Men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to be temporarily held in kingdom Five men are reportedly being held at the Matsapha correctional complex near Mbabane, Eswatini, before being returned to their countries of origin. Photograph: AP Civil society and opposition groups in Eswatini have expressed outrage after the US deported five men to the country, with the largest opposition party calling it “human trafficking disguised as a deportation deal”. The men, from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba, were flown to the small southern African country, an absolute monarchy, last week as the US stepped up deportations to “third countries” after the supreme court cleared them last month. Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is landlocked by South Africa and Mozambique and has a population of about 1.2 million. It is Africa’s last absolute monarchy and has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. The government estimated the five men would be held for about 12 months, a spokesperson, Thabile Mdluli, said, adding: “It could be slightly less or slightly more.” She said Eswatini was ready to receive more deportees, depending on the availability of facilities and negotiations with the US, which has also deported eight people to South Sudan after holding them for weeks in a shipping container in Djibouti, and more than 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador . Officials have said the men, who were put in solitary confinement , were safely imprisoned in Eswatini. However, they have refused to disclose the terms of the deal, other than to say the US was footing the costs of keeping the men locked up and that they would work with international organisations to deport them to their home countries. A guard tower at the Matsapha correctional complex, where the men are reportedly being held. Photograph: AP Many civil society organisations and politicians were not convinced. “This action, carried out without public consultation, adequate preparation, or community engagement, raises urgent questions about legality, transparency, and the safety of both the deported individuals and the people of Eswatini , especially women and girls,” said a coalition of seven women’s groups. The organisations delivered a petition to the US embassy on Monday calling for the US to take back the deportees, for the deportees’ human rights to be respected, and for Eswatini not to become a “dumping ground for unresolved problems from elsewhere”. The groups’ leaders held a protest outside the US embassy on Friday, where they sang, danced and held up signs with messages including: “Whose taxpayers?”, “Eswatini is not a prison for US rejects” and “Take the five criminals back to the US!!” Eswatini’s largest opposition party, the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), said in a statement: “Pudemo vehemently condemns the treacherous and reckless decision by King Mswati III’s regime to allow the United States of America to dump its most dangerous criminals on Swazi soil. “This is not diplomacy but human trafficking disguised as a deportation deal. It is an insult to all Emaswati who value peace, security, and the sanctity of our homeland.” The coordinating assembly of NGOs, an umbrella group, said the situation was “deeply alarming” and condemned the “stigmatising and dehumanising language used by US officials”. It called for the Eswatini-US agreement to be made public and to be suspended pending “genuine public consultation and transparent national dialogue”. King Mswati III, who attended the coronation of Britain’s King Charles in 2023, has ruled Eswatini since 1986. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security, said in a post on X on 16 July that the men, who she said had been convicted of crimes including child rape, murder and burglary, were “so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back”. She added: “These depraved monsters have been terrorising American communities but … they are off of American soil.” Eswatini’s prime minister, Russell Dlamini, told local media on Friday that the government was confident it would safely manage the prisoners. “Eswatini is currently holding inmates who have committed more dangerous crimes than those attributed to the five deportees,” he said. A prison service spokesperson, Baphelele Kunene, said the country’s citizens should not be afraid. “We can confirm that the five inmates in question have been admitted to one of our high-security centres where they are responding very well to the new environment,” he said. “Even though they come from the US, there is no preferential treatment for them as they are guided by the same prison regulations, eat the same food as others and are also expected to exhibit the same and equal amount of respect for prison protocols.” The US state department’s most recent human rights report on Eswatini, in 2023, said there were “credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; [and] political prisoners or detainees”. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections, which the system’s advocates argue makes MPs more representative of their constituents. In September, Pudemo’s leader, Mlungisi Makhanya, was allegedly poisoned in South Africa. The party said it was an assassination attempt, which Eswatini’s government has denied. The Department of Homeland Security has been contacted for comment. © 2025 The Guardian

Kosovo Liberation Army veterans and others held a protest in Pristina against the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers, accusing it of bias and of attempting to 'rewrite history'. Xhorxhina Bami, August 7, 2025 Protest against the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Kosovo capital Pristina, August 7, 2025. Photo: BIRN . Members of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s Veterans Organisation, joined by other organisations deriving from the Kosovo war and other citizens, held a protest on Thursday against the Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court in Pristina, accusing it of bias and of attempting to “rewrite history”. Faik Shehu, a former member of the KLA, travelled around 100 kilometres from the south of Kosovo to join thousands of citizens at Pristina’s main square to protest against the Hague-based Chambers, which is trying his former comrades. “The court, which was established on the basis of justice, is doing an injustice to the people [of Kosovo] who were persecuted by Serbia,” Shehu, who represents the local branch of the KLA Veterans’ Organisation, told BIRN. The Pristina municipality offered free tickets for public transport and free parking in one of the city’s biggest parking lots for the protesters. “The Special Court has deviated from its mission. It is biased and is trying to distort history,” Hysni Gucati, head of the KLA Veterans’ Organisation, told the crowd. Gucati, who himself was jailed by the Specialist Chambers for obstruction of justice and witness intimidation, said that “the KLA fighters were the legitimate answer of our oppressed people against the Serbian regime led by [Slobodan] Milosevic. “Our war was not only for liberation but for the existence of our people against ethnic cleansing, rapes, murders and the forceful disappearance of the Albanian identity in Kosovo,” he said. Gazmend Syla, also from the KLA Veterans’ Organisation, urged the international community not to allow the so-called Special Court “to try to rewrite our history”, as this would also risk “rewriting the establishment of our state, which we have built together with the international community, so shaking the the foundations of our country”. The Specialist Chambers were established in 2015 by the Kosovo parliament to investigate the alleged crimes of KLA members against ethnic minorities and political rivals in the years 1998 to 2000. The Chambers are part of Kosovo’s judicial system but are located in The Hague and staffed by internationals, established under pressure from the country’s Western allies, who believed Kosovo’s own justice system was not robust enough to try KLA cases and protect witnesses from intimidation. Two former guerrillas have been found guilty of war crimes by the chambers so far, Pjeter Shala, known as “Commander Wolf”, sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment, and Salih Mustafa, known as “Commander Cali”, sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. The timeframe of the court’s jurisdiction has been unsuccessfully disputed by defendants. Last month, the Specialist Chambers dismissed a joint motion from the defence of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three others, all of them ex-KLA officials on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The motion challenged the inclusion of alleged crimes that happened before May 1998 and after June 20, 1999 as they did not happen during the time of the Kosovo war, but was dismissed by the judge on a technicality. The ruling caused further outrage among Kosovo Albanians who believe the court is ethnically biased and denigrates the KLA’s just war against Serbian repression. Copyright BIRN 2015

