- Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi is poised the challenge the African Union Security Council ruling that maintains the sanctions targeted to the Mauritanian ruling junta and its citizens after the 2008 coup in the west African state. The Council's action came days after Mr Gaddafi met coup leaders and announced he would have the sanctions removed.
Colonel Gaddafi who took the rotating chair of the continental organisation said sanctions cannot be implemented unless they are endorsed by the summit saying even if the AU’s Peace and Security Council has intentions to extend them.
The AU imposed sanctions on Mauritanian last month after a military coup that ousted the democratically elected President Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallahi.
Col Gaddafi said although the AU stance remains clear on Mauritania, the continental body should consider the new government in Mauritarian. "The way they seized power was unconstitutional and there was some protests, but now they are there," he said.
He said Mauritanian leadership should be accepted, and further urged African states to advocate for peaceful and fair elections scheduled for June this year.
Mr Gaddafi whose mediation of the political crisis in Mauritania has been criticised by opponents as biased, said the Mauritanian people will have a final say on the coup and find ways to resolve their problems.
"Now what we are trying to do is to monitor and supervise the election on the sixth of June to make sure that they are fair and going the right way,” he said.
However, the Council Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said the question of differing interpretations will be left to lawyers to decide. "There are some questions to be asked to the council’s legal adviser,” the commissioner said.
In September, AU gave the Mauritanian government the 6 October deadline to reinstate its president or face serious sanctions, but the junta had ignored the call and instead shown progress to hold fresh elections and elect a new president.
Political progress in Mauritania has been deadlocked since the military seized power, with little expected even from the holding of fresh elections in June, according to political observers.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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