The Nigerian army says it has found two more of the female students abducted by Boko Haram militants from a secondary school more than eight years ago. There was global outrage when Islamists seized nearly 300 girls in Nigeria’s north-eastern town of Chibok in 2014. Most of the victims have either been freed or escaped since then, but dozens remain unaccounted for. It appears the two hostages gave birth while in captivity, as the army said they were both found with children. One of the abductees was seen with a child, the other with two children. Other victims of the … Continue reading Two victims of Chibok kidnapping in Nigeria found eight years later

The Colombian Army confirmed Sunday the death of at least ten suspected FARC dissident leaders in Caqueta, in southwestern Colombia. In the operation by the country’s armed forces, deployed in the rural area bordering Caqueta and Guaviare, ten dissidents of the FARC’s First Front were killed, according to Colombian radio station Caracol. The bodies of the deceased dissidents are being identified at Colombia’s National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. The agents have also seized two long-range weapons, six short-range weapons, ammunition and grenades. They also found two geopositioners, a radio base, a drone, two computers and seven cell … Continue reading Ten FARC dissidents killed in Colombian Army operation

A view of the crater and cordoned area near a damaged passenger van, a day after a suicide blast, at the entrance of the Confucius Institute University of Karachi Pakistan on Tuesday said it had arrested a militant who provided technical support for a deadly suicide bomb attack on Chinese teachers at Karachi University in April. A suspected female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers, drawing strong condemnation from Beijing, in the first major attack this year against nationals of long-time ally China working in Pakistan. Four people died in total, including the minibus driver and the three Chinese staff … Continue reading Pakistan arrest suspect in deadly bombing of Chinese nationals

Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion that it said killed or injured 30 people at a market where alcohol was sold in Taraba State, Nigeria, marking an expansion of the area where the extremist group operates in the country. Northeast Nigeria, especially the states of Borno and Yobe, have been in the grip of Islamist insurgencies for over a decade, but Taraba, located at the eastern end of Nigeria’s Middle Belt central region, has not previously been attacked. The explosion took place on Tuesday in Iware, a rural town, and local police initially said three people were killed and … Continue reading Islamic State claims Nigeria bombing, says about 30 killed or hurt

Gunmen killed 15 Nigerian soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others during an attack on an army base in the northern state of Kaduna, two army sources said on Tuesday, in the latest attack on security forces by armed gangs.Nigerian Army soldiers are seen driving on a military vehicle in Nigeria. The gangs, designated as terrorists by the government, have caused havoc in northwest Nigeria by attacking villages, towns and schools and kidnapping hundreds of students. An army officer at the military base in the town of Birnin Gwari in Kaduna told Reuters that gunmen on motorbikes used rocket-propelled … Continue reading Gunmen kill 15 Nigerian soldiers in attack on military base

Gunmen have killed 19 security personnel, including 13 soldiers, in an assault in the northwest Nigerian state of Kebbi, a security source and residents said Wednesday. The battle erupted late Tuesday in Kanya, a village in Danko-Wasagu district, just a day after dozens of members of a self-defence militia were killed in the same area. At least 57 vigilantes were killed in nearby Sakaba on Monday in an ambush by heavily armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits. Hundreds of gunmen invaded Kanya, engaging a combined military and police detachment in a three-hour gun fight, the source and residents said. … Continue reading Gunmen in northwest Nigeria kill 19 security personnel

An estimated 200 people or more have been killed in villages in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara during deadly reprisal attacks by armed bandits following military air strikes on their hideouts this week, residents said on Saturday.President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari. Residents gained access to the villages on Saturday after the military captured the communities to organise mass burials, they told Reuters. The state government said 58 people had been killed during the attacks. Ummaru Makeri, a resident who lost his wife and three children during the attack, said around 154 people had been buried including several vigilantes who … Continue reading Tragic: About 200 dead in attacks in northwest Nigeria

  Dozens of people have been killed in an attack by armed groups in Burkina Faso’s troubled north. The government announced that 41 people had died in the attack that took place on Thursday. In a statement released late on Saturday, the government said the dead included members of a government-backed civilian self-defence force known as the Volunteers for the Defence of the Motherland (VDP), set up to support the army. According to local media, the ambush targeted a convoy of traders escorted by VDP near Ouahigouya, a town not far from the Mali border. Among the victims was Ladji … Continue reading Tragic: 41 killed in attack by armed groups in Burkina Faso

At least 30 passengers on a bus in Nigeria’s Sokoto state were burnt to death when gunmen torched it on Tuesday, police and residents said, in yet another reminder of growing insecurity in Africa’s most populous country. Gunmen, known locally as bandits, have in the past year carried out violent attacks targeting villagers and commuters travelling on highways and kidnapped hundreds of school children for ransom in the north of the country. Sanusi Abubakar, spokesman for the northwestern Borno state police, said the bus was carrying 24 passengers when it was set alight by armed men and that seven people … Continue reading OMG: Gunmen torch bus, kill 30 passengers in Nigeria’s Sokoto state

At least 14 civilians and one member of the security forces have died after Indian forces mistook a group of villagers for insurgents and opened fire. A local community leader, Nyamtow Konyak, said the civilians killed were coal miners. On Saturday, an investigation into the killings was launched by Nagaland state’s top official, Neiphiu Rio. In a tweet, he condemned the actions of the troops and passed on his condolences to bereaved families. An army officer, speaking anonymously, shared that the ambush had been planned for a week as intelligence indicated insurgents were planning to attack soldiers in the area, … Continue reading OMG: Indian army kills 14 after mistaking them for insurgents

A dissident former leader of Colombia’s Farc rebels has been killed in an ambush in Venezuela, local media reported on Sunday. Hernán Darío Velásquez, nicknamed El Paisa, was reportedly shot dead in Venezuela’s Apure state. His death has not been officially confirmed and the Colombian army said it had no knowledge of the killing. Local media have speculated that mercenaries may have killed Velásquez, seeking rewards for his capture. Colombian authorities told El Tiempo newspaper that it will not confirm his death until officials have seen his body. A spokesperson for Colombian president Iván Duque told Reuters news agency that his … Continue reading Colombian rebel commander ‘El Paisa’ killed in Venezuela

Officials in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa have called on residents to register their weapons and get ready to protect their neighbourhoods amid fears that rebels could advance on the city. The appeal came days after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said it had captured two cities about 400km (250 miles) from Addis Ababa. The federal government has declared a nationwide state of emergency. The US has urged the rebels not to try and take Addis Ababa. The capital has a population of more than five million. “We oppose any TPLF move to Addis or any TPLF move to besiege … Continue reading Ethiopia’s citizens urged to defend Addis Ababa against rebels