Deadly Attacks on Schools-Turned-Shelters Show Vulnerability of Displaced People Al-Zeitoun C school in Gaza City, which an Israeli airstrike hit on September 21, 2024, killing at least 34 displaced Palestinians, including at least 21 children, who were sheltering there. © 2024 Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images Israeli forces’ deadly attacks on schools sheltering Palestinian civilians highlight the absence of safe places for displaced people, the vast majority of Gaza’s population. Hundreds of Israeli attacks since October 2023 have struck over 500 school buildings, many used as shelters, killing hundreds of civilians and causing significant damage to nearly all of Gaza’s schools. The Israeli attacks have denied civilians safe access to shelter, and will contribute to the disruption of access to education for many years, as repair and reconstruction of schools can require significant resources and time. (Jerusalem, August 7, 2025) – Israeli forces’ deadly attacks on schools sheltering Palestinian civilians highlight the absence of safe places for Gaza’s displaced people, Human Rights Watch said today. Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have carried out hundreds of strikes on schools sheltering displaced Palestinians, including unlawfully indiscriminate attacks using US munitions, that have killed hundreds of civilians and damaged or destroyed virtually all of Gaza’s schools. Recent Israeli strikes on schools-turned-shelters are part of Israeli forces’ current military offensive that is demolishing much of Gaza’s remaining civilian infrastructure, displacing again hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and worsening the already dire humanitarian situation. Governments, including the United States, which has provided weapons used in unlawful attacks, should impose an arms embargo on the Israeli government and take other urgent measures to enforce the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). “Israeli strikes on schools sheltering displaced families provide a window into the widespread carnage that Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza,” said Gerry Simpson, associate crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch. “Other governments should not tolerate this horrendous slaughter of Palestinian civilians merely seeking safety.” Human Rights Watch investigated Israeli attacks that struck the Khadija girls’ school in Deir al-Balah on July 27, 2024, killing at least 15 people, and al-Zeitoun C school in al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on September 21, 2024, killing at least 34 people. Human Rights Watch found no evidence of a military target at either school. These findings were based on a review of satellite imagery, photos, and videos of the attacks and their aftermath, social media material relating to men known to have died in the two strikes, and phone interviews with two people who witnessed the aftermath of the Khadija school strike and another present during the attack on al-Zeitoun C school. The Israeli authorities have not publicly provided information about the attacks that Human Rights Watch documented, including details about the intended target or any precautions taken to minimize harm to civilians. They did not respond to a July 15 letter summarizing Human Rights Watch findings on these strikes and requesting specific information. The absence of a military target in the Khadija and al-Zeitoun school strikes would make the attacks unlawfully indiscriminate in violation of international humanitarian law. Schools and other educational facilities are civilian objects and protected from attack. They lose that protection when used for military purposes or are occupied by military forces. The use of schools to house civilians does not alter their legal status. Between July 1 and 10, 2025, Israeli forces struck at least 10 schools-turned-shelters, including some that had been damaged previously, reportedly killing 59 people and displacing again dozens of families, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that about one million displaced people in Gaza had sheltered in schools amid the hostilities, and that as of July 18, at least 836 people sheltering in schools had been killed and at least 2,527 injured. The most recent assessment by the Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster found that 97 percent of school buildings in Gaza (547 out of 564) have sustained some level of damage, including 462 (76 percent) that were “directly hit”, and that 518 (92 percent) require “full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to become functional again.” The Israeli attacks have denied civilians safe access to shelter and will contribute to the disruption of access to education for many years, as repair and reconstruction of schools can require significant resources and time, with a significant negative impact on children, parents, and teachers. The Israeli publications +972Magazine and Local Call reported on July 24 that the Israeli military set up “a special strike cell to systematically identify schools, which are referred to as ‘centers of gravity,’ in order to bomb them, claiming that Hamas operatives hide among the hundreds of civilians.” The report noted that “double tap” strikes—second attacks in the same location designed to hit survivors of the initial strike and first responders—have “become particularly common in recent months when Israel bombs schools in Gaza.” The Israeli military has claimed with respect to dozens of attacks on schools that Hamas or other Palestinian fighters or “command and control” centers were deployed at the school, without providing specific information. Human Rights Watch is aware of only seven instances in which the Israeli military published names and photographs of alleged members of Palestinian armed groups it said were present in a school at the time of the attack. After a June 6, 2024, attack on al-Sardi school, the Israeli military identified 17 names of alleged fighters. However, a Human Rights Watch review of the names found that three were people who appeared to have been killed in earlier attacks. The presence of Palestinian armed groups at any of the attacked schools would not necessarily make the attacks lawful. The laws of war prohibit attacks on military objectives if the anticipated harm to civilians and civilian objects is disproportionate compared to the expected military gain from the attack. The laws of war also require, unless circumstances do not permit, warring parties to give “effective advance warning” of attacks that may affect the civilian population. Armed groups deployed at schools-turned-shelters would place civilians at unnecessary risk. The laws of war obligate warring parties to take all feasible precautions against the effects of attacks and to avoid locating military targets near densely populated areas. Serious violations of the laws of war by individuals with criminal intent—that is, deliberately or recklessly—are war crimes. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime. All state parties to an armed conflict are obligated to investigate alleged war crimes by members of their armed forces. The Safe Schools Declaration, an international political commitment endorsed by 121 countries, aims to protect education during times of war by strengthening the prevention of, and response to, attacks on students, teachers, schools, and universities, including by avoiding the use of education facilities for military purposes. While Israel has not joined, Palestine endorsed the declaration in 2015. Governments should suspend arms transfers to Israel, given the clear risk that the arms might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law. The US government’s provision of arms to Israel, which have repeatedly been used in strikes on schools-turned-shelters and to carry out apparent war crimes, has made the United States complicit in their unlawful use. On June 10, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel reported that Israeli authorities had “obliterated Gaza’s education system” and that its attacks on educational, as well as religious and cultural sites in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, were “part of a widespread and relentless assault against the Palestinian people in which Israeli forces have committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.” “After nearly two years of frequent Israeli attacks killing civilians in schools and other protected locations, governments providing military support to Israel can’t say they weren’t aware of the consequences of their actions,” Simpson said. “Governments should suspend all arms transfers to Israel and take other actions to prevent further mass atrocities.” Israeli Attacks on Schools-Turned-Shelters Human Rights Watch was unable to visit sites of the strikes on Khadija girls’ school and al-Zeitoun C school because Israeli authorities have blocked virtually all entry into Gaza since October 2023. Israel has repeatedly denied Human Rights Watch requests to enter Gaza since 2008. Khadija Girls’ School, Deir al-Balah, July 27, 2024 On July 27, 2024, starting shortly before noon and until about 3 p.m., Israeli forces carried out at least three airstrikes, two with US munitions, on Khadija girls’ school in Deir al-Balah, killing at least 15 