An Afghan police guard was killed Friday when a United Nations compound came under attack in Herat, officials said, as fighting raged between government forces and the Taliban on the outskirts of the western city. Violence has surged across the country since early May, when the Taliban launched a sweeping offensive as the US-led foreign […]
conflict
Taliban surge poses ‘existential crisis’: US watchdog
The Afghan government faces an “existential crisis” after the Taliban doubled their attacks following the February 2020 US deal with the insurgents, a watchdog report said Thursday. The report said Taliban attacks on Afghan targets surged from 6,700 in the three months up to the Doha agreement to 13,242 in the September-November 2020 period. Attacks […]
Niger says 14 killed in attack near Mali border
Armed men on motorbikes killed 14 civilians in an attack on a village in western Niger, near the restive border with Mali, the government said on Monday. The attack on Sunday “targeted civilians, killing 14, including nine working in fields” at Banibangou, the interior ministry said. The area is prone to jihadist raids. One person […]
US general vows to continue air strikes supporting Afghan troops
The United States will continue air strikes in support of Afghan forces fighting the Taliban, a top US general said Sunday, as the insurgents press on with offensives across the country. Since early May, violence has surged after the insurgents launched a sweeping assault just days after the US-led foreign forces began their final […]
UN warns of ‘unprecedented’ Afghan civilian deaths from Taliban offensives
The United Nations warned Monday that Afghanistan could see the highest number of civilian deaths in more than a decade if the Taliban’s offensives across the country are not halted. Violence has surged since early May when the insurgents cranked up operations to coincide with a final withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. In a report […]
Ethiopia’s Amhara boss urges residents to fight Tigray rebels
Ethiopia’s Amhara region on Sunday called on all armed residents to mobilise for battle against rebels from conflict-hit Tigray, calling it a “survival campaign”, state media reported. Amhara borders Tigray to the south, and the two regions are embroiled in a decades-old land dispute that has become central to the eight-month-old war in Tigray. Sunday’s […]
Afghan govt imposes night curfew to stem Taliban advance: official
Afghan authorities on Saturday imposed a night-time curfew across 31 of the country’s 34 provinces to curb surging violence unleashed by a sweeping Taliban offensive in recent months, the interior ministry said. “To curb violence and limit the Taliban movements a night curfew has been imposed in 31 provinces across the country,” except in Kabul, […]
Drone attacks Iraq base hosting US troops: coalition
A drone attack has been carried out on a military base in Iraqi Kurdistan that hosts American troops, without causing any casualties, the US-led coalition said Saturday. The attack comes with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi expected to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday to discuss a possible full US troop withdrawal […]
Washington authorizes $100 mn for Afghan migration aid
US President Joe Biden on Friday authorized the use of up to $100 million to address migration emergencies related to the situation in Afghanistan, the White House said. The statement said the money would come from the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund “for the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs, victims […]
US launches second air strike in a week targeting Al-Shabaab in Somalia
The US military conducted an air strike in Somalia on Friday against Al Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab jihadists, the second in four days after a six-month hiatus, the Pentagon said. The US military command for Africa (AFRICOM), “conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabaab in the vicinity of Qeycad” in Galmudug province 300 miles (500 kilometers) north of […]