African Union leaders meet facing coups, conflicts, crises

African leaders opened a two-day summit as the continent wrestles with coups, conflicts, political crises and regional tensions.

Ahead of the gathering in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat voiced alarm at the violence gripping many nations, both in Africa and other parts of the world.

Sudan was in "flames", Faki said, while also highlighting the threat in Somalia, "eternal tensions" in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the "terrorist danger" in the Sahel, and constant instability in Libya.

"The resurgence of military coups, pre- and post-electoral violence, humanitarian crises linked to war and/or the effects of climate change are all very serious sources of concern for us," he told African foreign ministers on Wednesday.

A mini-summit aimed at finding ways to relaunch the peace process for the DRC –– including the Congolese leader and his Rwandan rival –– opened Friday on the sidelines of the main AU meetings and was due to continue on Saturday.

But the 55-member bloc has long been criticised for being ineffectual and taking little decisive action in the face of numerous conflicts and power grabs.

Israel 'not invited'

Gabon and Niger will be absent following their suspension over coups last year –– joining Mali, Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso, which are also barred.

The crisis in Senegal, set off by President Macky Sall's last-minute move to push back this month's elections, is also likely to be discussed.

Beyond Africa, Israel's Gaza war is a hot topic, with Faki describing it as a "war of extermination".

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was among those attending.

But asked about the possible presence of an Israeli delegation, Faki's spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo told AFP news agency bluntly: "They are not invited. That's it."

Chairmanship crisis averted

The bloc has managed to avoid a crisis on another front by defusing tensions over the one-year rotating AU chairmanship, currently held by Comoros President Azali Assoumani.

The succession had long been blocked by a dispute between Morocco and Algeria, heavyweights of the North African region which is lined up to take over this year.

After months of intense negotiations, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani will take over the chairmanship, Assoumani confirmed to AFP on Friday.

The episode had highlighted divisions within the AU even as it seeks to have a stronger voice on the global stage, including in the G20 grouping which it joined in September.

Analysts say the AU must act quickly to develop a consensus on how to conduct its business at G20, which represents more than 85 percent of the global GDP.

By joining the G20, "the AU will become a player in international politics", said Paul-Simon Handy, regional director of the Institute for Security Studies in Addis Ababa.

"Working methods will have to be found quickly," he said.