A selection of photos from around the African continent this week:
The street cleaners - or green brigade - of Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, came out to join the celebrations to mark the country's independence day on Friday
Policemen, dressed in full riot gear, also joined the parade to mark Burkina Faso's independence from France in 1960
At the funeral for Benin's former President Mathieu Kerekou on Saturday a comedian is spotted entertaining the crowds as they gather in the town of Natitingou, in the north of the country
Debbie Collins, who is representing Nigeria at the Miss Universe Pageant in the USA, is photographed on Thursday during the filming of the national costume round of the competition
A market trader selling grains and pulses in the huge Mercato market in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, is pictured in her shop on Thursday
On the same day this stonemason is hard at work in a quarry in Slimaniya, Tunisia, where he is preparing construction materials
A Kenyan sex worker inflates a condom during a protest in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Thursday demanding legal protection and the decriminalisation of sex work
Nairobi is also the venue for another protest on Thursday when Kenyan and South Korean farmers join forces to campaign against the World Trade Organization. Kenya is hosting a WTO ministerial conference, the first of its kind to be held in Africa.
On Sunday voters in a constitutional referendum in the Central African Republic queue up at a polling station in the Muslim-dominated PK5 district of the capital, Bangui. Some were prevented from voting following the outbreak of fighting
Central Africans are due to vote for a second time this month when they go to the polls on 27 December to elect a new president and campaigners for one of the candidates, Alexandre-Ferdinand N'Guendet, are seen out on the streets of Bangui on Saturday
Nigerian pilgrims are seen on Wednesday praying at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which marks the birthplace of Jesus. They travelled there during the build-up to Christmas
On Thursday night, students at Kenya's Catholic University in the capital, Nairobi, hold a candlelit vigil to show solidarity with the people of Burundi. Concerns were expressed again this week that Burundi could be edging towards civil war
This Burkinabe motorbike rider was snapped on his way back from market near the capital, Ouagadougou, carrying guinea fowls and chickens destined for restaurants
