Top Europe & Africa news photos from 2016

Across much of Europe and Africa, 2016 was a year of tumult. There were seismic shifts in politics, with the falls of prime ministers David Cameron of Britain and Matteo Renzi of Italy, both of whom stepped down after losing referendums. Iceland's prime minister resigned, triggering early elections, after protests over his offshore holdings, which were revealed in the Panama Papers leak. Europe itself often seemed to be falling apart amid disagreements about migration, money and sovereignty — an impression that was confirmed when Britons voted to leave the European Union.

Brussels, Istanbul and Nice in southern France were rattled by horrific attacks blamed on the Islamic State group. Earthquakes shook Italy, destroying churches and historic buildings and leaving nearly 300 people dead. Hundreds more died in a failed coup attempt in Turkey, the repercussions of which are still being felt five months later.

The flow of refugees into Europe from war-torn and poverty-stricken regions continued in much smaller numbers than 2015, but more people died trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Italy. In Calais, France, authorities finally dismantled the sprawling camp known as the jungle.

In Africa, a number of countries, notably Congo, simmered over corruption claims or leaders accused of clinging to power. In Kenya, police beat and tear gassed people during weeks of protests over electoral reforms. Witnesses said at least five were killed. In the Central African Republic, the U.N. World Food Program estimated that nearly half the country faced hunger as more than two years of violence has disrupted agriculture and health care.

Here is a selection of top 2016 photos from AP photographers across Europe and Africa.

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In this Monday, Aug. 29, 2016 photo, migrants, most of them from Eritrea, jump into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation at the Mediterranean Sea, about 13 miles north of Sabratha, Libya.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this March 14, 2016 photo, a woman cries as she crosses the river along with other migrants, north of Idomeni, Greece, attempting to reach Macedonia on a route that would bypass the border fence. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this March 5, 2016 photo, children watch an animated movie in a field at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni. The Idomeni border crossing in the Greek region of Central Macedonia has become a bottleneck, where thousands of migrants are trapped as they try to find refuge and a better life in Europe. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this Sunday, March 27, 2016 photo, a young migrant is thrown into the air during a party in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Greece. A split appears to have developed among migrants at the Idomeni border encampment. Several hundred Iraqis and Syrians are standing between the protesters and the police, in effect thwarting the protesters' efforts to march towards the fence separating Greece from Macedonia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this March 20, 2016 photo, the sun rises as migrants and refugees on a dingy arrive at the shore of the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

In this Saturday, May 7, 2016 photo, Syrian refugees walk on fields in front of a rainbow at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece. Thousands of migrants and refugees are trapped in Idomeni for months unable to continue their trip to Europe as the border remain closed. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016 photo, a Syrian woman with her children takes a shelter in a iron box during a rainfall after they arrived from Turkey to the Greek deserted island of Pasas near Chios. Europe's biggest migration crisis since the end of World War II saw more than a million people flee war and poverty arrived in financially struggling Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

In this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 photo, a migrant walks inside an abandoned warehouse in Belgrade, Serbia. More than 200 migrants have turned a former warehouse in central Belgrade into their temporary home. Several thousand migrants are stuck in Serbia looking for ways to cross into the European Union using clandestine routes and the help of people smugglers. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The dead body of a migrant boy lies on the beach near the Aegean town of Ayvacik, Canakkale, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2016. A boat carrying migrants to Greece hit rocks off the Turkish coast and capsized, killing at least 33 people, including five children, officials and news reports said. (AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal)

In this four-picture combo, a boat overturns as people try to jump in the water off the Libyan coast on May 25, 2016. The Italian navy says it recovered a few bodies from the overturned migrant ship, while some 500 migrants who were on board were rescued safely. (Italian navy via AP)

This aerial photo shows the damaged buildings in the historical part of the town of Amatrice, central Italy, after an earthquake on Aug. 24, 2016. The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. (0136 GMT) and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome where residents of the capital felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016 photo, the body of a victim is pulled out of the rubble following an earthquake in Amatrice Italy. The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. (0136 GMT) and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome where residents of the capital felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A firefighter, left, and an alpine soldier look at rubble in the hilltop town of Amatrice after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 struck central Italy on Oct. 30, 2016. The powerful earthquake rocked the same area of central and southern Italy hit by a quake in August, and a pair of aftershocks just a week prior to this one sent already quake-damaged buildings crumbling after a week of temblors that have left thousands homeless. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

In this Wednesday, April 6, 2016 photo, Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives on his pope-mobile for his weekly general audience, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

