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The UN has voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in Ituri province in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which is affecting humanitarian agencies’ abilities to deliver assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.

An estimated 400 civilians have been killed in the region and more than 83,000 people have fled their homes since 1 January because to the violence, according to UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs., external

"Reports of civilians being killed, wounded or displaced have become a daily occurrence,” it said.

The violence has forced aid agencies to either delay, suspend or relocate operations.

The UN said 1.9 million people were displaced within Ituri and some three million others were severely food insecure.

Many armed groups operate in conflict-torn Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province, where martial law in place since last May has failed to end bloodshed.

Strikers Emmanuel Dennis and Victor Osimhen say Nigeria are prepared to leave 'their blood and sweat on the pitch' against Ghana in Tuesday's World Cup playoff in Abuja.

Tunisia defender Talbi Montassar says they still have to 'finish the job' against Mali, as they take a 1-0 advantage into the return leg of their World Cup play-off in Rades.

Image source, AFP

The military authorities in Guinea have destroyed the private residence of former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo.

The junta, which said it was targeting irregularly acquired state property and sub-standard buildings, ordered Mr Diallo to leave the residence last month.

The former prime minister contested the move, saying it was his private property, having bought it from the state in 2005.

He said the demolition, which happened on Saturday, took place while an investigation over the matter was ongoing.

However, government spokesman Ousmane Gaoual Diallo said the decision was part of urgent reconstruction programmes.

"We must advance. This does not prevent justice taking its course," the AFP news agency quotes him as saying, in reference to appeals against the move.

The military, led by Col Mamady Doumbouya, seized power last September, deposing Alpha Condé as president.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, AFP

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has issued a directive to declassify intelligence reports on how the country's long-running civil war began.

President Kiir said all those found culpable of offences by the released materials would be granted presidential pardon.

The declassification was expected to help in the process of national reconciliation and healing, he said in an address on Monday.

It is the first time the president has issued such a directive.

“This is very important so that the people of South Sudan know the truth and judge for themselves, and from this knowledge, we must tell the truth because genuine reconciliation has its basis on it," he said.

“So there is no cause for alarm over this, because we are interested in it for the public to know the truth about the background of the conflict in our country."

Mr Kiir's directive comes a day after dozens of heavily armed troops were deployed around the residence of the First Vice-President Riek Machar.

The president described it as "normal practice", but Mr Machar condemned the move, saying it "creates doubt" that the fragile peace process can succeed.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's army says Rwandan soldiers backed M23 rebels during an attack on Monday near its border with Rwanda and Uganda.

The DR Congo's army said it had captured two Rwandan soldiers involved in the attack and presented them at a press conference.

But in a rejoinder, the governor of Rwanda's Western province said Rwandan army was "not by any means involved in the belligerent activities" in Congo.

Francois Habitegeko also disowned names of the alleged Rwandan soldiers captured in Congo and said the Congolese army should have used verification mechanisms between the two countries.

The Congolese army had said the rebels attacked its positions in Tshanzu and Runyonyi.

It added that "all measures have been taken to quickly restore authority" in the two regions.

The UN has regularly accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23 although both governments deny the allegation.

The rebel group, made up of army deserters who are mainly ethnic Tutsis, was named after a 23 March 2009 peace deal signed by the government and a former militia.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Gunmen in Nigeria are reported to have abducted an unknown number of passengers from a train in the northern Kaduna state.

The gang mined the track between the capital, Abuja, and Kaduna city and forced the evening train to a halt.

Many of the nearly 1,000 passengers on board took shelter as shots were fired.

One man is reported to have been killed after the gunmen boarded the train.

The security forces have now intervened and taken those injured to hospital.

Following increased attacks and kidnappings on the main road between Abuja and Kaduna, many travellers now prefer to travel by train.

This is the second time the railway has been attacked in the last six months.

Kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace in northern Nigeria and the bandits, as they are known locally, are becoming increasingly bold.

On Saturday they attacked Kaduna's international airport.

