A suspected Boko Haram bomb blast at a Nigerian military checkpoint, killed 20 civilians reports the BBC.
 
The latest attack comes after elections in Nigeria were postponed until March due to heightening security concerns.

In a separate attack, a political rally held by the All Progressives Congress (APC), was hit with several bomb blasts and gun fire, reporters from the Agence France Presse stated.

The attacks come as Nigeria and surroudning African nations intesnified their fight against Boko Haram militants.

Russian President Vladmir Putin told Kiev to allow its soldiers to surrender to pro-Russian rebels, who have encircled them whilst taking the eastern town of Debaltseve.

The agreed cease disintegrated after both sides refused to withdraw heavy weaponry form their front lines and pro-separatist militants carried on an offensive reports Reuters. 

“I hope that responsible figures in the Ukrainian leadership will not hinder soldiers in the Ukrainian army from putting down their weapons,” said Mr Putin.

Egypt has urged the international community to expand the fight against Islamic State into Libya, after 21 Egyptian Copts were beheaded by the militant group's arm in the country.

The Egyptian air force in response bombed IS targets in Libya, with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi describing Islamic State as threat to international peace.

"What is happening in Libya is a threat to international peace and security," the president said.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by AP that "immediate and effective" action was needed and maintaining the status quo constituted a "clear danger".

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Sunday calling on Houthi militants to immediately withdraw from Yemeni government offices, after they seized power and dissolved parliament earlier this month.

The resolution demands that the Houthi “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw from government institutions and warns of take "further steps" if the resolution is not implemented, as did an earlier resolution passed by the council.

It also "deplores actions taken by the Houthis to dissolve parliament and take over Yemen's government institutions, including acts of violence", reports Reuters.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rejected UN support for a joint offensive against Hutu militants in the country’s conflicted eastern region, reports Agence France Presse.

The announcement came after the UN said it was pulling its support due to President Joseph Kabila’s rejections of demands that Congolese generals accused of human rights violations be replaced.

French, German and Ukrainian leaders said they were “concerned” about post-ceasefire fighting in eastern Ukraine on Monday, reports the Telegraph.

The French President Francis Hollande, said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for “their desire of observers from Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to have free access.. to implement the ceasefire.”

The Nigerian military has taken control of a key town in Borno state, a month after Boko Haram militants captured it.

According to a military statement, Nigerian soldiers, backed by the air force, retook the town of Monguno, near the state capital Maiduguri.

The US meanwhile told the BBC it would support Nigeria with training and equipment.

Lt-Gen Steven Hummer said that US Africa Command was "ready to assist in whatever way [Nigeria] see as being practical".

A Jordanian court has sentenced the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country to 18 months in prison, for criticising the United Arab Emirates in a Facebook post.

Zaki Bani Ersheid, who was arrested in November last year, was convicted of committing “acts harmful to the country’s relations with a friendly nation.” 

The Muslim Brotherhood said in a statement that the sentence was “politically motivated and demonstrates a deliberate escalation by the state against the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.” “It is a blow to freedom of speech and the rights of citizens,” added the opposition organisation.

A ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists has come into effect from 12.01am on Sunday local time (10.01pm Saturday), though sporadic shell fire has been reported across parts of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poreshenko spoke in a nationally televised broadcast, saying,
"I very much hope that the last chance to begin the long and difficult peaceful process for a political settlement will not be wasted."