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Six prisoners have died at the Matadi central prison, in western Democratic Republic of Congo due to poor detention conditions.

The death toll could increase, according to local media sources.

The prison's deputy director says three of the victims were suffering from tuberculosis.

The condition of the prisoners is also reported to have deteriorated because of insufficient food.

The detainees at the facility are given just one meal a day because of the lack of enough budgetary allocation by the government, according to prison authorities.

Apollonia Longo, deputy director of the Matadi prison, said three inmates had tuberculosis which was detected late and the patients refused treatment.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The number of people known to have died in a train crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 75.

The train derailed and fell into a ditch in the south-eastern village of Buyofwe on Thursday.

It was a freight service but carried hundreds of stowaways.

The information ministry said 125 people were also injured when the train derailed because of “a sudden track cut” .

President Félix Tshisekedi, who is in the Belgian capital, Brussels, for a medical checkup, has condoled the victims.

UN sponsored Radio Okapi reports that among the injured were four children whose parents died on spot.

The train was made up of 15 wagons, 12 of them empty, the AFP news agency reports quoting an official from the state railway company SNCC.

The agency ranked the train accident as the third worst in Africa over the last 10 years.

A senior Nigerian police officer is being investigated over the assault of a female colleague in Enugu state.

Oluseyi Okenla, who is the assistant commissioner in the state, faces possible sanctions if found culpable.

He is accused of dragging a female officer on the ground while beating her up and ordering her detention.

The senior officer has not commented about the allegations.

Enugu State Commissioner of Police Abubakar Lawal said "no stone would be left unturned" in the probe.

Police in Nigeria have in the past been accused of brutalising civilians.

The government had promised reforms after nationwide protests rocked the country for two weeks in 2020.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Reports from Burkina Faso say at least 13 security personnel were killed in an ambush by gunmen on Sunday.

The attack took place near Taparko, a town frequently targeted by Islamist militants.

Earlier in the day, a bus hit a landmine near the town, killing two people.

Burkina Faso's military government has said its priority is to tackle a jihadist insurgency.

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Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has banned the export of foodstuffs that the country imports, the state news agency has said.

The commodities include sugar, oil, pasta, semolina and wheat derivatives.

A source is quoted by the agency as saying that the president called it economic sabotage to sell commodities that the country does not produce locally.

The president's decision also bans importation of frozen meat products, agency said.

President Tebboune made the announcement after listening to a presentation by trade and agriculture ministers on the availability for food staples.

Local media outlets have warned of increasing food prices.

Algeria imports most of its foodstuff. There have been protests in the past over increase in food prices in the country.