TOP STORY

1. ICC prosecutor to pursue Boko Haram war crimes charges

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says she'll ask for a full investigation into possible war crimes 

and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Boko Haram during its protracted conflict with the Nigerian government.

Fatou Bensouda said her office had completed a preliminary examination and found a "reasonable basis to believe" that the 

Islamist extremist movement and its splinter groups had committed acts constituting crimes against humanity. These included 

murder, rape, sexual slavery, including forced pregnancy and forced marriage; enslavement and torture.

2.Ethiopia returns fleeing Eritreans to refugee camps

Ethiopia says it's bussing Eritrean refugees from the capital, Addis Ababa, back to two camps in Tigray they had fled to 

escape the fighting there. A statement spoke of a large number of "misinformed refugees" moving out in an irregular manner, 

and insisted they were being returned safely.

The UN refugee agency said it was "alarmed" by the reports.

Earlier, the Ethiopian government dismissed suggestions by the same UN agency that the fighting in Tigray was preventing 

aid from reaching civilians.

It said they were untrue and undermined work to stabilise the region.

3.Saharawi nationalists condemn US-Morocco pact

The US decision to recognise Morocco's claim over the disputed Western Sahara region has angered the territory's Polisario 

Front, whose spokesman said it was a "dangerous setback".

"Sovereignty over Western Sahara is a decision that should be taken exclusively by the Saharawi people through a genuine 

expression of their will," said spokesman Oubi Bouchraya Bachi, adding "it doesn’t belong to the US" or any other power.

Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975. A 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the 

promise of a referendum on independence, which has yet to take place. The Polisario Front is a nationalist group backed by 

Algeria which has been seeking to establish an independent state - a claim recognised by the African Union.The announcement 

by outgoing US President Donald Trump comes weeks after hostilities between Moroccan and Polisario forces resumed, breaking 

almost three decades of ceasefire.

The deal is part of a wider agreement between the US and Morocco that sees it normalise relations with Israel.

"We have been warning that importing the Middle East dynamic to North Africa will engender a lot of instability," Mr Bachi 

said of the US-Morocco pact.

"We are very hopeful the new administration [in the US] will take a different step," he added.