NIAMEY: Niger’s new military rulers on Wednesday accused France, the country’s traditional ally, of having released captured militants and breaching a ban on air space on the eve of a key summit on the Sahel’s latest crisis.
Leaders of the West African bloc ECOWAS are to meet in the Nigerian capital Abuja to mull their options, with diplomacy apparently edging out military intervention at present after a showdown last weekend.
Two weeks after a coup that toppled Niger’s elected president, the regime accused France of having “unilaterally freed captured terrorists” — a term for extremists conducting a bloody eight-year-old insurgency.
The extremists then gathered to plan an attack on “military positions in the tri-border area,” a hotspot region where the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge, according to the statement issued by the coup leaders, called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP).
“Events of an extreme gravity are unfolding in Niger as a result of the behavior of the French forces and their accomplices,” it declared.
It urged the security forces to “raise their alert level across the country” and on the public “to remain mobilized and vigilant.”
The regime also accused France of having flown a “military plane” from neighboring Chad into Niger air space on Wednesday, defying a ban imposed on Sunday.
The two allegations were rejected by a French government official.
“No terrorist has been freed by French forces,” the source said, adding that the flight had been “authorized by and coordinated with” Niger’s armed forces.
Thursday’s summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) takes place under the chairmanship of Nigeria, the regional superpower and advocate of a hard line against the coup.
Struggling to stem a cascade of putsches among its members, the bloc gave Niger’s military rulers until last Sunday to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum or face potential use of force.
But the coup leaders remained defiant, and the ultimatum passed without action.
On Tuesday, a bid to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union (AU) representatives to the capital Niamey ran into the ground.
The coup leaders said they could not guarantee the mission’s “safety” in the light of what they said was public anger to sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
Despite the failure, ECOWAS and Nigeria said they would pursue all options to resolve the crisis, and the United States emphasised a “peaceful” outcome even though it too had been rebuffed.
ECOWAS said it would “continue to deploy all measures in order to restore constitutional order” in Niger.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said through his spokesman that “no options have been taken off of the table” but diplomacy was the “best way forward.”
The United States sent veteran envoy Victoria Nuland to Niamey on Monday, but she came away empty-handed, being unable to meet Bazoum or even the new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.
Despite this, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he had spoken to Bazoum “to express our continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution” to the “current constitutional crisis.”
France, which had adopted a combative tone as the ECOWAS ultimatum loomed, also signalled a softer line.
A French diplomat said it was “up to ECOWAS to take a decision, of whatever kind, on restoring constitutional order in Niger.”
Bazoum, 63, was detained on July 26 by members of his presidential guard.
It is the fifth coup in Niger’s history since independence from France in 1960 — and the fourth in the ranks of the 15-nation ECOWAS since 2020.
Bazoum’s election in 2021 had helped Niger to cement close ties with France and the United States, which have major bases and troop deployments in the country.
Countries in the fragile Sahel are battling with an extremist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012, spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015 and now is causing jitters in states on the Gulf of Guinea.
The bloody campaign has been devastating for those three countries, which have a long history of turbulence and are among the poorest nations in the world.
Since their coups, Mali and Burkina Faso have fallen out with France, the region’s former colonial power and its traditional ally.
France last year withdrew its forces from those countries and refocussed its anti-extremist strategy on Niger.
Mali and Burkina Faso have voiced solidarity with their counterparts in Niger, saying that any ECOWAS military intervention would be considered a “declaration of war” against them.
Niger coup leaders take aim at France on eve of key summit
https://arab.news/5nz88
Niger coup leaders take aim at France on eve of key summit
- The regime also accused France of having flown a “military plane” from neighboring Chad into Niger air space on Wednesday, defying a ban imposed on Sunday.
New Trump ban puts thousands of Afghans in US resettlement limbo
- Ban hits nationals of 12 countries, including Iran, Libya, Sudan and Yemen
- 25,000 Afghans approved for relocation to the US are stranded in Pakistan
KABUL: A new US travel ban, which lists Afghans among nationals of 12 affected countries, has put on hold the lives of thousands of refugees who fled Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American-led troops in 2021.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country — part of a broader immigration crackdown launched by his administration earlier this year at the start of his second term.
The move has placed in a state of indefinite waiting some 25,000 Afghans who have been approved for relocation to the US and are awaiting departure in Pakistan.
One of them, Mohammad Iqbal, a 35-year-old former government employee, told Arab News that his refugee resettlement application has been active for the past two years. Having completed two interviews with the UN refugee agency and the necessary medical check-ups, he was waiting for his final visa appointment.
He is not allowed to work in Pakistan, and he also cannot go back to Afghanistan — both for safety reasons and since that would halt the refugee process.
“I am running out of money and there is no work for Afghans here in Pakistan. We are also facing an increasing risk of deportation. My passport will expire if I don’t make it to the US in a few months. It will be very difficult to go back to Afghanistan. I won’t be safe there,” Iqbal said.
“I have done my master’s degree abroad and worked in some highly technical positions before 2021 ... The current decision by the US president is very unfair and is against the promises made to us by the US government.”
