People told to leave three areas as fears grow of wider conflict between government and Kurdish authorities The Syrian army ordered civilians to evacuate neighbourhoods of Aleppo on Thursday after fighting with Kurdish forces entered its third day, deepening the rift between the Syrian government and the US-backed Kurdish authorities in Syria . The Syrian government urged people to leave the three contested neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zeid by early afternoon, opening humanitarian corridors and displacement shelters to facilitate their exit. The Syrian army said it would begin military operations against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the deadline, and issued maps showing specific areas that needed to be evacuated. Shortly after the deadline expired at 1.30pm local time (1030 GMT) the Syrian government began shelling, with the SDF firing as well. The clashes are the most intense fighting in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, and sparked fears of a broader conflict between the Syrian government and the well-armed Kurdish authorities who control much of north-east Syria – nearly a third of Syrian territory. Despite an agreement for the SDF to merge into the Syrian army by the start of 2025, clashes have continued to erupt between it and the government. This week’s three days of fighting represent the longest open conflict between the two sides since the agreement was signed in March 2025. A member of the White Helmets, a volunteer civil defence group, helps people flee in Aleppo.Photograph: Ghaith Alsayed/AP About 140,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting since it started on Tuesday, according to the directorate of social affairs and labour in Aleppo. At least eight civilians have been killed in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods, and seven civilians and one soldier killed in government-controlled areas. Dozens more have been wounded on both sides. The SDF currently controls the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo but on Wednesday the Syrian government announced its intention to push out Kurdish fighters from all of Aleppo city, in a move likely to exacerbate tensions between it and the Kurdish bloc in the north-east. The SDF denies having any fighters in the neighbourhoods, instead describing them as local self-defence forces. Both sides accused the other of human rights violations, with the Syrian government claiming the SDF used civilians as human shields, not letting them evacuate and shooting at them when they tried. The SDF shared videos of what it said were government forces shelling a hospital in Aleppo, as well of what it called “brutal artillery shelling” targeting populated residential areas in Sheikh Maqsoud. Many displaced people fled to other provinces of Syria, but some did not have the means to travel and sheltered in nearby mosques and churches. People hurriedly leaving Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo. Photograph: Adri Salido/Getty Images At the root of the conflict are continuing disagreements about the status of the SDF in post-Assad Syria. It controls nearly a third of the country and has been a partner of US forces in their anti-Islamic State mission in Syria. Under the 10 March agreement, the SDF is meant to integrate fully into the new Syrian army. However, disagreements over how exactly that integration would take place have stalled progress. The SDF is seeking autonomy under the government, and after massacres on Syria’s coast and Druze-majority areas – in which some government-backed forces committed human rights violations against civilians – it has become more bullish on retaining its weapons. Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army have been fighting the SDF for years and there is bitter enmity between them. A meeting on Sunday between Damascus and the SDF yielded no new progress on implementing the agreement, despite the deadline expiring. There is growing distrust on both sides, which has been worsened by fighting and a lack of progress in negotiations. Supporters of the government were outraged as pictures of civilians allegedly killed by SDF shelling circulated on social media, while thousands of protesters gathered in Qamishli, the de-facto capital of the SDF-controlled areas in north-east Syria, in solidarity with the SDF. Describing Syrian government forces as “jihadists”, Farhad Shami, a spokesperson for the SDF, said on Thursday afternoon that fighting in Aleppo “opened the door to the expansion of the war into other areas”. Kurds shout slogans during a protest on Thursday in Diyarbakır, Turkey, against Syria’s military and in solidarity with the SDF. Photograph: Ilyas Akengin/AFP/Getty Images A US state department official on Thursday urged restraint on all sides, and said the US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, was trying to mediate between the two sides. “All parties should focus on how to build a peaceful, stable Syria that protects and serves the interests of all Syrians, rather than pushing the country back into a cycle of violence,” the state department official said in a statement. The US has tried to maintain a balancing act between its longtime Kurdish allies in Syria and the new authorities in Damascus, to which it has grown closer. The SDF views US support and its continued military presence as a safeguard against Turkey, which has carried out three invasions against it. Turkey considers the SDF a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group with which it has fought a four decades-long insurgency. The Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, called the SDF the “biggest obstacle to peace in Syria” on Thursday, while the Turkish defence ministry said it would provide military aid to the government in Damascus if requested. © 2026 The Guardian

As many as 3,000 feared dead as witnesses describe government forces firing on unarmed protesters. By Erika Solomon , Farnaz Fassihi , Sanam Mahoozi and Sanjana Varghese An image taken from social media and verified by The New York Times shows people looking for relatives as bodies piled up outside Tehran’s forensics laboratory on Sunday.Credit ...via Reuters As the Iranian authorities impose a near-total communication blackout on a country convulsed by mass protests, videos and witness accounts slowly emerging suggest that the government is waging one of its deadliest crackdowns on unrest in more than a decade. Eyewitnesses say government forces have begun opening fire, apparently with automatic weapons and at times seemingly indiscriminately, on unarmed protesters. Hospital workers say protesters had been coming in with pellet injuries but now arrive with gunshot wounds and skull fractures. One doctor called it a “mass-casualty situation.” Despite the communications blockade, a recurring image has made its way out of Iran: rows and rows of body bags. In videos uploaded by opposition activists on social media, families can be seen sobbing as they huddle together over bloodied corpses in unzipped bags. And in footage aired on Iranian state television, a morgue official, sheathed in blue scrubs, stands amid bags neatly arranged along the floor of a white room, under glaring fluorescent lights. The state broadcaster said the images show the danger that protests pose to Iran’s society: “There are individuals in these gatherings who want to drag ordinary people — people who have nothing to do with these events — and their families into this situation. So that they too are drawn into the chaos,” the reporter in the voice over said. “I have never seen images like these in my life before.” Those who still support Iran’s theocratic government and those in the streets calling for its downfall agree: These are days of brutality unlike anything they have ever seen. The toll of dead and injured across the country is unclear. Human rights groups are struggling to reach their contacts inside Iran and follow the methodology they normally use to verify information but say they have counted more than 500 dead. Multiple American officials say that U.S. intelligence agencies have conservatively estimated that more than 600 protesters have been killed so far. The agencies have noted that both the current protests and the crackdown are far more violent than those in 2022 or other recent uprisings against the government. A senior Iranian health ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said about 3,000 people had been killed across the country but sought to shift the blame to “terrorists” fomenting unrest. The figure included hundreds of security officers, he said. Another government official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he had seen an internal report that referred to at least 3,000 dead, and added that the toll could climb. If confirmed, the death toll would be among the worst in recent Iranian history. Witnesses spoke of seeing snipers positioned on rooftops in downtown Tehran and firing into crowds; of peaceful protests turning abruptly into scenes of carnage and panic as bullets pierced through people’s heads and torsos, sending bodies toppling to the ground; and of an emergency room treating 19 gunshot patients in a single hour. “The regime is on a killing spree,” said one protester, Yasi. She, like