* Regional al Qaeda arm uses Sahel as base for attacks * Mali, Niger, French forces stage operation against jihadists * Cooperation includes common radio frequency, sharing phone numbers * But cross-border "hot pursuit" remains delicate issue By Marine Pennetier ON THE MALI/NIGER BORD...

African leaders are stepping up their response to Boko Haram, with Chadian soldiers chasing the militants from a northern Nigerian town and the African Union calling for a 7,500-member regional force to tackle what it called “a serious threat” to the continent. A communiqué adopted by the peace a...

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than 20,000 people in West Africa have gained identity documents in the past year as part of a drive to eradicate statelessness, yet around one million in the region still have no nationality, the United Nations said on Thursday. Stateless people, sometim...

One person has been killed and about 500 cattle stolen by suspected bandits along the West Pokot-Turkana border. The Sunday incident sparked tension in Ompolion village, and passengers travelling from Kitale to Lodwar had to be escorted by police officers on the Lous-Kainuk stretch. West Pokot and T...