Masra, one of the president's fiercest critics, was sentenced to 20 years in prison a year ago, convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre.

Scores of would-be migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were intercepted on Saturday in northern Morocco near the border with the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, an AFP correspondent saw, two weeks after thousands of migrants rushed into the tiny territory.

International observers of Zambia's elections said Saturday the poll was marred by claims of intimidation, abductions and an hours-long pause in the vote count.

MPs in Sierra Leone have approved a contested overhaul of the country’s electoral rules. The law lowers the presidential victory threshold, introduces proportional representation and reserves 30 percent of political leadership positions for women.

With nearly 70 percent of Zambia's population under the age of 30, the youth vote is expected to play a decisive role in determining the country's next government.

Tigray rebel authorities have accused Ethiopia’s federal government of carrying out deadly drone strikes in the region, raising fears of a renewed conflict nearly four years after a peace deal ended a devastating two-year war.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 65 civil society organisations are urging President Félix Tshisekedi to abandon plans for a constitutional referendum.

A major gasoline reservoir in Libya's Zawiya, west of Tripoli, caught fire and collapsed on Monday after what authorities said was an attack by unknown perpetrators.

They say the attacks and resulting civilian casualties violate international law and are threatening implementation of the ceasefire's second phase.

Mayor-President of Spain's North African enclave of Melilla Juan Jose Imbroda has called on Morocco to establish a 500-meter-wide neutral zone along the borders of both Melilla and the nearby Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta following a severe migrant surge targeting Ceuta