When the United States ordered airstrikes on Christmas Day against Islamist militants in northern Nigeria, officials in Washington said the action was aimed at protecting Christians facing threats of violence.
Tag Archives: Militants
U.S. Strikes ISIS In Nigeria, The Year In Congress, Holiday Spending
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p dir=”ltr”>President Trump has announced the U.S. launched a number of strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria. Congress started 2025 with an ambitious legislative agenda, but 12 months later has ceded much of its power to President Trump and has passed a record low number of bills. And, shoppers spent a record amount of money this holiday season even as polling finds Americans are feeling glum about the economy.
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p dir=”ltr”>Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
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p dir=”ltr”>Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Gerry Holmes, Jason Breslow, Emily Kopp, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
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p dir=”ltr”>We get engineering support from David Greenberg. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
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p dir=”ltr”>(00:00) Introduction
(02:00) U.S. Strikes ISIS In Nigeria
(05:40) The Year In Congress
(09:28) Holiday Spending
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UK suspends trade deal negotiations with Israel
The British government says it is suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and has leveled new sanctions targeting West Bank settlements as it criticizes Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Tuesday’s actions came a day after the UK, France and Canada condemned Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the occupied West Bank.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK’s existing trade agreement is in effect but the government can’t continue discussions with an Israeli government pursuing what he called egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza. Lammy said the persistent cycle of violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank demanded action.
“We are unwavering in our commitment to your security and to your future, to countering the very real threat from Iran, the scourge of terrorism and the evils of anti-Semitism. But the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship with your government,” Lammy said.
The announcement came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ramped up his criticism of Israel on Tuesday, saying the level of suffering by children in Gaza was “utterly intolerable” and repeated his call for a ceasefire.
Mounting pressure as humanitarian crisis worsens
International pressure has been building on Israel following a nearly three-month blockade of supplies into Gaza that led to famine warnings.
The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, has also voiced concerns over the growing hunger crisis.
While Israel allowed trucks with baby food and desperately needed supplies to begin rolling into Gaza on Monday, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described the volume of aid a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”
Israel initially received widespread international support to root out Hamas militants following the group’s surprise attack that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023, and took 251 captives.
But patience with Israel is wearing thin after more than 53,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children. This number is the official count published by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
Israel’s latest onslaught has killed more than 300 people in recent days, local health officials said.
Nigeria crisis: 20,000 flee Marte after militant attacks
At least 20,000 people have fled the town of Marte in northeastern Nigeria following a surge in attacks by Islamist militants, according to Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum.
Marte, near the border with Cameroon, had been resettled four years ago after years under insurgent control, but was recently overrun again by suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters.
Zulum visited Marte after militants briefly seized a local army base last week, killing at least five soldiers. He also toured nearby Rann, where another base was attacked, and plans to visit Kalawa Balge, where 23 farmers were reportedly killed.
The region has seen a rise in militant activity in 2025, raising fears that extremist groups are regaining ground. Over the past 16 years, the insurgency has displaced more than two million people and killed thousands.
Zulum warned that relocating displaced residents to camps, like the one in Dikwa, could expose young people to recruitment by militants. Residents of Marte fear more violence could force them from their homes once again.
Burkina Faso forces killed 100 civilians in March – HRW
At least 100 civilians were killed by Burkina Faso government forces in March near the western town of Solenzo, Human Rights Watch said Monday.
According to victim testimony and videos shared on social media gathered by the rights group, the attackers were Burkina Faso special forces and members of a pro-government militia, the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland.
The victims were all ethnic Fulani, a pastoralist community that is widespread across the region, which the government has long accused of supporting Muslim militants.
An earlier report from Human Rights Watch stated that the government’s involvement was likely, because of video evidence on social media, although the findings were not definitive.
The government issued a sharp denial when first reports surfaced, saying in a statement it “condemned the propagation, on social media, of images inducing hate and community violence, and fake information aimed at undermining social cohesion” in the country.
“The viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo sent shock waves through Africa’s Sahel region, but they told only part of the story,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Further research uncovered that Burkina Faso’s military was responsible for these mass killings of Fulani civilians, which were followed by deadly reprisals by an Islamist armed group. The government needs to impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible.”
Burkina Faso authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the group’s new report.
The landlocked nation of 23 million people has symbolized the security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and the governments fighting them.
The military junta, which took power in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.
The attack in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region, including Solenzo and other towns, began on Feb. 27 and lasted until April 2, involving hundreds of government troops and drones, according to eyewitnesses quoted in the report.
“The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run,” said a Fulani herder, 44, from Solenzo, referring to the pro-government militias.
After the attack, hundreds of Fulani residents fled across the border into neighbouring Mali, the report said.
“Today, in the whole province, there are no more Fulani — they all fled or were killed or taken hostage,” said a 53-year-old man from Solenzo. “But the other (ethnic) communities remain.”
