Twin car bombs exploded in Somalia’s capital on Friday, killing 18 people and wounding 20 others, the city’s ambulance service said, and Islamist militant group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters. Shooting broke out near the president’s residence at the time of the blasts, police and ambulance services said.

The ECOWAS Regional Centre for Disease Control has been opened in Abuja the Nigeria’s Capital. The centre is expected to coordinate diseases outbreak in Africa. The Headquarters of the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Diseases Control is located in the highbrow area of Abuja.

Five police officers and a soldier have been shot dead during a raid on their station in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province.

In a statement, the South African Government News Agency said three officers were killed instantly.

The off-duty soldier was shot as the assailants fled, taking two other officers hostage. Their bodies were found 6km (4 miles) down the road.

A court in South Sudan has sentenced a former South African colonel, William John Endley, to death by hanging for conspiring against President Salva Kiir's government.

A Tanzanian man has been arrested in Kenya before attempting to board a flight to Dubai with $1m (£700,000) worth of gold.

The 46-year-old man was carrying 32kg of the precious metal when he was stopped by officers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, on Friday.

Two Kenyan pilots abducted by a South Sudan rebel group have been released after the government and the rebels agreed on an amount of money to be paid as compensation for the duo to be released. The excited pilots arrived at the Wilson airport in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon and were received by members of their families and friends.