- A Kenyan military helicopter patrolling the northeastern Kenya borders has crash-landed near the Kenyan-Somali border wounding four army officers, local reports have said. The helicopter, Hughes-MD500 crashed on the outskirts of Hulugo town.
The crash comes days after Somalia's transitional government accused Nairobi of aiding opposition leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys back to Mogadishu from a self-imposed exile in Kenya.
According to Kenyan officials the incident may have been caused by mechanical problems, but Military sources however suspect Somali militias are behind the crash amid heavy fighting that continues in the Horn of Africa state.
"We suspect the chopper was brought down by unfriendly forces, which could only be the Al-Shabaab militia, currently operating in Somalia," a senior military official told local news reporters.
Mr Aweys' return has escalated tensions between anti- and pro-government forces in Somalia, forcing Kenya to officially close its border with Somali and to step up military patrols along the border.
Meanwhile, pro-government forces and Somali rebels continue their battle for control over the south-central towns of Mahaday and Jowhar, which were captured by rebels last week.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and years of fighting in the country have left some three million people, a third of the population, in dire need of humanitarian aid.
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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