Pilgrims attend the celebration of Genna, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas, at Saint Mary's Church, in Lalibela, 645 kilometres (400 miles) north of Addis Ababa, in the Amhara region bordering the northern region of Tigray on January 7, 2022. Just weeks ago, the UNESCO-listed site and its astonishing houses of worship were under rebel control, Lalibela having changed hands once again as Ethiopia's war dragged into a second brutal and unpredictable year. But with the holy site and its 12th-century icons retaken by government forces in late December, Hailu joined tens of thousands of devotees flocking to Lalibela to mark the day for orthodox Christmas. (Photo by Eduardo Soteras/AFP Photo)





Workers prepare the Olembe stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon on January 7, 2022 two days before the start of The African Cup of Nations (CAN). (Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP Photo)





African National Congress party (ANC) supporters who could not access the party's 110th birthday celebration at Polokwane's Peter Mokaba stadium, stand outside the gate, in Polokwane, South Africa, Saturday January 8, 2022. Because of coronavirus regulations, only 2000 could attend the anniversary, amid deep divisions, graft allegations and broad challenges that saw the ANC perform dismally in local government elections last year. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)





A street vendor sells Cameroonian flags and paraphernalia near at Olembe stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, Saturday, January 8, 2021. The African Cup of Nations takes place in Cameroon and starts on Sunday, Jan. 9. (Photo by Themba Hadebe/AP Photo)





A man flashes the victory sign during a protest to denounce the October 2021 military coup, in Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, January 9, 2022. The United Nations said Saturday it would hold talks in Sudan to try to get the country's democratic transition back on track after it was derailed by the coup. (Photo by Marwan Ali/AP Photo)





Cameroon fans outside the Olembe stadium before the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon on January 9, 2022. Cameroon is hosting the competition and will play Burkina Faso in the opening match. (Photo by Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)





Pupils walk around the school compound during break time at Kitante Primary School in Kampala, Uganda Monday, January 10, 2022. Uganda's schools reopened to students on Monday, ending the world's longest school disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/AP Photo)





Fireworks during opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations 2022 group A soccer match between Cameroon and Burkina Faso at the Olembe stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, Sunday, January 9, 2022. (Photo by Themba Hadebe/AP Photo)





Traditional dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations 2022 group A soccer match between Cameroon and Burkina Faso at the Olembe stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, Sunday, January 9, 2022. (Photo by Themba Hadebe/AP Photo)





A student seats alone in a classroom after reporting back to school on day one of re-opening following an almost two-year closure of learning institutions as part of government measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Kampala, Uganda on January 10, 2022. Uganda's Health Minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, announced last week that Uganda is now in the third wave of a pandemic that has no end in sight. (Photo by Badru Katumba/AFP)





Supporters of Zandile Mafe protest outside the Magistrates Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Tuesday, January 11, 2022 Mafe is charged with terrorism two counts of arson, theft, housebreaking and contravention of the National Key Points Acts for the fire that destroyed Parliament. (Photo by Nardus Engelbrecht/AP Photo)





A security officer walks at the scene of an explosion in the Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia, January 12, 2022. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)





Supporters of King Khoisan South Africa burn incense and chant slogans outside the Pretoria Magistrates Court while waiting for his release from police custody following his arrest for planting marijuana at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on January 13, 2022. King Khaoisan has been camping with his family outside the seat of government for over three years, fighting for the official recognition of their languages and to negotiate land ownership. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP Photo)





A woman, right, points a medical worker to remains of the suicide bomber at the scene, after Somalia's government spokesperson Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu was wounded in a suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, January 16, 2022. Moalimuu appeared to be the sole target of the attack near his residence by a busy intersection in the capital, for which the al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility. (Photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Photo)





Mahamadou Konaté, owner and cotton-grower, sorting on one of his cotton depots, not far from Kita, on January 17, 2022. With the closure of the borders imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the export of cotton, one of Mali's main source of income, is becoming more complicated. Mali is one of Africa's leading cotton producers. In good years, a quarter of the population lives from it, directly or indirectly, by growing and collecting the cellulose fiber which, in season, covers vast areas with white. Cotton is one of Mali's main sources of export revenue, after gold. (Photo by Florent Vergnes/AFP Photo)





Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers get sprinkled with water in the compound of Fasilides Bath during the celebration of Timkat, the Ethiopian Epiphany, in the city of Gondar, Ethiopia, on January 19, 2022. (Photo by Eduardo Soteras/AFP Photo)





This photograph provided by Augustine D. Wallace shows a woman searching through shoes Thursday January 20, 2022 at the entrance of a field where 29 persons, including 11 children and a pregnant woman have been confirmed killed after they were trampled upon in a stampede at a Christian crusade in New Kru Town, outside Monrovia, Liberia, Wednesday night. The stampede erupted when a group of gangsters, some carrying knives moved on the crusade ground and attacked worshipers. (Photo by Augustine D. Wallace via AP Photo)





A woman looks on at her house destroyed by tropical storm Ana at Kanjedza village, in Chikwawa district, southern Malawi, January 26, 2022. (Photo by Eldson Chagara/Reuters)





Children use a mosquito net to catch fish near a wreck, washed away during tropical storm Ana on the flooded Shire river, an outlet of Lake Malawi at Thabwa village, in Chikwawa district, southern Malawi, January 26, 2022. (Photo by Eldson Chagara/Reuters)





A worshipper prays during the Friday prayer at the Great Mosque in Ouagadougou, on January 28, 2022. Burkina Faso, the scene of a military coup on Monday, was suspended from the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday, following a virtual summit of the organization whose heads of state will meet again on February 3 in Accra to reassess the situation in this country. (Photo by Olympia de Maismont/AFP Photo)