CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
ELECTIONS POSTPONED UNTIL 30 DECEMBER
The presidential and legislative elections scheduled to take place on 27 December will now be held on 30 December. The new date for the polls was announced on 24 December by the national electoral authorities, who stated that more time was needed to address logistical issues and complete the training of electoral agents. The possible second round of the elections is scheduled for 31 January 2016.
IDP NUMBERS INCREASE
According to the Population Movement Commission (CMP), the number of IDPs increased by 4,65 per cent from October to November, from 447,487 to 469,307. The increase is due to security incidents in Bangui and recurrent population movements in other provinces caused by cycles of attacks and reprisals by armed groups and communal violence.
MALI
ATTACKS IN THE NORTH KILLS SIX PEOPLE
Six people were killed in the Kidal region in the northeast of Mali, in an attack on the base of the former rebel group the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA). Vehicles belonging to the CMA were also burnt by the attackers. The Malian group Ansar Dine claimed it had carried out the attack.
NIGERIA
NEW WAVE OF ATTACKS KILLS OVER 30 PEOPLE
According to the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), about 20 people have been killed and 90 wounded in a suspected Boko Haram explosion in a mosque in Maiduguri on 28 December. The blast came a day after the army fought Boko Haram militants west of Maiduguri, following the attack of Jiddari Polo, a key city on the outskirts of Maiduguri. On the evening of 25 December, Boko Haram invaded the village of Kimba in Borno state, killing at least 14 people and torching their homes.
EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE
GUINEA DECLARED EBOLA FREE
No new cases were reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the week ending on 27 December. On 29 December, Guinea was declared free of Ebola transmission, entering a 90-day period of enhanced surveillance, which will end on March 27, if no further cases are identified. Sierra Leone is currently observing the 90-day period of enhanced surveillance which will end on 5 February 2016. On 14 January 2016, transmission linked to the recent cluster of cases in Liberia will end, 42 days after the two most recent cases received a second consecutive negative test for Ebola virus, if no further cases are reported.