African Briefs

Calls for probe into Mali OUAGADOUGOU – Six West African leaders called on Saturday for the International Criminal Court to investigate “war crimes” in northern Mali, in a statement issued at the end of a summit on the crisis there.

“They are asking the International Criminal Court to proceed with necessary investigations to identify those responsible for war crimes and to take the necessary action against them,” the statement said.
Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, the top mediator for the regional Economic Community of West African States, and five other heads, met in the Burkina Faso capital with several Malian leaders, though not the country’s transitional president or prime minister.
The group also called on Mali to put in place by 31 July a “national unity government” that could put an end to the months-long crisis, after Islamists have taken control of Mali’s northern half following a coup in Bamako.

Sudan vows to avenge killings
KHARTOUM – The Sudanese military on Saturday vowed to defeat rebels it accuses of killing two regional government officials and six other people in an ambush.
Ibrahim Mohamed Belinda, the speaker of the South Kordofan region’s legislative council, and Faisal Beshir, the chief of the strategic planning council, were gunned down on Friday along with six other members of their convoy.
Sudan’s military said on Saturday in a statement carried by the Suna state news agency that the killings are a “treacherous act” and vowed to avenge them.
The military accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North for the ambush in oil-producing South Kordofan, which lies along the border with newly independent South Sudan.

Mugabe home from Singapore
HARARE – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrived home on Saturday from Singapore where he went for a medical check-up amid increasing concerns about his health, state media said.
State television, which showed him alighting from a plane and shaking hands with the vice president Joice Mujuru and several senior government officials, said he looked “fit and strong”.
Africa’s oldest leader left Harare on Monday for what officials said was a “routine” health check.
The 88-year-old, who has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, often makes visits to the city-state for medical treatment and underwent cataract surgery there last year.
Mugabe’s wife Grace recently told state media that her husband was still fit, rises as early as 05h00 and consistently does his daily exercises.

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