Justice Minister Patrick Chimamasa (l) told Navi Pillay (r) there was no torture in Zimbabwe

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Zimbabwe – New Era?

Wikileaks woe for Mugabe

Return to Harare

Torture camp discovered

Glasnost – African style

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has started a week-long visit to Zimbabwe – the first such trip since a violent and disputed election in 2008.

Ms Pillay is expected to meet President Robert Mugabe and his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Mugabe was accused of using soldiers to attack his rival's supporters after losing the first round vote.

After meeting Ms Pillay, the justice minister denied allegations of human rights abuses.

The visit comes two weeks after a landmark decision by a South African court which ordered prosecutors to investigate Zimbabwean officials for torturing political activists.

The ruling invokes South Africa's obligations to the International Criminal Court but has been dismissed by Zimbabwean officials.

In 2009 the UN's then leading torture investigator was denied access to Zimbabwe when officials claimed he was not officially cleared for entry into the country.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, a close ally of Mr Mugabe, also insisted that “state-sponsored violence” does not exist in the country.

“These are all lies. We told [Ms Pillay] that there are no torture chambers in Zimbabwe,” Mr Chinamasa is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency, after leaving a meeting with Ms Pillay.

He added that his meeting with Ms Pillay was cordial but emphasised that Zimbabwe's policy of outlawing gay relationships and criminalising gay sex would not change.

President Mugabe is expected to meet Ms Pillay later this week. The South African is also scheduled to meet defence officials, judges and members of parliament as well as human rights advocates.

Last year the BBC's Panorama programme found that security forces were operating a torture camp in Zimbabwe's profitable Marange diamond fields.

Victims told of severe beatings, as the European Union was pushing to lift a trade ban on some Zimbabwean diamonds.

According to rights groups at least 200 people were killed in violence related to the 2008 presidential poll.

Source

South Sudan's army took control of the disputed Heglig oilfield in April

Continue reading the main story

Sudan: Coping with divorce

Is war inevitable?

Rebels seek advantage

Southerners in legal limbo

Horror of deadly cattle vendetta

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Khartoum to attempt to restart negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan.

The African Union's mediator is due to meet Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to try to set out an agenda and timetable for talks.

Heavy fighting between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan brought them to the verge of war last month.

The UN has threatened sanctions if the situation is not resolved swiftly.

According to a United Nations Security Council resolution, talks aimed at resolving the dispute should have started this week.

South Sudan – which only seceded from its northern neighbour last year – said it is prepared to talk without preconditions, while Sudan has said it wants negotiations to focus on security.

Territorial dispute

The latest crisis began in April when South Sudanese troops took over the Heglig oilfield, which is one of Sudan's biggest sources of revenue.

South Sudan claims the oilfield falls within its territory, but the exact location of the border still had not been decided when the South became an independent nation last July, taking most of the united country's oil with it.

Under international pressure, South Sudan later withdrew from Heglig.

Continue reading the main story

Main disputes between the two Sudans

The amount the South should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines

Demarcating the border

Both sides claim Abyei

The rights of each other's citizens now in a foreign country – there are estimated to be 500,000 southerners in Sudan and 80,000 Sudanese in the South

Each accuses the other of supporting rebel groups on its territory

South Sudan refugees flown home

At a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday, members adopted a resolution demanding the finalisation of a jointly-run administration and police force for the disputed border region of Abyei near Heglig.

The United Nations has said that unless the border question and other issues are resolved within the next three months, it will consider imposing sanctions.

For that, the two countries need to sit round the negotiating table, but the latest round of fighting has derailed talks.

The two countries are also still to agree on what rights their citizens should have in the other – some 500,000 Southerners are now foreigners in Sudan, along with some 80,000 northerners in the South.

A deadline for a group of some 15,000 Southerners to leave Sudan expires on Sunday – the first group has already started flying to the South, a country some of them had never visited before.

In addition to meeting President Bashir and other senior officials in Khartoum, Mr Mbeki is expected to travel to the South's capital Juba to try to get the two sides to agree to new talks.

Sudan: A country divided

Oil fields

Geography

Ethnic groups

Infant mortality

Water & sanitation

Education

Food insecurity

Show regions

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan’s budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.

Although they were united for many years, the two Sudans were always very different. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Sudan’s arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.

The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In South Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.

The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.

Throughout the two Sudans, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.

Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in both countries. The residents of war-affected Darfur and South Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.

