Fire, fronds and flax: Africa's top shots

Author, Natasha Booty
Role, BBC News
18 April 2025

A selection of the week's best photos from across the African continent and beyond:

Image source, SODIQ ADELAKUN / REUTERS

Image caption, This girl walks past a mural in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, on Monday.

Image source, KIM LUDBROOK / EPA

Image caption, On Wednesday, parts of Alexandra township in South Africa are adorned with art fashioned from found objects and rubbish. Some items, like the net, will be re-used to clear litter from a nearby river.

Image source, SEYLLOU / AFP

Image caption, Crafting cattle from cardboard, The Hoard is a travelling show in Senegal that uses the power of puppetry to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Here they are on Friday preparing for a performance.

Image source, SODIQ ADELAKUN / REUTERS

Image caption, Palm Sunday sees worshippers gather at the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Lagos...

Image source, WAEL HAMZEH/EPA

Image caption, On the same day thousands of miles away in Lebanon, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians also mark Palm Sunday...

Image source, GERALD ANDERSON / GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, There are similar scenes at the Legio Maria Church in Nairobi, Kenya. According to the Bible, it is the day when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, and marks the start of the Holy Week before Easter Sunday.

Image source, EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP

Image caption, On Tuesday in South Africa we see a reproduction of "Little Foot", one of the oldest and most complete skeletons of humankind's ancestors.

Image source, BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP

Image caption, Pieces by Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo grace the walls of London's Gagosian Gallery on Friday as part of his first UK solo exhibition.

Image source, ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT / AFP

Image caption, People gather in Morocco's southern reaches in the Sahara Desert for the Nomad Festival on Friday...

Image source, ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT / AFP

Image caption, The following day at the festival sees men compete in a hockey match.

Image source, GERALD ANDERSON / GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, On the same day in Nairobi, talented artisans transform scrap metal into cars, robots and stoves at this workshop.

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Many Malians have been angered by Algeria's accusation that their forces shot down an Algerian army drone close to the border...

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Here in the capital city of Bamako, on Sunday, people take part in a summit called by the National Youth Council of Mali. The banner in the background calls for an Africa that is united, not divided.

Image source, MARCO LONGARI / AFP

Image caption, Protesters demand that South Africa declares a national disaster over the staggering rates of femicide and gender-based violence. Wearing a red veil is Khumo Maake, an activist who works for the Check Mate group which wants dating apps to perform mandatory ID checks on users for safety reasons.

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Precious artefacts held at Sudan's National Museum in Khartoum have been destroyed in the civil war. The city was held by RSF paramilitaries for almost two years, before the Sudanese army regained control in recent weeks...

Image source, MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES / REUTERS

Image caption, The vast Zamzam refugee camp, which was home to about half a million people, was torched by RSF paramilitaries in recent days. Tens of thousands of already destitute people have had to flee their makeshift homes, some collapsing from thirst and exhaustion after walking days on end...

Image source, JORIS BOLOMEY / AFP

Image caption, Fried crickets are among the meagre provisions available at the Touloum refugee camp in Chad on Friday. At least 13 million people have been forced from their homes in Sudan since the war began two years ago, says the UN.

Image source, MAHMOUD ELKHWAS / GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, And on Monday in northern Egypt, farmer harvest flax. The versatile material is used to make banknotes, fabric and feed livestock.