By Democracy Now Image Credit: Reuters (L) Democrats Protest Trump’s State of the Union President Donald Trump on Tuesday delivered the longest State of the Union address in modern history, speaking for nearly two hours as he claimed the United States is entering a “golden age” under his leadership. Trump spent much of his speech touting his economic policies and his administration’s immigration crackdown. We play excerpts from Trump’s address as well as responses to it from different Democratic lawmakers, many of whom skipped the speech to attend alternative events. Transcript This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN:  This is Democracy Now! , Democracynow.org , the War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. In the longest State of the Union in recent history, President Trump hailed his economic record over the past year, claiming the country is entering a golden age. But resistance to his presidency keeps growing. In one of the most heated moments, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota shouted out to Trump, “You have killed Americans.” Omar represents Minneapolis where federal immigration agents recently fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Omar’s remarks came as President Trump launched an attack on immigrants. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. PEOPLE:  [cheers and applause] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  Isn’t that a shame? You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up! You should be ashamed of yourself. PEOPLE:  [overlapping shouts] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  That is why I’m also asking you to end— REP. ILHAN OMAR:  You have killed Americans! PEOPLE:  [overlapping shouts] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  —deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals— REP. ILHAN OMAR:  You have killed Americans! PEOPLE:  [overlapping shouts] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  —and enact serious penalties— REP. ILHAN OMAR:  You have killed Americans! PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  —for public officials who block the of removal of— REP. ILHAN OMAR:  You have killed Americans! PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  —criminal aliens, in many cases drug lords, murderers, all over our country. PEOPLE:  [overlapping shouts] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  They are blocking the removal of these people out of our country and you should be ashamed of yourself. PEOPLE:  [cheers and applause] PEOPLE:  USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! At another point in his State of the Union, President Trump lashed out at Democrats and accused them of trying to destroy the country. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  Look! Nobody stands up. These people are crazy, I’m telling you. They’re crazy! PEOPLE:  [overlapping shouts] PEOPLE:  [applause] PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  Amazing. Incredible. PERSON:  Epstein files! PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  Boy, oh boy. We’re lucky we have a country. With people like this, Democrats are destroying our country but we have stopped it just in the nick of time, didn’t we? PEOPLE:  [applause] AMY GOODMAN:  Earlier in the evening, Democratic Congressmember Al Green of Texas was removed from the chamber after he held up a sign that read “Black People Aren’t Apes.” He spoke to reporters after his removal. REP. AL GREEN:  I attended the State of the Union address knowing that the president would come in and that he would have to pass by me to get to the podium. And I wanted him to know that portraying President Obama and First Lady Obama as members of the primary family is not only unacceptable, it is something that is deplorable and something that we will not tolerate. At least I will not. And I wanted him to get close to someone who could tell him to his face. And I did. And judging from the look on his face as he turned away quickly, he was at a moment of vulnerability because he is not confronted by people who are willing to speak truth to him. AMY GOODMAN:  Many Democratic lawmakers boycotted Trump’s address and took part in a People’s State of the Union at the National Mall. This is Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen. SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN:  We have a president who seeks not to build a more perfect union but one who wants to tear it down. And a president who said he would stop wars, who said he would stop wars but instead is responsible for war crimes and as we speak is threatening more wars. We need to stop him. We are gathered here because we know that we cannot pretend that any of this is normal and that we will not and must not pretend that this is business as usual. We must get in the way of Donald Trump’s march toward fascism. AMY GOODMAN:  Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, who is a former CIA officer, gave the Democrats’ official response to the State of the Union. GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER:  They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies. They have sent children—a little boy in a blue bunny hat—children to far-off detention centers, and they have killed American citizens in our streets. And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability. Our president told us tonight that we are safer. Because these agents arrest mothers and detain children? Think about that. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed, not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities. AMY GOODMAN:  Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger was speaking from the House of Burgesses chambers in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. We will be dealing with the State of the Union throughout the show. More after the break. [MUSIC BREAK] The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License . Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org . Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Two more drones intercepted on Monday, authorities say, in what appears to be sustained targeting of base Flashes appear in the sky over RAF Akrotiri, as seen from Pissouri, Limassol District, Cyprus. Photograph: KitasWeather/Reuters March 2, 2026 A one-way attack drone – said to have been launched by Lebanon’s Hezbollah – struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus at about midnight on Sunday, prompting a partial evacuation of the military facility. Two more drones were successfully intercepted on Monday morning, the Cypriot authorities said, as part of what appears to be a sustained targeting of the base on the third day of the war in the Middle East. It has not yet publicly determined from where the drones were launched, though officials said the first drone was launched before Keir Starmer announced the UK would allow the US to use its airbases to bomb Iranian missile sites. A Cypriot news agency reported that the damage to the airbase had been caused by small low-flying drones launched by Lebanese Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group from the country, but no formal confirmation had been issued by the UK Ministry of Defence on Monday afternoon. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Our armed forces are responding to a suspected drone strike at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at midnight local time. Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people.” Defence sources said the drone was likely a Shahed-type drone, a relatively cheap Iranian-designed one-way attack vehicle. Its parts have been recovered and are being investigated. A security alert put out to residents in the vicinity of Akrotiri by the British base’s administration on Sunday night advised residents to shelter in place until further notice “following a suspected drone impact”. On Monday morning, a Cypriot government spokesperson said: “Two unmanned aerial vehicles that were moving towards the direction of the British bases at Akrotiri were confronted in time.” Anti-drone measures had been stepped up at Akrotiri, the Ministry of Defence said, but these were insufficient to stop the first drone getting past the local defences. The incident is thought to have caused no casualties and only limited damage. Family members of British military personnel have been asked to leave the base for their own safety, and will be based elsewhere in Cyprus until the alert passes. The drone struck hours after the UK agreed to let the US use British military bases to attack Iranian missile sites, but officials indicate the possible flight times mean it was launched before the prime minister announced the new policy. Guardian graphic. Source: Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project, local news reports. Note: Strikes are ongoing, not an exhaustive list of targets Though the UK has tried to limit its involvement in the conflict so far, it is considered by Iran to be a close ally of the US. In a recorded statement on Sunday evening, Starmer said Iran’s approach was becoming more reckless and putting British lives at risk, leading to the decision to allow the US to use its military bases. He said British forces would not be directly involved in the strikes, and the bases would only be used for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of targeting missile storage depots and launchers being used to attack Iran’s neighbours. “We have taken the decision to accept this request, to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region … killing innocent civilians … putting British lives at risk … and hitting countries that have not been involved,” he said. The US president, Donald Trump, has indicated he wants to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia – the largest of the Chagos islands in the Indian Ocean – most likely for stealth B-2 bombers, which will attack Iran’s deep-lying missile silos with bunker-busting bombs. The MoD confirmed on Monday that people who live at RAF Akrotiri were being moved to accommodation nearby on Cyprus “as a precautionary measure”. “Our base and personnel continue to operate as normal protecting the safety of Britain and our interests,” it added. On Monday morning, the president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said the Akrotiri base had been hit overnight by an unmanned Shahed drone, which caused minor material damage. “I want to be clear: our country does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation,” Christodoulides said in a statement. Britain retains sovereignty over the territory of two bases on Cyprus, which is a member of the EU. RAF Akrotiri covers a sprawling, square-shaped peninsula on the southern tip of the eastern Mediterranean island. The last time it was directly attacked was by Libyan militants in the mid-1980s. According to the MoD’s website, the joint operating base is “used as a forward mounting base for overseas operations in the Middle East and for fast jet training”. It is understood the UK government recently moved additional resources to bases in Cyprus as part of its operations in the Middle East. Hostilities in the Middle East entered their third day on Monday, with the US and Israel continuing to strike Iran after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike. Asked about the safety of hundreds of thousands of UK nationals in the region, Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary , told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that about 102,000 people – of a possible total she put at 300,000 – had registered their presence with UK authorities. © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

By Grace Harris Members of Eritrea’s armed forces march past a reviewing stand where President Isaias Afwerki and numerous dignitaries and government officials were seated during the official 32nd Anniversary of Independence celebration at the Asmara Stadium on May 24, 2023, in Asmara, Eritrea. © 2024 Photo by J. Countess/Getty Images Eritrea Country Report 2025 By Grace Harris Eritrea was a colony of Italy from 1889 to 1942, annexed by Ethiopia in 1962. It formally gained independence  in 1993 following 30 years of war. Disputes over the border with Ethiopia escalated into war in 1998 that cost over 100,000 lives and displaced a million people . The conflict continued until 2018, when Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders negotiated a peace deal that strengthened relations between the two countries and promoted regional stabilization. However, hostilities with Ethiopia are flaring once more in 2025 surrounding another border dispute and access to the red sea.   The Eritrean government once used the conflict with Ethiopia to justify state repression, but has maintained the same practices despite its resolution. It was listed as one of the most repressive countries by Human Rights Watch because of the 30-year governance of President Isaias Afwerki, who refuses to follow the 1997 constitution or hold elections. Very little information leaves the country due to media suppression. Under his rule, political opponents, journalists, and perceived dissidents are arbitrarily detained for years and even decades. Many people have also disappeared without a trace, notably a group of 11politicians who spoke out against Afwerki and 16 journalists associated with them. Forced labor and military conscription are also significant issues in the country.  The human rights of minority groups in Eritrea are systematically violated as well. The Afar people have been subjected to decades of discrimination and persecution. Government policies have pushed them off their land, banned their traditional occupation of fishing, and subjected them to mass arrests. Over 57,000 Afar have fled the country as refugees, most seeking shelter in neighboring Ethiopia.  Additionally, Sunni Islam, Eritrean Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Evangelical Lutheranism are the only recognized religions . Followers of other faiths are targeted, detained, and denied religious liberty. Alongside atrocities committed against its own people, Eritrea was heavily involved in the Tigrayan genocide in Ethiopia that left an estimated 600,000 people dead . Eritrea is not party to the 2022 peace agreement made between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF, and its military has continued to commit crimes against humanity across Tigray to this day, particularly systemic rape and sexual violence alongside civilian massacres and arbitrary detentions. Furthermore, Eritrea is not a state-party to the Genocide Convention or the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) . Therefore, Eritrea cannot be sued in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violation of the Genocide Convention. Unless the UN Security Council refers the situation in Eritrea to the ICC, Eritrean leaders cannot be tried by the ICC.  Eritrean forces have stayed in Tigray , where they continue to commit crimes against humanity ,  systematic rape and sexual violence , and massacres of civilians. Because of Eritrea’s persecution of dissidents and minority groups, media suppression, and authoritarian rule by President Afwerki, alongside a denial of complicity in Tigray, Genocide Watch considers Eritrea to be at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 6: Polarization, and Stage 10: Denial Genocide Watch recommendations: Eritrea should sign the 2022 peace agreement A State-Party to the Genocide Convention should bring a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Eritrea for violation of the Genocide Convention. Eritrea should ratify its 1997 constitution that guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, and the right to vote to all citizens, including religious and ethnic minorities. The Eritrean government should free all political prisoners and hold fair elections. Eritrea should end its requirement of military service for all Eritrean citizens.

Highways gridlocked as thousands evacuate while Israel launches its deadliest assault on Lebanon in over a year, killing 31 people. A displaced family fleeing Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon arrives in the southern port city of Sidon, early Monday. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] Lebanese civilians have fled southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs as a deadly escalation erupts between Israel and Hezbollah. Many are seeking sanctuary in makeshift shelters across Lebanon’s capital. At least 31 people were killed and 149 wounded in overnight Israeli strikes on Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Highways became gridlocked as people evacuated following Israel’s deadliest assault on Lebanon in over a year. The strikes came shortly after Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel for the first time in more than 12 months. “I don’t know how long it will take us to reach Beirut,” said Ali Hamdan, who had been travelling for seven hours on what should have been a 30-minute journey from his village to Sidon. “I’m headed towards Beirut, but I don’t know where yet. We don’t have a place to stay.” In Beirut, public schools transformed into emergency shelters. Families arrived with mattresses and belongings, while volunteers registered names as classrooms and courtyards filled with displaced people. Hussein Abu Ali, who fled with his family from a southern Beirut suburb, recounted the strikes: “My son began shaking and crying. Where are you supposed to go? I stepped outside, then back in because I was afraid of shooting in the air. I gathered my children and went down to the street.” Nadia al-Salman, displaced from Majdal Zoun in the south, declared: “They do not intimidate or frighten us, and they will not make us retreat even an inch from the path of resistance.” During the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, over one million Lebanese were displaced. Many remain unable to return to their destroyed border villages. Hezbollah stated Monday’s attacks were retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and “repeated Israeli aggressions”, calling them “a legitimate defensive response”. The Israeli military warned residents in approximately 50 communities across southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate. Military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin stated Israel is considering “all options,” including a potential ground invasion, warning that “Hezbollah will pay a very heavy price”. He added that Israel has mobilised over 100,000 reservists since the war with Iran began on Saturday. Debris covers a street beside an apartment building hit by an Israeli air strike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo] A girl sits in a van as displaced families fleeing Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon arrive in the southern port city of Sidon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians are leaving areas in Beirut following Israeli strikes and forced displacement orders. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] A displaced family, fleeing Israeli strikes in Dahiyeh south of Beirut, sits on a sidewalk on Beirut's corniche. [Bilal Hussein/AP Photo] Israel launched heavy air strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and more widely in Lebanon, killing 31 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] Roads were jammed as people fled from targeted areas that bore the brunt of Israeli bombardment in 2024. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] The violence widened the conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes across the region. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] Hezbollah said its attack was to avenge "the pure blood" of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday, and "in defence of Lebanon". [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo] Families fleeing Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon register their names as they arrive at a school turned into a shelter, in Beirut. [Bilal Hussein/AP Photo] A displaced family fleeing Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon sits at a school turned into a shelter, in Beirut. [Bilal Hussein/AP Photo] Smoke rises from Israeli air strikes on Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. [Hassan Ammar/AP Photo] © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network

By Deepa Parent and Tess McClure The building appears to be among many devastated in Trump’s ‘major combat operations’ as long expected attacks arrive An image taken from Iranian state television broadcast on 28 February showing what it says is the site of US and Israeli strikes that hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab, southern Iran. Photograph: Alex Mita/IRIB TV/AFP/Getty Images Iran’s parents had just dropped their children off for class on Saturday morning when they found themselves racing back to school gates, as bombs began to fall across the country in a joint US-Israel attack. At one elementary school, according to Iran’s state-controlled media, they arrived to find devastation. At least 80 children had been killed in the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran , the IRNA news agency reported, with dozens more unaccounted for. In one video circulating on social media, purportedly showing the immediate aftermath of the strike, smoke rises from the burnt-out walls, and debris lies spread across the road. Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the site, some in obvious distress. Screams can be heard in the background. The report of the bombing, its death toll and the video’s source could not immediately be independently verified by the Guardian. Persian factchecking service Factnameh was able to cross-reference the video with other photographs of the school site, and concluded that the video was authentic. Reuters said it had also verified the footage as being from the school. The school appears to be adjacent to a Revolutionary Guards barracks. If the death toll is confirmed, the school bombing would be the largest mass casualty event of the US-led attack so far. People scan the horizon as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran when the US-led attacks began on Saturday. Photograph: AP Across the country, Iranians said they were feeling a mixture of terror and hope as the bombings continued. Some expressed relief that the long-expected strikes had arrived, and opponents of the regime spoke of hope that they might lead to political change – but both were tempered by fear that the attacks would bring more civilian deaths to a country already reeling from recent bloodshed. In Tehran, some people sheltered in their homes, while others rushed through gridlocked traffic to find their children as schools shut down. Many said they had been preparing for weeks for a possible war, stockpiling water and supplies. Amir*, 37, owner of a bakery in Tehran, said he was “relieved” to hear that strikes appeared to have hit government buildings, but feared there would be collateral damage. “My worry is that innocent people will be killed,” he said. Amir had family members injured in the Iranian regime’s recent crackdown on nationwide protests, and feared there was more bloodshed to come. “We have endured so much grief – despite that, we don’t want to see the body bags on the streets due to US and Israeli strikes,” he said. The attacks came in the middle of diplomatic negotiations between Iran and the US, about seven weeks after Tehran violently crushed nationwide anti-regime demonstrations, with government forces opening fire on unarmed protesters . According to the US-based Human Rights Activist news agency (HRANA), which has been documenting casualties, more than 7,000 people have been confirmed dead in the protests, with more than 11,000 deaths still under investigation. Some, who had lost friends or family members in the protests, were defiant: Mohsen, 25, an IT worker in Tehran, said: “We do fear that compatriots will be killed [by the US/Israeli strikes], but I have witnessed friends gunned