Yet there is an ominous silence from the 55-member continental organisation.

The AU echoes the United Nations in making clear its fears about the Libyan conflict becoming proxy war.

It’s failure to condemn Egypt taking the North African state down that road undermines AU credibility and certainly makes a nonsense of the grouping’s major goal of silencing the guns.

African leaders are behaving like their predecessors who took too far their reluctance to interfere in the internal affairs of their peers.

Two decades ago, having sat on their hands during the Rwandan genocide, African leaders resolved never to allow a repeat of such a shameful occurrence.

Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gadaffi in 2011, Libya has been the biggest mess the AU has had to contend with.

The country has become armoury for conflict in the region and beyond.

Its potential oil wealth has been ruined by the conflict and instability.

Nevertheless that oil attracts the unwanted attention of Russia, Turkey and Egypt all of whom hold the  lethally misguided belief that Libya represents their strategic interest.

The most dramatic illustration of this is Egypt’s parliament voting to allow President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to take the country to war over Libya.

The temerity of El Sisi warning the United Nations-backed Libyan Government of National Accord not to attempt to regain control of Sirte is staggering.

A credible government must perforce control the port city at the centre of Libya which is the country’s oil export terminal and gateway it oil fields. The GNA has mounted the ironically named Operation Peace Storm to ensure this.

Egypt backs the rebel force of Khalifa Haftar who are making a last ditch stand at Sirte having been driven out of the capital Tripoli to the west.

Haftar also enjoys the backing of the United Arab Emirates and Russia, which this week shipped mercenaries and air defense systems to the rebels. 

France, which takes more than a passing interest in developments across the Mediterranean, has despatched the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaul to lie off Sirte.

Turkey, determined to be player in this game, has provided both troops and arms to the GNA led by Fayez Al Sarraj.

Small wonder the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has repeatedly expressed concern about the developing proxy war in Libya.

Western powers have also been involved in attempts to get the belligerents around the negotiating table, causing the AU to complain about being iced out of peace efforts in one of its member states.

Surely African leaders must accept that their silence about Egyptian interference in Libya rather disqualifies them from achieving an African solution to this particular African problem.

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They say United Nations and African Union condemnation of rebel general Khalifa Haftar won’t stop him as long as he enjoys international support.

Khalifa Haftar broke a UN-sponsored truce over the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adhar to attack Tripoli’s only serviceable airport.

The civilian death toll from four  drone and rocket strikes by Haftar’s forces has exceeded  100 this past month.

More than a 1000 people have been killed by his forces trying to gain control of Tripoli.

The United Nations back the government of national accord opposing him.

However Haftar is emboldened by support from Egypt’s Abdel Fattah El Sisi and US President Donald Trump.

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The European Union has condemned the attack and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Khalifa Haftar’s so-called Libyan National Army launched a drone strike on a migrant centre in Tripoli in June that killed at least 44 people.

Yesterday’s target appears to have been a meeting of more than 200 local dignitaries in the  southern city of Marzuq.

Local authorities have appealed for humanitarian aid, saying the hospital is unable to cope with the more than 60 seriously injured people.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is being urged to withdraw his support for Haftar. 

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Nevertheless off-the-field trouble continues to trouble the corruption-prone continental football body.

The international body governing football FIFA will take control of the Confederation of Africa Football following the detention and release of CAF boss Ahmad in France earlier this month.

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura will become the General Delegate for Africa while retaining her FIFA position.

The AFCON competition will go ahead as planned in Egypt which stepped in when security concerns forced the body to pull the plug on the original host Cameroon.

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Foreign Minister spokesman Ahmed Hafez insists Mohammed Moursi, ousted in a 2013 coup by current President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, died of natural causes.

ends intro

Egypt’s government is taking the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights to task for demanding an independent judicial inquiry into the circumstances of Mohamed Moursi imprisonment during the six years since he was deposed.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez says any suggestion of foul play is designed to impugn the integrity of Egypt’s judiciary.

International lawyers have said chronically ill Moursi’s condition  was not adequately treated in solitary confinement and he was denied proper access to family and lawyers.

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The Horn of Africa country aiming to become the continent’s largest power exporter says the matter must be settled with co-operation and a spirit of trust.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s dug his heels in after a visit to Egypt where he spoke about Nile water with President Abdel Fatah El Sisi.

The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam being built on the Blue Nile is 60% complete.

Ethiopia discounts Egyptian and Sudanese concern that this will reduce the amount of life-giving water flowing into these two countries.

it is feared the dispute could lead to armed conflict between these countries, although El Sissi said last week Egypt is not ready to go to war over it.

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El Sisi promises. however, he will not let the conflict ruin relations with Addis Ababa.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi warns that Egypt’s share of the Nile, which provides nearly all its freshwater, is a red line.

However he assures Ethiopia and Sudan that Egypt has no intention of going to war

El-Sissi tells visiting  Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn he appreciates Ethiopia’s assurances that the dam will not have a negative impact on Egypt.

But he says all sides should abide by the findings of incomplete studies.

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Observers in Cairo say Hosni Mubarak ousted in the Arab Spring four years ago could walk free as early as this weekend.

A Cairo court this week overturned the three year sentence for embezzlement against longtime Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

A retrial has been ordered for Mubarak who was convicted last May of defrauding the state to the tune of seventeen –and-a-half million dollars.

Lawyers for the 86-year-old, who was wheeled into court on his bed, say he should be freed immediately.

Former army commander-turned president Abdel Fattah el Sisi has to decide whether it is safer to keep Mubarak in the military hospital where he has already served his sentence.

Two months ago, Mubarak was cleared of conspiring to kill protestors during the Arab Spring uprising.

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