AFP Video - Unrest, Conflicts & War

Play

A group of European tourists and their guides snatched by armed bandits in a remote desert 10 days ago were freed unharmed in a pre-dawn raid by Egyptian special forces on Monday, officials said. The group of 19 hostages -- five Germans, five Italians, a Romanian and eight Egyptian drivers and tour guides -- were flown into Cairo aboard an Egyptian military plane and taken for medical checks, state television said. Images.

Play

Four people were killed on Monday in a car bomb blast targeting a military bus on the outskirts of the restive northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, security and military officials said. The attack risks further undermining stability in the troubled country and efforts to reconcile rival political factions.

Play

A humanitarian crisis is growing on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao where an estimated 500,000 people have been internally displaced by renewed fighting between the army and Muslim separatists.

Play

Nineteen tourists and Egyptians kidnapped in the Sahara desert have been located in good health in Sudan. Egyptian tourist officials stress that the country is still safe for visitors.

Play

In northern Uganda civil war between the Government and the rebel Lords Resistance Army has killed tens of thousands of people. At the peak of hostilities 1.6 million people were displaced into squalid camps throughtout the North.

Play

Israeli media on Tuesday raised fears of a growing trend of attacks by Palestinians from east Jerusalem after a man rammed his car into a group of soldiers, injuring 13 people before being shot dead.

Play

French lawmakers in the National Assembly voted Monday in favour of keeping French troops in Afghanistan after 10 soldiers died in a Taliban ambush last month. Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced France will beef up its mission with helicopters, drones and other military means. Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper quoted a "secret" NATO report at the weekend saying Taliban fighters who ambushed the French soldiers on August 18 were better armed than their enemy. Fillon quipped there was no need for "lies

Play

After laying dormant for more than 30 years a radical Christian militia known locally as 'God's Army' has risen again to defend its communities against Muslim separatists who are once more spreading fear and terror in the southern Philippines.

Play

Pakistan blames Al-Qaeda linked Taliban militants for the massive suicide truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed at least 60 people and injured more than 260.

Play

French lawmakers vote on Monday on whether to keep their troops in Afghanistan. France has 3,000 troops in the country but after the loss of 10 soldiers in an ambush in August, they are considering their position.

Play

A suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Saturday, killing at least 60 people in a brazen attack in the heart of the Pakistan capital. Images.

Play

Indian police shot dead two alleged Islamic militants during a fierce gun battle in a Muslim area of New Delhi on Friday, including a leader of a shadowy group behind a spate of deadly bombings.

Play

The growing competence of Iraq's armed forces has boosted Baghdad¿s confidence as it negotiates a long-term security pact with Washington - but their ability to fight without US help is still in doubt.

Play

Still reeling from Saturday¿s deadly serial blasts across capital New Delhi, India is now reassessing its domestic security. A shadowy Islamic militant group has claimed responsibility, forcing the country to confront the emergence of home-grown terrorism.

Play

Santa Cruz, Bolivia's most economically vital state, was in the grip of fear and suffering fuel shortages over the weekend as a conflict pitting it and other rebel regions against the leftwing government deepened.

Play

Seven years after the attacks on the World Trade Centre, Afghanistan is again the frontline of the US-led "war on terror" with extremist unrest intensifying and Osama bin Laden is still on the run.

Play

The Pentagon said Monday that newly obtained imagery, taken on a cellpone by a villager, prompted a review of a US investigation into an airstrike in Afghanistan that found that only five to seven civilians were killed, not 90 as the Afghan government and the UN found.

Play

Thursday is the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, which turned Al-Qaeda into one of the most wanted terrorist groups. Although after eight years the militants continue to be feared, in Iraq there are signs that they are losing ground.

Play

Many believe that Crimea, a Ukrainian region mostly inhabited by Russians, could one day seek to break away from Ukraine. The port city of Sevastopol could become a focus of tension in such a scenario.