people. The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, a body providing emergency and rescue services, reported that the school had sheltered about 4,000 displaced people for many months. The director of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, about a kilometer east of the school, said the school had a “field hospital” connected to his hospital. Reports of the attack started appearing on social media shortly before noon. The school consists of five buildings next to a playground on about 5,000 square meters of land. A boy stands on the rubble of Khadija School in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, which an Israeli airstrike hit on July 27, 2024, killing at least 15 displaced Palestinians. © 2024 Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua via Getty Images Human Rights Watch found no indication of a military objective in or near the school on the day of the attack. A review of social media on the men known to have been killed in the attack and the online pages of Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces showed no evidence of a Palestinian armed group’s presence at the school. The Israeli military did not reply to a Human Rights Watch request for more information about the target. Airwars, a nongovernmental organization that investigates civilian harm in conflict zones, reviewed social media and other open sources and found the names of 15 people killed, including 7 men, 4 women, and 4 children, as well as 2 others without their complete names. Airwars also found the full names of 9 people injured, including 4 men, 2 children, and 3 males whose ages are unknown. The identified dead and injured are from 18 families. Human Rights Watch reviewed social media and other open sources, but found no additional names. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that the attack killed at least 30 people and injured 100. The victims were taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital nearby. Human Rights Watch spoke by phone with a journalist who was based at the hospital. He said that at around noon, he heard a single explosion from the direction of the school and ran toward it. “When we arrived, I saw a horrific scene,” the journalist said. “I saw injured women, children, the elderly and some doctors in their medical clothes. Women were shouting, ‘Where are my children?’ or ‘My son, I want my son.’” Human Rights Watch also spoke with another journalist who was about two kilometers from the school when at around noon, he heard a bomb falling and then an explosion. He arrived at the school about 20 minutes later. “I saw that a two-story building on the eastern side of the school had been completely destroyed,” he said. “Can you imagine, a building full of displaced people levelled in the blink of an eye? I saw people with serious and more minor injuries, and then saw human remains on the ground.” Human Rights Watch verified four videos relating to the attacks on the school, though none showed the initial attack. The first was posted to social media by the Saudi news channel Asharq News, which an analysis of the shadows in the video show it was filmed around midday. The video shows damage to, and debris from, the northern part of the campus, as well as injured people being carried out of one of the buildings. Human Rights Watch analyzed two further videos uploaded to social media on July 27 that were filmed sometime between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. The first captures the moment two munitions strike the school almost simultaneously. The second, filmed approximately 200 meters southeast of the school, captures a loud explosion, followed by a group of people running through a plume of smoke and into the school compound. It then shows significant damage to the western and southern parts of the school campus, including two entirely destroyed buildings. The camera then pans onto a munition remnant lodged in the ground in the middle of the school compound. A fourth video uploaded to social media from an account that posted two other videos from the attack shows an unexploded munition inside what is said to be one of the school’s rooms. Human Rights Watch was unable to confirm where the video was filmed or at what time, although the color of blown-out window frames matches the first video from the school. Based on the photos and videos, and identifiable munition remnants, including an unexploded item, Human Rights Watch determined that at least two air-dropped GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs were used in the attack. These munitions are produced by the Boeing Company and transferred to Israel with US government approval under the Foreign Military Sales or Direct Commercial Sales programs. The Gaza Media Office reported that Israeli fighter jets dropped three bombs on the field hospital in the school. A witness told the Washington Post that four munitions had hit the school, all around noon. A man who said he was about 500 meters from the school around midday described two attacks involving multiple munitions. He told Human Rights Watch that after the first attack, Israeli authorities contacted the residents of a house near the school and said that people should “leave the area as they were going to strike the school again.” He also said that the second set of attacks involved multiple bombs that completely destroyed the building that had been hit during the first strikes. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also found that the Israeli military had issued a warning ahead of the second and third strikes, “but not the first in which most of the casualties had reportedly occurred.” About an hour after the attack, the Israeli military said on their Telegram channel that they had “struck terrorists operating a Hamas command and control center embedded inside the Khadija School in central Gaza.” The Israeli military provided no further details. Human Rights Watch reviewed online materials concerning the seven men listed as killed by Airwars, as well as the Telegram channels and associated social media channels of Hamas’ armed wing, Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, al-Quds Brigade. These groups often announce the killing of their fighters, but neither group mentioned the strike. The Israeli military has presented no information demonstrating the presence of a military target or other military objective within or near the building. The military also has not said why it did not provide an effective advance warning to those taking shelter at the school and the residents of nearby buildings to evacuate before the initial noon attack. Al-Zeitoun C School, Gaza City, September 21, 2024 On September 21, 2024, at about 10:45 a.m., an Israeli airstrike struck al-Zeitoun C school in al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza city, killing at least 34 people. Human Rights Watch found no indication of a military objective in or near the school the day of the attack. A review of social media of men known to have been killed in the attack and of the online pages of Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces, as well as an interview with a man who lived at the school, showed no evidence of a Palestinian armed group presence at the time of the attack. The Israeli military did not reply to a Human Rights Watch request for more information about the target of the attack, nor to a request by journalists for information about the intended target. The BBC reported that an undisclosed source said that the attack had targeted and killed “a local Hamas figure” without providing more details. The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza reported that the school was sheltering “thousands” of displaced people. The Gaza Media Office said that many of the displaced were widows and orphans who also received small cash payments to help cover food costs. Al-Zeitoun C school in Gaza City, which an Israeli airstrike hit on September 21, 2024, killing at least 34 displaced Palestinians, including at least 21 children, who were sheltering there. © 2024 Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images Al-Zeitoun C school is part of a three-school complex, including Al-Zeitoun A/B and al- Falah Elementary Boys B school and al-Falah preparatory Boys B school. Al-Zeitoun C has two main buildings along with several smaller structures, all situated on approximately 5,000 square meters of land. Airwars reviewed social media and other open sources for information about the attack, and found the full names of 23 people killed from 9 families, including 3 men, 4 women, and 16 children. Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Gaza Media Office said that 22 people were killed, including 6 women and 13 children. Human Rights Watch reviewed social media and other open sources and found the full names of four other people who were killed. They include one woman, two boys, and one female of an unknown age. Human Rights Watch spoke with a man who was in the school at the time of the attack and who said the strike killed eight members of his family, one of them a boy on the Airwars list. The other seven were three women, three children, and one man who were not identified by Airwars. Human Rights Watch reviewed social media for mentions of the four men listed by Airwars as having been killed in the attack and found no ties to any armed groups. The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza said that one of the women who was killed was pregnant and that about 30 people were injured, including 9 children whose limbs had to be amputated. A video posted to social media by the Saudi Arabian news channel Asharq News and analyzed by Human Rights Watch shows a rescue worker standing outside one of the school buildings holding what the channel said was a dead fetus. The victims were taken to al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza city. Human Rights Watch analyzed two other videos of the aftermath of the attack uploaded to social media on September 21. Human Rights Watch confirmed geolocations initially determined by two open source researchers, Anno Nemo and Jack Dev. One video filmed around 11:30 a.m. shows two men carrying two injured and bloodied children across the campus. People are also surrounding two severely injured children, one motionless, and attempting to treat their wounds. A second video shows the school courtyard after the strike, dozens of people at a building entrance on the western side of the campus, and then several dead children. The man who lost eight family members said that four munitions hit the school without warning. Another witness told a journalist that he saw explosions when two munitions struck the compound. A woman living at the school who was there during the attack told another journalist that “suddenly missiles started raining down on us – there was no warning.” Three photographs uploaded to X with the logo of Quds News Network show a child holding three identifiable munition remnants in one of the classrooms. Based on these images, Human Rights Watch determined that at least one US produced GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb directly hit at least one of the school buildings. The witness who lost eight family members said he had not seen any weapons or military material at the school and that no militants were there, “only civilians seeking safety.” The Human Rights Watch review of online materials relating to the men listed by Airwars as killed in each of the strikes found no evidence that any were combatants. Human Rights Watch reviewed the Telegram channels and associated social media of the armed wings of Hamas, Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Brigade. Neither made mention of the strike. The videos Human Rights Watch analyzed of the aftermath of the strikes on the school did not indicate any Palestinian armed group’s presence or military equipment in or near the building at the time of the attack. On the day of the strike, the Israeli military said it had “conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control center ... embedded inside a compound that previously served as the Al-Falah School.” According to a person with close knowledge of the schools who spoke with Airwars, al-Falah Elementary Boys B school and Al Falah Preparatory Boys B school is located about 200 meters from al-Zeitoun C school, with al-Zeitoun A/B school separating them. Palestinian media mentioned an Israeli strike on al-Falah school the same day, which reportedly resulted in injuries. The Israeli military did not make a separate statement relating to the strike on al-Zeitoun C school and has presented no information that would demonstrate the existence of a military target there. The military has also not said why it did not provide an effective advance warning to the residents of al-Zeitoun C school, and nearby buildings, to evacuate before the initial attack. A girl who survived the attack told the BBC, “What have we done as children? We wake up and go to sleep terrified. At least protect the schools; we don’t have schools or homes – where do we go?” © 2025 Human Rights Watch

© UNICEF/Roger LeMoyn | More than 300 people have been killed in fresh attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (file photo) By Vibhu Mishra The UN human rights office ( OHCHR ) said it had received first-hand accounts indicating that at least 319 civilians were killed by M23 fighters, aided by members of the Rwanda Defence Force, between 9 and 21 July in North Kivu province. Most of the victims, including at least 48 women and 19 children, were local farmers camping in their fields during the planting season. Stop attacks immediately Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the “surge of deadly violence”. “I am appalled by the attacks on civilians by the M23 and other armed groups in eastern DRC amid continued fighting, despite the ceasefire that was recently signed in Doha,” he said in a news release on Wednesday. “All attacks against civilians must stop immediately and all those responsible must be held to account.” The latest massacre marks one of the highest civilian death tolls documented since the M23 – a group largely composed of Congolese Tutsi fighters established over 15 years ago – re-emerged as a major military threat in 2022. Peace agreement faltering The spike in violence comes just weeks after two high-level peace initiatives appeared to offer a path forward. On 27 June, Rwanda and the DRC signed a bilateral peace agreement in Washington, followed by the so-called Doha Declaration between the DRC Government and M23 rebel leaders on 19 July, which committed both sides to a ceasefire and further negotiations . However, humanitarian NGOs say little has changed on the ground. “I urge the signatories and facilitators of both the Doha and Washington agreements to ensure that they rapidly translate into safety, security and real progress for civilians,” Mr. Türk said. Attacks from all sides Meanwhile, other armed groups continue to terrorise civilians across eastern Congo. In July alone, the UN documented deadly attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) and Raia Mutomboki/Wazalendo militias in Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu. On 27 July, ADF fighters attacked a Christian congregation in Ituri’s Komanda village , killing at least 40 worshippers – including 13 children – and torching homes, shops and vehicles. Earlier in the month the same group killed at least 70 civilians in a single attack on Pikamaibo village. Women and girls are also enduring systematic sexual violence as a weapon of war. On 27 July, eight women were raped by Raia Mutomboki/Wazalendo fighters in South Kivu’s Busolo village. Worsening humanitarian crisis The growing insecurity is fuelling what humanitarians describe as one of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises. According to UN figures, over 7.8 million people are now internally displaced (IDPs) in eastern DRC – the highest figure on record – while 28 million people are facing food insecurity, including nearly four million at emergency levels. Adding to the strain, more than 30,000 refugees from South Sudan have fled into Ituri province since April, escaping a wave of killings and active hostilities across Central Equatoria State. The World Food Programme ( WFP ) has warned that funding shortfalls may soon force it to suspend lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands. Health services are also collapsing under pressure. In the first half of 2025, 33 attacks were recorded on health workers and facilities – a 276 per cent increase from the previous six months, according to the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA . Vibhu Mishra Copyright © United Nations

Trucks transporting Afghan nationals, who were expelled from Pakistan, are parked as refugees wait for registration at the Omari refugee camp in Mohmand Dara, Torkham border, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hedyatshah Hedayat/File Photo PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan has started to deport documented Afghan refugees ahead of its deadline for them to leave, according to the United Nations, in a move that could see more than 1 million Afghans expelled from the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that it had received reports of arrests and expulsions of legally registered Afghans across the country before Pakistan's September 1 deadline for them to leave. The UNHCR said that sending the Afghans back in this way was a breach of Pakistan's international obligations. "UNHCR is calling on the government to stop the forcible return and adopt a humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual, and dignified return of Afghans," it said in a statement. The voluntary return of the documented refugees shall commence forthwith, said a Pakistan's interior ministry order seen by Reuters. It said the formal deportation process will start after the deadline. But Qaisar Khan Afridi, a spokesman for the UNHCR, told Reuters on Wednesday that hundreds of legally registered Afghan refugees had already been detained and deported to Afghanistan from August 1 to August 4. The interior ministry did not respond a Reuters request for a comment. More than 1.3 million Afghans hold documentation known as Proof of Registration cards, while 750,000 more have another form of registration known as an Afghan Citizen Card. Many Afghans have been settled in Pakistan since the 1980s, to escape cycles of war in Afghanistan. "Such massive and hasty return could jeopardize the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while also risking instability not only in Afghanistan but across the region," UNHRC said. Pakistani authorities have said that Islamabad wants all Afghan nationals to leave except for those who have valid visas. The repatriation drive by Pakistan is part of a campaign called the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023. Pakistan has in the past blamed militant attacks and crimes on Afghan citizens, who form the largest migrant group in the country. Afghanistan has rejected the accusations, and has termed the repatriations as forced deportation. In addition to the repatriation from Pakistan , Afghanistan also faces a fresh wave of mass deportations from Iran . Aid groups worry that the influx risks further destabilising the country. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved

Killings in Ituri Province Highlight Need for Improved Army, UN Response The burial of people killed by the Allied Democratic Forces armed group at a church in Komanda, Ituri province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, July 28, 2025.  © 2025 Reuters/Stringer By Human Rights Watch (Nairobi) – The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group killed more than 40 people, including several children, with guns and machetes during a nighttime church gathering on July 26-27, 2025, in eastern  Democratic Republic of Congo , Human Rights Watch said today. Several other children were abducted and remain missing. The Ugandan-led ADF pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2019, but current ties between the two armed groups are unclear. ISIS  claimed responsibility for the attack in Komanda, Ituri province, on its Telegram channel, saying 45 people were killed. The massacre heightens concerns about the ability of Congo’s national army, stationed nearby, and the United Nations peacekeeping force to protect civilians. “The Allied Democratic Forces’ killings of civilians, including worshipers in church, demonstrated incomprehensible brutality,” said  Clémentine de Montjoye , senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The massacre at Komanda and other mass killings this year highlight the insecurity in eastern Congo and the need for the Congolese government to urgently step up efforts to protect civilians and hold those responsible to account.” Komanda residents and witnesses told Human Rights Watch that worshipers had gathered for celebrations at the Catholic church on July 26, and many spent the night ahead of Sunday mass. ADF fighters entered the church compound around 1 a.m. on July 27 and began their attack on a building where people were sleeping, witnesses said. Survivors and a witness said fighters attacked people with blunt instrument blows to the head, machetes, and gunfire. According to the parish, at least 33 people died immediately or later from their injuries. “They told us to sit down, and then started hitting people [with blunt instruments] on the back of the neck. They killed two people I didn’t know, and that’s when I decided to flee with four others,” a survivor told Human Rights Watch. “We managed to run away – they shot at us but didn’t hit us.” The ADF fighters killed at least five other people in the town and set fire to houses and kiosks, according to a local civil society leader,   media reports. Videos on social media that Human Rights Watch geolocated show burned buildings on the town’s main road near the church. Human Rights Watch received the names of 39 people killed, 9 injured, and 9 children between ages 7 and 14 abducted. According to a list shared by the parish on August 2, more than 30 people were abducted, and 7 injured during the attack on the building next to the church. On July 27, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) reported   at least 43 deaths , including 9 children, as well as people   killed in surrounding areas. According to two sources, some of those kidnapped have since escaped. The Congolese army was deployed about 3 kilometers south of the church, while MONUSCO was about a kilometer south. Human Rights Watch received information that network issues at the time of the attack impeded efforts to sound the alarm. “During all this time, neither the FARDC [Congolese army] nor MONUSCO intervened,” said a civil society leader. “The police didn’t come either. They all came eventually, but it was too late. They just saw the damage done.” The government imposed martial law in North Kivu and Ituri in April 2021 to end insecurity in the two provinces. However, martial law failed to curb abuses against civilians and enabled the military and police to curtail freedom of expression, suppress peaceful demonstrations with lethal force, and arbitrarily detain and prosecute activists, journalists, and political opposition members. Congo’s influential conference of Catholic bishops stated on July 29 that “[o]ur indignation is all the greater because this latest massacre occurred in one of the provinces that has been under [martial law] for several years, supported by the joint efforts of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and those of Uganda (UPDF), along with the decades-long presence of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MONUSCO).” Congo’s government condemned the killings as “horrific,” and military officials  described it as a “large-scale massacre” in response to recent military operations against the ADF. MONUSCO  condemned the killings and warned that the attacks would exacerbate “an already extremely concerning humanitarian situation in the province.” In response to written questions from Human Rights Watch, a public information officer of the rapid deployable battalion at MONUSCO’s Komanda base stated that “The ADF is known to employ silent killer tactics, striking swiftly, organized and unpredictable. In this case, the attack occurred in the early hours of the morning, targeting a religious gathering attended by a large number of civilians” and that MONUSCO had taken steps to “intensify protection efforts in the area.” A Congolese military source told Human Rights Watch that a military justice investigation had been opened and further troops deployed to the area to ensure the protection of civilians. The Congolese government and MONUSCO should urgently complete the investigation into the July attack and the response of the armed forces and MONUSCO and make its findings public. Congolese authorities, with MONUSCO’s assistance, should adopt measures to re-establish trust with civilians, including by reinforcing early warning networks and consulting with communities and civic groups about protection needs. The authorities should take all necessary steps to protect civilians, including by promptly responding to reports of armed group activity and movements. Additionally, efforts should be made to hold perpetrators of these killings, which could amount to war crimes , to account, Human Rights Watch said. In recent years, the ADF armed group has been implicated in scores of killings and abductions in North Kivu province’s Beni and Lubero territories and increasingly in the neighboring Irumu territory of Ituri province. ADF attacks earlier in July killed 82 civilians in Ituri and North Kivu,  according to the UN . The UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo   reported that, “January 2025 marked the second time in which ADF-attributed fatalities exceeded 200 within a single month – predominantly in the Beni region and Lubero territory.” In 2024, the ADF was the armed group  responsible for the highest number of killings in Congo, mainly civilians. In early 2025, the Ugandan armed forces expanded a joint military campaign, known as “Operation Shujaa,” that began in late 2021.  The UN reported , though, that the operation “did not curb ADF violence against civilians in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces.” Some security experts believe that the joint deployment has pushed the ADF from some strongholds near the Ugandan border further into Ituri and North Kivu provinces. The African Union and UN Security Council should press for a credible strategy to address the deepening security crisis and grave rights abuses in all parts of eastern Congo, Human Rights Watch said. “President Félix Tshisekedi, with international support, should focus on protecting civilians and providing tighter military oversight in eastern Congo to spare long-suffering communities from further atrocities,” de Montjoye said. “The government has a duty to protect civilians and ensure justice for victims of these repeated atrocities.” © 2025 Human Rights Watch

