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Africa's week in pictures: 17-23 September 2021

A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.

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AFP A BBC composite of three individual photo portraits that were taken by AFP.AFP
Fifteen-year-old Nobe Nobe from Ago, 17-year-old Djanje Haiballa from Fouduk, plus 28-year-old Veli Rabeo also of Fouduk pose for individual portraits on Friday at the Cure Salee festival in Niger...
AFP Two boys who raced in the final on 18 September.AFP
Thousands of people from nomadic herding communities attend the three-day festival which includes a high-stakes camel race...
AFP A group of Wodaabe men rest after dancing during the Cure Salee, in Ingall, northern Niger, on 18 September.AFP
... as well as dancing.
AFP Women dance during the annual Cure Salee festival.AFP
The annual festival takes place at the end of the rainy season in September...
AFP Men try on rings during the annual festival.s.AFP
... and attracts visitors from all over the Sahel.
EPA A blacksmith at work.EPA
In neighbouring Nigeria on Tuesday, blacksmith Anjorin Jimoh is busy in his workshop in Lagos.
EPA A man works on a metal sculpture of a horse.EPA
In Tunisia on Friday, artist Mohamed al-Sharaiti makes sculptures from the spare parts of cars.
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Getty Images The eco-afrofuturist punk band Fulu Miziki pose at the International Festival of Performing Arts.Getty Images
Congolese band Fulu Miziki, whose instruments and clothes are made from recycled items, appear at a music festival in Spain on Tuesday.
EPA Thuso Mbedu poses with US actress Mychal-Bella Bowman on the red carpet.EPA
South African actress Thuso Mbedu (R) poses with US actress Mychal-Bella Bowman on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Friday.
Getty Images Ditebogo Ledwaba receiving her award on stage in Johannesburg, South Africa.Getty Images
Actress Ditebogo Ledwaba wins the gong for Outstanding Young Performer at South Africa's Royal Soapie Awards on Saturday.
Getty Images South African couple Letoya Makhene and Lebo Keswa.Getty Images
Actress Letoya Makhene and businesswoman Lebo Keswa, who married last year, were also at the television awards.
AFP Viewers wait for the first screening of Somali films at The Somali National Theatre in Mogadishu.AFP
On Wednesday, Somalia hosted its first public film-screening in 30 years - raising hopes of a cultural revival amid the country's decades-long security crisis. Filmgoers had to pass through several checkpoints to reach the theatre.
Getty Images A man feeding a chicken.Getty Images
On the same day in Egypt's capital Cairo, Taha Obeid feeds his pet chicken, Jafar, at his rooftop home.
Getty Images Children play on top of cotton bolls.Getty Images
Also in Egypt, cotton harvesting is under way - these children play on a pile of picked bolls on Sunday.
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AFP Ibrahim Bilal, an Egyptian artist, presents finished sculptures of Ancient Egyptian figurines, a book, a mosque, and other shapes.AFP
Days earlier in northern Egypt, artist Ibrahim Bilal presents miniature sculptures carved into pencil tips.
Getty Images Tafon Nchukwi of Cameroon punches Mike Rodriguez in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 18, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Getty Images
Cameroonian mixed martial arts fighter Tafon Nchukwi lands a punch on Mike Rodriguez, winning their UFC bout on Saturday in Las Vegas in the US.
AFP Burundian athlete Francine Niyonsaba who set new world record of women's 2000m with 5 minutes 21 seconds and 56 hundredths of a second reacts to people from a car in Bujumbura, Burundi.AFP
Burundian athlete Francine Niyonsaba returns home to a hero's welcome on Tuesday after setting a new world record in the women's 2,000 metres.
AFP Kenya's Clement Langat Kiprono crosses the finish line to win the Rome Marathon on September 19, 2021 in Rome.AFP
And on Saturday in Italy, Kenya's Clement Langat Kiprono wins the Rome Marathon.
Getty Images A protester from Cameroon seeking the return of the Ngonnso statue stands outside the Humboldt Forum during the opening of the Humboldt's Ethnological Museum and the Museum for Asian Art. A small group of protesters from Cameroon stood outside the Humboldt Forum to demand the return of the statue, which they say is a sacred, spiritual artefact of the Nso people and which they say was looted by Germany in 1902 while Cameroon was a German colony.Getty Images
On Wednesday, Cameroonian protesters demand the return of an artefact from former colonial ruler Germany. They say the Ngonnso statue was looted by the Germans in 1902 and is of significant spiritual value.
Reuters A views shows an old poster of former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.Reuters
Remnants of a poster showing former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika are seen on Saturday, following his death at the age of 84.
AFP Supporters cheer as exiled activists arrive in Conakry on September 18, 2021.AFP
On the same day in Guinea's capital, Conakry, supporters cheer the return of exiled political activists who had fled the rule of President Alpha Condé.
AFP A view of the Blue Nile river waterfront in the north of Sudan's capital Khartoum at sunset.AFP
And on Tuesday, the sun sets over the Blue Nile in Sudan hours after an attempted coup was foiled.

All pictures subject to copyright.