down by the regime – like thousands of us have. “I don’t really know what we are going to witness. But thanks to the regime and its killing machine, we have already seen what a war zone feels like.” Moein*, 21, a student at the University of Tehran, said he could hear loud bangs from near the university as the bombs struck. He was involved in the recent protests and had two friends killed in the crackdown. He said: “We were not in favour of foreign intervention, because we did not want our loved ones to be killed, but the regime has massacred our families anyway. When weapons come from the US, do they strike us more gently than when they come from the regime’s killing machines?” Moein said that while the city felt apprehensive, it had not plunged into panic. “We have been preparing for war so we have stocked up on essentials,” he said. “As far as I know there are no bomb shelters for us ordinary people.” He and others on the ground said they had been intermittently unable to access state media – although it was not clear whether this was due to cyber-attacks or websites being overwhelmed by traffic. The war was launched by the US and Israel on Saturday morning, with Donald Trump announcing that he was beginning “major combat operations” against Iran, and urging Iranians to rise up and “take over your government”. The US had built up a significant military presence in the region over recent weeks in preparation for an attack. “I wasn’t surprised because we were expecting an attack for weeks,” said Mehnaz*, 27, based in Tehran. She was having breakfast when she heard loud explosions about 9am. “We live close to the presidential office and the administrative headquarters of the leader of the government,” she said. The first sets of strikes appeared to hit close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s offices and compound. Mehnaz said there were mixed feelings, particularly among opponents of the current government. “It’s a strange feeling,” she said. “Both fear and hope for the end of the regime.” * Names have been changed © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)

Tigray’s elite has become deeply split, with every policy issue – from IDP returns to demobilisation – framed through the lens of factional allegiance. 23 February 2026 Daniel Berhane Journalist and author A tank destroyed in fighting between the Ethiopian federal army and Tigrayan Defence Forces in Kasagita, Afar region, 2022. Tiksa Negeri/Reuters ADDIS ABABA Clashes last month in two Tigrayan districts between the federal army and Tigrayan forces could be the first steps towards a wider war that has been frozen for the past three years by a shaky ceasefire. Following the skirmishes in Tselemti, in southwestern Tigray, and Wajirat in the southeast, the federal government has moved several army divisions towards the Tigray border. It has also blocked the bank accounts of selected ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) officials. In anticipation of trouble ahead, people in the regional capital, Mekelle, have been stocking up on groceries, and long queues have formed at banks. Many shop owners, worried about disruptions to online networks, now refuse digital payments, while Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to the region. There is a broader international dimension to the tensions. Were war to break out, there are fears it would also drag in neighbouring Sudan, as well as governments in the  Gulf and Red Sea region – with even larger humanitarian repercussions. Who is who? The current domestic friction reflects a dramatic re-jigging of the political and military alliances of the 2020-22 Tigray war, when federal forces and Eritrean troops – backed by Amhara paramilitaries – marched against the TPLF-led regional administration.  That coalition has since collapsed. Eritrea was critical of the November 2022 Pretoria ceasefire accord, but fell out even more significantly with landlocked Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s demand for a port – especially when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed identified Eritrea's Red Sea Assab facility as a potential candidate. Both sides have also been vying for influence in a politically divided Tigray. For much of the past two years, that has played out over control of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA), set up under the ceasefire agreement as a first step towards Tigray’s re-inclusion in the federation. The jostling for influence is broadly represented by two rival camps led by TPLF chair Debretsion Gebremichael – seen as aligned with Asmara – and his former deputy, Getachew Reda, who is now an adviser to Abiy. Neither has Amhara escaped the discord. Thousands of the Amhara region’s paramilitary troops refused to accept disarmament demanded by Addis Ababa in 2023 and formed  an insurgent group, Fano , that inflicted a string of blows against the federal army. Conversely, in western Tigray, Amhara paramilitaries known as the Tekeze Guard serve as auxiliaries to federal forces. What’s gone wrong?  The federal government framed the Tigray conflict as a law‑enforcement operation, but its wartime allies used it to seize territory they lay claim to. Under the Pretoria peace deal, Amhara forces were  called on to withdraw from western and southern Tigray, and Eritrean troops to vacate the border districts of northern Tigray. The federal government, however, refused to enforce those stipulations. It instead insisted on directly controlling the disputed areas until a referendum could be held, with Amhara exercising de facto administrative control. Addis Ababa has in effect normalised the new status quo,  entrenching the territorial and demographic changes created by the war. Fearing violence and intimidation, that deadlock has prevented more than a million displaced Tigrayans from returning to their home villages. A compromise was forged in early 2024, prioritising the return process over the issue of territorial restoration. Under the framework, the federal army was supposed to assume all security responsibilities, dismantle illegal settlements, and disarm armed groups. Local governance would be organised through town hall meetings, with pre‑war police officers and militias reinstated.  After a rocky implementation in the southern districts it was halted. A governmental commission  reported that the returnees to Tselemti faced physical assault by pro-Amhara region militia, and their homes or farmlands remained occupied by settlers. In western Tigray, the Tekeze Guard –  constituted by  perpetrators of the ethnic cleansing during the war – publicly characterises the displaced Tigrayans as fugitives and insists that recognising Amhara’s territorial claim is a prerequisite for a peaceful return.  The Tselemti predicament was  presented by the president of TIRA as the reason for last month’s clash between the paramilitary Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) and the Ethiopian army. Disarmament is another area of concern – symptomatic of a poorly institutionalised peace process. There was optimism in the initial stages in 2023, with  state media reporting that the TDF were handing in their heavy equipment, but then began alleging the TDF was retraining some of their forces, and heavy weapons had been hidden. Meanwhile, a cash-strapped  demobilisation process was also badly off-track. Tigrayan officials argued that the peace deal stipulated full demobilisation was to go hand in hand with the removal of all non‑federal forces from western Tigray and the “restoration of Tigray’s constitutional territory and the full return of IDPs". Divisions within the TPLF Shortly after the Pretoria ceasefire, the TPLF became ensnared in a power struggle between a faction led by Debretsion and a rival group behind TIRA’s inaugural president, Getachew. At the root of this conflict lies a post-war legitimacy crisis and a fundamental divergence over where ultimate authority resides. Given the TPLF’s historically centralised governance model, the dispute over control of TIRA is existential. Losing control would undermine its electoral prospects and weaken its bargaining