other Iranians interviewed by The New York Times, asked that her full name be withheld for safety. Yasi, who is in her 30s and works for a publishing company, said she was marching along Andarzgoo Boulevard in Tehran on Friday night with friends when security forces stormed in and shot a teenage boy in the leg as his mother looked on. “My son! My son! They shot my son!” the woman cried, Yasi said. Videos posted to social media on Monday night and verified by The New York Times showed a large crowd of protesters in Tehran. The sound of gunfire could be heard, and the cry: “Death to the dictator!” For the past five days, the Iranian authorities have shut down the internet, international phone lines and sometimes even domestic mobile phone connections. That has left rights groups, journalists and families alike struggling to understand the scope of what has happened. But videos trickling out of the country and the messages of some Iranians who occasionally get satellite internet connections offer a devastating picture of bloodshed. “I managed to get connected for a few minutes just to say it’s a blood bath here,” Saeed, a businessman in Tehran, told The Times. He said he was using a Starlink internet connection late on Sunday. When protests over the dire Iranian economy broke out in Tehran’s marketplace, on Dec. 28, Saeed took to the streets to join them. He had done the same during the protest movement in 2022 and those before it, he said. But as Iran descends into deeper isolation, it has become increasingly clear, he said, that this crackdown is “unlike any of the protests that came before.” “I personally saw a young man get shot in the head,” he told The Times in recorded audio messages. “I witnessed someone get shot with a bullet to the knee. The person fell to the ground unconscious, and then security forces gathered over him.” Two weeks ago, when a sharp currency devaluation sent protesters into the streets, officials acknowledged their grievances as legitimate, though they warned protesters not to be swayed by “rioters.” But in the past week, the smaller demonstrations in city markets and universities exploded into a broader popular movement, with throngs of protesters filling major city squares and rural town centers alike. Now Iranian officials have begun to talk of them being taken over by “terrorists,” and foreign agents loyal to its enemies, the United States and Israel. In a sign of the scale of the crackdown, the government has taken the unusual step of acknowledging that there have been large numbers of casualties, but it has sought to portray the dead as victims of violent protesters and members of the security forces. “Take firm and effective measures to avenge the martyrs and those killed,” Iran’s attorney general, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, said at a meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council on Monday, according to the semiofficial news agency, Tasnim. A video posted online on Tuesday and verified by The Times showed security forces firing a hail of bullets at protesters in eastern Tehran. The six-minute video, dated Jan. 9, captures the sound of hundreds of gunshots and shows the muzzle blasts of weapons atop the police station in Tehranpars. At one point in the video, a person is dragged inside the courtyard of the police station. At another stage, a convoy of security forces riding motorcycles enters the station. Nine residents of Tehran, along with two doctors and a nurse who work at government hospitals, said they had witnessed the government’s harder line firsthand. Two said in interviews that they had seen snipers firing down at crowds in the Sattarkhan and Pasvaran neighborhoods of Tehran, and one recounted a security agent in the Aghdasieh neighborhood indiscriminately shooting at the crowd as he drove by. A Tehran resident who went to Sattarkhan with his wife on Saturday night said he had witnessed security forces open a barrage of gunfire with machine guns into a crowd of young men and women. They dropped to the ground on top of one another, he said. At Nikan Hospital in northern Tehran, a nurse said medical workers had been overwhelmed when 19 gunshot victims came in almost at once. At Shohada Hospital in the Tajrish neighborhood of Tehran, a doctor said many protesters taken there were declared dead upon their arrival at the hospital, and that many had been shot at a close range in the head, neck, lungs and heart. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, which is based in New York, released testimony on Monday from a doctor who has been treating patients in Tehran and Isfahan since the crackdown began. The group withheld his name for safety. Earlier in the protests, the doctor said, protesters were being treated for tear gas exposure and pellet gun wounds. Then on Thursday, the doctor said, he started hearing heavy machine gunfire from the hospital. “This was a mass-casualty situation,” the doctor said in his account. “Our facilities, space and personnel were far below the number of injured people arriving. The trauma cases I saw were brutal, shoot to kill.” The executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, Hadi Ghaemi, said his team had pieced together accounts from Karaj, west of Tehran, and Kermanshah, in western Iran, indicating that hospitals and clinics had been occupied by security forces who were searching for wounded protesters and collecting their personal information. Saeed, the Tehran businessman, described a similar experience in the capital. “They take the injured protesters to the hospital and if they recover, they arrest them,” he told The Times. “If their families arrive first, they try to somehow help them escape. The families who come to receive the bodies of those killed are forced into humiliating confessions: They have to say that the ‘terrorists’ have killed them.” Activists at the Washington-based Iranian rights group HRANA have gathered reports from hospitals suggesting that in some cases security officials were detaining protesters even before they had been treated for their wounds. Skylar Thompson, the deputy director of HRANA, said her organization’s death toll has jumped in fits and starts over the past two days, as people sporadically managed to get online and share what they had learned. On Saturday, the group was putting the toll at 70 dead. By Tuesday, the number had grown to 1850 protesters and 135 members of the government and military killed. There will most likely be another spike, once the group works through verifying 770 other cases. The Center for Human Rights has chosen not to keep a toll, Mr. Ghaemi said, because it has been unable to connect with enough people to follow its typical procedures of corroborating the accounts of local rights activists with those of victims’ families. “We can’t confirm detailed numbers, but all indications so far point to large-scale killings over the past few days,” Mr. Ghaemi said in an interview. “We estimate at least 1,000 deaths nationwide and potentially higher. But the current information is just the tip of the iceberg.” Whether the violent crackdown will succeed in intimidating protesters into silence remains to be seen. On Monday, fewer videos of the unrest appeared than in previous days. But Saeed insisted that the killings would not stop the protesters. “People are not afraid anymore,” he said. Monika Cvorak and Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting. © 2026 The New York Times Company

In Nigeria, Protests Draw Gunfire While Terrorists Operate Unchecked TruthNigeria January 13, 2026 By M. Kiara   Face of Army officer who allegedly shot an unarmed protester in Edo state.   ‘Nigeria’s security forces respond to protest faster than to crime‘ (Ekpoma, Edo State) – A Nigerian soldier opened fire on an unarmed protester  in Edo State Jan. 10  after residents took to the streets demanding protection from kidnappings and Fulani terrorist attacks. The shooting echoed the  2020 Lekki Toll Gate crackdown,   reinforcing youth fears that protest draws faster force than crime does deterrence. More than five years later, in the university town of Ekpoma, the same lesson resurfaced: protest can still be met with bullets, even when citizens are demanding protection from terrorism. A Protest Born of Fear, Not Politics The protest in Ekpoma, located 50 miles northeast of Benin City (the state capital), was triggered by a surge in abductions by Fulani Terrorists, including the abduction of  two medical doctors,  the killing of one captive, and the seizure of passengers from a commercial bus. Residents say the violence had reached a breaking point. “This was not about politics or elections,” one protester told TruthNigeria, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “People came out because kidnappings had become normal. We felt abandoned but the message has been received, if you come out to protest, you may not go home.” During the protest, Osagie Abraham, a 32-year-old unarmed demonstrator, was shot by a soldier. Police authorities say he survived and is receiving treatment at a local hospital. The shooting revived memories many youths say they never forgot. “One bullet is enough to end a movement,” the protester said. “That is what Lekki taught us. We hoped things had changed. Security operatives with a mandate to protect, kill instead.” Terror Close to Home Map showing Auchi’s location | Photo Credit: Sahara reporters.   In Auchi, about 30 miles north of Ekpoma, the violence had already turned fatal. Fulani terrorists abducted two brothers from their home. One of them, Abu Momoh, was later killed. The other, a medical doctor, remains in captivity. Daily life has been disrupted across the region. Students avoid evening classes. Farmers abandon fields. Families relocate to cities they believe are safer. Aigbokhan Oseremen, an Edo-based activist, rejected official descriptions of the attackers as ordinary herders. “These are not herders,” Oseremen said. “They are Fulani terrorists.” “Trailer loads of these terrorists are brought into Edo State regularly,” he added. “When people are settled with no jobs, no accountability, and access to weapons, kidnapping becomes a business.” Oseremen said armed groups have established permanent settlements deep inside forest areas. “They have wives, children, and camps,” he said. “From those forests, they come out to attack villages. This is not a random crime. It is organized.” Why Youths Stayed Silent After 2020 After the Lekki shootings, Nigeria’s youth movement collapsed almost overnight. Organizers were arrested or intimidated. Court cases stalled. No senior official was convicted. “Youths didn’t stop caring,” said Martins Otse, a Nigerian activist. “They stopped believing the state would tolerate protest. Otse described what he called a pattern. “In 2020, peaceful protesters were shot at Lekki by army officers,” he said. “In  December 2025,   women protesting terrorism were shot in Adamawa by the army. In January 2026, a protester was shot in Ekpoma by an army officer. “Each time,” he added, “there is denial, silence, and no accountability. That is the lesson people learn.” Amnesty International has documented similar cases. “These are not accidents,” said Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria. “They reflect a persistent disregard for rules governing crowd control and the protection of civilians.” Terrorism Expands as Protest Shrinks While protesters face force, analysts say armed groups operate with little interference. “Nigeria struggles to deter terrorists, but still treats protest as a threat,” said Tolu Adelu, a security researcher who spoke to TruthNigeria. “That imbalance explains youth silence.” According to SBM Intelligence, kidnapping in Nigeria has evolved into a scientifically refined, profit-driven industry. Between July 2024 and June 2025, at least 4,722 people were abducted nationwide, with criminals demanding more than $33 million in ransom. “These are organized networks operating in weakly governed spaces,” SBM reported. “They are not being meaningfully disrupted.” Government Promises, Public Distrust Police described the Ekpoma protest as “hijacked” and announced an investigation into the shooting. Authorities also say security operations have been intensified. Students arrested during the protest have been remanded in custody, prompting public criticism. Osaigbovo Junior, an Edo resident, said the official response was predictable. “We expected the government to say the protest was hijacked,” he told TruthNigeria. “That is always the excuse.” “We were asking to be protected,” he said. “Instead, force was used. You beat people and tell them not to cry. That cannot work.” A Narrowing Civic Space Former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal recently warned that Nigeria is “in peril,” calling for honest leadership and national reckoning. For youths in Ekpoma, the reckoning feels immediate. They protested terrorism and were met with gunfire. Citizens say the danger is no longer only in the forests, it is also on the street when citizens speak. M. Kiara reports on conflict and terrorism for TruthNigeria Copyright 2026 TruthNigeria https://truthnigeria.com/2026/01/in-nigeria-protests-draw-gunfire-while-terrorists-operate-unchecked/

By Cai Nebe January 5, 2026 Kinshasa says Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have killed 1,500 civilians despite a US-brokered ceasefire, as fresh clashes erupt near Uvira and tensions spill into Burundi. Displaced people try to cross into Burundi at the Kavimvira border to escape the M23 advance | Image: Jospin Mwisha/AFP/Getty Image Violent fighting erupted on Saturday between pro-Kinshasa forces and M23 rebels near Uvira, a key border city connecting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)  to Burundi, according to local sources. Kelvin Bwija, a civil society coordinator in Uvira, told AFP news agency that fighting was reported in the localities of Kashombe, Lubanda, Musingwe, Katongo, and Kigongo, located about 10 km (6 miles) from Uvira. At a recent press conference, the Congolese army presented 15 prisoners of war — seven Rwandan soldiers and eight civilians from Burundi , Uganda , and Tanzania — accused of spying for M23, French broadcaster TV5 Monde reported .  The FARDC says the soldiers, arrested on different front lines, are evidence of a Rwandan army presence in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, alongside M23 rebels.  This comes just weeks after the DRC signed a  United States-brokered peace deal  aimed at ending decades of conflict and promoting development in eastern Congo. US President Donald Trump hailed it as a "miracle" deal . However, both sides have accused each other of jeopardizing the peace agreement. © OpenStreetMap contributors Fresh clashes, mass deaths deepen Congo crisis In mid-December, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz condemned the "scale and sophistication" of Rwanda's involvement in the eastern DRC, accusing Kigali of deploying roughly 5,000–7,000 troops there. Since the beginning of December "Rwandan operations" have caused the deaths of around 1,500 civilians through the use of "bombs and kamikaze drones," according to a Congolese government statement.  The DRC also accused Kigali of sending "three new Rwandan battalions" into the eastern South Kivu province. Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23. AFP news agency reported that while M23 had publicly said it would withdraw from Uvira on December 17, purportedly after US pressure, local sources say plainclothes M23 members remained in the city.  The United Nations estimates over 80,000 people have fled to regional ally Burundi.  Burundi's role and rising tensions with Rwanda M23's military strength around Uvira gives it considerable control over the DRC's land border with Burundi, and its associated trade routes. Relations between Rwanda and Burundi have been tense since 2015, after Burundi accused its neighbor of harboring groups seeking to overthrow its government. Burundi's military has been involved in the DRC conflict for years, either as a member of the East African Regional Force or by allowing the Congolese military to use its resources to attack M23 positions. "Once M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, we saw Burundi play a more logistical role where the Congolese military were deploying planes from Bujumbura Airport," said South Africa-based risk analyst Daniel Van Dalen. "Both the Congolese military and Burundi have been relatively silent on the arrangement, referring to it relatively offhand. Burundi's been there for the past two years, actively in the conflict." Van Dalen noted that political tensions between Burundi and Rwanda have seen a "militarized buildup along the common border areas." "There is a spillover risk in that sense, not necessarily with full-blown conflict going into Rwanda, but we're talking accidental artillery fire, accidental skirmishes along the border," he told DW. Van Dalen also points out there is a financial incentive for Burundi to support the DRC government. "The DRC is paying Burundi, to my understanding, and according to United Nations documents, there is some monetary incentive. The exact figure has been speculated between $5,000 per soldier to just a flat rate of $2 million per month, but that has never been formally confirmed," he said. Half a million displaced as rebels tighten grip Since taking up arms in 2021, M23 has seized the provincial centers of Bukavu and Goma near the Rwandan border. The rebels also control vast, resource-rich areas of the eastern DRC. The fighting between the Congolese army, its Wazalendo affiliates and the well-equipped M23 rebels has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. The UN estimates the M23's military advances have internally displaced at least half a million people within the DRC's South Kivu province alone. The M23 denies all links to Rwanda and insists its aim is to overthrow the government of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. While outwardly denying that it supports M23 militarily, Rwanda says it faces an existential threat from Congo-based armed groups linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide , which targeted the Tutsi ethnic group and moderate Hutus. Recently, Congolese army spokesperson General Sylvain Ekenge was suspended from duty after a public outcry stemming comments he made on national television, which critics slammed as xenophobic. He claimed, without providing evidence, that Rwanda was using "Tutsi women" for "strategy of infiltration."

The Israeli military continues to demolish structures in northern Gaza while also blocking the entry of aid. By Al Jazeera Staff January 4, 2026 Displaced Palestinian children watch as the first supermoon of the year, the ‘Wolf Moon’, rises over the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on January 3, 2026 [Eyad Baba/AFP] The Israeli army has launched more attacks into parts of Gaza outside its direct military control, despite the ceasefire deal mediated by the United States in October. At least three Palestinians were killed on Sunday in separate Israeli attacks in Khan Younis, medical sources told Al Jazeera. They included a 15-year-old boy, a fisherman, and a third man shot dead east of Khan Younis. In the central part of the besieged enclave, Israeli fire injured several people east of the Bureij refugee camp. In Gaza City to the north, Israeli forces continued to demolish homes and civilian infrastructure within the mostly destroyed Tuffah neighbourhood. The Israeli army confirmed it was destroying more infrastructure in northern Gaza, but claimed that the target was “terrorist infrastructure above and below ground”, including tunnels in Beit Lahiya . Israeli drones also dropped explosives on several homes in eastern Gaza City. The Shujayea and Zeitoun neighbourhoods of Gaza City, which have also been extensively attacked during more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war, were hit with artillery shelling. At least 71,386 Palestinians have been killed and 171,264 others injured since the start of the war in October 2023, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health. At least 420 people have been killed since the ceasefire was signed less than three months ago. The Israeli military continues to block a large amount of the international humanitarian aid amassing at the border with Gaza, while maintaining that there is no shortage of aid despite testimonies by the United Nations and others working on the ground. It has also moved to ban several prominent international aid groups from operating in Gaza, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the Norwegian Refugee Council. © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network

International aid groups grapple with what Israel’s ban will mean for their work in Gaza By Sam Mednick and Julia Frankel January 4, 2026 TEL AVIV (AP) — Israel’s decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians. The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organizations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders , the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians. The groups do everything from providing tents and water to supporting clinics and medical facilities. The overall impact, however, remains unclear. The most immediate impact of the license revocation is that Israel will no longer allow the groups to bring supplies into the Gaza Strip or send international staffers into the territory. Israel says all suspended groups have to halt their operations by March 1. Some groups have already been barred from bringing in aid. The Norwegian Refugee Council, for example, said it has not been allowed to bring in supplies in 10 months, leaving it distributing tents and aid brought in by other groups. Israel says the banned groups make up only a small part of aid operations in Gaza. But aid officials say they fulfill crucial specific functions. In a joint statement Tuesday, the U.N. and leading NGOs said the organizations that are still licensed by Israel “are nowhere near the number required just to meet immediate and basic needs” in Gaza. The ban further strains aid operations even as Gaza’s over 2 million Palestinians still face a humanitarian crisis more than 12 weeks into a ceasefire. The U.N. says that although famine has been staved off, more than a quarter of families still eat only one meal a day and food prices remain out of reach for many; more than 1 million people need better tents as winter storms lash the territory. Why were their licenses revoked? Earlier this year, Israel introduced strict new registration requirements for aid agencies working in Gaza. Most notably, it required groups to provide the names and personal details of local and international staff and said it would ban groups for a long list of criticisms of Israel. The registration process is overseen by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, led by a far-right member of the ruling Likud party. Israel says the rules aim to prevent Hamas and other militants from infiltrating the groups, something it has said was happening throughout the 2-year-old war . The U.N., which leads the massive aid program in Gaza, and independent groups deny the allegations and Israeli claims of major diversion of aid supplies by Hamas. Aid organizations say they did not comply, in part, because they feared that handing over staff information could endanger them. More than 500 aid workers have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the United Nations. Israel denies targeting aid workers. But the group say Israel has been vague about how it would use the data. The groups also said Israel was vague about how it would use the data. “Demanding staff lists as a condition for access to territory is an outrageous overreach,” Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said Friday. It said Israeli officials had refused its attempts to find alternatives. A December report on MSF issued by an Israeli government team recommended rejection of the group’s license. It pointed primarily to statements by the group criticizing Israel, including referring to its campaign in Gaza as genocide and calling its monthslong ban on food entering the territory earlier this year as “a starvation tactic.” It said the statements violated neutrality and constituted “delegitimization of Israel.” The report also repeated claims that an MSF employee killed in by an Israeli airstrike in 2024 was an operative with the Islamic Jihad militant group. That, it said, suggested MSF “maintains connections with a terrorist group.” MSF on Friday denied the allegations, saying it would “never knowingly employ anyone involved in military activities.” It said that its statements cited by Israel simply described the destruction its teams witnessed in Gaza. “The fault lies with those committing these atrocities, not with those who speak of them,” it said. Aid groups have a week from Dec. 31 to appeal the process. Medical services could see biggest impact Independent NGOs play a major role in propping up Gaza’s health sector, devastated by two years of Israeli bombardment and restrictions on supplies. MSF said Israel’s decision would have a catastrophic impact on its work in Gaza, where it provides funding and international staff for six hospitals as well as running two field hospitals and eight primary health centers, clinics and medical points. It also runs two of Gaza’s five stabilization centers helping children with severe malnutrition. Its teams treated 100,000 trauma cases, performed surgeries on 10,000 patients and handled a third of Gaza’s births, the group says. It has 60 international staffers in the West Bank and Gaza and more than 1,200 local staff — most medical professionals. Since the ceasefire began in early October, MSF has brought in about 7% of the 2,239 tons (2,032 metric tonnes) of medical supplies that Israel has allowed into Gaza, according to a U.N. tracking dashboard. That makes it the largest provider of medical supplies after U.N. agencies and the Red Cross, according to the dashboard. Medecins du Monde, another group whose license is being halted, runs another four primary health clinics. Overburdened Palestinian staff Aid groups say the most immediate impact will likely be the inability to send international staff into Gaza. Foreign staff provide key technical expertise and emotional support for their Palestinian colleagues. “Having international presence in Gaza is a morale booster for our staff who are already feeling isolated,” said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, which is one of the main NGOs providing shelter supplies and fresh water to displaced people. NRC has roughly 30 international staff who rotate in and out of Gaza working alongside some 70 Palestinians. While any operations by the 37 groups in the West Bank will likely remain open, those with offices in east Jerusalem, which Israel considers its territory, might have to close. Halt on supplies Many of the 37 groups already had been blocked from bringing supplies into Gaza since March, said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. What changes with the formal license revocation is “that these practices are now formalized, giving Israel full impunity to restrict operations and shut out organizations it disagrees with,” she said. Some of the groups have turned to buying supplies within Gaza rather than bringing them in, but that is slower and more expensive, she said. Other groups dug into reserve stocks, pared down distribution and had to work with broken or heavily repaired equipment because they couldn’t bring in new ones. Amed Khan, an American humanitarian philanthropist who has been privately donating medicine and emergency nutrition for children to Gaza, said the impact extends beyond the aid groups. He relies on NGOs to receive and distribute the supplies, but the fewer groups that Israel approves, the harder it is to find one. “It’s death by bureaucracy,” he said. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

© WFP/Jaber Badwan | A mother in Gaza cares for her children in a temporary shelter. Humanitarian partners in the Gaza Strip are struggling to reach hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people as winter storms batter damaged homes and temporary shelters. Since the fragile October ceasefire began as phase one of the US-led peace plan, thousands of tents and hundreds of thousands of tarpaulins have been distributed.  Yet partners estimate that over one million people – around half of Gaza’s population – still urgently need shelter support. “ The needs remain immense, and the harsh weather only deepens the suffering of families living in tents or war-damaged buildings ,” said the UN Spokesperson’s Office on Friday. Water, sanitation and hygiene services are also under pressure. Storms have damaged already shattered infrastructure, while fuel shortages and limited landfill access have left waste piling up.  UNICEF -supported teams continue to remove around 1,000 tons of solid waste each month, helping protect children and families from health risks. © UNICEF | Heavy rains and floods cause widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, displacing residents and leaving streets filled with mud and rubble. West Bank Demolitions In the West Bank, demolition of 25 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp has displaced around 70 families. UN Palestine relief agency, UNRWA , continues to support those who have had to flee from Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, covering rental costs for three months during the cold winter. Humanitarian agencies continue to advocate for safe access and the entry of specialised equipment to maintain essential services, underscoring the critical role of UN and NGO partners in delivering life-saving assistance across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Lives at stake as Israeli curbs tighten New Israeli restrictions on international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) risk further crippling humanitarian operations in Gaza at a moment of acute need, the UN warned Friday. Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” over the move, calling for the proposed measure to be reversed, stressing the indispensable work of NGOs to saving lives. “The suspension risks undermining the fragile progress made during the ceasefire,” he said in a statement issued by his Spokesperson. “This announcement comes on top of earlier restrictions that have already delayed critical food, medical, hygiene and shelter supplies from entering Gaza. This recent action will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians.” Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said the measures would reduce life-saving assistance for civilians already struggling to survive after months of conflict and deprivation. In a social media statement earlier on Friday, Mr. Lazzarini said he was echoing concerns raised by principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) – the forum that brings together heads of UN and non-UN humanitarian organisations. matter of survival “New Israeli restrictions on international NGOs are further compromising the humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip,” he said, stressing that “people in Gaza need more aid, not less, simply to survive”. He warned that the measures would also undermine efforts to assist communities affected by escalating violence in the West Bank, where humanitarian needs have surged alongside displacement and access constraints. According to the IASC, the planned restrictions include new registration and operational requirements for international NGOs that would significantly limit their ability to deliver.  Humanitarian leaders have urged Israeli authorities to revoke the measures, warning that they would severely disrupt aid delivery and contravene Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law. unrwa targeted Mr. Lazzarini said the latest steps follow the adoption of Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA, which has already had a chilling effect on humanitarian operations. Taken together, he said, they form “a troubling pattern” that risks setting a dangerous global precedent. “Failing to push back against attempts to control the work of aid organisations will further undermine the basic humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence, impartiality and humanity ,” he said. Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that access constraints, insecurity and bureaucratic impediments are preventing aid from reaching people in need across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  They say any further restrictions could have immediate and potentially fatal consequences for civilians who are dependent on humanitarian assistance. UN officials and aid leaders continue to call for unimpeded humanitarian access, respect for international law and the protection of humanitarian personnel and operations. Copyright © United Nations

A commemoration was held at the site of the Silos detention camp in Tarcin, where Serbs and Croats were imprisoned, beaten, and abused during the war. Former inmates at the Silos camp. Photo: BIRN. Former detainees on Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the closing of the notorious Silos detention camp at a commemoration at the site of the wartime camp in Tarcin, a village west of the capital Sarajevo. Around 500 Serb civilians were detained at the Silos camp at various times, some of them for as many as 1,334 days. Around 90 Croat detainees were also held at the camp. Prisoners were held in inhumane and often overcrowded concrete cells, and were beaten and abused. They were also made to do forced labour on the front lines, where they were also mistreated. Former detainee Savo Mrkajic was held at Silos for three years, three months and three days before managing to escape. He recalls being hungry and being subjected to harassment and humiliation – as well as witnessing a mass beating of prisoners. “I was not beaten that day, but it was far worse to watch the others being beaten – the blood splattering on the walls. It was horrifying. That is what has stayed with me ever since, the reason I wake up at night. It is something that can never be erased,” Mrkajic said. Mrkajic is one of the former detainees who spoke to BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina for a special webpage to mark the 30th anniversary , which features testimonies about prisoners’ wartime suffering in the camp. The camp, based around a former agricultural silo, was only closed on January 27, 1996, two months after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the Bosnian war. In 2021, the Bosnian state court convicted six defendants – camp guards, policemen and a Bosnian Army officer – of committing crimes against Serb and Croat civilians at Silos, sentencing them to a total of 42 years in prison. Copyright BIRN 2015

