Boko Haram militants attacked the northeast Nigerian city of Gombe on Saturday, the first time it has launched a direct assault on the city.

Witnesses said the militants overran a checkpoint on the city borders before Nigerian troops, backed by the air force, engaged the fighters, battling to keep them from entering the city.

On Friday Boko Haram launched their first assault on Chad, killing several villagers in Ngouboua.

The former president of Chad, Hissene Habre, will be put on trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture, announced a special tribunal in Senegal on Friday.

The Extraordinary African Chamber announced the decision in response to a 19 month investigation, with Mr Habre likely to face trial in May or June of this year. The 72 year old, who ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, fled the country once he left office. Approximately 40,000 people are thought to have been killed under his government. He lived freely in Senegal until he was detained in June 2013.

A memorial service was held in the German city of Dresden on Friday, marking the 70th anniversary of a bombing campaign that left around 25,000 people dead.

Speaking at the Church Our Lady, which was destroyed during the British and US bombing raids, German President Joachim Gauck said the attack had "burned itself into the memory" of survivors and that Germany needed to learn lessons from the past.

Islamic militant group Boko Haram launched its first attack in Chad on Friday, killing several people in the village of Ngouboua.

Approximately 30 militants crossed Lake Chad, which borders Nigeria, setting houses ablaze and attacking a police station.

"They came on board three canoes and succeeded in killing about 10 people before being pushed back by the army," said one resident to Reuters.

They were eventually beaten back by Chadian security forces said Colonel Azem Bermandoua Agouna of the Chadian military, telling the BBC that one soldier was killed and four wounded. Reports of civilian casualties remain unconfirmed. However, he added two Boko Haram militants were killed and a further five injured.

The Chadian military also reportedly carried out airstrikes in response, destroying boats used by Boko Haram.

General Bayana Gossingar, the governor of Chad's Lake Region, labelled the attack a "publicity stunt”. “They wanted to show that they can strike on our territory," he said.

A court in Cairo has agreed to release two Al Jazeera journalists on bail after being held for more than 400 days on charges of aiding terrorism.

The charges against the two men are still pending, with the next hearing set for February 23.

The release of the two men, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed was hailed by their relatives.

Commenting on the release, an Al-Jazeera spokesman said,

Following his release, Baher Mohamed sent this tweet from his Twitter account.

UN peacekeeping troops will not take part in an offensive against FDLR rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, after the Congolese government refused to dismiss two generals who stand accused of human rights violations, according to a spokesperson.

The leader of the operation to disarm the rebels, Gen Bruno Mandevu, is on a UN "red list" over 121 alleged human rights violations, including rapes and summary executions, Reuters reported.

"The U.N. Mission in the DRC has raised concerns linking two FARDC (Congolese army) generals to human rights violations, and therefore we have paused our support to FARDC on anti-FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) operations," a senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.