Lawyers

• Cameroon repatriating 12,000 Nigerian refugees

  About 12,000 Nigerians are being repatriated over the next three to four days after seeking refuge in Cameroon from attacks by Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Nigeria's state emergency agency said on Wednesday.

• Probes of child abuse in Central African Republic should intensify: U.N. rights chief

  The United Nations human rights chief on Saturday urged several countries to intensify their investigations of alleged sexual abuse of young children in the Central African Republic by French and African soldiers posted in the conflict-torn nation.

• Nigeria’s offensive against Boko Haram slowed by landmines

  Nigeria's military is confident it has Boko Haram cornered, but a final push to clear the Islamist militants from their forest hideouts is being hampered by landmines, it said on Saturday.

• African troops' morale 'sky high' as they push back Boko Haram

  "Boko Haram is finished" shouted a jubilant soldier from Niger as his comrades danced and waved their rifles in the air to celebrate the liberation of the northern Nigerian town of Damasak.

• Abandoned villa now a symbol of Boko Haram losses in former stronghold

  A black and white Boko Haram flag still flutters on top of a deserted villa in the Nigerian town of Dikwa, overlooking a courtyard filled with dirty mattresses and charred vehicles.

• Thousands protest Boko Haram, support army in Cameroon

  Thousands of people marched in Cameroon's capital on Saturday to protest against Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgency and support the Central African nation's army, which is fighting alongside regional neighbors to defeat the Islamist group.

• U.S. military trains African armies ahead of Boko Haram campaign

  Under the glare of the Saharan sun, a U.S. special forces trainer corrects the aim of a Chadian soldier as he takes cover behind a Toyota pick-up and fires at a target with his AK47 -- a drill that could soon save his life.

• War crimes trial of Chad's Habre to go ahead in Senegal

  There is enough evidence to put Chad's deposed strongman Hissene Habre on trial for crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, judges in Senegal ruled on Friday, according to a statement from the special tribunal set up to handle his case.

• African nations pledge 8,700 for anti-Boko Haram force

  African nations pulling together a regional force to fight Nigeria's Boko Haram militants on Saturday pledged 8,700 soldiers, policemen and civilians, an increase from earlier estimates for the mission.

• Chad army says kills 120 Boko Haram militants in Cameroon

  Chadian forces have killed 120 militants from Boko Haram in a battle in the north of neighbouring Cameroon that began when the insurgents attacked its troops, the army said in a statement on Saturday, adding that three of its soldiers were killed.

• Chad appeals for aid for refugees who fled Boko Haram attacks

  Chad's prime minister has appealed for international aid for thousands of Nigerian refugees who fled attacks by Islamist militant group Boko Haram across the border into the Lake Chad region.

• Palestinian draft resolution fails in U.N. council, U.S. votes against

  The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories by late 2017.

• International court's prosecutor shelves Darfur case for lack of U.N. support

  The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said on Friday that she had shelved an investigation into war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region for lack of action by the United Nations Security Council to push for arrests.

• Central African militia says to lay down arms, become political party

  The 'anti-balaka' militia in Central African Republic, formed in response to abuses by mostly Muslim rebels who seized power last year, said it would lay down its weapons and become a political movement.

• Chad's Deby plays for high stakes in Boko Haram talk

  Chad's President Idriss Deby, a wily survivor of rebellions, is looking to bolster his powerbroker role in the Sahel and his nation's own security by backing peace talks between neighbor Nigeria's government and Islamist Boko Haram insurgents.

• Chad says Nigeria deal with Boko Haram to free girls still on

  Chad said it believed Nigeria's secret deal with Boko Haram Islamists to free more than 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls would go ahead despite the breakdown of a truce, and revealed that the key to the agreement was a prisoner swap.

• Nigerians doubtful of girls' release after Boko Haram 'truce' breached

  A wave of violence hours after Nigeria's government announced a truce with Boko Haram raised doubt on Sunday about whether more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militants will really be released, deflating the new hopes of their parents.

• Regional leaders step up Boko Haram fight with troops, command center

  Leaders of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Benin on Tuesday announced plans to step up the fight against Boko Haram with an additional battalion and a command center to tackle the militants whose insurgency has spread beyond Nigeria, a statement said.

• Chad accuses U.N. of neglecting its peacekeepers in Mali

  Chad's government accused the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Mali on Friday of failing to relieve its contingent in the country's volatile north and neglecting to support it, a day after five Chadian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb.