Documents published by WikiLeaks reveal important details about the crimes committed by French imperialism in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Rwanda, and the existing ties between French and African politicians. The cables published by WikiLeaks confirm that 50 years after 'decolonization', corrupt networks - binding together the banks, oil companies, the French armed forces and the African regimes - have continued to function in order to plunder Africa as well as attack French workers by contributing to the maintenance of the Chirac and Sarkozy governments.

Kenya has expressed concern over the instability in Somalia as cross-border raids by insurgents increase and a steady influx of refugees cross the porous frontier. Fighting between Somali government troops and al Shabaab Islamist insurgents has forced hundreds of thousands to flee the lawless Horn of Africa nation, with Kenya hosting more than 500,000 in several camps.

The clock is ticking to get help to neglected refugees fleeing Ivory Coast, Oxfam has warned. More than 100,000 people have already crossed the border from Ivory Coast to Liberia and are living in dire conditions in border villages. Unless more is done to get people to safe and serviced areas further inland, they risk being cut off as the rainy season approaches.

The Libyan government should immediately comply with the first binding ruling against a state by the newly operational African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights (EIPR), Human Rights Watch, and Interights said. In its pioneering decision, issued on 25 March and published on 30 March, the court unanimously ordered Libya to end any actions that would cause the loss of life or violation of anyone’s 'physical integrity' in violation of international human rights law.

Heavy fighting took place in Côte d’Ivoire’s main city, Abidjan, for a third day over the weekend as rival forces battle for power. Fighters loyal to the internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara battled for control of the presidential palace and barracks still loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. The battle for Abidjan remains fierce, with heavy fighting reported on Saturday (02 April) around the Agban military base in the centre of the city.

At least 800 people have been reported killed in one town in Cote d'Ivoire, according to the Red Cross, as fierce fighting continues to grip the country. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the deaths reportedly took place during intercommunal violence in the western town of Duekoue on Tuesday. Dorothea Krimitas, an ICRC spokeswoman, said on Saturday (02 April) that the violence likely erupted the day after the town was taken by fighters loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the country's internationally recognised leader.

The Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is a monthly electronic publication that provides news, reflection, and learning on the provision of refugee legal aid. It is aimed primarily to be a resource for legal aid providers in the Global South where law journals and other resources are hard to access. The newsletter now has a blog which can be accessed at

Fahamu’s Refugee Programme is pleased to announce the , a monthly publication that aims to provide a forum for providers of refugee legal aid. With a focus on the global South, it aims to serve the needs of legal aid providers as well as raise awareness of refugee concerns among the wider readership of Pambazuka News.

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With drought spreading to almost all regions of Somalia, officials and aid workers have expressed concern for those affected, saying drought was now a major cause of displacement. 'Drought, not insecurity, is now the main reason for new displacement in Somalia,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA Somalia) said in a March update. 'More than 52,000 people have been displaced due to drought since 1 December 2010, many of them moving to urban areas in search of assistance.'

Thousands of people, many who left North Africa following recent unrest, are stranded on the Italian island of Lampedusa in appalling conditions, Amnesty International reports. The unequivocal assessment by Amnesty International's delegation on the island came as Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged 'to clear Lampedusa within 48-60 hours'. There are currently about 6,000 foreign nationals on the island, mostly from Tunisia.

This Al Jazeera video clip covers the first days of the uprising Benghazi. New footage has emerged from this period showing gunmen – who appear to be Gaddafi loyalists – shooting unarmed protesters dead. With armed men dragging people from Benghazi’s mosque, others were left to die on the streets.

Since 2000, Zimbabweans have suffered from high levels of political violence, human rights violations and intimidation. In response, a number of states and the European Union (EU) have imposed arms embargoes. In contrast, China and Russia have voiced no concerns about the situation and continue to supply arms and military equipment. Zimbabwe thus provides a useful case study that illustrates the diverging opinions among major international arms exporters regarding the circumstances that justify a restriction on the supply of arms and military equipment, says this background paper.

The Ivorian refugee crisis is spreading further across West Africa, with Ghana and Togo receiving a growing number of new arrivals. On Côte d'Ivoire's eastern flank, Ghana has received 3,129 new refugees, mainly from Abidjan and its suburbs. UNHCR has set up a transit centre at the Elubo border crossing, as well as a refugee camp in the town of Ampain that can hold 3,000 people. The agency is providing food and relief items while racing to complete works on water, health and sanitation facilities.

Two weeks after establishing the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Morocco reformed another state body. The Mediator Institution, set up in mid-March to replace the 10-year-old Diwan Al Madhalim, will have greater powers to tackle rights abuses and conduct probes. The institution will have the power to carry out inquiries and investigations, propose disciplinary action or refer cases to the public prosecutor.

In conversation with Konstantina Isidoros, Peter Kenworthy profiles the longstanding Saharawi struggle for independence from Morocco and the gulf between people’s support for Western Sahara around the world and governments’ action on the conflict.

Egyptian activists are enraged by continued double standards by the judiciary, as strikers and protesters are still sent to military tribunals while an ex-Minister ordering the shooting of protesters is not. Ex-President Hosni Mubarak's Interior Minister General Habib el-Adly, accused of ordering the killing of at least 360 protesters during the uprising, is to stand trial in a civilian court.

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), a member organisation of the SOS-Torture Network, about the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention suffered by Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim, a 21-years old craftsman from Alexandria, by prison guards of the al-Hadra Prision, in Alexandria. According to the information received, on 1 February 2011, Mr. Ibrahim was passing through the area of Sidi Beshr, in the city of Alexandria, when he was approached by members of the community watches. They considered him suspicious and he was subsequently handed over to the Command Center of the Northern Area of the Armed Forces (CCNAAF), despite having presented his national identification card to the community watches members.

Kenyan forces have crossed into Somali territory to fight al-Shabab militants, an official source has told the BBC. However, the reports were denied by a police spokesman. Twelve militants were killed in the raid near the border town of Liboi, Kenya's Standard newspaper reports.

Libyan rebels' push westwards towards Tripoli gathered momentum on Sunday as their pursuit of Muammar Gaddafi's forces saw them wrest back control of key oil town Ras Lanuf. Their next target is Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, a central coastal city, and on the way they captured Bin Jawad, a hamlet 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Ras Lanuf, AFP correspondents reported.

The UN refugee agency said on Friday (25 March) that up to one million people may have been displaced by the fighting in Cote d'Ivoire as more people fled their homes in Abidjan amid fears of all out war. 'There is escalating insecurity in Ivory Coast's Abidjan, we're seeing a sharp rise in displacement,' said Melissa Fleming spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).