South African women celebrate Women's Day 2025 By Pregs Govender Women’s Day is a time to honour our ancestors’ love for humanity’s freedom, justice, equality, peace and dignity. Love inspired the courage to educate, organise, unite and resist those who stole land, water, abundant natural and mineral resources; those who killed and raped, silencing laughter and joy; those who manipulated culture, relegating thousands to apartheid’s barren Bantustans and ghettoes, home to those too sick or too old to continue serving white homes, factories, mines and farms. Dora Tamana, founder of the Federation of SA Women, motivated the women’s march in 1956, arguing: “We have seen unemployment, lack of accommodation and families broken because of passes. We have seen it with our men. Who will look after our children when we go to jail for a small technical offence – not having a pass?” Apartheid normalised the imprisonment, beating and criminalisation of “the dark peoples”, as then prime minister BJ Vorster described people in apartheid Israel and South Africa after being hosted by Israel in 1976. Today, flash floods and fires characterise climate change that endangers the world and humanity. Fascist forces deny yet exploit these and other real problems, including gender-based violence, corruption and unemployment, to destroy economies and countries – to unleash the “dogs of war”. SA is punished for its case against Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people at the International Court of Justice. The argument is that, contrary to Israel’s own recorded statements, there is no genocide and this has got nothing to do with us. If the women of 1956 had accepted that reasoning, women would never have united. Apartheid wanted to extend passes to women it classified as Bantu. The Federation of SA Women organised and united women that apartheid classified as Bantu, coloured, Asian and white. Lilian Ngoyi, Sophia Williams-de Bruyn, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph and 20 000 women embodied Martin Luther King’s internationalism, the idea that “injustice anywhere affects justice everywhere”. Women’s Day 2025 is the time to thank the insubordinate women of the 1956 women’s march and the generations before and after. The 1976 generation embraced Steve Biko’s call for apartheid’s oppressed to identify as black, not non-white. Many joined armed resistance wings of political movements, the trade union, community and women’s organisations and the United Democratic Front. The Federation of SA Women’s Women’s Charter inspired the Women’s National Coalition’s campaign during SA’s transition to democracy that ensured more than 2 million women influenced the negotiations and the final Constitution. After the democratic elections in 1994, black women who’d previously entered Parliament as cleaners, cooks and servers, entered as public representatives in large numbers. Women’s voices crafted gender-responsive laws, budgets and institutions. Apartheid’s draft Country Report to the UN Conference in Beijing had excluded African women in apartheid’s homelands, rendering them invisible. "SA’s final 1994 report recognised and included all the women of SA. The country’s new Constitution, laws, institutions and budgets upheld nonracism, nonsexism, dignity, equality, justice, non-discrimination; and substantive socioeconomic, civil, political and cultural rights. Statistics made crucial care work visible." From 1994, larger numbers of black people entered untransformed, unwelcoming higher education institutions, yet qualified as scientists, engineers, archaeologists, doctors, architects, digital experts and more. There are parents, mainly still mothers, who nourish and care alongside farmers, and healthcare and social workers. They are teachers, artists, poets, musicians, writers, film-makers and sportswomen who inspire movements, institutions and individuals across SA. They work for universal healthcare for everyone’s wellbeing, providing reproductive choice and ensuring no one dies of preventable illness. They work for food sovereignty and security instead of hunger; employment beyond poverty wages and precarious working conditions; and for comprehensive social security, including basic income and care for children, the elderly and those who live with disabilities. Researchers develop economic alternatives, including the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s wealth tax. There are those who work daily with survivors of gender-based violence and understand how critical it is to transform spatial planning that served capitalist, patriarchal apartheid, trapping millions of black South Africans in poverty. The absence of secure homes with water and sanitation, safe transport and paved, well-lit roads exposes everyone, especially women and girls, to the threat of criminal, misogynistic violence that needs urgent redress. There are workers trying to ensure decent wages and working conditions in increasingly precarious jobs. Often, they see beyond the specific areas, rights and issues they work on, to the intersections between their struggles in SA, across Africa and the rest of the world. They connect the dots between gender-based violence and the global misogynistic culture that enables the trillion-dollar arms industry to commit genocide with utter impunity, while using the power of empire to divide and rule. They see the dictators who destroy women’s rights supported by the US and the UK (which previously banned them as terrorists), and the resource wars beneath the lies of “liberating women”. