US repositioning forces in Niger after military junta tells French troops to leave

Colonel Eric Bometon (R), commander of the "Detachement Air" (DetAir) of the Operation Barkhane, an anti-terrorist operation in the Sahel, and Commander Paul (2nd R) present an US-made drone Reaper bought by the French army on June 9, 2015 in the French army base in Niamey, Niger. (AFP / File Photo)
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Updated 08 September 2023
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US repositioning forces in Niger after military junta tells French troops to leave

  • Washington's 1,100 military personnel in Niamey have largely remained on bases after the Niger military takeover
  • Niger has been a key base for both American and French anti-jihadist operations

WASHINGTON: The United States is moving some of its troops from a base in Niger’s capital Niamey — where rebel officers seized power in a July coup — to another in the Agadez area, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Washington has some 1,100 military personnel in the country, but the Defense Department says they have largely remained on bases while curtailing activities such as joint training after the military takeover in Niger.
The United States “is repositioning some of our personnel and some of our assets from Air Base 101 in Niamey to Air Base 201 in Agadez,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists.
“There’s no immediate threat to US personnel or violence on the ground,” she said, describing the move as a “precautionary measure.”
A “small group” of personnel will remain at Air Base 101 following the move, which is currently ongoing, Singh said.
She also said “some non-essential personnel and contractors” had previously departed the country.
Niger has been a key base for both American and French anti-jihadist operations, and the repositioning of US troops comes after a French defense ministry source said Paris was holding holds talks with Niger on withdrawing “elements” of its presence there.

There have been days of rallies calling for Niger’s former colonial ruler to remove its forces, and military-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine said earlier this week that “contacts” were under way about a “very swift” departure for Paris’ troops.
But Singh said there is “no tie” between the US move and “what the French military is doing right now.”
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum was toppled on July 26 by some members of his guard and was detained along with his family.
The West African bloc ECOWAS has taken a hard line on Niger following a cascade of coups in the region, threatening to use force to restore civilian rule.
Troops took power in Mali and Burkina Faso, where like Niger, losses among the armed forces are surging in the face of a long-running jihadist insurgency.
A putsch also took place in Guinea in 2021 after the country’s octogenarian president, Alpha Conde, ran for a third term in office, a move that opponents said breached constitutional limits.
Echoing past US comments, Singh expressed hope for a negotiated solution to the situation in Niger.
“We are hopeful that diplomatic talks will continue and that the situation in Niger will be resolved diplomatically,” she said.


Passenger bus skids off a cliff in Sri Lanka, killing 21

Updated 6 sec ago
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Passenger bus skids off a cliff in Sri Lanka, killing 21

  • Deadly bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka, especially in the mountainous regions

COLOMBO: A passenger bus skidded off a cliff in Sri Lanka’s tea-growing hill country on Sunday, killing 21 people and injuring at least 14 others, an official said.

The accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday near the town of Kotmale, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) east of Colombo, the capital, in a mountainous area of central Sri Lanka, police said.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena told the media that 21 people died in the accident and 14 others are being treated in hospitals.

Local television showed the bus lying overturned at the bottom of a precipice while workers and others helped remove injured people from the rubble.

The driver was injured and among those admitted to the hospital for treatment. At the time of the accident, nearly 50 people were traveling on the bus.

The bus was operated by a state-run bus company, police said.

Deadly bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka, especially in the mountainous regions, often due to reckless driving and poorly maintained and narrow roads.


Zelensky says he will meet Putin after Trump tells him not to await truce

Updated 11 May 2025
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Zelensky says he will meet Putin after Trump tells him not to await truce

  • Russian president proposed that Ukraine and Russia hold direct talks in Istanbul next Thursday, May 15

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would agree to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Turkiye on Thursday after US President Donald Trump told him immediately to accept Putin’s proposal of direct talks.

The Ukrainian leader had responded guardedly earlier on Sunday after the Russian president, in a night-time televised statement that coincided with prime time in the US, proposed that Ukraine and Russia hold direct talks in Istanbul next Thursday, May 15.

It was not clear that Putin had proposed to attend in person, however.

“I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelensky wrote on X.

Putin’s proposal came hours after major European powers demanded on Saturday in Kyiv that Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face “massive” new sanctions, a position that Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg endorsed on Sunday.