leverage vis-à-vis the federal government. When Abiy endorsed Getachew as TIRA president, Debretsion’s faction dug in to try and maintain control. To garner domestic support, it framed the dispute as a confrontation with Addis Ababa – the popular villain. In March last year, armed TDF officers took over TIRA offices, and Getachew and his allies fled the region. They have since formed a new opposition party backed by Addis Ababa. An armed group, the Tigray Peace Force (TPF), has also emerged with the objective of unseating the TPLF, and operates across Tigray’s southeastern border in the Afar region. Last October, when the TDF advanced towards the TPF’s base, they were countered by drone strikes from the federal army. Both Tigray factions have preyed on the public’s pain and post-war aspirations, squandering the momentum of the peace process. Tigray’s elite has become deeply split, with most policy issues – from IDP returns to demobilisation – framed through the lens of factional allegiance. Alignment and re-alignment The shift in the strategic landscape is nowhere better illustrated than a letter the Ethiopian government sent in June 2025 to the UN secretary-general alleging an imminent joint attack by the TDF, the Eritrean army, and Fano on western Tigray.  In a follow-up  letter in October, Addis Ababa alleged that TDF commanders had  participated in an offensive by Fano to capture Woldiya, a major town in northeastern Amhara. In the past few weeks, Ethiopia has also claimed to have intercepted weapons shipments from Tigray to Fano, and issued an ultimatum to Eritrea. My enemy’s enemy seems to be the organising principle. Fano  regards Abiy’s government as an existential threat to the Amhara people, justifying an alliance with any actor, including the TPLF – its opponent during the last war. Eritrea now gets a pass from the TPLF, despite the Eritrean army’s war atrocities and continued occupation of Tigrayan districts. If conflict is to come with Addis Ababa, an alliance with Asmara enables the TPLF to escape the encirclement it fears. By late 2025, these new relationships were reportedly formalised with trilateral meetings  held inside Sudan, within territory controlled by the government of President Abdel Farrah al-Burhan. The externalisation of the dispute is an increasingly dangerous element. Al-Burhan receives military and diplomatic support from Eritrea and Egypt as he battles his rival, General “Hemedti” Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces. Dagalo in turn is backed by the United Arab Emirates, with recent reports  alleging an Emirati-financed training camp for Sudanese rebels in Ethiopia’s western region. Addis Ababa, meanwhile, has antagonised Somalia by inching towards recognising breakaway Somaliland in return for a lease on the port of Berbera and a military base. Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland has exacerbated those regional tensions, drawing rebukes – and unease  – from Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. What happens next? With no sign yet of a diplomatic off-ramp, and as military preparedness by Ethiopian federal forces, the TDF, and Eritrea gathers pace, here are four potential scenarios to consider. Scenario 1: Addis Ababa seeks to eliminate TPLF The federal army’s troop build-up along Tigray’s borders could be an intensification of Addis Ababa’s existing pressure tactics, seeking to trigger mass protests or a palace coup within Tigray’s leadership by restricting fuel supplies, suspending budget finance transfers, and supporting dissenters.  The capitulation of the TPLF would fracture the current three-way alliance, in which Tigray serves as the geographic land bridge.  However, this gradual approach doesn’t justify the scale of the current military mobilisation, especially as it’s drawing forces away from other critical areas such as Amhara, where Fano operates. Scenario 2: Assab is the goal Addis Ababa’s objective in Tigray could include its goal to possess Assab. However, a military offensive on the port would be difficult. Getting to Assab, which borders the Afar region, would involve navigating rugged terrain and the Eritrean military is well dug in. Hence, a parallel operation closer to Eritrea’s heartland – accessible only through Tigray – to compel Eritrean forces to relinquish their trenches and extensive military presence around Assab would be necessary. This scenario puts the federal army in a simultaneous collision with both Eritrean and Tigrayan forces. Yet, Addis Ababa might deem that unavoidable if it believes the two are in a concrete military alliance.  Scenario 3: Eritrea/TDF take the initiative Ethiopia’s build-up could be anticipatory. Addis Ababa has long claimed that Eritrean and TDF forces were entering the final stages of planning for a joint offensive. Statements by Eritrean and TPLF officials suggest at least tacit coordination, if not military cooperation. Such an offensive would likely target the federal army bases in the Gondar-western Tigray corridor or the Afar region. However, pushing farther south would stretch supply lines, making Eritrea-TDF forces vulnerable to choke points and counter-offensives. This scenario assumes the federal government is at its weakest and ripe for overthrow. When the TPLF made a similar assessment in late 2021, Abiy’s government proved resilient, mobilising massive new recruits and deploying  armed drones effectively. Scenario 4: Diplomatic breakthrough, but multiple spoilers The final scenario is a diplomatic breakthrough that cools tensions. However, Addis Ababa has raised the political stakes through its national security rhetoric, allusion to port annexation, and sustained military mobilisation – de-escalation now could be seen as retreat. Reaching acceptable terms would be difficult. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki prioritises strategic depth rather than diplomatic assurances. A détente would diminish the influence inside Ethiopia that Eritrea’s current alliances provide. The TPLF leadership is unlikely to trust mediators over its current alliances and submit to disarmament, given heightened threats to its survival. Disarmament, particularly, without restoration of western Tigray, would undermine its resistance narrative and strain its internal cohesion. None of these probable scenarios offer a clear path to victory for any actor.  What is clear is that a return to the post-ceasefire calm is now highly improbable. However the situation unfolds, the peace process will be further complicated with new grievances and alignments that could prove hard to disentangle. Edited by Obi Anyadike. © All rights reserved 2026

By Elizabeth Melimopoulos and Sarah Shamim Pakistani defence minister says Pakistan is waging ‘open war’ against Afghanistan. Taliban security personnel keep watch near the Durand Line in Gurbuz district of Khost province on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan. [AFP] Pakistan has launched air strikes on Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and other cities, as clashes escalate along the two countries’ shared border. On Friday, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad’s patience had run out with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, declaring that Pakistan will now wage “open war”. The declaration came hours after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah ⁠Mujahid said Afghanistan was carrying out “large-scale offensive operations” against the Pakistani military along the Durand Line , which separates the two countries. This follows weeks of fighting along the countries’ shared border, with both sides claiming that dozens of people  have been killed. Hostilities are taking place against a backdrop of an escalation in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities since the latter’s return to power in 2021. Here is what we know so far: What has happened? On Friday, Pakistani officials said Afghan forces had attacked military positions close to the border, prompting Islamabad to launch air strikes on targets inside Afghanistan, including in the capital, Kabul, and in other cities. The first Pakistani strike occurred at about 1:50am local time on Friday (21:20 GMT on Thursday), Al Jazeera’s correspondent Nasser Shadid reported, with Afghan forces responding with anti-aircraft fire. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you,” Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on X. Pakistan called this Operation Ghazab lil Haq, which translates to “righteous fury”. Which areas in Afghanistan have been hit by Pakistan? Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that “Afghan Taliban defence targets” had been struck in Kabul, the southeastern Paktia province and southern Kandahar, while Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared what he described as an “open war” with the Taliban government. Afghan government spokesperson Mujahid also confirmed in an X post that these three provinces had been hit. The Associated Press reported that the attacks had destroyed two brigade bases in Afghanistan, citing two senior Pakistani security officials who spoke to the agency on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Pakistani state media outlet Pakistan TV claimed in a report that the country’s forces had “destroyed” a number of Taliban locations in a few hours. According to the outlet, the locations attacked in Afghanistan included a Taliban brigade headquarters and ammunition depot in Kandahar, as well as Taliban posts in the Wali Khan sector, near the Shawal sector, in the Bajaur sector and in Angoor Adda. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said it was also targeting Afghan Taliban forces in several districts of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province: Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur. Later on Friday, gunfire and shelling were reported near the key Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, and the AFP news agency reported that shelling had been heard near the crossing in the morning. AFP reported Afghan soldiers were heading towards the frontier. The Torkham crossing has remained open for Afghans returning en masse from Pakistan, despite the land border being largely shut since fighting between the neighbours in October. What do we know about casualties? Reports from each side are conflicting. Mosharraf Zaidi, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister, wrote on X early on Friday that in the attack on Friday morning, 133 Afghan Taliban forces had been killed and more than 200 were wounded. He added that 27 Afghan Taliban posts had been destroyed, and nine had been captured. More than 80 “tanks, artillery pieces, and armed personnel carriers have been destroyed”, he wrote. Pakistani news outlet Dawn reported that two Pakistani military personnel had died in the ongoing clashes. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the casualty figures released by Pakistan. The Taliban government, however, said only eight Taliban fighters were killed and 11 were wounded. Afghanistan said its military had launched its attack on Pakistani military bases and outposts along the border early on Friday in retaliation against Pakistani strikes across the Afghan border on Sunday. It claimed its forces had killed 55 Pakistani soldiers, and captured two military bases and 19 military posts. Pakistan has dismissed this claim. For its part, Pakistan said its air strikes last Sunday killed at least 70 “militants”, a claim dismissed by Mujahid, according to news outlets. Mujahid, instead, wrote on X that the attacks “killed and wounded dozens, including women and children”. The provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar province, Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, said 18 people had been killed and several others were wounded on Sunday. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who does not hold an official position but remains an influential political figure, said the country “will defend their beloved homeland with complete unity in all circumstances and will respond to aggression with courage”. “Pakistan cannot free itself from the violence and bombings – those problems it has created itself – but must change its own policy and choose the path of good neighbourliness, respect, and civilised relations with Afghanistan,” he wrote in an X post on Friday. Why are Pakistan and Afghanistan fighting? The current flare-up of violence between the two countries is the culmination of months of tension. In October 2025, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks mediated by Qatar and Turkiye following a week of fierce and deadly clashes along their border. The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is called the Durand Line and spans 2,611km (1,622 miles). Afghanistan does not formally recognise this border, which it argues was an imposed colonial demarcation that illegitimately divided ethnic Pashtun areas between the two countries. The neighbours have been embroiled in frequent clashes since the Taliban took over in 2021. Sami Omari, an expert in South and Central Asian security and strategic affairs, told Al Jazeera there have been 75 clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces since 2021 – the same year that US and NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan. In particular, Pakistan wants the Taliban to rein in armed groups such as the Pakistan Taliban, known by its acronym TTP, which it says Afghanistan is harbouring. The TTP emerged in Pakistan in 2007 and is separate from the Taliban in Afghanistan, but shares deep ideological, social and linguistic ties with the group. Armed attacks in Pakistan by the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which operates in the resource-rich Balochistan province, have surged in recent years. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan, have borne the brunt of the violence. On Friday, Pakistan’s former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the country has “nothing against the proud and poor citizens of Afghanistan”. “But it is the Taliban (Afghanistan & Pakistan) who have forced Pakistan into this conflict,” he wrote on X. “For the sake of innocent civilians on both sides of the border, I hope the Taliban stop with incursions into and terrorism in Pakistan.” Afghanistan is unlikely to take action against armed groups, however, analysts say. “The Afghan Taliban appear unwilling to seriously crack down on the TTP, partly due to prior affinities between the two groups but also out of fear of TTP militants defecting to its main rival, the Islamic State Khorasan Province,” Pearl Pandya, South Asia senior analyst at the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), an independent, impartial conflict monitor, told Al Jazeera. Pandya added that a serious escalation is “inevitable” if the Taliban in Afghanistan do not crack down on the TTP. Elizabeth Threlkeld, director of the South Asia programme at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera that the latest clashes are not surprising, as they stem from months of “frayed” tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “It is significant to the extent that it represents perhaps a shift in strategy,” Threlkeld said, noting the “more aggressive, kinetic attacks” from Pakistan. “But since then, we’ve seen a couple of terrorist attacks within Pakistan that were quite significant. So, no, I’m not surprised that after those cumulative attacks, that tensions have frayed and things have again gone in this direction, unfortunately.” How has the world reacted? “India strongly condemns Pakistan’s air strikes on Afghan territory that have resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said . “It is another attempt by Pakistan to externalise its internal failures,” he said . United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged both sides to adhere to international law, according to a statement delivered by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue and good neighbourly principles. “In the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of self-restraint and strengthening solidarity in the world of Islam, it is fitting that Afghanistan and Pakistan manage and resolve their existing differences within the