Ethiopia’s central bank has lifted a suspension of lending by commercial banks to their customers using collateral such as property, the bank said on Monday.

The economy has been shaken by a conflict that has lasted more than a year pitting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s national army against rebellious forces from the northern region of Tigray.

When the suspension was imposed in mid-August, the government said it took the measure due to “economic sabotage”, without giving further details.

The restriction has now been “fully lifted”, the central bank’s communications department told Reuters, without providing more details.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has agreed to a joint operation with Uganda’s army against Islamist rebels accused of suicide bombings in Kampala this month, two diplomatic sources said.

The Islamic State said their local affiliate, known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), were behind a Nov. 16 attack which killed seven people, including the three bombers, and injured dozens more.

News reports about the proposed cross-border campaign, which is yet to be announced publicly, has sparked anxiety amongst some Congolese, who recall Uganda’s role in the brutal civil wars that ended in 2003.

Tshisekedi informed the United Nations peacekeeping mission on Friday he had authorised military cooperation with Uganda against the ADF, but did not provide any further details, a senior U.N. diplomat said.

The second diplomatic source said the same, but also had no more details.

The three-day triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) conference has officially opened in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.

Delegates from the continent and China are in attendance as well as hundreds of participants.

The gathering comes amid biting economic and social challenges on the continent fuelled by the Covid pandemic and climate change.

Ministers and representatives of African countries and China are due to chart a joint response to deal with Covid-19 and unveil other plans that would guide the relationship for the next three years and beyond.

A communique will be released on Tuesday.

The authorities in the north-western Nigerian state of Zamfara say they will restore internet and mobile phone services on Monday.

The services were blocked in early September as part of measures to help security forces track down armed gangs behind a wave of killings and kidnappings for ransom.

Gunmen in the region are believed to be using mobile phones to co-ordinate their attacks and negotiate for ransom.

The Zamfara state government says it took the decision to restore internet and mobile phone services due to what it called an “encouraging report of peace”.

But residents say there is no clear indication that the security situation has improved since the shutting down of the services nearly three months ago.