The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday welcomed the successful handover of peacekeeping duties in Chad and the Central African Republic from the European Union to the United Nations and called for further improved relations with Sudan.

The Security Council on Wednesday authorized 5,200 U.N. peacekeepers to replace a 3,300-strong European Union force in Chad and Central African Republic, which have been seriously affected by fighting in neighboring Sudan’s Darfur region.

A Paris court has convicted a former U.N. employee for the rape of young Africans during his posting in Central African Republic and Congo.

Former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba appeared Friday for the first time at the International Criminal Court, where he faces rape and torture charges linked to a brutal conflict in Central African Republic.Bemba, 45, is accused of six counts..

Gunmen prevented humanitarian workers from moving traumatized, new arrivals from neighboring Sudan’s Darfur region to a refugee camp inside Chad, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.It was unclear if the move was connected to Chad’s threat on Monday to...

In American military parlance, it’s gut-check time for NATO in Afghanistan, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy appears ready to answer allies’ calls for more forces to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida.As early as Thursday, Sarkozy’s top brass is to...

The situation for children caught in conflict remains “grave and entirely unacceptable” because 58 groups in 13 countries still recruit and use child soldiers, according to a senior U.N. official.Undersecretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy told the...

France’s foreign minister hailed Tuesday’s resumed deployment of a much-awaited European Union peacekeeping force in Chad, where a rebellion had halted the troop movement.The fighting earlier this month forced EU officials to delay deployment of the...

The European Union resumed deployment Tuesday of a much-awaited peacekeeping force for two countries neighboring Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, a military official said.The deployment had stalled because of an armed rebellion in Chad earlier this...

Six French charity workers sentenced to eight years’ forced labor in Chad for trying to kidnap 103 children were transferred to France on Friday and jailed shortly after arriving, judicial officials said.The six from Zoe’s Ark were sentenced in Chad on...