Sierra Leone, Mali, Somalia.
Today's three stories you should know.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s government today said that violence in the capital Freetown on Sunday, during which armed men attacked a military base and prisons, was an attempted coup. The men managed to free about 2,000 prisoners and tried to break into an armory at a military base near the president’s residence before being subdued. Officials said 13 military officers and one civilian have been arrested in connection with the attacks. Things have been tense in Sierra Leone since President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected in June. The result was rejected by the main opposition candidate.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Mali
More than 136,000 people, including 74,000 children, are trapped in the historic city of Timbuktu in Mali, the Save the Children aid group said today, warning that supplies of food and medicine are dwindling. Timbuktu has been surrounded by an al-Qaeda-linked armed group since August. "With official aid routes completely cut off, supplies are dwindling and the agency fears the remaining services in the city may need to end soon if a resolution of the crisis isn’t found," Save the Children said.
More from BBC here.
Somalia
It looks like Somalia’s pirates are back. An attempted hijacking of a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden was carried out by five pirates from Somalia, the Pentagon said, after initial confusion over who was behind the attack. Early reports suggested Yemen’s Houthi group may have attacked the ship. The Houthis, who have declared war on Israel over its assault on Gaza, last week seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship. Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia from 2008 until 2012 before dropping off dramatically. The attempted hijacking comes after an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates last week in the first such incident since 2017.
More from the National here.