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Daily News Egypt
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily News Egypt
Alarming Advance of Jihadist Groups in Sahel Raises Regional Security Concerns
The Sahel region is witnessing a sharp deterioration in security as jihadist groups expand their influence, overpowering state forces and plunging entire areas into chaos, French newspaper Le Figaro has warned in a recent report. According to the analysis by journalist Jean-Marc Gonin, national armies in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are increasingly losing control over vast territories, while civilian populations continue to bear the brunt of violence in a conflict they are neither responsible for nor equipped to escape. Three years after France ended its counterterrorism Operation Barkhane under mounting pressure from military juntas that seized power in the region, jihadist insurgencies led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) have surged. These militant groups are not only challenging the armed forces of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger but are also conducting cross-border raids into neighbouring states such as Benin, posing a growing threat to West African stability. Coordinated Raids and Military Setbacks In the past three months, JNIM launched a wave of attacks in western Mali, including a major offensive near the borders with Senegal and Mauritania. The simultaneous raids targeted seven towns, including the strategic urban centres of Kayes and Nioro, underscoring the group's growing operational capabilities. JNIM's leader, Tuareg commander Iyad Ag Ghaly, is reportedly pursuing control of critical urban hubs and key transportation corridors essential for Mali's access to imported supplies from coastal nations. Although Malian authorities later claimed to have recaptured Kayes, the group succeeded in seizing significant military equipment in the process. Witnesses in the area reported the use of armoured vehicles and, in recent months, the possible deployment of drones by militants—raising alarm over the group's evolving arsenal. Bakary Sambe, regional director of the Timbuktu Institute, described the July 1 attacks as 'well-planned strikes' aimed at disrupting military communication lines and logistics. 'This isolation of Bamako weakens the state's response and gives militants the freedom to launch rapid attacks and withdraw with minimal resistance,' he said. Sahel States Struggle to Push Back Since the withdrawal of French troops in 2022 and the United Nations peacekeeping force in 2023, JNIM has filled the security vacuum, growing in both presence and influence. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have since formed the Sahel States Alliance (AES) to confront the threat, but despite some localised military gains, the coalition continues to suffer heavy losses. The July 1 attacks underscored the challenges faced by national forces. While some incursions were repelled, several operations resulted in significant casualties among government troops. Observers say the reliance on Russian military support—particularly through the controversial Wagner Group—has further complicated the situation. Wagner operatives, accused of human rights abuses, have exacerbated existing grievances, fueling local anger and inadvertently aiding jihadist recruitment. Deepening Social Divisions The ongoing violence has heightened tensions between herder and farming communities, particularly among the Fulani people, who are spread across the Sahel. Jihadist groups, especially JNIM, have exploited these fault lines to gain loyalty, offering a form of economic stability and protection in exchange for allegiance. Le Figaro noted that jihadists have, over the past three years, strategically positioned themselves as defenders of the Fulani, in contrast to national governments and allied militias accused of targeting the group. One of the mo…
Scottish Sun
05-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Floor was slick with blood, screams echoed in tunnel, I felt every human emotion, says 7/7 survivor on 20th anniversary
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ON the morning of July 7, 2005, journalist Peter Zimonjic and his wife Donna set off from their West London flat to catch a train into the city. It was a seemingly ordinary day, much like any other – but it would turn out to change Peter's life for ever. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 Peter Zimonjic says the 7/7 bombings have taught him to feel in his bones how our time on Earth is fleeting Credit: Photograph by Blair Gable 8 Commuter Alexander Chadwick took this picture of passengers being evacuated from the bombed Piccadilly Line train in a tunnel near Kings Cross station Credit: AP:Associated Press 8 A shot from a passenger's video on board a train next to the one targeted by bombers at Edgware Road Credit: Ferrari Press Agency For he was about to witness the worst terror incident since the 1988 Lockerbie disaster – and the first suicide bombings that the UK had ever seen. That morning, just before 9am, three al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists detonated devices on Tube trains in central London. An hour later, a fourth device was set off on a No30 bus near Euston station. The 7/7 bombings killed 52 people and injured over 770. Peter and Donna had caught a train at their local station in Hanwell, near Ealing. But when they had to change trains, Donna chose to take a different route from Peter's, as she was heavily pregnant and thought she would be unlikely to find a seat on the busy Circle Line. So Peter got on without her – and was caught up in one of the deadly explosions that has haunted him ever since. Tomorrow there will be a service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral for those who were killed or injured on the city's transport network. But for Peter, 52, it will be too heartbreaking to return. Here, he explains why. 7/7 survivor Dan Biddle and his rescuer Adrian interview MY wife, Donna, was eight months pregnant with our first child on the morning of July 7, 2005. She had slept poorly, which meant so did I. At Paddington I kissed her goodbye, watched her train disappear into the tunnel, and marched to the Circle Line. I stood in the crowded carriage as the train accelerated towards Edgware Road. Around the same time a bomber got on at that station. As his train passed mine in the tunnel, he detonated his bomb. There was a sudden loud smashing noise which reminded me of the metal on metal of one car hitting another in a high-speed accident. I thought two trains had clipped one another as they passed in the tunnel. The thought of it being a bomb was an alien one. When the emergency lighting returned in the carriage, smoke was beginning to sting our senses. 