The Taliban's use of the legal and judicial system to oppress women and girls amounts to “crimes against humanity,” according to the U.N. expert. Taliban security stands guard as Afghan Shiite Muslim women march during a religious procession to mark Ashura on the 10th day of the Islamic holy month of Muharram, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 6.Wakil Koshar / AFP via Getty Images file UNITED NATIONS — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have “weaponized” the legal and judicial system to oppress women and girls in what amounts to “crimes against humanity,” the independent U.N. investigator on human rights in the country said. Richard Bennett said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly circulated Wednesday that after seizing power in 2021 the Taliban suspended the 2004 constitution and laws protecting the rights of women and girls. These include a landmark law that criminalized 22 forms of violence against women, including rape and child and forced marriage. The Taliban dismissed all judges under the previous U.S.-backed government, including approximately 270 women, replacing them with men who share their extreme Islamic views, lack legal training and hand down decisions based on edicts issued by the Taliban, he said. In addition, he noted that the Taliban have assumed full control over law enforcement and investigative agencies, systematically purging Afghans who worked for the previous government. Bennett, who was appointed by the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, focused on access to justice and protection for women and girls in his report. He said he held meetings, focus-group discussions and one-on-one interviews with more that 110 Afghans inside and outside the country. He did so remotely because the Taliban have refused to grant him a visa to travel to Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, their crackdown on women and girls has been widely reported and globally denounced. Taliban leaders have barred education for women and girls beyond sixth grade, banned most employment, and prohibited women from many public spaces, including parks, gyms and hairdressers. New laws ban women’s voices and bare faces outside the home. The Taliban remain isolated from the West because of their restrictions on women and girls and have only been recognized by Russia. Bennett said the Taliban did not respond to an advance copy of the report and a request for information about their efforts to ensure access to justice and protection for women and girls. The Taliban defend their approach to justice by claiming they are implementing Islamic sharia law, but Islamic scholars and others have said their interpretation is unparalleled in other Muslim-majority countries and does not adhere to Islamic teachings. They say protecting the legal rights of women is a priority. Bennett said, however, that women have virtually no rights. “Today, there are no women judges or prosecutors and no officially registered female lawyers, leaving women and girls with fewer safe channels to report abuse or seek redress,” he wrote. “Coupled with a lack of female officials in the police and other institutions, the result is widespread underreporting of violence and discrimination against women and girls.” Bennett said access to justice for girls “is further undermined by the dismantling of key legal safeguards and institutions protecting the rights of children,” including juvenile courts and juvenile rehabilitation centers. The Taliban requirement that a woman must be accompanied by a male relative also creates barriers to filing complaints and attending court proceedings, he said, and disproportionately affects widows, women who are the heads of their households, the displaced and disabled. “Women who engage with the Taliban court system — whether as victims seeking redress, to resolve family issues, to obtain official documents or as alleged offenders — face a hostile environment,” Bennett said. “Courts often reject complaints made by women and are especially reluctant to accept cases relating to divorce, child custody and gender-based violence.” Facing these obstacles, Bennett said, women increasingly turn to traditional and informal justice mechanisms, including formal jirgas and shuras — community councils of elders — and informal mediation by religious leaders, community elders or family. But these are all male-dominated and raise “serious concerns about the rights of women and girls,” he said. He said international forums offer the best hope for justice. He pointed to the International Criminal Court’s request on Jan. 23 for arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders accused of crimes against humanity for persecution “on gender grounds.” And he urged all countries to support efforts to bring Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice, the U.N.’s highest tribunal, for violating the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. © 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC

By Pindai Dube The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is working with SA’s Public Protector to address the barring of Zimbabwean citizens from accessing public hospitals and clinics. ZHRC chairperson Jessie Majome emphasised the need for Zimbabwe to improve its healthcare system. Experts highlight that cooperation between the leaders of Zimbabwe and SA is crucial to tackle the strain on healthcare systems. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), which plays the role of Public Protector, says it is engaging South Africa’s Public Protector with regard to the barring of Zimbabwean citizens from public hospitals and clinics. Currently, groups like Operation Dudula and other protesters are blocking foreign nationals from using public clinics and hospitals. They accuse the foreigners of placing extra strain on limited health services, at the expense of South Africans. ZHRC chairperson Jessie Majome told journalists in Harare on Saturday that she was in talks with South Africa’s Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, regarding the situation. “When we had our benchmark visit with the Public Protector of South Africa recently, advocate Kholeka (Gcaleka) and myself agreed that we were going to engage in a more direct way about the issue of Zimbabweans seeking medical health in South Africa because some of them are being barred. “We agreed that we need to sit down and talk, so that we can seek resolutions to that problem,” said Majome. Majome added: "For example, we need to find out what are the causes. We have Zimbabweans who live at the borders and even across. We have citizens of our countries crossing the borders back and forth, and we also have Zimbabweans who are in South Africa who are irregular immigrants, but some of them are regular migrants." Majome added that Zimbabwe’s public hospitals needed to offer a better health delivery system, so that citizens would not cross into neighbouring countries to seek treatment. “But, on the Zimbabwean side as well, there is a need for us regarding efficiency, to increase and improve the healthcare service delivery system, so that there are less Zimbabweans who would want to cross the border to get public health services from South Africa,” she said. She said she was confident that, together with her South African counterpart, they would find a solution. “These are issues that, when we work together, I have no doubt between the two of us, me and advocate Gcaleka, we can address and contribute, from a Public Protector perspective, towards resolving that problem,” she added. Last week, prominent Zimbabwe opposition figure Tendai Biti, who is also a former finance minister, said that as long as South Africa’s government and the ANC did not confront the ruling Zanu PF party about Zimbabwe’s political crisis, citizens would continue to flock there to seek better lives. “The Constitution of Zimbabwe protects and gives rights to citizens. One of the rights that is given is the right to health, which is spelt out in terms of section 56 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The right to health must be enjoyed by all citizens, whether he or she is in Zimbabwe, or is out of Zimbabwe. Biti said: "The long-term solution is for the ANC and South Africa to take a bold stance towards Zanu PF, so that there is a permanent resolution of the political crisis in Zimbabwe. As long as the ANC continues to see in Zanu PF a comrade, and as long as they are not prepared to confront this errant, erratic, barbaric, disastrous comrade, you have the situation where South Africa effectively is subsidising the Zimbabwe crisis." Health experts say the leaders of Zimbabwe and South Africa have to put their heads together to find a solution. They say governments must cooperate when it comes to providing health care to people across the border and particularly those within their own country. They add that, from a humanitarian perspective, medical services have to be offered while they reach out to the Zimbabwe government to see how they can collaborate - because there are so many Zimbabweans in South Africa. Zimbabwe’s health system is currently on its knees, with a shortage of medicine and poor salaries of health workers. © August 2025 News24