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asserted that when the true history of SA is written, Lilian Ngoyi’s name must be written in “letters of gold”, not to deify her, but to understand the lessons of her leadership, including in the Garment Workers’ Union of SA, the Federation of SA Women and the ANC, and as an internationalist who understood the power of solidarity. Today, in the battle for our minds, hearts, institutions and history, our ancestors, including Tutu, are turned into cuddly teddy bears, the substance of their love white-washed and reduced to fudge. The Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture in November 2023 took place 43 days after Israel had murdered 11 500 Palestinian people, most of whom were children and women. Today, that number exceeds 60 000 Palestinian people, not counting the thousands buried under their homes, schools, universities and hospitals by US, UK and German bombs and tanks. The horror of Israel’s weapons of starvation or of shooting children, like seven-year-old Hind Rajab who, alongside two paramedics, was killed after pleading for help after Israel killed her family. Palestinian feminist Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian calls this a reproductive genocide aimed at “unchilding Palestinians and the future”. "On the eve of Melinda Gates’ lecture on the theme of Women’s Voices on 17 November 2023, I’d written to the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, quoting Tutu’s clear call for the freedom of Palestine from apartheid Zionist racism, Israel’s colonial settler occupation and ethnic cleansing." My letter quoted the voices of Palestinian women’s organisations, including their call for UN protection. It included Jewish and South African feminists like then international relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor, who took SA’s genocide case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, and Judge Navi Pillay, chairperson of the UN Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. The letter ended with a call: “May Melinda Gates use her power to act for a just peace by calling for a ceasefire now, an end to genocide, urgent humanitarian support and non-violent boycott, divestment and sanctions, to peacefully end apartheid, as Tutu did, for Palestine.” Gates did not call for any of this. In her response to Gates, historian and author Athambile Masola spoke through her grief and anger at Israel’s genocide, honouring Desmond and Leah Tutu’s legacy. She said: ‘Why can’t we tell the truth about how hard it feels … we must have honesty … we can be courageous … it is possible to imagine that once upon a time, Palestine might be free … I do believe there will be a future … there are Palestinian children in the future … Sudanese children … Congolese children … African children…” The foundation’s CEO and chair’s Women’s Month statement does not mention SA’s International Court of Justice case or demand Israel ends its genocide, nor does it call for the release of Palestinians, including hundreds of Palestinian children who were kidnapped, tortured and raped in Israeli prisons every year, long before October 2023. In December 2023, a Love and Insubordination Podcast episode, titled Free Palestine and Humanity, added the voice of Queers from Palestine. My guest, Palestinian feminist Sarah Ihmoud, read Mosab Abu Toha’s poem: “We love what we have, no matter how little, because if we don’t, everything will be gone. If we don’t, we will no longer exist… Someday soon… we will be the trees that will give shade to children sleeping inside or playing on swings.” Govender is an activist and author To learn more about Pregs Govender's work visit https://www.pregsgovender.com/ © 2025 News24

Governor of Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State Credit: Facebook. Governor Sule Insists His State Is not a Terrorist Sanctuary By Ekani Olikita (Makurdi) Nasarawa State, rarely cited in terrorism news until recently, has gained increasing mention as a key staging ground for cross-border terrorist attacks in the neighboring states of Benue and Plateau. Eyewitnesses of the June 13-14 attack on Yelewata in Benue State claimed that the Fulani invaders originated in Nasarawa State. TruthNigeria had the most complete account of the massacre on June 14 and noted that the armed killers “came from Rukubi in Doma, Keana, Obi and other counties in Nasarawa State. The growing security threat centered in Nasarawa has been noted alarm noted not only in Nigeria’s Middle Belt but among international observers tracking ethnic and religious violence across West Africa. Nasarawa is in Nigeria’s North-Central region, commonly referred to as the Middle Belt—a geographically diverse area that marks the cultural transition from the predominantly Muslim north to the largely Christian south. It shares borders with Benue and Kogi to the south, Plateau and