Source

Disputes over territory and borders have pushed the Sudans to the brink of war

Continue reading the main story

Sudan: Coping with divorce

Is war inevitable?

Rebels seek advantage

Southerners in legal limbo

Horror of deadly cattle vendetta

African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki has said Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is committed to security agreements with the South.

The former South African president has been in Khartoum to attempt to restart negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan.

He told reporters that President Bashir “confirmed that he believes the two nations… are in need of peace”.

Mr Mbeki is expected to travel to South Sudan next to speak to leaders in Juba.

Heavy fighting between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan over territorial disputes brought them to the verge of war last month.

According to a United Nations Security Council resolution, talks aimed at resolving the dispute should have started last week but the two sides have balked at returning to the negotiating table.

South Sudan – which only seceded from its northern neighbour last year – previously said it is prepared to talk without preconditions, while Sudan has said it wants negotiations to focus on demarcating borders.

Continue reading the main story

Main disputes between the two Sudans

The amount the South should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines

Demarcating the border

Both sides claim Abyei

The rights of each other's citizens now in a foreign country – there are estimated to be 500,000 southerners in Sudan and 80,000 Sudanese in the South

Each accuses the other of supporting rebel groups on its territory

South Sudan refugees flown home

Sudan will not withdraw its troops from disputed areas until the borders are formally set, but Mr Mbeki said Khartoum has now agreed to one of UN's key demands: creating a 10km buffer zone on the border between the two states.

Sanctions threat

The latest crisis began in April when South Sudanese troops took over the Heglig oilfield, which is one of Sudan's biggest sources of revenue.

South Sudan claims the oilfield falls within its territory, but the exact location of the border still had not been decided when the South became an independent nation last July, taking most of the oil with it.

Some 15,000 Southerners have been told they have to leave Sudan and move to the new state of South Sudan

Under international pressure, South Sudan later withdrew from Heglig.

At a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday, members adopted a resolution demanding the finalisation of a jointly-run administration and police force for the disputed border region of Abyei near Heglig.

The United Nations has said that unless the border question and other issues are resolved within the next three months, it will consider imposing sanctions.

For that, the two countries need to sit round the negotiating table, but the latest round of fighting has derailed talks.

The two countries are also still to agree on what rights their citizens should have in the other – some 500,000 Southerners are now foreigners in Sudan, along with some 80,000 northerners in the South.

A deadline for a group of some 15,000 Southerners to leave Sudan and head to South Sudan, a country some of them have never visited before, expires on Sunday.

Sudan: A country divided

Oil fields

Geography

Ethnic groups

Infant mortality

Water & sanitation

Education

Food insecurity

Show regions

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan’s budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.

Although they were united for many years, the two Sudans were always very different. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Sudan’s arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.

The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In South Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.

The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.

Throughout the two Sudans, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.

Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in both countries. The residents of war-affected Darfur and South Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.

Source

Richard Mdluli alleges there is a conspiracy by some senior members of the police to get rid of him.

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Zuma under pressure

Profile: President Zuma

South Africa profile

South Africa's main opposition has called for controversial crime intelligence chief Richard Mdluli to be suspended, amid allegations of political interference.

He was moved to another department on Wednesday, but the Democratic Alliance has said this is not enough.

He has accused senior members of the police service of trying to oust him.

Mr Mdluli is said to be a close ally of President Jacob Zuma, who is facing a battle to keep his job.

BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says the real concern is the growing politicisation of the police, and above all, the prosecution services – and the clear suspicion that they are being used by South Africa's feuding political elites to spy on each other, settle scores, and influence the ANC leadership battles and President Zuma's bid for a second term.

Mr Mdluli was suspended last year to face a murder charge, but was reinstated when this and corruption charges were dropped.

‘Political meddling’

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

All of the available evidence suggests that Richard Mdluli is not fit to serve in any part of the police service or criminal justice system”

End Quote Lindiwe Mazibuko DA parliamentary leader

Andrew Harding: SA's murky politics

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa told MPs on Wednesday that Mr Mdluli's move to another division was so that allegations of political interference could be probed.

Mr Mthethwa said the investigation would centre on a letter Mr Mdluli wrote alleging there were senior members of the police trying to oust him from office.

The letter was allegedly written to the police minister, the current police chief and Mr Zuma, who became president in 2009.

It allegedly accuses other senior police officers of planning Mr Mdluli's “downfall”.

