Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for February 4th

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 updates on the African Union's strategy for peaceful maritime transactions, strife in Central African Republic, political military strategy in South Sudan, an attack in Burundi, conflict-avoidance capacity throughout Africa, continued al-Shaba'ab threats in Kenya, famine in the Sahel region, and the ivory trade among terrorists.

African maritime action plan adopted
The 22nd Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Summit ended on Friday January 31, 2014 at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the adoption of key decisions by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Among other things, the Assembly adopted the 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime (AIM) Strategy plan of Action Plan. It also retained the 2015-2025 decade as the Decade of African Seas and Oceans, and the date of 25 July as the African Day of Seas and Oceans. The assembly invited regional economic communities and regional mechanisms to develop and adopt a regional strategy against piracy, armed robbery and other illegal activities committed at sea, consistent with the 2050 AIM Strategy. – The Maritime Executive
To read more, please visit the Maritime Executive site here.

Central African Republic clashes 'kill 75' in Boda town
Sectarian fighting in the Central African Republic town of Boda since Tuesday has left at least 75 people dead, a local priest has said.  Father Cassien Kamatari said help was needed to stop the violence between Muslims and Christians. The majority of those confirmed dead were Christian, Fr Kamatari said. – BBC
To read more, please visit the BBC site here.

Riek Machar announces South Sudan 'Resistance' Movement
South Sudan's former vice president says he has formed a "resistance" group that will fight the government to ensure democracy and good governance in the war-battered country. "We decided to organize a resistance against the regime," Machar told VOA in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location. – allAfrica
To read more, please visit the allAfrica site here.

Burundi rebels say five soldiers killed in attack
An armed splinter group of Burundi's main opposition party claimed Monday it had killed five government soldiers in an overnight attack north of the capital Bujumbura. A dissident wing of the National Liberation Forces (FNL) said its fighters attacked a position in the Rukoko marshes but an army spokesman said the shooting came from across the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. – AFP
To read more, please visit the AFP site here.

PSC review finds major gaps in Africa's capacity for responding to armed conflict
Despite progress in the past decade and the increased capacity of the African Union (AU), the inability to marshal robust and timely responses lays bare the major gaps in the current African peace and security architecture. This is according to Dr Solomon A Dersso, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, speaking at Thursday's launch of the Annual Review of the Peace and Security Council 2013/3014 on the sidelines of the 22nd AU summit in Addis Ababa. – Institute for Security Studies
To read more, please visit the Institute for Security Studies site here.

Kenya terror charges after Mombasa police raid mosque
More than 100 people arrested in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa have appeared in court on charges of membership of Somalia's Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, police say. Police raided a mosque in the city on Sunday, saying militants were carrying out training there. At least two people are feared dead in ensuing riots, which lasted hours. – BBC
To read more, please visit the BBC site here.

UN wants $2 billion to fight Sahel hunger
The UN launched a bid Monday to raise $2.0 billion (1.48 billion euros) from international donors in 2014 to help more than 20 million people threatened by famine in Africa's Sahel region. "More people than ever are at risk in the Sahel and the scale of their needs is so great that no agency or organization can tackle it alone," said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos during a meeting in Rome. – Yahoo News
To read more, please visit the Yahoo News site here.

Elephant campaign: How Africa's 'white gold' funds the al-Shaba'ab militants
Transporting "jihad's white gold" from the African bush to Asian cities is no small feat, but under the watchful eyes of the Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, but the process runs like clockwork. – The Independent
To read more, please visit the Independent site here.