Taraba to the east, Kaduna to the north, and the Federal Capital Territory (which includes the city of Abuja) to the west. The state is roughly the size of Vermont and home to about 2.5 million people, split almost evenly between Muslims and Christians. The state is heavily agrarian and ethnically diverse, made up of over a dozen tribes with distinct languages and traditions. Nasarawa has recently become notorious as a haven for one dominant tribe, the Fulani, who number up to 10 million in Nigeria. Militant groups within this ethnicity —armed factions often associated with herder communities – have staged atrocities against Christian farming populations in neighboring areas, according to former Benue State governors, tribal kings, and Nigerian subject experts in the United States. Troubled History, Strategic Location Map of Nigeria, showing middle Belt Region Credit: Google. Nasarawa’s central position and level terrain have made it attractive to armed groups seeking access to multiple neighboring states. Its porous borders and overstretched federal police have allowed these groups to operate with relative freedom. Five counties within Nasarawa—Awe, Keana, Doma, Obi, and Nasarawa—lie directly across the River Benue from Benue State, one of Nigeria’s hardest-hit regions for ethnic and religious violence. These counties are now being described by local leaders as incubators and operational bases for Fulani militants. Fulani Militants and Their Targets Celebrated as semi-nomadic cattle herders, the Fulani ethnicity are spread across West and Central Africa. In recent years what was once regarded as a resource conflict has taken on the contours of religious extremism and Islamization. Sedentary farmers in five counties in Benue—Agatu, Gwer-West, Makurdi, Guma, and Logo—have borne the brunt of village burnings and massacres for years. Militants often cross the River Benue at night, raid villages, and return before dawn. Victims and community leaders say that attackers are well-armed and highly coordinated. Former Benue Governor Gabriel Suswam stated in a televised interview in July 2025 that most attacks in his state originated from Nasarawa. He accused Nasarawa of “harboring Fulani terrorists” who retreat across state lines after each raid. State Officials on Defense against Accusations Nasarawa’s Governor Abdullahi Sule has faced mounting criticism for what some see as a failure—or even complicity—in addressing the growing militancy. In 2024, the leader of a Fulani advocacy group, Bello Bodejo, claimed in a confessional statement that Governor Sule pressured him into forming a Fulani ethnic militia group, “Kungiya Zaman Lafiya.” The governor has denied the allegation, but Bodejo is currently on trial for terrorism. Professors, lawyers, traditional kings and civil rights activists—including U.S.-based academic Barrister Franc Utoo—have accused Governor Sule of providing safe havens for militants. Utoo, a native of Yelewata in Benue, claims that in 2022 he helped identify a Fulani terror camp just four kilometers from the village of Gidan-Sule in Nasarawa, which was later bombed by the Nigerian Air Force. Benue Attackers Originate from Nasarawa State: Paramount Ruler The Paramount Ruler of the Tiv Kingdom in Benue State, His Royal Majesty Prof. James Iorzua Ayatse on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, told the visiting First Lady of Nigeria, Sen Oluremi Tinubu, in Makurdi that the Fulani Terrorists killing the people in Benue come from neighboring Nasarawa State, corroborating the accusation by Prof Gundu and others. “Your Excellency Ma, our attackers come from Nasarawa State. After attacking us, they withdraw and go back to Nasarawa State,” Prof. Ayatse told the First Lady in the presence of state dignitaries and traditional council members meeting in Makurdi,” the King said. The visibly angry First Lady in her response, assured the people of the state that, their message would be delivered. For his part, Governor Sule has acknowledged that after some attacks Fulani terrorists were regrouping in Nasarawa and that weapons proliferation was a serious problem. Yet, he has also threatened legal action against accusers, insisting that his state is not a sanctuary for terrorists. Inaction and Civilian Outcry The Nigerian military has been accused of selective enforcement. Middle Belt Forum President Dr. Bitrus Pogu told TruthNigeria that while local Christian youths are arrested for attempting to defend their communities with shot guns, known terrorist camps are left untouched. The failure to conduct a comprehensive security sweep of Nasarawa’s forest enclaves is emboldening terrorists and further destabilizing the region, according to Pogu. Launchpad Crossings on River Identified Fulani Jihadists in Nasarawa State cross the Benue River to attack, kidnap, and kill Benue residents then retreat to their safe havens at identified crossings, according to a security expert speaking anonymously to TruthNigeria. Heavily armed gunmen cross chiefly from Obi, Keana, Nasarawa and Doma counties through Rukubi to Riverine communities of Kwatan-Bala, Obendo, Achepe, Olegokpa, Ijiwo, Otiya, Olegangbulu, Odenyi, Loko in Nasarawa State. The invading mercenaries attack unarmed farming families in Makurdi, Gwer-West, Gwer-East, Agatu, Apa and Guma Counties through the Riverine communities of Lower-Basin, Mbaku in Makurdi, Oleg’Ada’Gomowe, New Nigeria, Olegijamu, Ogbowu, Achukpa, Gidan-Pepa, Ogbaji in Gwer-West, Olego-makwu, Onahe, Ocholonya, Abugbe, Mwenyi, Adana, Olegadapati, Alada-Echono, Oweto, Okpanchenyi, Ikpele, Okpokpolo in Agatu County A Warning for the Region—and the World The fallout from this unchecked violence is staggering. Residents are leaving villages across Benue State in droves. Thousands have been killed or displaced, and economic activity—especially farming—has ground to a halt in many regions. Conflict analysts warn that if nothing is done, Nasarawa could become a permanent staging ground for extremist violence, destabilizing Nigeria’s entire Middle Belt and potentially influencing cross-border conflict dynamics in Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. © Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

COURT BATTLE Illustrative Image: Eswatini flag. (Photo: Freepik) | Handcuffed person (Photo: Istock) The Eswatini Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (Salc) based in Johannesburg filed an urgent application in the High Court of Eswatini on Thursday, 14 August, seeking to declare the secretive pact between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the US unconstitutional. Human rights organisations in Eswatini and South Africa have launched a legal challenge against the Eswatini government over its confidential agreement with the Trump administration to accept five hardened third-country criminals from the US. The Eswatini Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (Salc) based in Johannesburg filed an urgent application in the High Court of Eswatini on Thursday, 14 August, seeking to declare the secretive pact between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the US unconstitutional. The groups had previously threatened legal action if the Eswatini government did not back out of the deportee deal with the US. The application argues that the terms of the high-level agreement are concealed and have been implemented without public participation and the ratification of Parliament, constituting a violation of provisions such as section 238 of the Eswatini Constitution. “The circumstances under which this agreement has been concluded raise serious concerns about executive overreach, human rights and national security,” the organisations said in a statement on Thursday. Section 238 of the Constitution provides that international agreements, including treaties, conventions and protocols, require either an Act of Parliament or a two-thirds majority resolution passed in a joint sitting of both chambers of Parliament to become binding on the Eswatini government. The respondents in the case include Eswatini’s prime minister, its correctional services commissioner, minister of home affairs, minister of foreign affairs and attorney-general. ‘African nations are not dumping grounds’ The Trump administration sent five criminals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to Eswatini last month, resuming the practice of so-called third-country deportations after the US Supreme Court rubber-stamped the practice in late June. The deportees had criminal records which included convictions for murder, homicide and child rape. Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has embarked on a wide campaign to get countries to accept the US’s deportees. A New York Times investigation in June detailed how the Trump administration had been looking to get more than 50 nations, including Eswatini, to take third-country migrants. A Department of Homeland Security memo revealed that a US diplomat met with Eswatini government officials in March to push them to take expelled citizens of other nations, according to the publication. On Wednesday, 13 August, CNN reported that the number of US planes carrying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees had “skyrocketed” in recent months, but these planes had become increasingly difficult to track. Most of the people on these flights had no links to the countries to which they were being flown, the publication reported. Following the five deportees’ arrival on 16 July, the Eswatini government confirmed that they had been detained, claiming that they presented no threat to the people of Eswatini. However, it has refused to disclose the terms of the agreement, other than to say the US was covering the costs of keeping the men imprisoned and that they would work with the International Organization for Migration to deport them back to their home countries, according to a report in The Guardian. Eswatini’s Prime Minister, Russell Dlamini, has, however, said his country is open to receiving more deportees if requested to do so by the US and if Eswatini has the capacity. In their statement on Thursday, the human rights organisations said the court application was a signal to the world that African countries would no longer act as dumping grounds for the Global North’s unresolved issues. “Powerful nations like the US increasingly outsource contentious policies such as third-country deportations to less powerful states, often through