Protestors block highway. Photo by Olikita Ekani. As Terror, Starvation Engulf Benue Camps for Victims of Land-grabbing By Mike Odeh James and Ekani Olikita Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from a sprawling IDP Camp called Mbayongo, 5 km South of Yelewata on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, blocked the Makurdi-Lafia-Abuja expressway in protest of escalating Insecurity and starvation. The protesters mostly women and children were seen with fresh leaves, chanting, “We want to go back home, No Security, No Food.” More than 200 Christian Residents were killed, and thousands displaced and are currently being sheltered at different IDPs Camps in Benue State following the June 13 and 14 Massacre in Yelewata Community in Guma County of Benue State. This protest was coming less than 24 hours after the visit of the First Lady of Nigeria, Sen Oluremi Tinubu, who donated One Billion Naira (N1bn) to Benue State Government for upkeep of IDPs on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. 8 Dead Recorded in Two IDPs Camps In the meantime, eight (8) Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have died without explanation in two camps in Makurdi namely, Ichwa and Abagana IDPs Camps. The deceased include Mngusornon Terhile, Juliana Iorkyaa, Deoron Kwaghbee and Bemshima Nyajo from Ichwa IDPs Camp. Others include Immaculate Dooshima Azende (Daughter of Abagana IDPs Camp Chairman, Festus Azende), Kazan Ver, Aboi Aondowase, and Unaha Joy from Abagana IDPs Camp. A year-and-7 months old boy identified as Terseer Aondowase David reportedly was kidnapped from Ichwa IDPs and has yet to be rescued from the kidnappers. U.S. Ambassador Silent on Yelewata Massacre U.S.Ambassador Richard M. Mills, Jr. center, poses with envoys of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Association at the U.S. Mission in Abuja. Credit: U.S. Department of State on X. U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Richard M. Mills, Jr. who celebrated his one-year anniversary of his appointment on July 31, has made no expression of condolence regarding the Yelewata atrocity on June 14 or for the thousands of atrocities committed by Fulani ethnic militia for two decades, according to a TruthNigeria search. On the other hand, the Ambassador gave a respectful audience to four representatives of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Association in late May of this year. An unnamed State Department spokesman in Washington told Fox News Digital, “We strongly condemn these increasing attacks, including recent massacres in Benue state which primarily targeted Christian farming villages.” The unnamed spokesperson reinforced reports that the attacks on Christians are being carried out by Islamic militant groups. “The United States remains deeply concerned about the levels of violence in Nigeria, including the threats posed by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa in northern Nigeria, and the impact that violence has on all communities in Nigeria.”acres in Benue state which primarily targeted Christian farming villages.” Insecurity, Hunger Our Major Challenges — Protesters Agnes Terwase, one of the visibly angry protesters in an interview with TruthNigeria, attributed their protest to escalating Insecurity and abandonment by the government, leading unprecedented starvation and sickness. “From Yelewata down to Ortese, Igbam, Ukohol, Daudu and our IDPs Camp at Mbayongo, nowhere is safe despite the presence of police and the military. We can’t go outside our camp for fear of being attacked,” she added. “The State and Federal Governments have abandoned us as we no longer receive foods or drugs. What is the need of staying in the camp if we cannot be protected or fed? Agnes asked. Military and Police are not protecting us– Yelewata residents Residents of restive Yelewata community, the Epicenter of the June 13/14 Massacre, have raised a disturbing Security alarm on the rising terrorist violence in their community despite military presence. Damian Ugbir, Yelewata Youth Leader, decried the escalating attacks, blaming the Security Operatives for not doing enough to secure their community. “The military and the police are not going after the Fulani terrorists. For example, armed Fulani terrorists disguising as herdsmen, came with their cattle and were seen grazing inside one of our primary schools. We alerted both the police and the military. The police sent only 2 officers, who exchanged gunfire with the terrorists. The Police personnel retreated, saying they could not match the firepower of the terrorists. Instead of the military going there, they took their motorcycles, went to different location and later returned to their base,” according to Ugbir. Similarly, Thomas Ukumba, Yelewata Community Elder in an interview with TruthNigeria, added that; “Both the military and police are not here for us. They are just here to protect the Fulani terrorists,” Ukumba told TruthNigeria. “Why are they not going after the Fulani Jihadists despite assurance by the Federal Government that the Yelewata Massacre in June would mark the end of insecurity in our community?” Ukumba asked. “Our people have stopped going to distant farms for fear of being ambushed and slashed to death by the terrorists. Yet again, the terrorists are coming close to our residents, but no reaction by the military or police. We are not safe”, Ukumba said. Eight Tribal Members Dead of Illness — IDPs Camp Leaders braham Taa, Chairman of Ichwa IDPs Camp Makurdi, told TruthNigeria in an interview that, the camp has lost 4 members due to different types of ailments and lack drugs. He gave their names as Mngusornon Terhile, Juliana Iorkyaa, Deoron Kwaghbee and Bemshima Nyajo. “Our camp is no longer secured due to fallen perimeter fences at different points”, Abraham narrated. Similarly, Festus Azende, Abagana IDPs Camp Chairman also confirmed the loss 4 IDPs in his camp due to various health challenges. He gave their names as: Immaculate Dooshima Azende (his daughter), Kazan Ver, Aboi Aondowase and Unaha Joy © Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

Outrage Grows in Nigeria’s Christian States By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat Riyom Bleeds Again: Military Presence Fails to Deter Killers Nigeria’s military, one of Africa’s most experienced forces, is facing growing criticism for its failure to stop the wave of Fulani militia attacks sweeping the Middle Belt. On July 15, Fulani terrorists stormed Tashoss in Riyom County, Plateau State, killing at least 27 Christian residents, burning homes and a church, and stealing food supplies meant for the rainy season. A military checkpoint was nearby. No attacker was arrested. Governor Caleb Mutfwang praised soldiers who have sacrificed their lives but said praise without action is no longer enough. “These attackers are not spirits,” he said. “Real people carried out these atrocities and vanished without a trace.” Mutfwang demanded accountability from the Sector Commander. “You were in charge when arrests were made for a soldier’s death. Why are there no arrests today?” He warned against scapegoating innocent people and urged the military to release detained villagers unless credible evidence exists of their link to a crime. “To the people of Riyom, I say: ‘We will not bow. This is not a farmer-herder conflict. This is terrorism. This is genocide—plain and simple.’” Benue’s Battlefront: “So Who Is Being Protected?” In Benue, Governor Hyacinth Alia voiced similar frustration after Fulani terrorists massacred dozens in Gwer West and Yelewata. On May 28, 2025, Alia lamented that despite the massive deployment of troops to Benue State to curb insecurity, no terrorist was arrested. Time and again, armed Fulani invade Christian villages at night, kill and burn, then vanish—despite military or police posts often nearby. This pattern is echoed in Southern Kaduna and Taraba, where attacks sometimes last hours, yet security forces reportedly fail to respond. Infiltration and Sympathizers? Insider Reveals Franc Utoo, US based Nigerian lawyer Credit Facebook of Franc Utoo. Franc Utoo, a native of Yelewata and former Principal Special Assistant to former Governor Samuel Ortom, now based in the United States, believes military failure may be deliberate. “The military has been infiltrated,” he claimed. “Some Fulani officers stationed in Yelewata wouldn’t fight the terrorists. They’d fire shots into the air—signaling the attackers to avoid their position.” He also accused the military of disarming local vigilantes (volunteer community guards), leaving communities defenseless. However, Utoo recalled a rare moment of accountability when a Southern officer led the Yelewata unit. “Under his command, eight terrorists were killed. When their bodies were searched, we found military ID cards from Niger Republic, Mali, and other Sahelian countries.” To Utoo, the crisis is an orchestrated campaign. Expanding Frontiers of Islam or National Failure? Many Nigerian Christians from the Middle Belt states of Benue, Taraba, Plateau, and Southern Kaduna say the military is deliberately refusing to tackle Fulani terrorists to allow them to spread Islam. “The military can end Fulani terrorism,” Utoo said. “But it won’t, because many in the military hierarchy and political leadership—chiefly Fulani—see this campaign as a way to expand Islamic influence and create a homeland for Fulani from across West Africa.” rancis John, Executive Director of HOPe Africa USA, agrees. He says the Middle Belt is under systematic attack, while the government offers little more than silence. “These are Christian-majority states being terrorized by Fulani militias. Yet the federal government remains passive—because of who the victims are.” He accuses Nigerian authorities of