More on this topic:

• I was kidnapped and only travel by train

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Shoppers in Algeria go to great lengths to buy basic foods as stocks dwindle and prices soar.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team. There will be an automated news feed here until we're back on Tuesday morning.

You can also keep up to date on the BBC News website, or by listening to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of runners competing in the Marathon des Sables in Morocco:

Image source, AFP

The AFP new agency reports that week-long peace talks in the Central African Republic ended on Sunday without any real progress.

The country has been gripped by civil war since 2013, yet none of the rebel groups active in the conflict had been invited to last week's discussions.

The forum was also boycotted by the political opposition, AFP says.

Discussions between the government, civil society and the opposition had been pledged by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra back in 2020 when he won a second term in power.

AFP reports that there was particular tension during talks when the possibility of a constitutional change allowing a head of state to stand for a third term was proposed, before being later withdrawn.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe’s opposition party the Citizens Coalition for Change has won 19 out of 28 parliamentary seats in Saturday's by-elections.

The ruling Zanu-PF party won the remaining nine, seizing two opposition seats.

Both parties are describing the results as wins.

It’s particularly symbolic for the CCC though, whose leader described this as a resounding victory, although he said the polls were neither free nor fair.

It’s the party's first election contest since breaking away from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in January.

This win gives leader Nelson Chamisa the legitimacy that was stripped when the MDC expelled him last year.

The MDC won no seats, taking no votes at some polling stations.

The opposition has lost some ground in this poll - local government results, which are not confirmed, suggest Zanu-PF has also been able to capitalise on the opposition's internal conflict and win several wards in the urban areas.

Broadly speaking this by-election changes little in parliament. Zanu-PF retains the two-thirds majority required to change the constitution if it wishes.

While the electoral commission described the polls as a success, independent observers have noted otherwise. They say the pre-election period was marred by some incidents intimidation and vote buying using food.

The national focus now turns to general elections in 2023. The electoral commission says it ready to deliver free and fair polls, but given what has transpired, the opposition doubts it can deliver on that promise.

• BACKGROUND: Zimbabwe by-elections: New party, same fears of dirty tricks

Teachers demanding pay rises and backpay in Cameroon say they're halting their strike action five weeks after it began, calling it a temporary "truce" with the government.

Some in the country had gone as long as nine years without pay, according to VOA, external.

Primary school teachers say they want a raise from $150 (£115) per month to at least $400, and secondary school teachers want a raise from about $400 to at least $800.

So far the Cameroonian government has agreed to pay the full wages of those who are only receiving two-thirds of their pay packet, and a non-housing bonus is also set to be paid to teachers who've not been receiving it.

But the next key negotiation deadline is at the end April - when teaching unions are demanding the government start paying salary arrears.

Image source, AFP

"I was shocked, I was 18... This was an attempted rape," Winnie Byanyima tells the BBC.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

The president of South Sudan has defended the deployment of dozens of heavily armed troops around the residence of the First Vice-President Riek Machar.

Salva Kiir described it as "normal practice", designed to protect the former rebel leader.

Mr Machar condemned the move, saying it "creates doubt" that the fragile peace process can succeed.

He has accused government forces of attacking his positions in Upper Nile and Unity states, in the north of the country, in recent weeks.

The United Nations has urged the two sides to negotiate to try to stop South Sudan sliding back into full civil war.

Soldiers had encircled Mr Machar's house from Sunday evening until Monday, after he rejected President Kiir's directive on the formation of a national army.

It's a key part of the peace deal the pair signed in 2018 following five years of civil war. But progress been hampered by mistrust among political leaders, inter-communal fighting and insecurity - and tensions are high as the country prepares for a general election next year.

Image source, South Sudan Office of the Vice-President

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

The leader of an anti-migrant group in South Africa has been released on bail of 1,500 rand ($100; £80) after spending the weekend in police custody in Johannesburg.

Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini, 33, appeared in the Rooderport Magistrates' Court on Monday on charges of burglary, theft and malicious damage to property.

This came after Soweto resident Victor Ramarafe filed a complaint with the police alleging that his house had been ransacked by members of Operation Dudula, led by Mr Dlamini.

