Africa highlights: Nigeria 'sends' warship to The Gambia, Kenya bans Ugandan chickens

It is the second day of a four-day funeral for the queen mother of the Ashanti kingdom in Ghana. 

Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II reigned for 39 years and died aged 109 in November.

Photographer Emmanuel Bobie is at the funeral in Ghana's second city Kumasi.   

He has captured these shots of Ashanti royalty paying their respects:

Twenty volunteers with the Red Cross were among the 50 people killed in a botched air strike by Nigeria's military, an unnamed aid worker has been quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. 

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said its team based in Rann in the remote north-east had counted 50 bodies and had treated 120 wounded, the agency reports. 

In a statement, it said:

Quote Message: Our medical and surgical teams in [neighbouring] Cameroon and Chad are ready to treat wounded patients. We are in close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event.''

Our medical and surgical teams in [neighbouring] Cameroon and Chad are ready to treat wounded patients. We are in close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event.''

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhadri deeply regrets the "accidental" killing of civilains in an air strike by the military in a remote part of north-eastern Nigeria, hs edia adviser Femi Adesina has said. 

The air force was engaged in the "final phase of mopping up insurgents" when "this regrettable operational mistake" happened, he added.

See previous post for more details.

A total of 50 people were killed and 120 wounded when Nigerian fighter jets "mistakenly" bombed people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency and aid workers in north-eastern Borno state, Reuters news agency is quoting medical charity Doctors Without Borders as saying. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross said that six of its staff were killed in the air strike, AFP news agency is reporting. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

For people from Burkina Faso picking a side was not so easy when Ivory Coast and Togo went head to head yesterday in their  Africa Cup of Nations match.

That's because they have affection for both.

For nearly 30 years Burkina Faso's first lady was Ivorian.

AFPCopyright: AFP

People in Burkina Faso have taken to calling the Ivorians the in-laws.

But they later acquired other in-laws when Roch Marc Christian Kabore was elected as president last year. 

The Burkinabe is married to Sika Bella Kabore who is from Togo.

AFPCopyright: AFP

So yesterday, as Ivory Coast and Togo battled it out in Gabon, fans in Burkina Faso saw more than just another Afcon match: It was the derby of the in-laws. 

So with the two teams drawing in their game, all sides came out of watching the match with no hard feelings.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Kenya is banning all imports of live chicken and chicken products from neighbouring Uganda.

It follows the recent announcement by Ugandan authorities that they had detected bird flu in the south of the country.

Officials on the border have been placed on high alert to ensure no chicken products get through.  

The fear is that the disease could spread to humans.

Despite the health risk, the move isn't going to be popular with everyone because Ugandan eggs are cheaper than Kenyan eggs.

Gambian state radio and TV have announced the state of emergency will be for 90 days.

There are no more details.

Andre Ayew of Ghana has converted a penalty with a left footed shot to the centre of the goal.  

It's now 1-0 to Ghana in their Africa Cup of Nations match against Uganda.

Follow the latest on BBC Sport.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Nigeria's defence spokesman has said the military is grieving after mistakenly bombing aid workers and civilians in north-eastern Borno state, the epicentre of the insurgency by militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

The spokesman, Rabe Abubaker, said:  

Quote Message: These kind of mistakes do happen in an operational zone, like the one we are conducting. It is a mistake, an operational mistake.

These kind of mistakes do happen in an operational zone, like the one we are conducting. It is a mistake, an operational mistake.

Quote Message: There was information that there were terrorist groups around that area and Nigerian aircraft dropped a bomb, but this was wrong information.

There was information that there were terrorist groups around that area and Nigerian aircraft dropped a bomb, but this was wrong information.

Quote Message: Even in the most developed nations these kinds of mistakes do happen. We are all in grief.

Even in the most developed nations these kinds of mistakes do happen. We are all in grief.

Quote Message: This was not actually an IDP (internally displaced people's] camp. It’s a settlement called Raan in Kala-balge local government in Borno state.

This was not actually an IDP (internally displaced people's] camp. It’s a settlement called Raan in Kala-balge local government in Borno state.

Quote Message: For now we cannot be certain of the numbers killed, we continue our investigation.”

For now we cannot be certain of the numbers killed, we continue our investigation.”

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

A fighter jet of Nigeria's military has mistakenly bombed refugees and aid workers linked to Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross during an operation against militant Islamist group Boko Haram in north-eastern Borno state, the army has said.

There were deaths and injuries, but the exact number was still unclear, Maj-Gen Lucky Irabor has been quoted by the local Vanguard newspaper as saying.

Soldiers were among the wounded, he added. 

The Africa Cup of Nations match between Ghana and Uganda is about to kick off. 

And the two have a significant relationship - the Cranes are at the tournament for the first time since 1978, when they lost to Ghana in the final.

Here's the Uganda line up from all that time ago:

Get the latest on today's line up and the match on BBC Sport and listen to BBC live commentary online.

Nigeria’s newest warship, the NNS Unity, is sailing towards The Gambia ahead of possible military intervention over President Yahya Jammeh's refusal to accept election defeat and step down when his term expires on Thursday. 

A Nigerian military source told the BBC the patrol vessel was currently sailing off the coast of Ghana after leaving from the commercial capital, Lagos. 

The initial aim is to put on a show of force rather than to launch an attack. 

Senegal is preparing ground troops ahead of Thursday’s deadline. 

The Gambia’s tiny army is no match for the regional powers. In recent years, President Jammeh has been promoting his loyalists, including army chief Ousman Badjie,  to ranks beyond their competence. 

This has further downgraded its military capabilities.

The regional body, Ecowas, has said that military intervention will be a last resort to bring an end to the political deadlock in The Gambia.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has been leading mediation efforts to persuade Mr Jammeh to hand power to former estate agent Adama Barrow, who won the 1 December election. 

EPACopyright: EPA

Here's the line up for the Ghana v Uganda Africa Cup of Nations match kicking off in the next 10 minutes:

Online sales are bigger in Tanzania than six other African countries - including Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy -  which feature in a report by the World Bank, as this tweet shows:  

Justin TallisCopyright: Justin Tallis

In just under an hour Ghana will be playing Uganda in the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

And in the nick of time the Ghanaian players have agreed to accept whatever bonus the government decides to pay.

The Ghana Football Association say the players want to show they are ready to play for their nation and are not motivated only by money.  

The players have been accused of being greedy in the past.

At the 2014 Brazil World Cup Ghana's government sent more than $3m (£1.8m) in cash by plane to pay the players.  

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Elite loyalist troops from Ivory Coast have killed a mutinous soldier in the capital, Yamoussoukro, a military source has told AFP news agency. 

"The mutinous soldier was killed by the Republican Guard in front of their camp," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. 

The soldier had been taking part in a protest that erupted earlier which involved firing shots in the air.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Burkina Faso forward Bertrand Traore has told BBC Sport that he expects more African footballers to move to the Chinese Super League. 

"The important thing is to find a club where the football project is big, interesting and you really feel wanted," Traore, who is on loan at Ajax from Chelsea, said.

The transfer season is open right through to the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations - so the BBC's Barney Cullum says some African players may be able to use the exposure to engineer big-money moves to China.

They would be following what is becoming a familiar path. Former Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba became one of the first high-profile players to head east five years ago. 

And midfielder John Mikel Obi left Chelsea to join Chinese Super League side Tianjin TEDA earlier this month.   

One of the latest trends in South Africa is to photograph yourself pretending to be dead. But not everyone approves of the #DeadPoseChallenge, reports Christian Parkinson: