Procurando minha galera: TOP AFRICA STORIES - 87 perish in desert in Niger - Five more held in deadly Westgate mall attack in Kenya

Dozens of migrants die of thirst trying to cross Sahara

87 people, mostly women and children, died after their vehicles broke down as they crossed the Sahara in search of a new life.

On patrol in Europe's 'sea of death'
Infographic: Migrants' routes to EU

By Arwa Damon, CNN

October 31, 2013 -- Updated 1045 GMT (1845 HKT)

File: A landscape view shows the Saharan desert in southern Algeria.

(CNN) -- Dozens died of dehydration after their vehicles broke down in the Sahara desert in Niger, said Azaoua Mahaman of the Synergie nongovernmental organization. Nearly all of the 87 people were women and children.

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The vehicles were trying to get to Algeria, according to Mahaman. Many of the bodies were severely decomposed and appeared to have been partially eaten by animals.

He said the travelers were trying to reach Algeria in hopes of finding a better life for themselves because of the extreme poverty and economic hardships in Niger.

October 30, 2013 -- Updated 2105 GMT (0505 HKT)

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Five more held in Kenya mall attack

Five more people are being held in connection with the terrorist attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, a senior Kenyan government official said Wednesday. FULL STORY | CONVERSION TO TERROR?
By CNN Staff

October 30, 2013 -- Updated 1817 GMT (0217 HKT)

Kenyan soldiers take cover after heavy gunfire near Westgate mall in Nairobi on September 23, 2013.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Five more held in connection with Westgate mall attack, senior Kenyan official says

This is in addition to 11 others detained shortly after the September 21 attack

The suspects are expected to appear in court Monday, the official says
(CNN) -- Five more people are being held in connection with the terrorist attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, a senior Kenyan government official said Wednesday.

The five are in addition to as many as 11 people taken into custody by Kenyan authorities shortly after the September 21 attack.

Video shows terror attack in Nairobi

Kenya conversion to terror?

They are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, according to the official, who could not be named due to the sensitivity of the case.

Gunmen believed affiliated with the Somalian terror group Al-Shabab stormed the mall at the outset of a four-day standoff that left at least 67 people dead and parts of the center destroyed.

Surveillance video obtained by CNN shows gunmen casually shooting some civilians. They reportedly also tortured some hostages, according to military doctors who saw evidence of severed hands and noses. Some hostages had been hanged, according to the doctors.

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