At least six Malian soldiers have been killed in two “complex and simultaneous” attacks in Mali’s conflict-wracked centre, according to the military. The coordinated assault took place at about 3am (03:00 GMT) on Sunday in the villages of Boulkessi and Mondoro in the Mopti region, near the country’s border with Burkina Faso. “The provisional toll is six dead and 18 wounded” among the soldiers, the army said in a statement, adding that the attacks prompted a military response which left “around 30 dead on the terrorist side”. Some 40 motorcycles and a large amount of military gear were seized from … Continue reading Six Malian soldiers killed in ‘complex and simultaneous’ attacks

Government troops and hundreds of residents have been forced to flee after an armed group overran a town and captured a military base in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state in an attack claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) group, security sources said. Machinegun-wielding fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base in the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area overnight on Friday into Saturday, two sources told AFP news agency. “The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is under way,” one of the sources said on Saturday. “We took … Continue reading Armed group captures military base in northeast Nigeria

At least 46 civilians are reported to have been killed in an attack by suspected rebel fighters on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a senior provincial official said on Thursday. Local security forces have been dispatched to the village in Irumu territory to investigate, provincial Interior Minister Adjio Gidi said by phone. “The death toll as of this afternoon is reported to be 46,” Gidi said, he said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were behind the raid. The Ugandan armed group is believed to have carried out a string of massacres in the eastern DRC, … Continue reading Dozens killed in suspected rebel attack in eastern DR Congo

More than 80 civilians, including children as young as two years old, have been killed in the latest attack to afflict western Ethiopia, the country’s national human rights commission said on Wednesday. Aaron Maasho, spokesman and senior adviser for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said the massacre took place on Tuesday between 5am and 7am in the region of Benishangul-Gumuz, which borders Sudan and South Sudan. “We received information that over 80 people died whose ages range from 2 to 45 years old,” he said from the capital, Addis Ababa. There was no claim of responsibility and no immediate … Continue reading Over 80 civilians killed in latest west Ethiopia massacre

At least 22 civilians have been killed in a rebel attack on a village in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to local officials. The violence in Mwenda village of the Beni territory was perpetrated by the Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Donat Kibwana, the administrator of the Beni territory, told Anadolu news agency. “ADF rebels attacked the village of Mwenda on Monday about 19:00 GMT,  killing 22 civilians with machetes,” Kibwana said, adding the death toll is provisional. Local leaders Ruwenzori Bozy Sindiwako and Iteni Muvunga Kimwele told the DPA … Continue reading 22 civilians killed in rebel attack in eastern DRC

Reports from Mali say more than 20 people, including children, were killed when an airstrike hit a wedding party in a remote village at the weekend, residents of Bounti, in the central Mopti region, said a helicopter opened fire on the ceremony on Sunday. The French military, which has troops in the region, said it carried out a strike on jihadist militants in central Mali, but that no wedding was involved. Five French soldiers have been killed in attacks in Mali in recent days. On Tuesday, France said a military operation involving an airstrike and carried out after detailed research … Continue reading France rejects reports of airstrike on Mali wedding

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the killing of 11 coal miners in the western Pakistani province of Balochistan, they were kidnapped by militants and killed near the coal mine on Saturday. The victims were members of a minority Shia community, the Hazara, repeatedly targeted by extremists because they are followers of Shia Islam, Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the attack as an “inhumane act of terrorism”. The attack took place late on Saturday night, near the small town of Mach, not far from the provincial capital, Quetta, and close to the border with Afghanistan. Balochistan is … Continue reading Pakistan coal miners kidnapped and killed in IS attack

At least 22 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in an attack at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, officials say. There was at least one explosion shortly after a plane carrying the war-torn country’s newly formed government arrived from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Aid workers and officials were among the casualties. But the prime minister said he and his cabinet were “fine”. The information minister accused Houthi rebels of a “cowardly terrorist act”. Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states launched a military … Continue reading Deadly attack at Yemen airport as new government arrives

Three French soldiers died after their armoured vehicle hit an IED in the Hombori area of Mali’s central Mopti province. The soldiers were participating in a military operation as part of a larger mission aiming at fighting armed groups in Africa”s Sahel region, the French presidency said in a statement on Monday. French defence minister Florence Parly said the soldiers were working “in an area where terrorist groups are attacking civilians and threatening the regional stability”. France has more than 5,000 troops deployed in West Africa. Monday’s deaths brought to 47 the number of French soldiers killed in Mali since … Continue reading Three French soldiers killed in Mali IED blast

Seven soldiers were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in southwestern Pakistan, the military said, the assailants attacked a security post in Balochistan province’s Harnai district early on Sunday, the military’s media wing, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement. Senior police officer Shawli Tareen gave a slightly higher death toll than the army, saying that during the exchange of fire, six paramilitary personnel and two private guards were killed, he said six other soldiers were critically wounded in the attack. The attackers fled the scene and made their way into the mountainous terrain before other … Continue reading Several soldiers killed by gunmen in southwestern Pakistan

Hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped last week from a boarding school in north-western Nigeria have been released, local authorities have told the BBC. A spokesman for the governor of Katsina state said 344 had been freed and were all in a good condition. However, other reports suggest some remain in the hands of their captors. The attack was claimed by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which hours earlier released a video apparently showing some of the boys. In his statement, the spokesman, Abdul Labaran, said the boys were being taken to the regional capital Katsina City, and would soon be … Continue reading Update: Hundreds of boys freed in Nigeria school attack, local authorities say

The Boko Haram group has claimed responsibility for the abduction of hundreds of school students in northwest Nigeria, the AFP news agency reported. More than 300 students are missing after gunmen on motorcycles stormed the Government Science School in Kankara late on Friday and engaged security forces in a fierce gun battle, forcing hundreds of students to flee and hide in surrounding bushes and forest. “I am Abubakar Shekau and our brothers are behind the kidnapping in Katsina,” said the leader of the group behind the 2014 abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok, in a voice message on Tuesday, … Continue reading Breaking News: Boko Haram claims kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian students