• Uganda protests to Rwanda over killing of smugglers

Uganda has protested to Rwanda after two suspected smugglers were shot dead near their common border, saying the response by Rwandan soldiers was high-handed.

A letter delivered to Rwanda's High Commissioner in Kampala describes the incident as murder and also mentions a Rwandan who was shot and injured on Ugandan soil.

A Rwandan mayor oversaw the handing over of the bodies to Ugandan police, deepening suspicions that have seen Rwanda close some of its border points with Uganda..

• France to support DR Congo in rebel onslaught

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged military support to Democratic Republic of Congo to fight armed groups led by the Allied Democratic forces in the country's eastern region.

During a meeting with DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi during the Paris Peace Forum on Tuesday, President Macron linked some of the armed groups to the Islamic State terror group.

Mr Macron said the support would have a military dimension as well as intelligence, adding that he wanted to see much more French presence in Africa.

• Sudan rebel group in Khartoum seeks general amnesty

A delegation of the Sudan Revolutionary Front has held talks in Khartoum with the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Ministers Council in furtherance to the political agreement they signed with the government last month.

Led by United Popular Front chairman Al-Amin Daoud, the group said it had incorporated political groups that had signed the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement with the government of deposed Omar-al Bashir.

Juma Al-Wakil, assistant to the head of the Sudan Liberation Army (Minnawi's wing) called for a general amnesty for innocent leaders of the Bashir regime and bringing to justice those who committed crimes.

• Former President Lungu aide summoned in drugs probe

Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission has summoned a former presidential spokesman Amos Chanda to appear before it in connection with an investigation.

Mr Chanda resigned from the job in June this year saying he was going to "join the private sector." He was appointed by President Edgar Lungu in January 2015.

Commission spokesperson Theresa Katongo said investigations were ongoing and a statement would be issued in due course.

• G5 Sahel force short of resources in anti-jihadist fight

The five-nation G5 military task force in the Sahel faces persistent training and equipment shortfalls at a time of spiralling violence in the war against armed Islamist groups in the region.

According to a UN report released on Tuesday, the force activity was of "low-intensity" because of "persistent equipment and training shortfall" in the six months to October 2019.

UN Secretary general Antonio Guterres said the force needed more support to effectively confront terrorist groups that have since January killed more than 1500 civilians in Burkina Faso and Mali.

More than 1.5 million people have been displaced in the two countries, Mauritania, Niger and Chad since 2018 despite the presence of the France backed force since 2014.

• Televangelist says South Sudan crisis is spiritual

Nigeria televangelist T.B Joshua has encouraged South Sudan leaders to reconcile and work towards the interests of citizens.

In prayers held at the Juba One, the presidential palace, at the invitation of President Salva Kiir on Tuesday the preacher said: "The issue of this nation is spiritual and need to be handled spiritually.”

President Kiir who is navigating a tricky three months before the formation of a unity government with rival Riek Machar in February 2020 said the coming of TB Joshua meant "peace is around the corner."

TB Joshua is the latest religious leader to offer spiritual support to realisation of lasting peace in South Sudan after the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Archbishop Justin, as well as local bishops.

• Algeria jails 28 protesters over Berber flags

Twenty-eight Algerian demonstrators were handed one-year jail sentences Tuesday for "undermining national unity" by bearing the Berber minority's flag during anti-regime protests.

Aprisoners' rights group said a court in the capital's Sidi Mhamed district sentenced 22 of the accused to 12 months in prison, half of it suspended, and fines of 30,000 dinars ($275).

Said Salhi, vice president of the Algerian human rights group LADDH, said the defence team made up of almost 70 lawyers would appeal the sentences.

Algeria has been rocked by months of street protests demanding an overhaul of the entire political system, prompting Army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah to ban flags other than the Algerian one at rallies.