South Africa’s only insurer covering political violence will increase its premiums to cover a rise in reinsurance costs following some of the worst unrest in decades, the head of the state-owned company told Reuters.

More than 300 people died and around 3,000 stores were looted when protests and violence erupted in July, sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma but later driven by anger over poverty and inequality.

Sasria, which was set up after private firms stopped underwriting risk relating to political violence during apartheid, currently estimates claims related to the unrest at 18 billion rand ($1.19 billion), according to a presentation on Monday.

It is relying partially on reinsurance contracts to pay, and the cost of those contracts is now increasing, managing director Cedric Masondo told Reuters by phone.

The United States and European Union are raising alarm over the recent deployment of troops from Eritrea to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where nine months of war have killed thousands of people and sparked a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Forces from Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray recaptured much of the territory in June, in a major setback for Ethiopia’s government. But the new Eritrean deployments, which come months after Ethiopia said foreign troops were pulling out, raise the prospect of an escalation of fighting.

“The United States is concerned that large numbers of (Eritrean Defence Forces) have re-entered Ethiopia, after withdrawing in June,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement on Monday.

Those remarks came as Treasury Department announced sanctions against a leading Eritrean official it accused of human rights abuses during the war in Tigray. Eritrea said the allegations are baseless.

Niger’s army says it has killed 100 jihadists in an operation in a south-western region near the Burkina Faso border.

The operation in the Torodi area was in response to an attack that killed 19 security officers on a resupply mission on 31 July.

Another team that later came to rescue was hit by an explosive device.The Nigerien army said in a statement that it had aimed to “search for and neutralise” those responsible for the ambush and bomb attack.

Officers had also destroyed their ammunition, vehicles and tricycles, it said. Western Niger, especially the “three border zone”, has been plagued by armed attacks attributed to jihadist groups based in northern Mali since 2017.

Morocco has rejected reasons put forward by Algeria in its decision to sever diplomatic relations with its North African neighbour.

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra announced his country’s decision on Tuesday to cut all ties with Morocco for “hostile acts”.Algiers accused its neighbour of providing support to members of the MAK separatist movement, which is fighting for self-determination in the Kabylie region of Algeria.

MAK is believed to have started forest fires in Algeria, and is also accused of involvement in the killing of a man mistaken for an arsonist.In response, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Morocco rejects this unjustified decision.

The pretext is fallacious and absurd.”The Moroccan kingdom will however remain a credible and loyal to the Algerian people and will continue to act with wisdom.

“The Algerian foreign ministry had previously summoned the Moroccan ambassador over remarks the Moroccan envoy to the UN had made backing the separatist movement in Algeria. Rabat has not provided a response to Algiers questions.

This is believed to have exacerbated the row between the two country and led to Algeria severing all ties.Morocco has also been accused of using Israeli technology to spy on journalists and foreign officials, including Algerian military and political leaders.

The Moroccan government denies this. The already fractious relations between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara has worsened recently with Rabat re-establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.

Rwandan and Mozambican troops have reportedly encircled militants in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province ahead of a “last major military push” against the Islamic State-linked insurgents.

The forces are surrounding the militants in the areas of Siri I and Siri II. The military push comes barely four days after the joint forces seized Mbau – another key insurgent stronghold – after a fierce battle.

Military sources reported that more than 100 people were released from jihadist captivity, and dozens of militants were killed.On 8 August, the joint forces drove out insurgents from Mocimboa da Praia, a port city that had been the headquarters of the militants for more than three years.After fleeing the city, the insurgents moved further southwards into the thick forests of Mbau.

Siri I and Siri II are the insurgents only remaining major hideouts in Mocimboa da Praia.In July, Rwanda deployed 1,000 troops to Cabo Delgado at the request of Mozambique to help fight the jihadists, stabilise the area and restore the authority of the state

Two police officers and an unidentified shooter have been killed in an armed confrontation near the French embassy in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. The motive of the attack is not clear, but the country’s police chief Simon Sirro has confirmed the deaths.

“We’ve lost two officers…the shooter has been killed. We now work on finding his identity and where he’s coming from, and we will later hold a briefing,” Sirro said.Eyewitness videos posted on social media show the moment the shooter was taken down by a sniper bullet just a few meters from the front entrance of the French embassy.

The first group of 51 evacuees from Afghanistan has arrived in Uganda. The group

landed at Entebbe International Airport aboard a private chartered flight on Wednesday morning, Uganda’s foreign ministry said in a statement.The ministry says the group is transiting

through Uganda and will move on to the US and other countries.It is not clear for how long they will be hosted in Uganda.

The evacuees include men, women and children who have undergone Covid-19 testing and will go into quarantine, the statement says.

The evacuation followed the US government’s request to Uganda to take in some of the people fleeing the crisis in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.Last week, a Ugandan junior government official told correspondents that Uganda was to take in 2,000 Afghan refugees at the request of the USgovernment.

But several senior officials later said discussions on the issue were still under way.Uganda hosts more than one million refugees who have fled several conflicts and other disasters across eastern Africa.