In this Thursday, June 30, 2016 photo, Pope Francis is greeted by nuns in St. Peter's Square on the occasion of a jubilee audience, at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In this Monday, May 16, 2016 photo, a Kenyan riot policeman repeatedly kicks a protester as he lies in the street after tripping over while trying to flee from them, during a protest in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. Kenyan police have tear-gassed and beaten opposition supporters during a protest demanding the disbandment of the electoral authority over alleged bias and corruption. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this Monday, May 9, 2016 photo, a riot policeman fires tear gas towards opposition supporters during a protest in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. Kenyan police have tear-gassed opposition supporters after some pelted police with rocks during a protest demanding the disbandment of the electoral authority over alleged bias and corruption. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016 photo, a Ugandan policeman struggles to keep hold of a box containing voting material, as excited voters surround him after waiting over 7 hours without being able to vote, at a polling station in Ggaba, on the outskirts of Kampala, in Uganda. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this Thursday Feb. 11, 2016 photo, a young child lies in a bucket to be weighed by nurses in Bangui, Central African Republic. The U.N. World Food Program estimates that nearly half the country - 2.5 million people - are facing hunger as more than two years of violence has severely disrupted the country's agriculture and health care sectors. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Sunday, April 24, 2016 photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, welcomes U.S. President Barack Obama at Herrenhaus Palace in Hannover, northern Germany. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

In this combo photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the weekly cabinet meeting of her government at the chancellery in Berlin. Merkel is since 2005 at the helm of the German government and wants to add a fourth four-year term. (AP Photos/Markus Schreiber)

In this Saturday, May 14, 2016 photo, a couple kisses in front of graffiti depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a bar in the old town in Vilnius, Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

In this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 photo, Carla Sarkozy, right, caresses the brow of her husband, the former French President and candidate for France's conservative presidential primary, Nicolas Sarkozy, during a campaign meeting in Marseille, southern France. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

In this Friday, June 24, 2016 photo, Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, celebrates as he poses for photographers as he leaves a "Leave.EU" organization party for the British European Union membership referendum in London. The British people voted by 52% in favour of leaving the European Union in the referendum on June 23. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

In this Wednesday, June 29, 2016 photo, United States of America first lady Michelle Obama sits in a car during her arrival at Torrejon de Ardoz military base near Madrid, Spain. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has arrived in Spain on the final leg of a three-nation tour to promote her global girls' education initiative. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talk during their meeting, as a security member tries to stop photographers taking pictures, in the Konstantin palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this Wednesday, July 13, 2016 photo, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, his wife Samantha and their children Nancy, centre, Florence and Elwen, left, leave 10 Downing Street, in London. Cameron will formally resign during a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, then Theresa May, the Home Secretary, will take over. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

In this Monday, Dec. 12, 2016 photo, Italian outgoing Premier Matteo Renzi, right, waits for new Premier Paolo Gentiloni prior to the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace Premier's office, in Rome. Paolo Gentiloni, a Democrat serving as foreign minister, formed Italy's new government Monday, keeping several key ministers from the coalition of Matteo Renzi, who resigned last week. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In this Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016 photo, riot policemen try to avoid a petrol bomb thrown by protesters during a 24-hour nationwide general strike in Athens. Clashes have broken out between Greek police and youths throwing fire bombs and stones, as tens of thousands of people march through central Athens to protest planned pension reforms. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

In this Thursday, April 28, 2016 photo, a policeman reacts during a clash with protestors during a protest against the proposed changes to France's working week and layoff practices, in Lyon, central France. French protesters are back on the streets over proposed reforms to the country's labor rules and strikers have forced cancellations and delays at two airports serving Paris. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

In this Thursday, May 12, 2016 photo, French riot police officers spray pepper gas at a demonstrator during a protest against Labor Law as the Socialist government decided to force the bill through Parliament without a vote, in Paris. France's government is facing a major test as lawmakers hold a no-confidence vote, prompted by a deeply divisive labor law allowing longer workdays and easier layoffs. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

In this Thursday, May 26, 2016 photo, riot police officers clash with protestors during a demonstration held as part of nationwide labor actions in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016 photo, members of La Legion, an elite unit of the Spanish Army, sing during a military parade as they celebrate a holiday known as 'Dia de la Hispanidad' or Hispanic Day in Madrid. Almost a year into Spain's political deadlock, the country is celebrating its National Day with a military parade of over 3,000 soldiers marching through Madrid and aircraft drawing trails of red and yellow smoke in the sky to represent the flag. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