Mass atrocities in Kordofan, the seizure of a key oilfield, and a “crime scene” in el-Fasher mark a deadly month as international funding dries up. By Mohammad Mansour December 31, 2025 A young displaced Sudanese girl sits after spending a night with others in Gedaref city eastern Sudan on December 26, 2025 [AFP] The brutal war in Sudan, now deep into its third year, has shifted its centre of gravity to the strategic central region of Kordofan from Darfur, threatening to split the country in two. December saw the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expand its offensive, seizing vital oil infrastructure and laying siege to key cities, while the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intensified aerial campaigns. Fierce fighting in Khartoum endangers Sudanese civilians How is gum arabic fuelling the war in Sudan? How is gum arabic fuelling the war in Sudan? Starvation, ‘ghost towns’ plague Sudan as al-Burhan demands RSF surrender Humanitarian conditions hit a new nadir as the United Nations warned of a “survival mode” operations plan due to severe funding cuts, leaving millions at risk of starvation in 2026. Here are the key battlefield, humanitarian, and political developments for December 2025. Fighting and Military Control Battle for oil and the South Sudan deal : On December 8, the RSF seized the strategic Heglig oilfield – Sudan’s largest – in West Kordofan. Following a deadly drone attack on the facility, a tripartite agreement involving SAF, RSF, and Juba saw South Sudanese troops deploy to secure the field and neutralise it from combat. Kordofan as the new epicentre : Violence surged across Kordofan. The RSF claimed control of Babnusa, the gateway to West Kordofan, though the army denied the total fall of the city. Meanwhile, the RSF maintained “airtight sieges” on Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan, while pushing towards the strategic North Kordofan capital, el-Obeid. Escalation of drone warfare : Drones were used extensively by both sides with devastating effect. A strike on the Atbara power plant in River Nile state plunged major cities, including Port Sudan, into darkness. In Kalogi, South Kordofan, a drone attack on a preschool and hospital killed at least 116 people, including 46 children. Attacks on UN Peacekeepers : On December 13, a drone attack hit a UN logistics base in Kadugli, killing six Bangladeshi peacekeepers and wounding eight others. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, stating it may constitute a war crime. El-Fasher a “crime scene”: A UN team gained access to el-Fasher for the first time since its fall in October, describing the largely deserted city as a “ crime scene “. A report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab documented a systematic RSF campaign to burn bodies and destroy evidence of mass killings. Military plane crash: An Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane crashed at Port Sudan’s Osman Digna airbase due to a technical malfunction, killing the entire crew. Humanitarian Crisis Aid funding collapse: The UN announced it has been forced to halve its 2026 appeal to $23bn due to donor fatigue. Consequently, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned it must cut food rations by 70 percent starting in January, affecting communities already facing famine. Sudan tops emergency list: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) placed Sudan at the top of its Emergency Watchlist for 2026, citing the convergence of conflict, economic collapse, and shrinking international support. Systematic sexual violence: A report by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) documented nearly 1,300 cases of sexual violence, attributing 87 percent of them to the RSF. The report detailed how rape is being used as a weapon of war, particularly against non-Arab groups. Health catastrophe: Malnutrition rates have skyrocketed , with UNICEF reporting that 53 percent of children screened in North Darfur are acutely malnourished. In Khartoum, a survey found 97 percent of households face food shortages, as authorities began exhuming makeshift graves in residential areas to move bodies to official cemeteries. EU Air Bridge: The European Union launched an “air bridge” operation to deliver life-saving supplies to Darfur, describing the situation there as “one of the world’s hardest places to reach”. Diplomacy and Political Developments Deadlock at the UN: Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris presented a peace plan to the UN Security Council proposing an RSF withdrawal and disarmament. The RSF rejected the proposal as “wishful thinking” and “fantasy”. Al-Burhan rejects compromise: Speaking from Turkiye, SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out negotiations, insisting the war would only end with the RSF’s “surrender” and disarmament. Civilian “Third Pole”: In Nairobi, civilian leaders, including former PM Abdalla Hamdok and rebel leader Abdelwahid al-Nur, signed a declaration forming a new antiwar bloc, attempting to reclaim political agency from the warring generals. US pressure and sanctions: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio intensified diplomatic efforts, stating President Donald Trump is personally involved. The US Treasury sanctioned four Colombian nationals and companies for recruiting mercenaries to fight for the RSF. ICC Conviction: In a historic verdict, the International Criminal Court sentenced former Popular Defence Forces (Janjaweed) leader Ali Kushayb to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed in Darfur (2003-2004), the first such conviction for the region. © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network

Mike Odeh James | Truth Nigeria Jun 6, 2025 Bishop Emmanuel Ande of UMC Credit Facebook of Bishop Ande . At least Fifty Christians Gunned Down by Fulani Militias. Dozens Killed in Coordinated Attacks in Taraba Farming Villages. Truth Nigeria First published June 6, 2025, taken down by hackers, republished December 24, 2025 By Mike Odeh James (Jalingo)  At  least 50 civilians—many of them Christians—have been confirmed dead and hundreds displaced after heavily armed militias, identified by witnesses as ethnic Fulani, l aunched coordinated attacks on Munga Lelau and Munga Dasso, two farming communities in Karim-Lamido County, Taraba State, between May 24 and 25, 2025. At least 23 of the deceased have been identified as members of a local United Methodist Church , TruthNigeria has learned. Bishop Ande Emmanuel, Resident Bishop of the United Methodist Church (UMC) Nigeria Episcopal Area, confirmed at least 30 Christian deaths, including 24 UMC members, between May 23 and 25. “Over 62 homes were burned. Churches in Munga Lelau, Magami, Dosso, Bunkabu, Bunkachi, and Ngurore Jabu were reduced to rubble. We mourn and call for urgent help,” the Bishop stated in a report. He appealed for both national and international intervention, demanding stronger protections for vulnerable rural populations. Sectarian Assaults or Land-Dispute Clashes? Described by survivors as a planned, ethnically motivated military-style operation, the assaults mirror a troubling pattern of violence across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where disputes over land, religion, and ethnic identity often erupt into mass killings. Map of Taraba State. Credit Researchgate. “They Came in Droves” Emmanuel Habila, a Christian farmer and father of three from Munga Lelau, told TruthNigeria: “I was planting far from the village when I heard gunfire—first distant, then close. I saw dozens of motorcycles, each with three armed men, shouting in Fulfulde and shooting as they rode in. Hours later, my house was gone. We counted at least 15 bodies—children, neighbors. More are missing.” In nearby Munga Dasso, Zachary Kefas (52) described a pre-dawn assault: “They arrived around 2 a.m. on more than 30 motorcycles. They had AK-49s and machetes and screamed, ‘Kill the infidels! Allahu Akbar! We will take over this land!’ They broke into homes, slaughtered women, children, and the elderly. It lasted two hours before security forces arrived—too late.” Targeted Christian Communities Munga Lelau and Munga Dasso are predominantly Christian agrarian villages, home to indigenous Jenjo, Wurkum, Bikwin, and Kona ethnic groups. Faith life revolves around churches including the United Methodist Church (UMC), ECWA, Baptist, and Catholic parishes. Residents depend on subsistence farming, fishing, and trade supported by the Benue River. The attacks not only have killed and injured civilians but also destroyed farms, churches, and homes—further destabilizing these already vulnerable communities. Casualties, Displacement, and the Government’s Response The Taraba State Police Command confirmed approximately 50 deaths and reported the deployment of reinforcements to the affected areas. “We have launched a full investigation and deployed reinforcements,” said a police spokesperson. “The public is urged to remain calm as we pursue the perpetrators.” How the Violence Began: Land, Livestock, and Revenge Conflict analyst Friday Agbo, Director of Abuja-based Alterconsult Think-Tank, traced the escalation to May 9, when Buhari Malamby, a young farmer in Munga Dasso, was killed during a confrontation with Fulani herders whose cattle had invaded his farm. “After Malamby’s death, local youths retaliated by killing several cattle. That triggered a cycle of revenge attacks,” Agbo said. A temporary ceasefire brokered on May 15–16 by state officials collapsed after another farmer was ambushed and killed near a Fulani settlement. Shortly afterward, witnesses reported nearly 50 motorcycles, each carrying three armed men, mobilized for a full-scale assault. Anatomy of Rural Massacres According to Agbo, the Karim-Lamido attacks follow a now-familiar pattern: 1.   A land or crop-related conflict sparks violence. 2.   Retaliations escalate into cross-community killings. 3.   External militia groups mobilize for coordinated assaults. 4.   Security forces respond late—after maximum damage is done. “This pattern repeats in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and now Taraba. Without justice, security, and reconciliation, the killings will continue,” he warned. Systematic Land–Grabs Driving Conflict The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has described recent violence in Taraba as part of “systematic land grabbing” by Fulani militias. David Onyilokwu Idah, IHRC Director in Abuja, said the violence follows a grim sequence: “Brutal attacks, mass displacement, and the quiet occupation of farmland. It’s a consistent playbook.” He said similar displacements had occurred in Lau, Takum, Wukari, and Ardo-Kola counties, often involving foreign Fulani herdsmen from Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. “These are not random raids—they’re strategic occupations aimed at seizing indigenous land.” Weak Government Response and Ongoing Insecurity Idah criticized both state and federal authorities for failing to reclaim occupied areas or maintain a security presence. Despite a 2024 military raid on a Fulani militia camp in Gashaka, much of the territory remains under militia control. With fresh attacks reported in Lau and Ardo-Kola in June 2025, Idah warned that the Karim-Lamido killings are just one chapter in a broader campaign of forced displacement and demographic engineering. Conclusion: A Region Abandoned? As of this report, over 5,000 people have been displaced, with dozens dead, multiple churches destroyed, and farmlands lost. The government’s sluggish response and weak enforcement mechanisms leave rural populations at the mercy of violent militias. “If this continues,” said one displaced resident, “we will lose our land, our homes, and our future.” Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter based in Kaduna and writes for TruthNigeria. Donations Save Lives! If you enjoy or benefit from Truth Nigeria's reporting, then consider giving to keep our work possible! Copyright 2025 TruthNigeria Boko Haram & Fulani Jihadists West Africa Religious Persecution

Nigerian Christian Pardoned After Ten Years in Prison Condemned to Death for Self Defense Against Fulani Terrorist Truth Nigeria December 24, 2025 Pardoned inmate Sunday Jackson with International human rights attorney Emmanuel Ogebe| Photo Credit: Emmanuel Ogebe . Christian farmer’s release sparks relief, anger, and questions about justice that arrives only under foreign pressure By M. Kiara (Lagos) – When Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri signed the papers freeing Sunday Jackson, Nigerians exhaled. Then many asked an uncomfortable question: Why now? Jackson, a Christian farmer from northeastern Nigeria, spent nearly ten years in custody; four of them on death row for killing a Fulani terrorist who stabbed him during a confrontation on his farm. Nigerian courts rejected his claim of self-defense, sentencing him to death by hanging in 2021. His final appeal failed in March 2025. This week, Jackson walked free under a Christmas clemency order. Across Nigeria, reactions have been swift, emotional and sharply divided. Celebrations are mixed with suspicion that justice arrived only when international pressure made continued silence costly. The President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Bitrus Pogu, warmly welcomed the pardon granted to Sunday Jackson by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa state. Speaking exclusively to TruthNigeria from Abuja, Pogu said, “I am delighted by this development. The young man suffered greatly for an action for which he should rightly have been celebrated as a hero.” “All people of the Middle Belt of honour, dignity, and a fair sense of justice join Jackson and his loved ones in celebrating his hard-won freedom today together,” Pogu said, President of the Middle Belt Forum. “I salute the courage of Gov. Fintiri for this bold and just decision.” Others praised the decision but criticized the system. “Common sense has at last prevailed in the protracted case of Sunday Jackson v. the State, in which the appellant confronted his aggressor and defended himself. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Kola Alapinni, General Counsel and Director of Advocacy for the Foundation for Religious Freedom. “Mr Jackson ought never to have been compelled to fight for his exoneration, yet the system entirely subverted common sense.” Relief Followed by Rage On social media, joy came first. The hashtag  #FreeSundayJackson , long used by activists and Christian leaders, resurfaced within hours. Posts praised God, thanked international advocates, and welcomed Jackson back to life. Then the tone changed. “American effect,” Celine AJ posted. “If not for the U.S., this man would be dead.” Lagos-based commentator Wunmi Adegoke wrote, “If this was truly justice, why did it take foreign pressure to make it happen. Why now, after many years of silence?” “It’s not a pardon,” Toju Oluwatosin posted. “He was not supposed to be arrested in the first place.” That question; why justice waited, now dominates public discourse. A Case Nigeria Could No Longer Contain For years, Jackson’s case remained largely confined to Christian circles and human rights lawyers. That changed as international scrutiny intensified. In March, Nigeria’s Supreme Court upheld Jackson’s death sentence. Months later, the United States re-designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) for severe religious freedom violations, a move that reopened long simmering tensions between Washington and Abuja. U.S. lawmakers escalated the pressure. Rep. Riley Moore  called Jackson’s imprisonment  incompatible with any serious security partnership, saying one of Nigeria’s “first steps” must be his release. Shortly afterward, Washington announced new visa restrictions targeting individuals linked to religious freedom abuses. Only after that sequence did Jackson receive clemency. “This pardon didn’t happen in isolation,” Nigerian journalist Anuhe Aba told TruthNigeria. “It happened when