After the government forces left, the report said that jihadist fighters from a group known as JNIM reentered the towns and carried out reprisal killings against residents, targeting the men whom it considered to be military collaborators.
“All the men had been executed in front of the health center,” said a 60-year-old woman who witnessed JNIM abuses in Tiao village, a town to the northeast of Solenzo on April 5. “I counted up to 70 bodies.”
According to analysts, the junta’s strategy of military escalation, including mass recruitment of civilians for poorly trained militia units, has exacerbated tensions between ethnic groups.
It it impossible to get an accurate picture of the situation in the country since the military leadership has installed a system of de facto censorship, rights groups said, and those daring to speak up can be openly abducted, imprisoned or forcefully drafted into the army.
Tensions flare between India and Pakistan amid missile strikes and escalating rhetoric
Tensions between India and Pakistan have reached their most dangerous levels since 2019, following a series of missile strikes, retaliatory threats, and mounting civilian casualties on both sides of the border.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Indian missiles struck several locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. One of the most significant attacks hit the town of Muridke in Punjab province — long associated with militant networks. These strikes, targeting at least 24 sites, were launched in response to what New Delhi claims was a deadly attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir last month, allegedly carried out by Pakistan-based militants.
Indian officials say the targets were linked to internationally proscribed groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed — organisations long accused of orchestrating attacks against Indian civilians and security forces.
“The Indian government says [the strikes] are affiliated with a series of what it considers terrorist groups…responsible for a number of very high-profile attacks — most notably the 2008 attacks in Mumbai,” said Dr. Walter Ladwig, Associate Fellow at King’s College London.
In Pakistan, the response was swift. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the strikes and praised his country’s military response. Speaking before a cheering parliament, he declared: “With the grace of God…our brave forces have given a resounding response to your dirty attack and turned the darkest night into the brightest night.”
Pakistan’s military reported that at least 26 civilians — including women and children — were killed in the Indian airstrikes. Among the dead were students at a seminary in Bahawalpur and worshippers at a mosque near a former Lashkar-e-Taiba complex in Muridke.
Dr. Ladwig warned that Pakistan’s response would likely follow its long-standing strategic doctrine. “The Pakistani military has a proclaimed policy of what they call quid pro quo plus,” he explained. “Whatever India does, we will do at least that in return, but also possibly a little bit more.”
This doctrine played out visibly in 2019, when India conducted airstrikes following a suicide bombing that killed Indian paramilitary forces. Pakistan swiftly retaliated with its own airstrikes. The hope among analysts is that, as with that crisis, both sides will seek to demonstrate resolve without crossing into full-scale war.
“That would be the optimistic case here,” said Ladwig. “That the Pakistani military will respond in some way that allows them to defend or restore their honour, but that it goes no further… If not, we could quickly escalate beyond control.”
Adding to the gravity is the evolving military landscape in South Asia. While India maintains a significantly larger defence budget, Pakistan’s military modernisation has been advancing rapidly — thanks in large part to Chinese support.
“Pakistan is reported to have gained access to Chinese variants of Russian air defence systems,” said Ladwig, pointing to jointly developed fighter jets and more robust air defences. “Although Pakistan has a significantly smaller defence budget, one of its huge assets is the fact that its main weapon supplier is China — and China delivers.”
India, for its part, continues to face challenges in modernising its armed forces. Despite multiple attempts, it has struggled to finalise large-scale arms procurements, relying heavily on legacy Russian tanks and a limited fleet of French Rafale jets.
In cities across India, civil defence drills have intensified, with air raid sirens echoing through urban centres. Schools are participating in emergency simulations, and citizens are bracing for further escalation. New Delhi has named its military operation “Sindoor,” after the red powder worn by married Hindu women — a symbolic nod to those widowed in last month’s Kashmir massacre.
Meanwhile, anti-India protests have erupted across Pakistan, with chants of defiance and vows of vengeance. Pakistan’s National Security Committee has warned that it “reserves the right to respond at a time, place, and manner of its choosing.”
Diplomatic ties have fractured further. Islamabad has closed border crossings, expelled Indian diplomats, and accused New Delhi of using terrorism allegations to justify attacks on civilians.
As the region sits on edge, the spectre of nuclear conflict looms in the background. Both countries possess nuclear weapons and a history of conflict stretching back to their partition in 1947. What happens next depends heavily on Pakistan’s next move — and whether the cycle of violence can be contained before it spirals out of control.
Dr. Mukwege denounces use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in DRC
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege denounced on Wednesday the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, the Congolese doctor described what he called a “dramatic situation” in the Congo’s North Kivu region.
“We had 10,000 cases of sexual violence, with 30 to 35 percent are rapes against children. There is a trend towards unacceptable violence, but to attack children, that is going beyond any possible red lines that you could imagine,” said Mukwege.
Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu, and for over 20 years has treated countless women who were raped amid fighting between armed groups seeking control of some the central African nation’s vast mineral wealth.
