In This Issue:

- Leading the News

- United States – Africa Relations

- North Africa

- East Africa

- West Africa

- Sub - Saharan Africa

- General Africa News

- Excerpt from Leading the News:

Libya -

On April 17th, the French Defense Audio-Visual Communication and Production Unit released radar images of a recent operation during which French paratroopers dropped into hostile territory near the Salvador Pass on the Libya-Niger border. The region has become of increasing concern as international jihadist groups in the area continue to engage in smuggling and trafficking. About 3,000 French troops are now positioned in Africa, primarily in North Africa and the Sahel region, as part of an effort to stamp out Islamist fighters.

On April 18th, United Nations (U.N.) Special Representative for Libya and head of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Bernardino Leon condemned the renewed outbreak of violence in Tripoli amid ongoing political dialogue aimed at resolving the crisis in the country. In particular, Special Representative Leon noted that violence in the Fashloum neighborhood has resulted in the deaths of three civilians, in addition to reports of abductions and the burning of houses.