'Clothes shredded' A family nearby comforted their terrified children. A man to my left grasped at the sealed doors to escape. Panic spread. From the carriage behind, a person asked for help. When a man in front of me moved towards the calling voice, I followed. The coach on the parallel track lay in darkness, but through the sliding doors we could see a leg and an arm wiggling into our train. The limbs belonged to a man trying to force his way through a hopelessly narrow crack in the doors — his clothes shredded, his skin dripping with blood, his face frantic. 8 First responder Paul Dadge helps injured passenger Davinia Turrell at Edgware Road tube station Credit: AP:Associated Press 8 The bombed Edgware Road Circle Line train where six victims died Credit: Gavin Rodgers The man I'd followed into that carriage, who I would later learn was named Tim Coulson, worked with me in a vain attempt to release the door. We smashed the window and jumped across the track into the darkened carriage of the neighbouring train. I climbed through the window frame and slid on a floor that was slick with blood. Bodies, some moving, some frozen, lay strewn about the dim carriage. Screams echoed through the tunnel, all pleading for help. Some were close, some seemed very far away. All were filled with a deep terror. It was a sound I'd not heard before or since. Stepping back and looking down the carriage, I could see a man in a suit trying to revive a woman lying prone on the carriage floor, her clothes almost blown off, with chest compressions. The outcome of that effort had been decided long before he got there. My heart raced, my breathing shortened, my head swelled — I didn't know what to do next. I was experiencing every human emotion at once — I was overwhelmed, incapable, impaired. 8 I felt a hand on my leg, and when I looked down I saw a man lying on his back. He pointed below his waist where I could see he only had one leg. The stump that remained had been tied off with the remnants of a white collared shirt. I took off my suit jacket, folded it and put it under his head. I took off my shirt and ripped it into bandages, strengthening the tourniquet. For more than an hour I lurched through the carriage looking for people I could help, feeling that whatever I did was not enough. When we finally walked through the tunnel into daylight, I phoned Donna. I did not know if she was the victim of another bomb on another train. For 20 years I've lived my life trying to only think of the terror of that day on its anniversary Peter Zimonjic When I heard her voice I broke down for the first time. She had thought it was some kind of fault or disruption. When I told her it was a terror attack, she kicked into survival mode and helped me get home. I wrote an account of my experiences that ran in the Sunday papers immediately following the attacks. A man named Andrew Ferguson who recognised my description of him, of his efforts to help save people that day, reached out to me and we went for a pint. It was like meeting a lost brother. Help people connect For the Tube staff and the emergency service workers, the bombings happened at their place of business, alongside colleagues. But the passengers were all strangers, alien to one another. I set out to fix that and created to help people connect and fill in the blanks of the day. Many became the subject of my book: Into The Darkness: An Account Of 7/7, a retelling of the day we were trapped in the hellish scenes together. When I moved back to Canada two years later, Tim and his wife Judy came to stay with us and over the years we kept in touch. When I flew back for the tenth anniversary of the attack, they sat right behind us in St Paul's Cathedral. We embraced and smiled, so happy to see one another alive and well again. 8 Peter with his wife Donna and their kids Anja and Jakob Credit: supplied 8 Peter's friend Tim Coulson, who died last year Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd For 20 years I've lived my life trying to only think of the terror of that day on its anniversary. The grandest resistance to that horror and death, I have always felt, is to live and to find joy, to love my wife and daughter Anja, now 20, born two weeks after the bombs, and my son Jakob, now 18. As this anniversary approached, I decided not to come back to London to mark the occasion. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Earlier this year the world lost Tim. I wouldn't be able to sit in St Paul's and feel that empty space behind me. The July 7 bombings taught me life is fleeting — which is one thing to know and another to really feel in your bones. Marked by the horror of the day, I was fortunate not to have faced the terrible injuries some survivors have had to bear, or the unfathomable loss of loved ones that others still live without. Most fortunate was that I was able to walk out of that tunnel and into the arms of my wife, that I was able to witness the birth of my children, that I was able to grasp the sunlight and pull myself out of that tunnel to live and love and survive.
The Irish Sun
05-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Floor was slick with blood, screams echoed in tunnel, I felt every human emotion, says 7/7 survivor on 20th anniversary
ON the morning of July 7, 2005, journalist Peter Zimonjic and his wife Donna set off from their West London flat to catch a train into the city. It was a seemingly ordinary day, much like any other – but it would turn out to change Peter's life for ever. 8 Peter Zimonjic says the 7/7 bombings have taught him to feel in his bones how our time on Earth is fleeting Credit: Photograph by Blair Gable 8 Commuter Alexander Chadwick took this picture of passengers being evacuated from the bombed Piccadilly Line train in a tunnel near Kings Cross station Credit: AP:Associated Press 8 A shot from a passenger's video on board a train next to the one targeted by bombers at Edgware Road Credit: Ferrari Press Agency For he was about to witness the worst terror incident since the That morning, just before 9am, three al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists detonated devices on Tube trains in central London. An hour later, a fourth device was set off on a No30 bus near Euston station. The 7/7 bombings killed 52 people and injured over 770. READ MORE ON 7/7 BOMBINGS Peter and Donna had caught a train at their local station in Hanwell, near Ealing. But when they had to change trains, Donna chose to take a different route from Peter's, as she was heavily pregnant and thought she would be unlikely to find a seat on the busy Circle Line. So Peter got on without her – and was caught up in one of the deadly explosions that has haunted him ever since. Tomorrow there will be a service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral for those who were killed or injured on the city's transport network. Most read in The Sun But for Peter, 52, it will be too heartbreaking to return. Here, he explains why. 7/7 survivor Dan Biddle and his rescuer Adrian interview MY wife, Donna, was eight months pregnant with our first child on the morning of July 7, 2005. She had slept poorly, which meant so did I. At Paddington I kissed her goodbye, watched her train disappear into the tunnel, and marched to the Circle Line. I stood in the crowded carriage as the train accelerated towards Edgware Road. Around the same time a bomber got on at that station. As his train passed mine in the tunnel, he detonated his bomb. There was a sudden loud smashing noise which reminded me of the metal on metal of one car hitting another in a high-speed accident. I thought two trains had clipped one another as they passed in the tunnel. The thought of it being a bomb was an alien one. When the emergency lighting returned in the carriage, smoke was beginning to sting our senses. 'Clothes shredded' A family nearby comforted their terrified children. A man to my left grasped at the sealed doors to escape. Panic spread. From the carriage behind, a person asked for help. When a man in front of me moved towards the calling voice, I followed. The coach on the parallel track lay in darkness, but through the sliding doors we could see a leg and an arm wiggling into our train. The limbs belonged to a man trying to force his way through a hopelessly narrow crack in the doors — his clothes shredded, his skin dripping with blood, his face frantic. 8 First responder Paul Dadge helps injured passenger Davinia Turrell at Edgware Road tube station Credit: AP:Associated Press 8 The bombed Edgware Road Circle Line train where six victims died Credit: Gavin Rodgers The man I'd followed into that carriage, who I would later learn was named Tim Coulson, worked with me in a vain attempt to release the door. We smashed the window and jumped across the track into the darkened carriage of the neighbouring train. I climbed through the window frame and slid on a floor that was slick with blood. Bodies, some moving, some frozen, lay strewn about the dim carriage. Screams echoed through the tunnel, all pleading for help. Some were close, some seemed very far away. All were filled with a deep terror. It was a sound I'd not heard before or since. Stepping back and looking down the carriage, I could see a man in a suit trying to revive a woman lying prone on the carriage floor, her clothes almost blown off, with chest compressions. The outcome of that effort had been decided long before he got there. My heart raced, my breathing shortened, my head swelled — I didn't know what to do next. I was experiencing every human emotion at once — I was overwhelmed, incapable, impaired. 