Besides those in Pakistan, thousands more Afghans are in the same situation stranded in Qatar and in the UAE, and another few hundred have been kept waiting at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo — the largest US military base in the Balkans.
The US travel ban will be in effect from June 9, according to a presidential proclamation released by the White House, which said that it was needed to protect the US from “from terrorist attacks and other national security or public-safety threats.”
Justifying the decision on Afghanistan, Trump cited its lack of a “competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents” and screening and vetting capabilities. Another reason was that the Taliban, “a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group,” controls Afghanistan.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, when its Western-backed administration collapsed as American-led international forces withdrew after two decades of occupation that started with the US invasion of the country in 2001.
The troop withdrawal was followed by an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Afghans — many of whom had worked as translators or local staff for foreign governments, organizations or for the previous administration, and feared potential retribution by the Taliban.
“The US played a direct role in creating this situation. As a result of the 20-year US occupation, Afghan society was divided into hostile groups that turned against each other,” said Nasir Ahmad Nawidy, political science professor at Salam University in Kabul.
“Because of the improper policy of the US — without an agreement and peace being reached — the country collapsed, and the systems and order were destroyed. As a result, many people who were prominent figures or experts in the previous regime, or other people who had held important positions in this country, were forced to leave Afghanistan.”
He was still hopeful that the US justice system would challenge Trump’s decision.
“The US has a commitment to these people,” he said. “They have been promised it, and their visas are in process. Ignoring these commitments and halting or delaying ongoing processes is against all humanitarian laws.”
German foreign minister tells Israeli counterpart to allow more aid into Gaza
- Germany would continue to deliver weapons to Israel
BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Berlin on Thursday, again calling for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into the enclave.
Wadephul also decried the Israeli government’s announcement that it would allow 22 more settlements in the West Bank.
Germany would continue to deliver weapons to Israel, he added, saying the country needed to defend itself.
Afghans who helped America during the war plead for an exemption from Trump travel ban
- Their appeal came hours after Trump announced a US entry ban on citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan
- “This is heartbreaking and sad news,” said one Afghan
ISLAMABAD: Afghans who worked for the US during its war against the Taliban urged President Donald Trump Thursday to exempt them from a travel ban that could lead to them being deported to Afghanistan, where they say they will face persecution.
Their appeal came hours after Trump announced a US entry ban on citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan.
It affects thousands of Afghans who fled Taliban rule and had been approved for resettlement through a US program assisting people at risk due to their work with the American government, media organizations, and humanitarian groups. But Trump suspended that program in January, leaving Afghans stranded in several locations, including Pakistan and Qatar.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has been deporting foreigners it says are living in the country illegally, mostly Afghan, adding to the refugees’ sense of peril.
“This is heartbreaking and sad news,” said one Afghan, who worked closely with US agencies before the Taliban returned to power in 2021. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue, fearing Taliban reprisals and potential arrest by Pakistani authorities.
He said the travel ban on an estimated 20,000 Afghans in Pakistan could encourage the government to begin deporting Afghans awaiting resettlement in the US “President Trump has shattered hopes,” he told The Associated Press.
He said his life would be at risk if he returned to Afghanistan with his family because he previously worked for the US Embassy in Kabul on public awareness campaigns promoting education.
“You know the Taliban are against the education of girls. America has the right to shape its immigration policy, but it should not abandon those who stood with it, risked their life, and who were promised a good future.”
Another Afghan, Khalid Khan, said the new restrictions could expose him and thousands of others to arrest in Pakistan.
He said police had previously left him and his family alone at the request of the US Embassy. “I worked for the US military for eight years, and I feel abandoned. Every month, Trump is making a new rule,” said Khan. He fled to Pakistan three years ago.
“I don’t know what to say. Returning to Afghanistan will jeopardize my daughter’s education. You know the Taliban have banned girls from attending school beyond sixth grade. My daughter will remain uneducated if we return.”
He said it no longer mattered whether people spoke out against Trump’s policies.
“So long as Trump is there, we are nowhere. I have left all of my matters to Allah.”
There was no immediate comment on the travel ban from the Taliban-run government.
Pakistan previously said it was working with host countries to resettle Afghans. Nobody was available to comment on Trump’s latest executive order.
Russian strike kills 5 in Ukraine, including a 1-year-old, hours after Trump-Putin call
- Six drones hit a residential area in the city shortly before dawn, injuring nine others
- The child killed was the grandson of the local fire chief, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said
PRYLUKY, Ukraine: At least five people, including a 1-year-old child, his mother and grandmother, were killed Thursday in a nighttime Russian drone attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky, officials said.
Six drones hit a residential area in the city shortly before dawn, injuring nine others, according to authorities. The child killed was the grandson of the local fire chief, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
The fire chief, identified by local officials as 50-year-old Oleksandr Lebid, “arrived to respond to the aftermath right at his own home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. “It turned out that a Shahed drone hit his house.”
The attack came just hours after US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Trump, Putin said “very strongly” that Russia will retaliate for Ukraine’s stunning drone attacks on Russian military airfields on Sunday.
