ABIDJAN/BAMAKO (Reuters) - French forces killed 33 Islamist militants in Mali on Saturday using attack helicopters, ground troops and a drone, near the border with Mauritania where a group linked to al Qaeda operates, French authorities said.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament approved on Saturday a security and military cooperation deal signed with Libya's internationally recognised government last month, state media reported, an agreement that could pave the way for military help from Ankara.

DHUSAMAREB, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali farmers on Saturday urged their government and the international community to help protect their crops from an invasion of locusts that is leaving many unable to feed their families.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Five people suspected of burning down four mosques in Ethiopia's Amhara region were arrested on Saturday, a regional spokesman said, as rising inter-communal and ethnic violence threatens political reforms initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A car bomb went off on Saturday outside a hotel in the Somali town of Galkayo in the Mudug region, killing at least seven civilians, a local military officer said, and wounding dozens.

ABIDJAN/BAMAKO (Reuters) - French forces killed 33 Islamist militants in Mali on Saturday using attack helicopters, ground troops and a drone, near the border with Mauritania where a group linked to al Qaeda operates, French authorities said.