8 I felt a hand on my leg, and when I looked down I saw a man lying on his back. He pointed below his waist where I could see he only had one leg. The stump that remained had been tied off with the remnants of a white collared shirt. I took off my suit jacket, folded it and put it under his head. I took off my shirt and ripped it into bandages, strengthening the tourniquet. For more than an hour I lurched through the carriage looking for people I could help, feeling that whatever I did was not enough. When we finally walked through the tunnel into daylight, I phoned Donna. I did not know if she was the victim of another bomb on another train. For 20 years I've lived my life trying to only think of the terror of that day on its anniversary Peter Zimonjic When I heard her voice I broke down for the first time. She had thought it was some kind of fault or disruption. When I told her it was a I wrote an account of my experiences that ran in the Sunday papers immediately following the attacks. A man named Andrew Ferguson who recognised my description of him, of his efforts to help save people that day, reached out to me and we went for a pint. It was like meeting a lost brother. Help people connect For the Tube staff and the emergency service workers, the bombings happened at their place of business, alongside colleagues. But the passengers were all strangers, alien to one another. I set out to fix that and created to help people connect and fill in the blanks of the day. Many became the subject of my book: Into The Darkness: An Account Of When I moved back to Canada two years later, Tim and his wife Judy came to stay with us and over the years we kept in touch. When I flew back for the tenth anniversary of the attack, they sat right behind us in St Paul's Cathedral. We embraced and smiled, so happy to see one another alive and well again. 8 Peter with his wife Donna and their kids Anja and Jakob Credit: supplied 8 Peter's friend Tim Coulson, who died last year Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd For 20 years I've lived my life trying to only think of the terror of that day on its anniversary. The grandest resistance to that horror and death, I have always felt, is to live and to find joy, to love my wife and daughter Anja, now 20, born two weeks after the bombs, and my son Jakob, now 18. As this anniversary approached, I decided not to come back to London to mark the occasion. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Earlier this year the world lost Tim. I wouldn't be able to sit in St Paul's and feel that empty space behind me. The Marked by the horror of the day, I was fortunate not to have faced the terrible injuries some survivors have had to bear, or the unfathomable loss of loved ones that others still live without. Most fortunate was that I was able to walk out of that tunnel and into the arms of my wife, that I was able to witness the birth of my children, that I was able to grasp the sunlight and pull myself out of that tunnel to live and love and survive. I GOT ABUSE DUE TO MY MUSLIM FAITH WHEN the first Tube bomber set off his device on the eastbound Circle Line train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, Muslim passenger Mustafa Kurtuldu was sitting in the next carriage. After the blast he had an agonising 45-minute wait for emergency services to lead him to safety – and then went on to receive abuse because of his religion. Mustafa, now a designer, said: 'My bag was searched after we were rescued from the Tube, and when I was outside it was searched again after an officer asked my name. 'I sat next to a Spanish guy while I was being transported to hospital on a bus, but I felt as though he was treated differently to me and was given more sympathy. I was only 24 years old and had the burden of being an 'unelected official' for the Muslim community. 'I had the anxiety of explaining that I wasn't the 'bad guy'. 'In the weeks following the bombings I was attacked at knifepoint, and was made to condemn the attacks as a Muslim. 'If someone is a victim of any other kind of crime, they wouldn't be asked to condemn it. 'It's so irrational. You are held to a higher level of accountability. 'It still happens. I was on a flight back from Canada and was pulled to the side with other Asian men. 'When the flight attendant saw I was in business class, she apologised, so I asked if terrorists don't travel business class. It's ridiculous.' And 20 years on, Mustafa is still suffering. He added: 'I used to go to the memorial in Hyde Park and break down. 'I had such survivor's guilt. It has seriously affected me. 'Over time, you learn to pretend that it doesn't impact you. I tried to talk to others about it but people don't understand.'