“I have instituted a task team, led by the state law adviser, to investigate such allegations, because they are so serious as to suggest the meddling of policing functions in politics,” Mr Mthethwa said in parliament.

Last September, Mr Mdluli was charged and arrested for corruption by South Africa's anti-graft unit, known as the Hawks, after allegedly raiding a police intelligence fund for his personal use.

These charges were withdrawn in December.

Continue reading the main story

Richard Mdluli: A troubled year

September 2011: Charged and arrested for corruption by the Hawks after allegedly raiding a police intelligence fund for his personal use

December 2011: Corruption charges were withdrawn, no reasons were given

February 2012: Suspended as crime intelligence boss after facing a murder charge

March 2012: Reinstated to his job after investigation launched into the murder, which happened in 1999

May 2012: Removed from crime intelligence division after writing a letter alleging senior members of the police were planning his downfall

He was suspended as crime intelligence boss in February 2012 and reinstated the following month.

The DA said the “shifting” of Mr Mdluli to another department within the police did not address the problems, given the serious allegations still facing Mr Mdluli.

“Numerous questions remain as to the circumstances surrounding his reinstatement in the first instance,” DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said after Mr Mthethwa's announcement.

“All of the available evidence suggests that Richard Mdluli is not fit to serve in any part of the police service or criminal justice system,” she added.

Ahead of elections in 2009, the ruling African National Congress divided into rival factions, often using state security agencies, including the police and intelligence services, to try to eliminate rivals.

Mr Zuma, who ran the ANC's intelligence wing in exile during the fight against apartheid rule, is facing criticism from some within his party, who want to replace him.

The ANC is due to decide in December whether to retain him as its leader in the next election, scheduled for 2014.

Critics of Mr Zuma allege that he interfered to get Mr Mdluli re-appointed so he could help him spy on his opponents as the succession battle heats up.

In March, a court ruled that the decision to drop corruption charges against President Zuma – just weeks before the 2009 election – can be reviewed. It was dropped following allegations of political interference in the case.

Another powerful ally of President Zuma, former police chief Gen Bheki Cele, was suspended in October to allow an investigation into allegations of corruption.

Source

Jacob Zuma has lodged 11 law suits against local media houses

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Related Stories

ANC expulsion clears the path for Zuma

Profile: Jacob Zuma

Country profile: South Africa

South Africa's governing ANC says it will go to court after a gallery exhibited a painting with President Jacob Zuma's genitals hanging out.

Brett Murray's painting by is an “abuse of freedom of artistic expression” said ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu.

He said he had asked lawyers to get the Johannesburg gallery to remove the $14,000 (£9,000) painting, The Spear.

President Zuma, who has four wives, has sued local media companies 11 times for defamation.

The BBC's Mohammed Ali in Cape Town says some have been settled, other dropped, while most are outstanding.

The best-known case is a 2008 suit against one of the country's most high-profile artists, Zapiro, after he depicted Mr Zuma about to rape a female figure representing justice – this is due to be heard in October.

Mr Zuma was cleared of raping a family friend in 2006.

‘Satire’

Murray, who our correspondent says is known for his political and provocative work, has not commented on the ANC statement.

Lara Koseff, spokeswoman of the Goodman Gallery, which is running Murray's Hail to the Thief II exhibition, defended the painting as “a very satirical look at contemporary South African politics… of the disillusion of democracy within the country”.

“Our lawyers have written back to them saying we will not remove the painting,” she told the AFP news agency

The 1.85m-high Soviet-style, red black and yellow acrylic painting has been sold.

Mr Mthembu said the ANC was committed to the freedom of the press and artistic expression but condemned the painting as “distasteful and vulgar”.

He demanded that the painting be removed from the gallery, its website and all promotional materials.

Among the other exhibits is an ANC poster with the phrases For Sale and Sold on it, which Mr Mthembu also condemned as “defamatory”.

Source

One of Africa's major oil producers, Angola is also one of the world's poorest countries.

It is striving to tackle the physical, social and political legacy of the 27-year civil war that ravaged the country after independence.

The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the rebel group Unita were bitter rivals even before the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

The Soviet Union and Cuba supported the then-Marxist MPLA, while the US and white-ruled South Africa backed Unita as a bulwark against Soviet influence in Africa.

After 16 years of fighting, which killed up to 300,000 people, a peace deal led to elections. But Unita rejected the outcome and resumed the war, in which hundreds of thousands more were killed. Another peace accord was signed in 1994 and the UN sent in peacekeepers.

