Africa Live this week: 20-26 February 2023

Eritrea has joined Ethiopia in accusing the United States of unfairly apportioning blame for crimes committed during two years of civil war in the Tigray region.

On Monday the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara regional forces had committed crimes against humanity, but he did not accuse the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of this crime.

He did accuse the TPLF of war crimes, along with the other parties in the conflict.

Eritrea said the allegations were defamatory.

The Ethiopian foreign ministry described the US approach as partisan, ill-advised and unwarranted.

Anthony Blinken made his first visit to Ethiopia last week, since a peace deal was signed in November last year between the federal government and Tigrayan rebels.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The US is calling on Nigeria to prosecute people who intimidated voters and tried to stop them casting their ballots in last weekend's governorship and state assembly elections.

Its embassy says there was evidence of this happening in Lagos, Kano, and other states and that "the use of ethnically charged rhetoric before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was particularly concerning".

Similar concerns were voiced by EU observer mission chief Barry Andrews, who said Lagos was among several states troubled by violence, ballot snatching and the intimidation of voters, election officials, observers and journalists.

At least 21 people were killed in the violence, the EU says.

These latest polls come three weeks after a contentious presidential election, which at least one opposition leader is now challenging in court.

Nigeria's two biggest political parties, the governing APC and the main opposition PDP, have won control of most of the states in the governorship election. But there were some upsets.

The New Nigeria People’s Party, formed just months to the poll, defeated the APC to win the governor seat in Kano - the economic hub of the north.

Egyptian actor Mostafa Hashish has been quoted by several Egyptian outlets as saying he does not believe that women should work, and that it was better for them to stay at home to take care of their children.

The remarks created a row on social media, especially among some prominent pundits.

Writer Ibrahim Eissa said that "women were qualified to lead a country".

Media outlets also highlighted remarks made by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, during a ceremony marking International Women's Day, including his belief that Egypt's women deserve greater representation at all levels of public life and for progress towards equal pay.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The French journalist Olivier Dubois has made an emotional return home after being held captive for nearly two years by militants in West Africa.

He was warmly embraced by family members and President Emmanuel Macron on the tarmac of an air base near Paris.

Mr Dubois disappeared in Mali's northern city of Gao in April 2021.

He was released on Monday along with the American aid worker Jeffrey Woodke, who had been held for six years.

Details about their release remain unclear.

AFPCopyright: AFP

AFPCopyright: AFP