The group accused Mr Ramarafe of dealing drugs out of his home and went there to confront him, according to local media. Mr Dlamini’s legal team has rubbished the charges as "laughable".

His group Operation Dudula campaigns against undocumented foreign nationals in the country, and also claims to fight crime and pursue known criminals in the community.

Support for the group has been growing in some pockets of South African communities who feel marginalised, but there are concerns that the movement's campaigns could lead to xenophobic violence in the country.

The case has been postponed to next month.

Esther Akello Ogola
Women's affairs journalist, Kenya

Image source, Getty Images

Sixteen suspects - among them motorcycle taxi riders - who had been accused of sexually assaulting a diplomat in Kenya's capital have been freed by a court.

The main suspect in the case, Zachariah Nyaora Obadia, was however charged on Monday.

The prosecution said it had no evidence to charge the 16 suspects who were arrested and detained about two weeks ago.

Mr Nyaora was arrested later at a border-point as he tried to flee to neighbouring Tanzania.

The suspects had been accused of publicly assaulting the woman on a busy road in Nairobi.

A video of the incident was widely shared on social media, showing the woman screaming for help as she was stripped of her clothes and groped.

It prompted the president to issue an order for a crackdown against rogue motorbike riders amid condemnation and calls for better regulation of the industry.

BBC World Service

A new UN report has found that human rights violations in Libya, especially in places of detention, continue to be widespread.

The report found many cases of enforced disappearance, torture and rape of detainees in facilities maintained by the authorities or rival militias.

The people responsible for the abuses were not prosecuted but merely moved to other posts, according to the report.

The UN fact-finding mission says that repression and intimidation of activists, lawyers and journalists seems to have risen since presidential elections were postponed in December, putting UN-backed moves towards greater stability in renewed jeopardy.

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Lobel
BBC News

Image source, Mark Lobel/BBC

The governments of Kenya and Jersey have signed a landmark deal which will see millions of dollars of public funds allegedly stolen by two of Kenya's richest men returned to the country to buy life-saving coronavirus equipment.

The deal with Jersey, a self-governing island in the English Channel, has been hailed as "a victory for the people of Kenya" by its High Commissioner in the UK, Manoah Esipisu.

He signed the deal in London with Jersey’s Attorney General Mark Temple.

The agreement has international treaty status, and also involves the governments of the UK and Switzerland.

The deal covers more than $4.9m (£3.6m) seized from a bank account belonging to Samuel Gichuru, the wealthy boss of Kenya's power company.

He and former Finance Minister Chris Okemo were accused of taking kickbacks from multinationals which were sent to a Jersey-registered company.

Despite repeated attempts to contact them by the BBC, both men and their lawyers would not comment on the allegations levelled against them.

Read more about the missing millions here

Image source, Getty Images

A video has emerged of the sexual assault of a Nigerian Afrobeats singer while on stage.

The 22-year-old artist Ruger, whose real name is Michael Adebayo, is seen performing his number-one hit song, Dior, when a fan reaches from the crowd and grabs his private parts.

Visibly shocked, he stops his performance for a few seconds and then proceeds to walk off stage.

The video, which is now trending, has sparked an online conversation about male victims of sexual assault.

Ruger has not yet commented on the incident, which was allegedly committed by a female fan on Sunday.

A separate video on social media appears to show the same woman during another moment of the performance on stage dancing provocatively.

Ruger taps her gently on the shoulder as she dances, but does not engage with her any further in the clip.

The incident has sparked anger and shock online.

"Watched the sexual assault video of Ruger and I feel traumatized too. It's so scary, the man was just performing his craft and someone took away his joy and peace. Imagine other men that go through worse daily but can't say because the world would mock them," one person wrote on Twitter. , external

"The world is so rigged against men when it comes to sexual things we think it's always initiated by men and they couldn't have been wronged. Many a man lost their innocence to older women but they keep living with it because nobody listens to them," another said., external

Described in local media as a rising star and known for his signature eye-patch, some of Ruger's top songs include Bounce and Dior, which was a number one song on Apple Music in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Gambia at the start of the year.