But the fighting steadily worsened again and in 1999 the peacekeepers withdrew, leaving behind a country rich in natural resources but littered with landmines and the ruins of war.

Continue reading the main story

At a glance

Politics: President has been in power for 30 years. Oil-rich enclave of Cabinda has been embroiled in a long-running independence struggle.

Economy: One of Africa's leading oil producers, but most people still live on less than US $1 a day. Experiencing a post-war reconstruction boom

International: China has promised substantial assistance to Angola, one of its main oil suppliers

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

The connection between the civil war and the unregulated diamond trade – or “blood diamonds” – was a source of international concern. The UN froze bank accounts used in the gem trade.

Peace

The death of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi in a gunfight with government forces in February 2002 raised the prospect of peace and the army and rebels signed a ceasefire in April to end the conflict.

Angola faces the daunting tasks of rebuilding its infrastructure, retrieving weapons from its heavily-armed civilian population and resettling tens of thousands of refugees who fled the fighting. Landmines and impassable roads have cut off large parts of the country. Many Angolans rely on food aid.

Much of Angola's oil wealth lies in Cabinda province, where a decades-long separatist conflict simmers. The government has sent thousands of troops to subdue the rebellion in the enclave, which has no border with the rest of Angola. Human rights groups have alleged abuses against civilians.

A supplier of crude oil to the US and China, Angola denies allegations that revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. Oil exports and foreign loans have spurred economic growth and have fuelled a reconstruction boom.

Source

Potentially a holiday paradise with picture-postcard beaches, the Comoros islands are trying to consolidate political stability amid tensions between semi-autonomous islands and the central government.

A history of political violence has left the Comoros desperately poor. At times, the country has teetered on the brink of disintegration.

The three Indian Ocean islands have experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups, beginning just weeks after independence from France in 1975 when President Ahmed Abdallah was toppled in a coup assisted by French mercenary Colonel Bob Denard. Colonel Denard featured in several power struggles over the years.

Continue reading the main story

At a glance

Politics: After coups and secession bids, the Comoros gained some stability under a 2001 constitution granting the islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan, Moheli greater autonomy within a federation. The extension of the current president's term has caused tension

Economy: Comoros is heavily reliant on aid and remittances from the diaspora

International: The African Union and South Africa have been involved in helping to stabilise the Comoros politically

To add to the country's troubles, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared unilateral independence in a violent conflict in 1997.

In an effort to bring the breakaway islands back into the fold, Moheli, Anjouan and the largest island, Grande Comore, were granted greater autonomy under a 2001 constitution.

The Union of the Comoros retained control of security and financial matters.

The people of the Comoros are among the poorest in Africa and are heavily dependent on foreign aid. Natural resources are in short supply and the islands' chief exports – vanilla, cloves and perfume essence – are prone to price fluctuations. Money sent home by Comorans living abroad is an important source of income.

The descendants of Arab traders, Malay immigrants and African peoples contribute to the islands' complex ethnic mix.

Source

South Sudan's army took control of the disputed Heglig oilfield in April

Continue reading the main story

Sudan: Coping with divorce

Is war inevitable?

Rebels seek advantage

Southerners in legal limbo

Horror of deadly cattle vendetta

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Khartoum to attempt to restart negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan.

The African Union's mediator is due to meet Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to try to set out an agenda and timetable for talks.

Heavy fighting between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan brought them to the verge of war last month.

The UN has threatened sanctions if the situation is not resolved swiftly.

According to a United Nations Security Council resolution, talks aimed at resolving the dispute should have started this week.

South Sudan – which only seceded from its northern neighbour last year – said it is prepared to talk without preconditions, while Sudan has said it wants negotiations to focus on security.

Territorial dispute

The latest crisis began in April when South Sudanese troops took over the Heglig oilfield, which is one of Sudan's biggest sources of revenue.

South Sudan claims the oilfield falls within its territory, but the exact location of the border still had not been decided when the South became an independent nation last July, taking most of the united country's oil with it.

Under international pressure, South Sudan later withdrew from Heglig.

Continue reading the main story

Main disputes between the two Sudans

The amount the South should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines

Demarcating the border

Both sides claim Abyei

The rights of each other's citizens now in a foreign country – there are estimated to be 500,000 southerners in Sudan and 80,000 Sudanese in the South

Each accuses the other of supporting rebel groups on its territory

South Sudan refugees flown home

At a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday, members adopted a resolution demanding the finalisation of a jointly-run administration and police force for the disputed border region of Abyei near Heglig.

