African Union Confirms Mugabe As Chairman

The African Union's rotating post of chairman has gone to Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe's veteran president enjoys respect across the continent but faces travel bans from both the US and EU for harassing opponents.

Mugabe assumed the largely ceremonial role on Friday at an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa as it leaders and UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for global action against Boko Haram in Nigeria.

AU leaders plan to deploy a 7,500-strong multinational force to fight the radical Islamist militia blamed for mass killings in Nigeria's northeast in recent years.

For its force, the AU is expected to ask for UN Security Council approval, plus a "Trust Fund" to pay for it, AU commission head Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the summit.

As new chairman, Mugabe, 90, replaces Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

"I humbly accept your collective decision," Mugabe told the summit leaders who elected him as he accepted the post. ...AllAfrica