In this Friday, April 22, 2016 photo, police officers hold their shields as protestors pelt the new building of the Agency for Media Services with colored paint, during a protest in Skopje, Macedonia. Thousands of people have been protesting almost nightly in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, since President Gjorge Ivanov announced a decision last week to grant presidential pardons that halted criminal proceedings against dozens of people, including high-ranking politicians, accused in a wiretapping scandal that has roiled Macedonia for months. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

In this Friday, April 22, 2016 photo, Serbian artist Zivko Grozdanic smashes a statue of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in the village of Veliko Srediste, Serbia. The provocative performance took place just one day before Sunday's early election when Vucic and his populist Progressive Party are expected to tighten an already firm grip on power. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava, Nidhi Chaphekar, a 40-year-old Jet Airways flight attendant from Mumbai, right, and another unidentified woman are shown after being wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions rocked the airport on March 22, 2016. (Ketevan Kardava/Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP)

In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, people gather next to tributes placed near a mural of British singer David Bowie by artist Jimmy C, in Brixton, south London. Bowie, the other-worldly musician who broke pop and rock boundaries with his creative musicianship, nonconformity, striking visuals and a genre-spanning persona he christened Ziggy Stardust, died of cancer Sunday aged 69. He was born in Brixton. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

Authorities investigate a truck after it plowed through Bastille Day revelers in the French resort city of Nice, France, on July 14, 2016. France was ravaged by its third attack in two years when a large white truck mowed through revelers gathered for Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, killing dozens of people as it bore down on the crowd for more than a mile along the Riviera city's famed seaside promenade. (Sasha Goldsmith via AP)

In this Wednesday, March 23, 2016 photo, people observe a minute of silence at the Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels. Bombs exploded yesterday at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Passengers embrace each other as they wait outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport, on June 29, 2016, following their evacuation after a blast. Suspected Islamic State group extremists hit the international terminal of Istanbul's Ataturk airport, killing dozens of people and wounding many others. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

In this Monday, July 18, 2016 photo, people gather at a makeshift memorial to observe a minute of silence to honor the victims of an attack near the area where a truck mowed through revelers on the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France. France is holding a national moment of silence for 84 people killed by a truck rampage in Nice, and thousands of people are massed on the waterfront promenade where Bastille Day celebrations became a killing field.(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

In this Tuesday, March 15, 2016 photo, Mustafa Alan, centre, the father of Mehmet Alan, 29, killed at Sunday's explosion in Ankara, embraces a mourner next to his son's coffin, during the funeral procession at Fatih Mosque n Istanbul. The blast which killed dozens of people and wounded scores of others, was the second deadly attack blamed on Kurdish militants in the capital in the past month. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

People kick and beat a Turkish soldier that participated in an attempted coup, on Istanbul's Bosporus Bridge, on July 16, 2016. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the nation that his government was working to crush a coup attempt after a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire across the capital that left dozens dead and scores wounded. (AP Photo/Selcuk Samiloglu)

In this Saturday, July 16, 2016 photo, a man lays in front of a tank in the entrance to Istanbul's Ataturk airport. Members of Turkey's armed forces said they had taken control of the country, but Turkish officials said the coup attempt had been repelled early Saturday morning in a night of violence that left several people dead, according to state-run media. (Ismail Coskun/IHA via AP)

Oscar Pistorius' prosthetics lie on the floor as he walks on his amputated legs during argument in mitigation of sentence by his defense attorney Barry Roux in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 15, 2016. An appeals court found Pistorius guilty of murder and not a lesser charge of culpable homicide for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. (Siphiwe Sibeko via AP, Pool)

In this Thursday, July 21, 2016 photo, pro-government supporters protest on the road leading to Istanbul's iconic Bosporus Bridge, background left. Turkish lawmakers approved a three-month state of emergency, endorsing new powers for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would allow him to expand a crackdown in the wake of the July 15 failed coup. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Fadi Tahhan, 23, right, sings while playing Oud at the former prison of De Koepel in Haarlem, Netherlands. With crime declining in the Netherlands, the country is looking at new ways to fill its prisons. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

In this Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016 photo, fires burn in the makeshift migrant camp known as "the jungle" near Calais, northern France. Crews have started dismantling the squalid migrant camp in France after the process to clear the camp began in earnest on Monday. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

In this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 photo, a migrant shaves himself amid of smoke provoked by tents burning as workers clean-up a makeshift migrant camp known as "the jungle" near Calais, northern France. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016 photo, people stand on a hill as smoke and flames rise from amidst the tents, after fires were started in the makeshift migrant camp known as "the jungle" near Calais, northern France. Firefighters have doused several dozen fires set by migrants as they left the makeshift camp where they have been living near the northern French city of Calais. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

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