, peace talks in Mali, BRICS nations to from development bank, and civil society in South Sudan.

Al-Shabaab Vows Increase Somalia Attacks

Mogadishu/Nairobi — Militant group Al-Shabab has lived up to its promise to step up attacks in Somalia, mainly against government installations and personnel, during the holy month of Ramadan, which began on 29 June. Over 30 people have been killed in Mogadishu alone. On 8 July, the presidential compound was attacked during the iftar evening meal. Assailants entered the gate using a car bomb, and then engaged in a two-hour gun battle with palace guards, killing 14 soldiers

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Peace talks aim at restoring calm in Mali's north

ALGIERS, Algeria — International negotiators, Malian officials and Tuareg separatists are holding peace talks aimed at restoring stability in northern Mali. New bursts of violence in recent months are posing a new threat to Mali's central government, after French-led troops dispersed al-Qaida-linked extremists who had seized control of northern Mali in 2012. The Algerian capital is hosting peace talks starting Wednesday involving Malian government representatives, six Tuareg groups and officials from the U.N, African Union, regional group ECOWAS and the European Union

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Explosions, shootings keep Maiduguri, Nigeria awake as military test-fires weapons

Many residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital were forced to keep vigil all Tuesday night as soldiers of the 7 Division, Nigeria Army test-fired new weapons at the outskirts of the troubled city. Thunderous sounds from what seemed like explosives were accompanied by rapid shooting from machine guns from about 11:30 p.m., a situation that shook the sleep of the eyes of residents who thought it was Boko Haram terrorists attacking the city. The explosions and shootings lasted for about an hour. Scared residents spent the night making hushed calls to find out from which direction the shooting was coming, but no one could give definite answers.

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Brics nations to create $100bn development bank

The leaders of the five Brics countries have signed a deal to create a new $100bn (£58.3bn) development bank and emergency reserve fund. The Brics group is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The capital for the bank will be split equally among the five participating countries. The bank will have a headquarters in Shanghai, China and the first president for the bank will come from India.

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Civil Society and the South Sudan Crisis

The inclusion of civil society in efforts to defuse the South Sudan crisis has so far been fraught. The parties to the conflict (see our recent report South Sudan: A Civil War by Any Other Name) all have their own ideas about what civil society is; and each party tends to believe the most legitimate civil-society representatives are those that think just as it does. Most recently, unresolved questions of what civil society is and what role it should play helped cause the suspension late last month of talks between the major warring parties.

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