Zelensky too had said Ukraine would be ready for talks with Russia, but only after Moscow agreed to the 30-day ceasefire.

But Trump, who has the power to continue or sever Washington’s crucial supply of arms to Ukraine, took a different line.

“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkiye, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the US, will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!“

Putin sent Russia’s armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

With Russian forces grinding forward, the Kremlin chief has offered few, if any, concessions so far.

In his overnight address, he proposed what he said would be “direct negotiations without any preconditions.”

But almost immediately, senior Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters the talks must take into account both an abandoned 2022 draft peace deal and the current situation on the ground.

This language is shorthand for Kyiv agreeing to permanent neutrality in return for a security guarantee and accepting that Russia controls swathes of Ukraine.

Putin also dismissed what he said was an attempt to lay down “ultimatums” in the form of Western European and Ukrainian demands for a ceasefire starting on Monday. His foreign ministry spelled out that talks about the root causes of the conflict must precede discussions of a ceasefire.

Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker and has repeatedly promised to end the war, earlier responded to Putin’s address by saying that this could be “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!.”


Taliban govt suspends chess in Afghanistan over gambling

Updated 11 May 2025
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Taliban govt suspends chess in Afghanistan over gambling

  • Gambling is illegal under the Taliban government’s morality law
  • An Afghani cafe owner said he would respect the suspension but that it would hurt his business and those who enjoyed the game

KABUL: Taliban authorities have barred chess across Afghanistan until further notice over concerns it is a source of gambling, which is illegal under the government’s morality law, a sports official said on Sunday.
The Taliban government has steadily imposed laws and regulations that reflect its austere vision of Islamic law since seizing power in 2021.
“Chess in sharia (Islamic law) is considered a means of gambling,” which is prohibited according to the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law announced last year, sports directorate spokesperson Atal Mashwani told AFP.
“There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess,” he said.
“Until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan,” he added.
Mashwani said the national chess federation had not held any official events for around two years and “had some issues on the leadership level.”
Azizullah Gulzada owns a cafe in Kabul that has hosted informal chess competitions in recent years, but denied any gambling took place and noted chess was played in other Muslim-majority countries.
“Many other Islamic countries have players on an international level,” he told AFP.
He said he would respect the suspension but that it would hurt his business and those who enjoyed the game.
“Young people don’t have a lot of activities these days, so many came here everyday,” he told AFP.
“They would have a cup of tea and challenge their friends to a game of chess.”
Afghanistan’s authorities have restricted other sports in recent years and women have been essentially barred from participating in sport altogether in the country.
Last year, the authorities banned free fighting such as mixed martial arts (MMA) in professional competition, saying it was too “violent” and “problematic with respect to sharia.”


Some Ukrainian soldiers say Russians must withdraw before any peace talks

Updated 11 May 2025
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Some Ukrainian soldiers say Russians must withdraw before any peace talks

  • Soldiers in drone unit say Russians must withdraw before peace talks
  • Insist Russia pull back to Ukraine’s 1991 borders and say there was no three-day ceasefire

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine: After fending off attacks during a three-day weekend ceasefire declared by Russia, some Ukrainian soldiers fighting near the front line had advice for their president, Volodymyr Zelensky: don’t talk to Moscow until Russian troops withdraw.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine just over an hour after his ceasefire ended, something Zelensky said was possible, but only after Moscow agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire from Monday.
Preparing drones to observe Russian troop movements as the ceasefire was ending, the commander of a drone unit in Ukraine’s national guard, using the call sign Chepa, told Reuters any talks could only start with a full Russian withdrawal to Ukraine’s borders when the country won independence in 1991.
“As a soldier and a citizen of Ukraine I believe that before we sit down at the negotiation table we should go back to the borders of 1991,” Chepa said in a bunker near the front line.
“That’s it. Full withdrawal of all troops from the territory of Ukraine. Then when we can talk. Whatever he (Putin) is thinking of, take certain regions or divide territories, nobody has given him the right to do it.”
Chepa’s views were echoed by others in the unit.
Russia occupies nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory and has repeatedly said Kyiv must recognize the “reality on the ground.”
Zelensky has acknowledged that at least some of Ukraine’s occupied territory will have to be retaken through diplomacy. But Kyiv cannot legally recognize Russian control over any Ukrainian territory because of the constitution.
Zelensky has said any discussion about territory can only take place after a ceasefire is in place.
Putin used a late night press conference to make his proposal for talks, which he said, should be based on a draft deal negotiated in 2022, under which Ukraine would agree to permanent neutrality.
That would contradict Ukraine’s constitution, amended in 2019 to include the goal of “fully-fledged membership” of NATO.
Zelensky received a show of support from European powers on Saturday, when the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland backed an unconditional ceasefire beginning on Monday.
Chepa said he also wanted negotiations but feared they would never come about.
“Yes, we do need negotiations. But he (Putin) is scared of talks,” Chepa said, adding his brigade had seen no evidence of a ceasefire over the weekend.
“We have not seen any ceasefire, there were continuous attacks by howitzers, rocket launchers, they used it all. We have not experienced any ceasefire.”
The Russian movements continued into Sunday, after the Russian-declared ceasefire ran out at midnight (2100 GMT), when the reconnaissance drones flew over a nearby village.
“There is a lot of movement there of military as well as civilian vehicles,” Chepa said. “Interesting that so close to the contact line there is a civilian car. Not damaged, mind you. They must be making good use of it.”