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Time of India
Terror attack in Mali: 3 Indians, including 2 from Telugu states, abducted by al-Qaeda-linked militants; diamond cement factory staff taken hostage
HYDERABAD: In a suspected terror attack on a cement factory in Kayes city in Mali in west Africa, three Indian nationals, including two from Telugu states, were abducted on July 1 by militants believed to be linked to the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The abducted individuals include a senior employee from Maharashtra serving as general manager, Amareswar, a service engineer from Miryalaguda in Telangana, and Ramana, a foreman from Andhra Pradesh. Intelligence sources from Telangana and AP confirmed their identities and roles at the plant. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad The Diamond Cement unit confirmed the abduction but declined to share further details. The factory is owned by Hyderabad-based Prasaditya Group, which is believed to have facilitated the men's employment in Mali. The Indian embassy in Bamako, capital of Mali, is working with local authorities and the Mali govt to secure their release. 'Ensure safe, swift release of Indians' Embassy officials are also in regular contact with the families of the abducted men and the factory's management. Following the incident, senior executives from Prasaditya Group flew down to Mali and are coordinating with local law enforcement authorities. When approached for comment, Motaparti Siva Rama Prasad, chairman of the group, declined to speak on the matter. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The ministry of external affairs said in a statement, "The embassy of India in Bamako is in close and constant communication with Malian authorities, law enforcement, and the management of Diamond Cement factory." "The govt of India strongly condemns this cowardly act of violence and urges the Republic of Mali to ensure the safe and swift release of the abducted Indian nationals," the MEA said. While no group has officially claimed responsibility yet, security agencies suspect the involvement of JNIM.
The South African
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The South African
Mali kills 80 militants after al-Qaeda-linked raids escalate
The Malian Armed Forces (FA Ma) responded to coordinated attacks on military targets in seven cities on 1 July 2025. The targeted areas were Nioro du Sahel, Diboli, Kayes, Sandere, Gogoui, Molodo, and Niono. As a result, the attack affected Nioro, Kayes, Sandere and Gogui, deeply alarming residents and local officials. Near the governor's residence, Kayes residents reported heavy gunfire and smoke. The attacks occurred near the borders with Mauritania and Senegal, raising concerns about regional security. The al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attacks. Moreover, JNIM declared that it had acquired numerous army installations, including three barracks. According to reports from Al Jazeera, quoting JNIM statements, the group described the operation as 'coordinated and high-quality.' The assault marks the third major JNIM attack in the past month. In addition, the militants had earlier killed 30 troops in central Mali and attacked the airport in Timbuktu. Mali's army declared the death of 80 rebels during counteroffensive operations. Insurgents suffered casualties in every combat zone, according to Army spokeswoman Souleymane Dembele. Weapons, motorcycles, and vehicles used in the attacks were among the confiscated items. Images of dead insurgents were broadcast on national television by the military. Official figures for the number of Malian soldiers' fatalities remained unreleased as of 2 July. For over ten years, Mali has struggled with Islamist insurgencies, including branches of ISIL and al-Qaeda. The country's continued military rule following the 2020 coup hinders international cooperation. In May 2025, the US Africa Command issued a warning about the growth of militants along West Africa's coastline. Furthermore, General Michael Langley emphasised the increasing risks of weapon trafficking and smuggling in the Sahel region. As a result, the attacks highlight growing insecurity in Mali and its neighbouring countries. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
