African states call for restraint over Iran

Several African countries have called on Israel to show restraint following last week's Iranian aerial attack. Israel subsequently hit Iran with a missile in the early hours of Friday, in what appears to have been a retaliatory strike after weeks of escalating tensions between the two countries. BBC News reports that Nigeria, Kenya, SA and Somalia have called for restraint to avoid further escalation. Kenyan President William Ruto urged Israel ‘to show utmost restraint taking into account the urgent need for all parties to walk away from the brink beyond which recovery will be enormously difficult’. Somalia called on ‘the international community to take swift and decisive action to de-escalate the situation and reduce the risk of further conflict’. The Nigerian Foreign Ministry urged Israel and Iran to ‘reflect on the universal commitment to peaceful resolution of conflicts’.