framework of good neighborliness and through the path of dialogue,” Araghchi wrote in an X post. Russia has urged the warring parties to ⁠halt cross-border attacks ‌immediately and resolve their differences through diplomatic ⁠means, the ⁠RIA news ⁠agency reported on ⁠Friday, ⁠citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia has also offered to mediate. © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Quatre ans après le début de l’invasion russe à grande échelle de l’Ukraine, quelle est la réalité des Ukrainiens qui ont décidé de rester ? Les crimes de masse perpétrés par la Russie à l’encontre de la population civile ukrainienne sont-ils constitutifs d’un génocide ? Comment les autorités russes justifient-elles ces actes de violence ? Pour répondre à ces questions, le podcast « Conversations on Genocide » a l’honneur de recevoir Katerina Sviderska, chercheuse émergente à l'Université de Cambridge, au Royaume-Uni. Ensemble, nous évoquons le quotidien des habitants de Kherson, où vivent encore quelques-uns de ses proches. Puis nous analysons les mythes historiques russes (mythe du nazisme et mythe de l'unité des Russes et des Ukrainiens) repris dans les discours officiels russes pour construire les frontières symboliques avec les Ukrainiens, permettant le passage à l’acte de violence. Katerina Sviderska est une doctorante ukraino-canadienne. Son mémoire de maîtrise intitulé « Mythes de masse à violence de masse : historiographie en Russie et génocide en Ukraine » (2024) a été récompensé par le prix Jenson-Pétry de la Société québécoise de science politique. Ses recherches doctorales au sein de l’Université de Cambridge portent désormais sur la construction identitaire ukrainienne et son intégration européenne. Blog Spotify

The Digna Ochoa Human Rights Committee reported that the injured, two of whom were elderly, were taken to hospitals in the region. February 11, 2026 By Fredy Martín Pérez Paramilitary group “Los Autónomos” ambushes and kills two indigenous people in Chiapas; four others are wounded. Photo: Valente Rosas/ EL UNIVERSAL San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas—A paramilitary group operating in the municipality of Tila carried out an ambush this afternoon, killing two Ch'ol people and wounding four others, according to the Digna Ochoa Human Rights Committee. They explained that between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m., the paramilitary group known as Los Autónomos, which has its center of operations in Sañojá, ambushed a group of Ch'ol people in the Río Grande annex. As a result of the gunshots, two indigenous people lost their lives, but one of them was shot dead, then doused with gasoline and set on fire. Four Ch'ol indigenous people, two of them elderly, were injured and taken to hospitals in the region in a private vehicle to receive emergency medical care. Locals have stated that the paramilitaries are led by José del Carmen Jiménez Pérez, alias “El Quemado,” who in June 2024 launched an offensive against communal land owners in Tila, causing the displacement of between four and six thousand people, the largest in Chiapas in the last 30 years, and the deaths of at least three people. Another leader is Nicolás Bravo, alias “El Postes.” The Digna Ochoa Human Rights Committee ( Comité de Derechos Humanos Digna Ochoa ) had said that an act of violence such as the one that occurred on Wednesday was expected. “We warn again that there is a risk of another massacre in Tila due to the failure of the federal and state governments to act, which have protected and allowed the criminal group Los Autónomos to operate, despite the presence of the Pakal Immediate Reaction Forces, the National Guard, and the Army in Tila, and their failure to execute the arrest warrants in force.” In a document dated February 11, the Ministry of the Interior ( Secretaría de Gobernación ) states that the institutional presence in Tila has enabled the parties in conflict to engage in dialogue. “The permanent institutional presence in the territory, prioritizing direct dialogue with the various social actors.” They seek to seize land In Tila, the paramilitary group “Los Autónomos” is attempting to seize 130 hectares of land from the children of the town's founders, which has caused constant problems in the municipality for more than 30 years. One of the two men who were killed was identified as Francisco “N,” who was part of the ejido authorities before 2015. The Ministry of the Interior assures that meetings have been held between the parties in conflict. “Working meetings have been held with law enforcement agencies and security forces, with the aim of strengthening the presence of the State and creating conditions for stability.” “The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for promoting, coordinating, and following up on matters related to the defense and protection of human rights, as well as for conducting dialogue and channeling communications with the competent authorities,” it says. On January 26, the State Police, Army, and National Guard arrested three Choles indigenous people accused of participating in the murder of Julio César Pérez Pérez, secretary of the Tila ejido commissariat, on January 12, near the community of Nicolás Bravo. The detainees are: José “N”, Cristian ‘N’ and Francisco “N”, who were charged with the crimes of aggravated murder against Julio César Pérez Pérez. Likewise, Héctor “N” and Eugenio “N” were arrested for the aggravated murder of the former ejido commissioner of Tila, José Pérez Martínez, which occurred on September 10, 2025, on the road between Chulum Chico and Río Grande. With what happened on Wednesday, the murderers continue to operate with impunity in the municipality of Tila. The Digna Ochoa Human Rights Committee stated that “the Chiapas state government authorities were immediately notified, and they have reported that they are aware of the facts and are already taking the necessary action.” “We trust that the responsible authorities will take the necessary steps to clarify the facts, provide medical care to the injured, and determine responsibility in accordance with the law and in strict adherence to human rights,” said the Committee. This article has been adapted from the original in Spanish. © 2026 Copyright EL UNIVERSAL, Compañía Periodística Nacional. All rights reserved.

Africanews December 31, 2025 Hundreds of Somalis protest Israel's recognition of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, the first by any country in more than 30 years, in Mogadishu Tens of thousands of Somalis took to the streets across the country on Tuesday to protest Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway region that Somalia considers part of its sovereign territory. Large crowds gathered in the capital Mogadishu at the national stadium, where religious leaders led rallies calling for unity and condemning the move as an attack on Somalia’s territorial integrity. Similar demonstrations were reported in Baidoa, Guriel, Dhusamareeb, Las Anod and Buhoodle, with protesters waving Somali flags and chanting slogans rejecting the recognition. Somalia’s Foreign Minister, Abdisalam Abdi Ali, warned that Israel’s decision could have serious regional consequences. He said the move threatens security in the Horn of Africa and beyond, including the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and could embolden extremist groups operating in the region. In Las Anod, demonstrators framed the protests as a show of national solidarity. “I am actually supporting the unity of the Somali people, wherever they are,” said protester Mohamed Ismail. “We’re against all aggression from the Israeli government, especially Benjamin Netanyahu and his Zionist movement.” Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but had not been formally recognized by any country until last week. More than 20 nations have since condemned Israel’s move. Somalia also raised the issue at an emergency UN Security Council meeting, arguing that the recognition poses a threat to regional stability, a claim Israel has rejected. Copyright © africanews Farah Abdi Warsameh/Copyright 2025 The AP.

