BBC News Middle East

Anti-racism campaigners in France have defaced a street sign in the capital named after Thomas Bugeaud, a former military commander and the first colonial governor of Algeria.

Members of the group SOS Racisme decided that Avenue Bugeaud in Paris should be renamed and put up a sign in its place reading: “Avenue of the Butcher Bugeaud".

In the explanation below, instead of saying he was a French marshal and giving his dates 1784-1849, it labels him a "war criminal" and "the executioner of Algeria's conquest", according to a photo the group tweeted.

Le Parisien newspaper says a sign was added next to it, saying: “Scorched Earth Avenue”.

These are references to Marshal Bugeaud’s military tactics during his conquest of the North African nation in 1830.

A scorched-earth policy - including the burning of all crops and demolishing of homes - was used.

Algerians who resisted were often killed. Another technique his troops used was called “smoking”, when those who had taken refuge in caves were suffocated with smoke.

Activists in France have been urging the authorities to rename public areas named after controversial figures like Marshal Bugeaud and those involved in the slave trade

They have pinpointed about 200 streets and squares in Paris that have controversial colonial references.

Since coming to power, France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been trying to repair relations with Algeria, especially concerning the bitter war of independence - however he has stopped short of issuing an apology.

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Reports from Libya say that up to 15 bodies have been found handcuffed and dumped in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The security forces have cordoned off the area around a cement factory as they investigate the scene.

Extrajudicial killings by armed groups in and around Benghazi have been denounced by the UN and local human rights groups for years.

The area is controlled by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar - the military commander who dominates eastern Libya.

Last November, Hanan al-Barassi - a prominent activist critical of Gen Haftar - was shot dead on a busy street in Benghazi.

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A leading Egyptian activist has been sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of spreading false news.

Sanaa Seif has been held in jail since June when she was taken into detention as she was trying to deliver a letter to the prison where her brother Alaa Abdel Fattah was being held.

He was a key figure in the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, while other members of her family are also prominent human rights campaigners.

Egypt's military has demolished thousands of buildings in the last eight years in the Sinai Peninsula, which could amount to war crimes, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

"Between late 2013 and July 2020, the army destroyed at least 12,350 buildings, mostly homes, most recently in the al-Arish area," the rights body said in a report.

HRW said the demolitions and forced eviction of people "are violations of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war."

It said that the army had razed, ruined, and closed off approximately 6,000 hectares of farmland (about 15,000 acres) to create a buffer zone in areas including the city of al-Arish and to complete another in Rafah.

The rights body said most of the demolitions happened without a formal designation of affected areas, without specific reasons, and without a fair compensation process.

It added that Egypt had provided little information other than that the evictions and demolitions were needed for security reasons.

Egyptian authorities have not yet responded to the allegations.

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Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania has urged the authorities in the North African country to support home-grown cinema production following her historic nomination for an Oscar.

Her film - The man who sold his skin - has been nominated in the best foreign-language film category.

It stars Italian actress Monica Bellucci alongside Syrian Yahya Mahyani and Belgian Koen De Bouw and tells the story of a Syrian refugee who in order to get to Europe offers his back to a tattoo artist to use it as a canvas.

The 43-year-old director was born in Sidi Bouzid, the hotspot of the popular uprising in 2010 that led to regime change in Tunisia and caused a ripple effect in other Arab countries.

She was hailed in 2017 at the Cannes Film Festival for her film Beauty and the dogs about a Tunisian woman fighting for justice after she was raped.

The Oscars ceremony will be held on 25 April.

The Tunisian President Kais Saied is visiting Libya to show support for the new interim government, that's part of a UN-backed attempt to bring unity and stability to the country.

It's the first visit by a Tunisian head of state since 2012.

Tunisia hosted talks last year between Libya's warring factions that helped prepare the way for the recent political breakthrough.

The unrest in Libya has had a negative impact on Tunisia's economy, as it was once a big market for farm produce, building materials and consumer goods.

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A new UN report has accused countries supporting armed factions in Libya of extensively violating an arms embargo imposed on the north African country.

"The arms embargo remains totally ineffective. For those member states directly supporting the parties to the conflict, the violations are extensive, blatant and with complete disregard for the sanctions measures," the report notes.

Libya has been under an arms embargo since the 2011 uprising that drove out the former leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Until this month, the country has been split between a UN- recognised government in the west fighting against the warlord Khalifa Haftar whose rival administration controlled the east.

The two sides were supported by different regional powers.

Some of Mr Haftar's international supporters including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Russia, Syria, and Egypt have been singled out in previous reports or in the one published Tuesday, the AFP news agency reports.

Turkey and Qatar, which support the authorities in Tripoli, have also been named in the report.

A new unity government was sworn in on Monday, marking the end of years of rival administrations.