He was in Strasbourg to meet with members of the European Parliament and urge them to help negotiations and peace talks with rebel groups.
Mukwege shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize with activist Nadia Murad, who was kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by Islamic State militants in 2014 along with an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women.
DRC: M23 rebels seize strategic town despite peace talks
Despite ongoing peace talks in Doha, M23 militants and their allies fighting Democratic Republic of Congo government forces in the east of the country have seized the strategic town of Lunyasenge.
It is being reported that the battle in the town on the western shore of Lake Edward left at least 17 people dead, including 7 Congolese soldiers.
The insurgents have taken control of much of the eastern part of the country since January.
Both sides recently called for a ceasefire, but clashes have continued in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, with the M23 seizing an increasing number of villages.
A DRC army spokesperson has described the recent attack as a “flagrant violation” of the truce, saying the military reserves the right to respond if the threat persists.
Delegations from both the rebel coalition and the government are currently in the Qatari capital trying to reach an agreement to end the fighting.
Millions of people have been displaced by the ongoing clashes which have worsened an already dire humanitarian situation.
Amid fears that the conflict could spread beyond the DRC’s borders, the Doha talks are seen as critical in determining the region’s future.
Israeli cabinet approves plans to capture all of the Gaza Strip
More hardship in store for the embattled population of Gaza as the Israeli cabinet on Monday approved plans to capture the entire Palestinian enclave and stay there for an unspecified amount of time.
It also calls for hundreds of thousands of people to move to Gaza’s south and would see Israel take over aid deliveries to the devastated territory.
A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he’s “alarmed” by the Israeli decision.
Israel’s army spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said the objective of the operation is to “return our hostages, topple and subdue the Hamas regime”.
“These two goals are intertwined. The operation will include a broad offensive that includes moving a majority of Gaza’s population to protect it in a sterile area from Hamas,” he said.
This would likely amount to their forcible displacement and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Defrin added that the operation would include “continued airstrikes, the elimination of terrorists, and the dismantling of infrastructure”.
Details of the plan were not formally announced, and its exact timing and implementation were not clear.
Its approval came hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.
An defence official said the operation would not begin until after US President Donald Trump wraps up his expected visit to the Middle East this month.
The announcement has angered the families of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza, who fear that any extension of the conflict will endanger their loved ones.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on Monday to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, calling for a deal to release the captives.
Israel says 59 hostages remain in Gaza, although about 35 of them are believed to be dead.
Since Israel ended a ceasefire with the Hamas militant group in mid-March, it has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds.
It has captured swathes of territory and now controls roughly 50 per cent of the enclave.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Israel’s offensive has displaced more than 90 per cent of Gaza’s population. Palestinian health officials say more than 52,000 people there have been killed, many of them women and children.
The officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.
Syrian forces deploy in Damascus suburbs after two days of clashes
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 73 people were killed in two days of sectarian clashes in suburbs of Damascus and the south of the country.
Fighting between Druze and Sunni gunmen was sparked by a voice recording cursing the Prophet Mohammed, which Sunni militants claimed was made by a Druze.
The spiritual authority for the Druze community in Jaramana, where the fighting began, has condemned the recording, insisting it was fabricated to “sow division among the people of the same nation”.
The governor of the Damascus suburbs said a truce was reached on Wednesday between the two sides fighting in Jaramana and Ashrafiet Sahnaya, but that other people had died in an Israeli airstrike.
“There was a death from a security patrol and also a civilian in the town of Ashrafiet Sahnaya and there were a number of wounded on both sides, from security patrols and civilians,” said Amer al-Sheikh.
Israel claims the attack carried out in Sahnaya on what it called an “extremist group” was to protect the Druze population living in the town.
Without mentioning Israel, Damascus said in a statement on Wednesday that it rejected “all forms of foreign intervention” in the country’s internal affairs.
It reiterated its commitment to protect all groups within the country, including the Druze religious minority, which began as a 10th-century offshoot of Shiite Islam.
More than half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria.
Meanwhile, the authorities said Syrian security forces have been deployed to both Jaramana and Ashrafiet Sahnaya.
Residents said the situation had largely calmed after intense fighting.
Ashrafiet Sahnaya resident, Mohammad Amayri, said the Druze, Sunni, Alawite, and Shiite groups within the country should all be united.
“Uncontrolled weapons by any party, from any side, must be in the hands of the state. We are required to have weapons in the hands of the state only,” he said.
Druze militias, prominent in the southwest of Syria, have an uneasy relationship with the current government, which is dominated by Sunni groups.
The new Islamist-led leadership called for all arms to fall under their authority, but Druze fighters have resisted, saying Damascus has failed to guarantee their protection from hostile militants.
This latest unrest comes as the Syrian government, in power since the December fall of President Bashar al-Assad, tries to assert its control over the whole country.