India’s worst-hit border town sees people return after ceasefire

Updated 11 May 2025
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India’s worst-hit border town sees people return after ceasefire

  • Most of the over 60 dead were civilians and the majority Pakistanis
  • Residents returned as an India-Pakistan truce was holding on Sunday

POONCH: Residents of the town in Indian-administered Kashmir worst hit by the deadliest fighting in decades with Pakistan trickled back on Sunday, a day after a surprise truce.
Over 60 people died in days of days of missile, drone and artillery attacks that came close to all-out war until the ceasefire, which was holding on Sunday despite early alleged violations.
Most of the dead were civilians and the majority Pakistanis.
On the Indian side, Poonch on the Indian-run part of divided Kashmir bore the brunt, with at least 12 people killed at 49 injured, according to officials.
They included 12-year-old Zian Khan and his twin sister Urwa Fatima, hit by an artillery shell on Wednesday as their parents tried to leave the town.
The majority of the 60,000-strong population fled in cars, on buses and even on foot, leaving only a few thousand to brave it out.
Tariq Ahmad arrived back on Sunday bringing back 20 people in his bus as signs of life and activity returned to Poonch’s streets.
“Most who fled are still afraid and will wait and watch to see if this agreement holds,” the 26-year-old driver told AFP at the main bus terminal.
“Luckily, I managed to pick up 20 people from nearby villages who wanted to check if their homes and belongings survived the intense Pakistani shelling.”
Poonch lies about 145 miles (230 kilometers) from Jammu, the second largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Hazoor Sheikh, 46, who runs a store in the main market, was one of the first few people to reopen his shop.
“Finally, after days, we could sleep peacefully,” he said.
“It is not just me or my family but everyone around finally had a smile yesterday,” he added.
“I nervously returned a short while back to check on my shop,” 40-year-old Mushtaq Qureshi said.
“Our families and neighbors were all separated as people fled to villages or relatives’ homes for safety. But we are happy to be back today and to see each other again,” he said.
Qureshi had left his home with about 20 relatives.
“Buildings around our neighborhood were hit but luckily nothing has happened to my home,” he said.
Rita Sharma, 51, said she was really looking forward to seeing five children from her extended whom she had sent away for safety.
“They were the first to call yesterday after the (ceasefire) announcement and declared that they’d be back home by Sunday evening,” she said.
“We hope it stays peaceful.”
Hotel manager Subhash Chandar Raina also stayed put despite “the worst shelling in years.”
“I feel sorry for those who’ve lost lives and belongings but thank God for allowing us to return to our normal lives after the worst phase in the region for years,” the 53-year-old said.
Raina was one of only two hotel staff who stayed back as they felt traveling “was risky.”
Abdul Razzak, 50, remembers fleeing with four children and two other relatives on two motorbikes with nothing but their clothes.
“It was our worst nightmare... We’ve seen our people die around us, so none of us want a war,” Razzak said.
Hafiz Mohammad Shah Bukhari was skeptical.
“We are not entirely confident that this ceasefire agreement will hold, based on our experience over the years,” the 49-year-old said.
“Every time India has agreed to such an agreement, Pakistan has ended up violating it... It’s people like us, the frontier people, who end up suffering and losing everything.”