Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Ripples of Protest

Claimed footage of a march in Taiz in Yemen today, demanding a transitional government

2030 GMT: The Tunisian news agency TAP says two Libyan ministers have crossed into Tunisia to join the regime's Foreign Minister, reportedly seeking a solution to the political crisis.

Health Minister Mohamed Al-Hijazi and Social Affairs Minister Ibrahim Cherif crossed into southern Tunisia. Foreign Minister Abdul Ati Al-Obeidi has met "several foreign parties" there, part of an effort to find a solution to a civil war in the north African country.

1850 GMT: Opposition and regime forces have clashed about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Sunday's fighting began when government forces tried to cut off the insurgents, who have moved into the plains from the western mountains, by attacking from behind.

The front line is now thought to have moved just north of Bir Ayad, near the town of Bir al-Ghanam. Bir al-Ghanam is only 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of Zawiya, a western gateway to Tripoli.

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Sudan Feature: 500,000 Displaced as North Sudanese Forces Gather on Border (Flint)

Fierce new fighting along Sudan's volatile north-south divide is raising deep concern for the safety of the Nuba people, the forgotten victims of the country's long-running civil war who are once again under attack by government forces and militias.

The fighting has significantly increased the chances that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the civil war six years ago will collapse, reigniting a north-south war and ending all hopes of peaceful partition when oil-rich South Sudan formally declares itself independent on 9 July.

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Ivory Coast: An Introduction to the Conflict (Purefoy)

Latest (10 April): The Battle for Abidjan

The west African country of Ivory Coast --- also known as Cote d'Ivoire --- has been rocked by civil conflict as forces loyal to opposition leader Alassan Ouattara seek to oust incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo after a disputed presidential election last November. Most of the international community recognize Ouattara's victory and are urging Gbagbo to go.

What's the wider background to the unrest?

Ivory Coast, which won independence from France in 1960, is one of west Africa's leading powers and, historically, had been one of its success stories.

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Ivory Coast: Hundreds Killed in a Western Town (Nossiter)

As rebels swept across Ivory Coast in a rapid advance last week to oust the nation’s strongman, Laurent Gbagbo, hundreds of people were killed in a single town, the United Nations and aid groups said Saturday, in the worst episode of violence during the four-month political crisis that has plunged the country back into civil war.

The exact number of dead was unclear. The United Nations said that 330 people had been killed, while aid organizations put the death toll as high as 1,000. It was also uncertain how many were civilians, and how many were combatants, but Caritas, a Catholic charity whose staff members visited the town, Duékoué, in western Ivory Coast, called it a “massacre.”

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WikiLeaks and Algeria 2009: "Sitting on a Volcano" After Bouteflika Wins "Choreographed and Heavily Controlled Election"

In April 2009, the US Embassy in Algiers reviews the political and social situation after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika won a third term with more than 90% of the vote in "a carefully choreographed and heavily controlled election".

The conclusion? "With Bouteflika's hold on power secure, Algeria now faces an urgent need for dialogue between the population and the state."

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