systematic inaction and silent complicity. “Labeling this crisis as ‘farmer-herder clashes’ is dishonest. It hides the truth: these are targeted killings.” John confirms that many attackers are transnational Fulani militias from Mali, Niger, and Chad—motivated by land seizures and ethno-religious domination. Justice, Not Hollow Reconciliation For communities reeling from these attacks, calls for peace and reconciliation feel empty without justice. Utoo asked: “Negotiate or reconcile with terrorists who kill?” Francis John added: “Reconciliation without justice only emboldens the killers. You can’t ask victims to forgive when nobody is held accountable.” HOPe Africa is calling for: – Trauma-informed resettlement for displaced families – Early warning systems to prevent future massacres – Hybrid war crimes tribunals to hold perpetrators accountable – Peacebuilding led by faith leaders and civil society “We must replace impunity with justice,” John urged. “And restore dignity to Nigeria’s forgotten frontlines.” Military Aiding Terrorists Through Selective Arrests – Middle Belt Forum President Dr. Bitrus Pogu, National President of the Middle Belt Forum—an umbrella body representing over 45 million Nigerian Christians—has accused the Nigerian military of complicity and bias in its handling of terrorist attacks. The military has consistently shown reluctance to pursue known terrorist groups, even when their hideouts are well identified, according to Pogu speaking to TruthNigeria. “The military is very reluctant to go after the terrorists, even when they know exactly where they are hiding,” he said. “Even when the terrorists’ cattle invade Christian farmlands, the military takes little to no action.” Pogu further claimed that when Christian communities attempt to defend their lives and ancestral lands, they are often met with swift and harsh military crackdowns. “If our youths try to defend their communities, the military storms in, arrests them, confiscates their locally made pipe guns, tortures them, and hands them over to the police. The police, in turn, brutalize and detain them without due process.” He added that the Middle Belt Forum has intervened on several occasions to secure the release of arbitrarily detained youths. “This pattern of selective arrests and inaction toward actual perpetrators raises serious questions about the neutrality and role of the Nigerian military in these conflicts,” Dr. Pogu said. Nigerian Military Insists it is Fighting Back However, the Nigerian military has refuted these allegations saying that it is fighting the terrorists. A few days after the Yelewata attacks, Nigeria Police boss, Kayode Egbetokun said 26 persons have been arrested by the police in connection with the killings in Benue. Were the suspects then charged with murder? No reported evidence of that. According to Punch, from July 10, the Nigerian Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has taken over the prosecution of the 26 individuals arrested in connection to the murder of 260 people in Yelewata. The 26 suspected killers have confessed to their involvement, according to MSN, but their arraignment in court has been delayed due to the transfer of the case to the Ministry of Justice, according to Punch. The charges against them have not been published, And as of July 17, 2025, two days after the Tashoss precinct massacre, the Nigeria military says its troops of Operation Safe Haven rejected a ₦13.7 million bribe from terrorists during an operation along the Jos-Sanga Road, arresting suspects and recovering weapons and cash. Raids across Plateau, Kaduna, and Nasarawa led to more arrests and rescues. However, local communities remain skeptical, citing ongoing violence and a lack of announced prosecutions. The Defence Headquarters praised the troops’ integrity, while rights groups urged formal recognition for their ethical conduct.

Several Ugandans have recently been jailed for offensive remarks made against President Yoweri Museveni Anadolu Agency via Getty Images By Basillioh Rukang | BBC News A Ugandan university student who mysteriously went missing two months ago after posting a TikTok video that harshly criticised President Yoweri Museveni's leadership has been jailed. Elson Tumwine disappeared on 8 June - sparking accusations from opposition figures and activists that he had been abducted and illegally detained by military agents. Following an outcry over his disappearance, he was then reportedly left at a police station in Entebbe in mid-July and was subsequently charged with offensive communication and computer misuse. He pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness. The magistrates' court in Entebbe sentenced him to two months in jail on Monday, noting his pleas for leniency. Tumwine's sentencing and alleged abduction have raised concerns among human rights activists around freedom of speech ahead of elections next year. In court, the third-year Makerere University undergraduate admitted to posting the video that prosecutors said was intended "to ridicule, demean and incite hostility". He is alleged to have doctored a clip of the parliamentary speaker's response to a general apology Museveni issued in May to the Baganda people , Uganda's largest ethnic group and who form the traditional Buganda kingdom. Over Museveni's nearly four decades in power, relations with the kingdom and its monarch have at times been strained. The kingdom has no political power but remains influential. Tumwine's TikTok post accused the 80-year-old president of not apologising for other things during his time in power. When Tumwine's disappeared in June, Makerere University issued an urgent appeal for information that could help find him. He had been working as an agricultural intern in Hoima, western Uganda, as part of his studies at the time he went missing. Two weeks ago, the secretary-general of opposition NUP party David Lewis Rubongoya said they had information that Tumwine and another suspect were being held at a police station in Entebbe - having being "dumped" there on 13 July. He alleged they were taken there after being subjected to "incredible torture" at the hands of the country's military intelligence unit. The authorities have not commented on these allegations. Criticising the trial, lawyer and activist Godwin Toko said Tumwine had refused to let lawyers from his organisation or those from the opposition represent him in court. "For a man who was abducted, held incommunicado for months, nudged to plead guilty and then sentenced, this is the apogee of injustice that it is not his captor punished, but him getting a criminal record to his name at such a young age," he posted on X on Tuesday. Last November, 21-year-old Emmanuel Nabugodi was jailed for 32 months after creating a video said to insult Museveni. Months earlier, Edward Awebwa, 24, was sentenced to six years in prison for hate speech and spreading "malicious" information against the first family. © 2025 BBC

AFP via Getty Images By Amnesty International Responding to reports that at least 29 people were killed, hundreds more injured and more than 1,200 people arbitrarily arrested in Luanda, Huambo, Benguela and Huíla, during a three-day taxi drivers’ strike which started on 28 July, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa regional office Tigere Chagutah said: “Nobody should be killed, arrested or injured for simply striking. The Angolan security forces must refrain from using unnecessary and disproportionate force during protests and observe due procedure before arresting those suspected of engaging in unlawful conduct. “Security forces have an obligation to ensure the safety of the public and respect and protect human rights during their operations, including when addressing isolated cases of individuals involved in looting shops, and destroying property. “We call on the Angolan authorities to promptly initiate an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the killings and injuries resulting from this crackdown. Perpetrators must be held to account in fair trials that meet international standards and victims of the violations, and their families must be guaranteed comprehensive reparation, which should be proportional to the gravity of the violations and the harm suffered. “Authorities must also disclose information about those who have been arrested by security forces whose whereabouts remain unknown.” Background This week’s protests follow similar ones called by the Angolan Civil Society Movement on 12, 19 and 26 July following a fuel price hike. During the 12 and 19 July protests, Angolan security forces responded with unnecessary and excessive force resulting in at least three people being injured. 12 people were also arrested in Luanda. The Angola National Taxi Association (ANATA) called for a three-day strike starting on 28 July 2025. Violent clashes with police, acts of “vandalism” and looting were reported in different parts of Luanda, Huambo, Benguela and Huíla. On 30 July, the Minister of Interior, Manuel Homem, confirmed the arrest of 1,214 people, 29 deaths and over 200 injured in three days of strike. However, it is likely that not all casualties have been reported and the number of dead or injured could be higher. © 2025 Amnesty International