The United Nations has said that unless the border question and other issues are resolved within the next three months, it will consider imposing sanctions.

For that, the two countries need to sit round the negotiating table, but the latest round of fighting has derailed talks.

The two countries are also still to agree on what rights their citizens should have in the other – some 500,000 Southerners are now foreigners in Sudan, along with some 80,000 northerners in the South.

A deadline for a group of some 15,000 Southerners to leave Sudan expires on Sunday – the first group has already started flying to the South, a country some of them had never visited before.

In addition to meeting President Bashir and other senior officials in Khartoum, Mr Mbeki is expected to travel to the South's capital Juba to try to get the two sides to agree to new talks.

Sudan: A country divided

Oil fields

Geography

Ethnic groups

Infant mortality

Water & sanitation

Education

Food insecurity

Show regions

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan’s budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.

Although they were united for many years, the two Sudans were always very different. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Sudan’s arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.

The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In South Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.

The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.

Throughout the two Sudans, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.

Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in both countries. The residents of war-affected Darfur and South Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.

Source

Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations, is emerging from a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war.

Since independence in 1961, it has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority.

The ethnic violence sparked off in 1994 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts.

It is now beginning to reap the dividends of a peace process. But it faces the formidable tasks of reviving a shattered economy and of forging national unity.

In 1993 Burundi seemed poised to enter a new era when, in their first democratic elections, Burundians chose their first Hutu head of state, Melchior Ndadaye, and a parliament dominated by the Hutu Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frodebu) party.

But within months Ndadaye had been assassinated, setting the scene for years of Hutu-Tutsi violence in which an estimated 300,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed.

Continue reading the main story

At a glance

Politics: Stability appears to be within reach after years of bloody conflict. The government and the last active rebel group signed a ceasefire in May 2008, but post-election tension in 2010 renewed fears of civil war

Economy: Half the population lives below the poverty line. Coffee and tea account for most of the foreign currency earnings

International: Relative peace after a 12-year ethnic-based civil war has been attributed partly to international mediation and support

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

In early 1994 parliament elected another Hutu, Cyprien Ntaryamira, as president. But he was killed in April alongside the president of neighbouring Rwanda when the plane they were travelling in was shot down over Kigali.

Another Hutu, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, was appointed president in October 1994. But within months, the mainly Tutsi Union for National Progress (Uprona) party withdrew from the government and parliament, sparking a new wave of ethnic violence.

Following long-running talks, mediated by South Africa, a power-sharing government was set up in 2001 and most of the rebel groups agreed to a ceasefire. Four years later Burundians voted in the first parliamentary elections since the start of the civil war.

The main Hutu former rebel group won the vote and nominated its leader Pierre Nkurunziza as president.

The government and the United Nations embarked on the lengthy process of disarming thousands of soldiers and former rebels, as well as forming a new national army.

Source

After an ominous, post-independence start which saw them lurch from a coup, through an invasion by mercenaries to an abortive army mutiny and several coup attempts, the Seychelles have attained stability and prosperity.

Citizens of the Indian Ocean archipelago enjoy a high per capita income, good health care and education.

But just a year after independence in 1976, the Seychelles appeared to be heading down the path of instability which has plagued many African states.

The prime minister, France Albert Rene, overthrew the president, James Mancham, and embarked on a programme aimed at giving poorer people a greater share of the country's wealth.

Continue reading the main story

At a glance

Politics: The Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) has been the ruling party since 1977, when France Albert Rene came to power in a bloodless coup

Economy: Tourism and the fishing industry are the country's biggest foreign exchange earners

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

His coup, though bloodless, resulted in about 10,000 islanders fleeing the country. Four years later, with the help of Tanzanian troops, Mr Rene thwarted an attempt by South African mercenaries to restore Mr Mancham.

An army mutiny in 1982, followed by several attempted coups, suffered a similar fate.

But in 1991, possibly in response to pressure from foreign creditors and aid donors, Mr Rene restored multi-party democracy.

The country's economy depends heavily on a fishing industry and upmarket tourism; the latter is vulnerable to downturns in the global travel market. Fine beaches and turquoise seas are among the main attractions.

The archipelago is home to an array of wildlife, including giant tortoises and sea turtles. Much of the land is given over to nature reserves.

Source