US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the more than 3-year-long war have delivered no significant progress, and the grinding war of attrition has continued unabated.
Child’s mother feared drone attacks
The mother of the 1-year-old killed in Pryluky was a police officer called Daryna Shyhyda, Ukraine’s National Police said.
“Today our hearts are scorched by pain,” the police force wrote on Telegram. “This is not just a loss — it is three generations of life uprooted.”
Liudmyla Horbunova, 55, who lives across the street from where the Shahed drone hit, said Shyhyda had moved with her son last weekend to her parents’ house from her home in Kyiv because she was scared of potential Russian attacks on the capital.
“She ran away from Shaheds in Kyiv, but they found her here, in Pryluky,” Horbunova told The Associated Press.
Firefighters worked through charred debris and extinguished the remains of a fire that engulfed the home of Shyhyda’s parents, leaving only a brick carcass and scattered toys, clothes and a family photo book.
Drones struck across regions
Pryluky, which had a prewar population of around 50,000 people, lies about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Kyiv, the capital. The city is far from the front line and does not contain any known military assets.
The last time Pryluky was struck was in November last year, when a Russian missile hit an administrative building and injured one person.
Zelensky said a total of 103 drones and one ballistic missile targeted multiple Ukrainian regions overnight, including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipro and Kherson.
“This is another massive strike,” Zelensky said. “It is yet another reason to impose the strongest possible sanctions and apply pressure collectively.”
US peace effort remains stalled
Zelensky, who has accepted a US ceasefire proposal and offered to meet with Putin in an attempt to break the stalemate in negotiations, wants more international sanctions on Russia to force it to accept a settlement. Putin has shown no willingness to meet with Zelensky, however, and has indicated no readiness to compromise.
Germany’s new leader Friedrich Merz was due to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday as he works to keep the US on board with Western diplomatic and military support for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s top presidential aide, Andriy Yermak, met with senior American officials in Washington on Wednesday and called for greater US pressure on Russia, accusing the Kremlin of deliberately stalling ceasefire talks and blocking progress toward peace, according to a statement on the presidential website.
Yermak, who traveled to the US as part of a Ukrainian delegation, met with senior American officials to bolster support for Ukraine’s defense and humanitarian priorities. He said Ukraine urgently needs stronger air defense capabilities.
More people wounded in Kharkiv
Hours later, 19 people were injured in a Russian drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Those hurt included children, a pregnant woman, and a 93-year-old woman, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
At around 1:05 a.m., Shahed-type drones struck two apartment buildings in the city’s Slobidskyi district, causing fires and destroying several private vehicles.
“By launching attacks while people sleep in their homes, the enemy once again confirms its tactic of insidious terror,” Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
Russian aircraft also dropped four powerful glide bombs on the southern city of Kherson, injuring at least three people, regional authorities said.
Mali says two more army posts attacked as jihadist violence escalates
- Hundreds reported killed in recent attacks across West African country
- Junta has struggled to improve security since seizing power
BAMAKO: Islamist militants hit two more military installations on Wednesday and Thursday, Mali’s army said, the latest in a quick spate of attacks that the insurgents say have killed hundreds of soldiers and underscored their gains.
Ground and air reinforcements were being mobilized on Thursday morning to respond to an attack on a security post in Mahou, located in eastern Mali near the border with Burkina Faso, an army statement said.
The attack was claimed by Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa Al-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group active in Mali and Burkina Faso. Information on a death toll was not immediately available.
A military spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday afternoon, “armed terrorists” struck a military camp in Tessit, near the border with Burkina Faso and Niger, and Mali’s military sent in aerial reinforcement, a separate statement said.
There has been no claim of responsibility for that attack, though security analysts said it could have been perpetrated by fighters from the Islamic State branch active in the Sahel region.
“The camp was attacked, and there was a violent exchange of fire. We learned that the attackers had taken control of the camp, and the population was leaving Tessit,” said an official from the nearby town of Ouattagouna, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
Widespread attacks
Mali’s junta seized power following coups in 2020 and 2021, promising to restore security in a country that has grappled with jihadist militancy for more than a decade. But attacks continue in large swathes of the country.
An army statement on Thursday described “a resurgence of cowardly and barbaric attacks” in recent weeks and said it was responding with a “counter-offensive,” listing operations in six locations on Wednesday alone.
An attack on Sunday on a military base in Boulkessi, in central Mali near the frontier with Burkina Faso, killed dozens of soldiers, security sources told Reuters this week. JNIM said in a statement the death toll was more than 100 soldiers and mercenaries, with more than 20 others captured.
On Monday, JNIM said it targeted a military airport and Russian mercenaries in the northern city of Timbuktu, where residents described taking cover from explosions and gunfire.
Like neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, Mali has cut military ties with Western nations and turned to Russia for support.
JNIM also claimed to have bombed Malian and Russian soldiers on the outskirts of Bamako on Wednesday, though Reuters could not independently confirm that incident and the army has not commented on it.
Consulting firm Control Risks said in a note on Thursday the claim was “reliable” and that further attacks on and near Bamako were likely as JNIM seeks to undermine Mali’s military rulers.
