At least 20,000 flee insurgency-hit town in Nigeria, says governor
Borno state has witnessed an upsurge in attacks by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) assailants this year, raising concerns that the militants are making gains again after years of intense attacks by the military.
Borno state governor Babagana Zulum visited Marte, which is close to the border with Cameroon, to assess the security situation and meet military officials there.
His visit followed a raid on Marte's army base last week in which militants temporarily overran the installation. At least five soldiers were killed and others went missing in the attack.
"Marte was resettled about four years ago, but unfortunately, over the last three days, it was ransacked and was displaced again," Zulum told reporters on Sunday. "About 20,000 people left Marte for Dikwa."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
12 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Key Somalia town of Maxaas falls to Al-Shabaab
MOGADISHU - Islamist militants took control of the strategic town of Maxaas in central Somalia on Sunday after heavy fighting with the army and local militias, military sources said. The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has taken dozens of towns and villages since launching an offensive early this year, reversing almost all of the gains made by the government in its own military campaign in 2022 and 2023. In a statement, Al-Shabaab said it had taken the town of Maxaas, around 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the capital Mogadishu, which is considered a strategic hub for transport and logistics in the central region. Members of the Somali National Army confirmed the fall of Maxaas, though claimed it was a "tactical retreat". Mohamed Dahir, an army commander in the area, told AFP that Al-Shabaab had attacked with "car bombs and hundreds of heavily armed" fighters early on Sunday. "The brave members of the Somali army and the local community militias fought them fiercely outside town before making a tactical retreat to pre-established defensive positions outside town," he said by phone. Maxaas had been held by Ethiopian troops, part of the African Union's security force, until they handed over the military base to the Somali National Army in August 2024. The government had also relied on the support of local militias opposed to Al-Shabaab. "Al-Shabab militants managed to enter the town after heavy fighting this morning," Ali Hayo, a local militia fighter told AFP by phone, speaking from a nearby location. "There is still sporadic gunfire outside town, but I can confirm that the terrorists are now controlling Maxaas. "The fighting is not over, we are still close to the town, and we are expecting to engage in counteroffensives," he said.
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
France's top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria's Assad
PARIS - France's highest court Friday annulled a French arrest warrant against Syria's ex-president Bashar al-Assad - issued before his ouster - over 2013 deadly chemical attacks. The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, "new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him" and as such the investigation into the case could continue. Human rights advocates had hoped the court would rule that immunity did not apply because of the severity of the allegations, which would have set a major precedent in international law towards holding accused war criminals to account. They said that, in this regard, it was a missed opportunity. "This ruling represents a setback for the global fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law," said Mazen Darwish, the head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a civil party to the case. French authorities issued the warrant against Assad in November 2023 over his alleged role in the chain of command for a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4 and 5, 2013 in Adra and Douma outside Damascus. Assad is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case. Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed rebels. UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION The French judiciary tackled the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, whereby a court may prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries. An investigation - based on testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photos and video footage - led to warrants for the arrest of Assad, his brother Maher who headed an elite army unit, and two generals. Public prosecutors approved three of the warrants, but issued an appeal against the one targeting Assad, arguing he should have immunity as a head of state. The Paris Court of Appeal in June last year however upheld it, and prosecutors again appealed. But in December, Assad's circumstances changed. He and his family fled to Russia, according to Russian authorities, after Islamist-led fighters seized power from him. In January, French investigating magistrates issued a second arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian. 'GREAT VICTORY' The Court of Cassation said Assad's so-called "personal immunity", granted because of his office, meant he could not be targeted by arrest warrants until his ouster. But it ruled that "functional immunity", which is granted to people who perform certain functions of state, could be lifted in the case of accusations of severe crimes. Thus it upheld the French judiciary's indictment in another case against ex-governor of the Central Bank of Syria and former finance minister, Adib Mayaleh. He has been accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity over alleged funding of the Assad government during Syria's civil war. Mayaleh obtained French nationality in 1993, and goes by the name Andre Mayard on his French passport. Darwish, the Syrian lawyer, said that part of the court's ruling was however a "great victory". "It establishes the principle that no agent of a foreign state, regardless of the position they hold, can invoke their immunity when international crimes are at stake," he said. Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes since its eruption in 2011 with the then-government's brutal crackdown on anti-Assad protests. Assad's fall on 8 December 2024 ended his family's five-decade rule.
IOL News
19-07-2025
- IOL News
RSF intensify blow to army in Kordofan by downing drone and killing three senior commanders
Bayethe Msimang The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have dealt severe blows to the Sudanese army in Kordofan, recently downing an army drone and killing key commanders, highlighting the escalating conflict in the region, writes Bayethe Msimang Image: IOL Across various parts of the Kordofan region, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have dealt a series of crushing blows to the Sudanese army and its allies, including the joint armed movements and Islamist militias. Most recently, the RSF succeeded in downing an army drone in Al-Khawi locality in West Kordofan state. Sudanese media, citing informed military sources, reported that the RSF's air defense detected, tracked, and successfully shot down the reconnaissance drone operating over the area. Social media accounts affiliated with the RSF circulated footage showing the wreckage of the downed drone, following two other devastating strikes against the army. The first strike, a drone airstrike, killed several officers from the armed movements and the army, including Brigadier General Abbas Mohamed Turoni, the spokesperson for the so-called Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance – Abdullah Yahya faction, and Brigadier General Mohab Ahmed Mahmoud, head of moral guidance for the Fifth Division in El-Obeid and supervisor of the popular resistance in North Kordofan. This is not the first time the RSF has claimed to have shot down Sudanese army drones; such incidents have become increasingly frequent amid the escalating clashes in Darfur and Kordofan. In a painful blow to the armed movements allied with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Jibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement and Minister of Finance in the government of Kamel Idris, acknowledged the death of his movement's top military commander, Taher Arja, during the battles in Umm Sumaymah, Kordofan, according to the 'Ain Al-Haqiqa' website. The RSF launched an assault on Umm Sumaymah early on Sunday, inflicting heavy losses on the army and its allied armed factions. For some time now, the RSF has been attempting to seize control of El-Obeid city and push further toward the capital, Khartoum, with the battles against the army increasingly concentrated in Kordofan over recent months. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In an implicit admission of repeated army setbacks, the Sudan Tribune reported yesterday that Abdel Khaleq Abdel Latif, the governor of North Kordofan and a known army loyalist, issued a decision banning the transport of goods and fuel outside El-Obeid. This move comes as RSF forces tighten their siege on the city, now surrounded from three directions. This decision reflects concerns that supplies intended for the army and its joint forces allies could fall into RSF hands as they close in on El-Obeid and other towns in the state. The RSF continues to launch drone strikes on El-Obeid intermittently, alongside ongoing attacks on army and joint forces positions. Army forces in El-Obeid remain trapped under a tight siege imposed by the RSF since the outbreak of conflict on April 15, 2023. On Sunday, the RSF declared its successes in the strategically important area of Umm Sumaymah west of El-Obeid, claiming a decisive defeat inflicted on al-Burhan's forces, with losses exceeding 470 killed, alongside the capture of large quantities of weapons and military equipment, while dozens of enemy combatants fled. * Bayethe Msimang is an independent writer, commentator and analyst. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