the international consequences of inaction became real.” Media Tone Shifts Inside Nigeria Equally striking has been how Nigerian media responded. For years, major outlets avoided religious framing, describing terrorist attacks as farmer-herder clashes or “communal clashes” and “criminal disputes.” Following Jackson’s case, that language has shifted. National broadcasters have openly debated whether self-defense laws are applied unevenly in northern Nigeria. Commentators openly questioned whether Jackson’s Christianity shaped his prosecution. “What used to be whispered is now said on air,” Aba noted. “That alone tells you something has changed.” Mercy Or Damage Control? The Adamawa State government  framed the pardon  as routine, part of a seasonal exercise of mercy, citing Jackson’s conduct and constitutional authority. He was released alongside some other inmates. But critics say that explanation avoids the core issue: Why a man sentenced to death for defending his life remained condemned for years despite clear legal irregularities, until foreign pressure mounted. International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe, who helped lead Jackson’s advocacy abroad, has long pointed to violations in the case, including constitutionally excessive delays in judgment. “A country that failed to stop mass murder nearly executed a man who survived one,” Ogebe said after Jackson’s release.  He called for judicial review of the ruling, legislative clarification on self-defense, and compensation for Jackson’s lost years. A Victory That Condemns the System Among supporters, relief is undeniable. Jackson entered prison in his twenties. He leaves in his thirties, alive. But his pardon has become something more than personal vindication. “It proves the system works, but only when outsiders are watching,” said Pastor Tajudeen Matanmi, speaking to TruthNigeria. “How many others are still inside because no foreign government noticed them?” That question is now being asked well beyond church pulpits by lawyers, journalists, and ordinary Nigerians who see Jackson’s freedom as both a victory and an indictment. What the Pardon Really Signals Sunday Jackson’s release closes a case. It does not close the problem it exposed. For many Nigerians reacting to the pardon, the lesson is sobering: justice arrived but only after the world intervened. Jackson is free. The system that nearly executed him remains intact. And for those still unseen, still unheard, the question lingers, who will speak for them? M.Kiara is a news analyst for TruthNigeria . Copyright 2025 TruthNigeria

By Vibhu Mishra 22 December 2025 The war in Sudan is entering a deadlier phase, the United Nations has warned, as intensified fighting in the Kordofan region, mounting civilian casualties from drone strikes and growing risks of regional spillover push the conflict toward the 1,000-day mark. © UNICEF/Ahmed Satti Children walk at a camp for displaced persons in Port Sudan, which is hosting families who fled violence across the country, including Darfur and Kordofan regions. Briefing the Security Council on Monday, senior UN political and humanitarian officials described a sharply deteriorating security and humanitarian situation marked by indiscriminate attacks, expanding territorial gains by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and escalating dangers for civilians, aid workers and peacekeepers. The conflict erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. Since then, fighting has spread nationwide, devastating cities, displacing millions and pushing parts of the country – including areas of Darfur – into famine conditions. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari said fears that the dry season would bring intensified fighting had been confirmed. “ Each passing day brings staggering levels of violence and destruction, ” Mr. Khiari told ambassadors. “ Civilians are enduring immense, unimaginable suffering, with no end in sight. ” Kordofan emerges as new flashpoint In recent weeks, the conflict has centred on the Kordofan region, where the RSF has made significant territorial gains, capturing Babanusa in West Kordofan on 1 December, followed a week later by the seizure of Heglig in South Kordofan – a key oil field and processing hub for South Sudanese crude exports. Kadugli and Dilling, both in South Kordofan, are now under tightening siege conditions, with shelling and drone strikes continuing. Reports indicate that SAF personnel withdrew from some areas into South Sudan, while South Sudanese forces moved into Sudan to protect the Heglig oil infrastructure. “ These developments reflect the increasingly complex nature of the conflict and its expanding regional dimensions, ” Mr. Khiari warned, cautioning that Sudan’s neighbours could be drawn into a wider war if the situation remains unaddressed. Deadly drone strikes, peacekeepers killed A particularly alarming trend, UN officials said, is the growing use of drones by both sides. On 4 December, a kindergarten in in Kalogi, South Kordofan was struck, followed by an attack on the hospital treating the victims. “ More than 100 people were killed in this despicable attack, including 63 children, ” Mr. Khiari said. Drone attacks have also directly targeted UN personnel. On 13 December, strikes hit a UN logistics base in Kadugli, killing six Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei ( UNISFA ) and injuring nine others. UNISFA has launched an investigation under difficult security conditions, while all UN personnel have been evacuated from Kadugli until further notice. Mr. Khiari stressed that attacks against peacekeepers “may constitute war crimes” and demanded accountability. Humanitarian crisis deepens Edem Wosornu, Director of Crisis Response at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ), said civilian suffering was expanding across multiple fronts, with Kordofan emerging as a new epicentre of humanitarian need . In addition to targeting civilians, aid workers and convoys were also struck – injuring humanitarians, severely affecting lifesaving programmes, and forcing UN agencies and NGOs to relocate staff from several locations due to insecurity. Meanwhile, conditions in Darfur remain catastrophic. The UN continues to receive reports of mass killings and sexual violence following the RSF’s takeover of El Fasher earlier this year, including atrocities committed during an April offensive on the Zamzam displacement camp. Sudan crisis at a glance Displacement surging : Hundreds flee villages in South Kordofan in recent days; more than 15,000 have arrived in White Nile state since late October. Darfur exodus : Over 107,000 people displaced from El Fasher and surrounding areas between late October and early December. New arrivals : At least 2,500 displaced people reached South Darfur’s Sheria locality last week, needing urgent food, health and relief support. Deadly drone strikes : Over 100 civilians killed in drone attacks between 4-16 December in South Kordofan – a kindergarten and a hospital struck. Separate drone strikes hit a UN base and a market in Al Malha, North Darfur, killing peacekeepers and civilians. Healthcare under attack : Sixty-five attacks on healthcare facilities this year, killing over 1,600 people. For more information, visit our UN News In Focus section on the conflict in Sudan Calls for protection, access and peace As the conflict approaches 1,000 days, both officials urged the Council to act decisively to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access and push for an immediate cessation of hostilities. “ The Council must send a strong, unequivocal message, ” Ms. Wosornu said, “ that attacks directed against civilians and violations of international humanitarian law will not be tolerated. ” Mr. Khiari echoed the call, urging international backers of both sides to use their influence to halt the fighting and support a Sudanese-led political process. “ The United Nations is fully committed, ” he said, “ to working with all international actors to end the violence – for the sake of the people of Sudan and regional stability. ” Copyright © United Nations