Poland needed to defend itself against Russia, a country which “has very aggressive intentions vis-à-vis its neighbors,” the country's deputy defense minister said. An unmanned mine-scattering vehicle is pictured during an open test of unmanned weapon systems conducted by the Polish Armaments Group on Thursday. Wojtek Radwanski / AFP via Getty Images Poland will use antipersonnel as well as anti-tank land mines to defend its eastern border against the growing threat from Russia , Poland’s deputy defense minister told The Associated Press on Friday as the country officially left an international convention banning the use of the controversial weapons. The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits signatories from keeping or using antipersonnel mines, which can last for years and are known for having caused large-scale suffering among civilians in former conflict zones in countries including Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Poland, which ratified the document in 2012 and completed the destruction of its domestic anti-personnel mine stockpile in 2016, withdrew from the treaty on Friday and says it plans to renew manufacturing weapons. “These mines are one of the most important elements of the defense structure we are constructing on the eastern flank of NATO, in Poland, on the border with Russia in the north and with Belarus in the east,” Pawel Zalewski, Poland’s deputy defense minister, said. He said Poland needed to defend itself against Russia, a country which “has very aggressive intentions vis a vis its neighbors” and which itself never committed to the international land mine ban treaty. Armoured vehicles are parked at a section of Poland - Belarus border near the Polowce-Pieszczatka, Poland, in Oct. 2025.Rafal Niedzielski / AP Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine , nearby countries have been reassessing their participation in the international treaty. Last year, Warsaw joined Finland, the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Ukraine to announce it would leave the treaty. Russia is one of nearly three dozen countries that have never acceded to the Ottawa treaty, alongside the United States. Poland vows to make its own mines Zalewski said that Poland will begin domestic production of both antipersonnel and anti-tank land mines, adding that the government would cooperate with Polish producers. He said Poland was aiming for self-sufficiency. Land mines are an explosive weapon that’s placed on or just under the ground and blows up when a person or a vehicle crosses over them. Anti-tank mines, which are designed not to be triggered by a person’s weight, are not forbidden by the Ottawa Convention. Poland's Prime Ministrer Donald Tusk in Warsaw in Sept. 2025.Wojtek Radwanski / AFP - Getty Images Speaking on Thursday after attending a demonstration of Bluszcz, an unmanned vehicle designed to distribute anti-tank mines produced by Polish company Belma S.A. and a military research institute, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland would “soon” have the ability to mine its eastern borders within 48 hours in case of a threat. Given the length of the country’s eastern borders, he said, “a lot” of land mines will be needed. Poland says it will only use mines in case of ‘realistic threat of Russian aggression’ Poland plans to prepare mine stockpiles as part of the so-called Eastern Shield, a system of enhanced fortifications Poland has been building on its borders with Belarus and Russia since 2024, Zalewski said. But he said that Poland would only deploy the mines along its borders “when there is a realistic threat of Russian aggression.” “We very much respect our territory and we don’t want to exclude it from day to day use for the Polish citizens,” Zalewski said. Human rights groups have condemned moves to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, arguing that anti-personnel mines are too dangerous to civilians. But Zalewski responded that the country is striking a balance by keeping the mines in reserve unless the country faces attack. “We are not an aggressive country,” he said, “but we have to use all means to deter Russia.” The Associated Press

By AFP and AP Afghan officials deny claims, as they accuse Pakistan of targeting civilians and violating its sovereignty in Sunday’s border air raids. Taliban security personnel search for victims after an overnight Pakistani air attack on a residential area in Bihsud district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, on February 22, 2026 [AFP] A senior Pakistani government official has claimed that its military killed at least 70 fighters in air raids along the border with Afghanistan, claims Kabul has denied, amid escalating tensions between the two South Asian neighbours. Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News on Sunday evening that at least 70 rebels were killed in the attack. Pakistan’s state media reported that the death toll had jumped to 80; however, there was no official confirmation. Pakistan’s military carried out the air raids early on Sunday, targeting what it called “camps and hideouts” belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad. The country’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps belonging to the Pakistan Taliban group, known by the acronym TTP, and its affiliates. Taliban security personnel and residents search for victims after overnight Pakistani air raids on a residential area in Girdi Kas village in Bihsud district, Nangarhar province, on February 22, 2026 [AFP] Tarar said Pakistan “has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region”, but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a top priority. President Asif Ali Zardari said late on Sunday that Pakistan’s recent attacks along the Afghan border were “rooted in [its] inherent right to defend its people against terrorism” after repeated warnings to Kabul went unheeded. The attacks threaten a fragile ceasefire between the South Asian neighbours, negotiated following deadly border clashes that killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected fighters in October last year. Pakistan said it has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to take action to prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks, but that Kabul has failed to “undertake any substantive action”. Afghanistan denies claims The Afghan Ministry of Defence said in a statement that “various civilian areas” in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika were hit, including a religious school and several homes. The statement called the attacks a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty. Afghanistan has rejected Pakistani allegations that its territory is used by armed groups linked to attacks in Pakistan. Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said “people’s homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act” with the bombardment of the two eastern provinces. Residents from around the remote Bihsud district in Nangarhar joined searchers to look for bodies under the rubble using shovels and a digger, the AFP news agency reported. “People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives. When the bombing happened, one person who survived was shouting for help,” resident Amin Gul Amin, 37, told AFP. Spokesperson Mujahid also said Pakistan’s claim of killing 70 fighters was “inaccurate”. Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar province, said 18 people were killed and several others were wounded. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul to protest against the attacks. In a statement, the ministry said protecting Afghanistan’s territory is its “Sharia responsibility”, warning that Pakistan would be held responsible for the consequences of such attacks. © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network