opaque arrangements that exploit economic vulnerabilities and bypass democratic safeguards. This litigation signals to the continent and the world that African nations cannot serve as dumping grounds for unresolved issues,” they stated. The Salc civic rights cluster lead, Melusi Simelane, told Daily Maverick that countries in the Global North, including the US, had been using African states “as conduits to whatever political gymnastics might be happening in the Global North”. The tiny southern African kingdom was spared earlier this year from Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs that have hurt economies around the globe, and there’s been some speculation that Eswatini had agreed to accept the convicts in exchange for avoiding the trade tariffs. In addition to their request that the agreement be declared unconstitutional and invalid, the organisations are also seeking an order from the high court compelling Dlamini to make the terms and financial details of the agreement public. They are also seeking to interdict further deportee arrivals pending the outcome of the case. “Whatever agreement exists between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the United States must be public, [and] must be scrutinised by our Parliament,” said Simelane. ‘Destabilising international relations’  In the application, the organisations argue that the agreement between the US and Eswatini poses the risk of “negating international relations” with other countries. “An agreement to accept nationals from third countries who have no ties to Eswatini risks our international relations with neighbouring countries and the countries from where those five nationals are citizens. The agreement further risks the best interests of Eswatini and our commitments under international law,” read the application. It noted that South Africa had raised concerns about the agreement and its potential security risks for the country. In a statement on 5 August, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said it was “deeply concerned” about the profiles of the five deportees and the “potential adverse impact on South Africa’s national security and immigration policy, given the geographical proximity” between SA and Eswatini. It added that it had raised its concerns with the Kingdom of Eswatini. According to an SABC report , Pretoria summoned the Eswatini high commissioner last week to seek clarity on the agreement. Daily Maverick requested confirmation from Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri, but a response had not been received by the time of publication. At a press conference on Thursday evening, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that engagements between South Africa and Eswatini on the matter would continue, adding that “there have been some assurances that have been given by Eswatini”. “South Africa’s concerns about the whole exercise are well documented and well known, and Eswatini has so far undertaken to ensure that none of those individuals escape their care and find themselves in South Africa,” said Magwenya. In response to questions from Daily Maverick, Eswatini government acting spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said: “We will allow the courts to do their job and can’t comment further on the matter since it’s now sub judice.” © 2025 Daily Maverick

Belarusian army servicemen. The photo is for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Vayar Military Information Agency Belsat By Anna Kaltygina August 5, 2025 A bill “On amendments to laws on military security and defense” has been submitted to the House of Representatives. The document has been published in the database of draft laws on the National Legal Internet Portal. It provides for amendments to three key laws: “On Defense,” “On the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus,” and “On Martial Law.” We outline the main changes. Armed defense as the basis of defense. The new version of the law “On Defense” explicitly states that the armed defense of Belarus is the central element of defense policy. Previously, the definition emphasized a combination of legal, political, economic, and social measures, but now the use of force is a priority. The tasks in wartime have also been clarified: in a conflict, the army must not only repel aggression but also defeat the enemy with the aim of concluding peace on terms that do not contradict the national interests of Belarus. Strengthening the role of the General Staff. The General Staff will be given powers to coordinate the entire military system - from planning mobilization to proposing measures to Alyaksandr Lukashenka in response to military threats, including non-military means of conflict resolution. It will also become the main body for interaction with other security and paramilitary structures. Updated tasks of the army in peacetime. The article on the functions of the Armed Forces significantly expands the list of tasks. Among the new ones are: prevention of internal armed conflict; participation in information warfare in the interests of the state; response to crises in Belarus and among allies; countering border incidents and provocations. The grounds for martial law have been expanded. Now, not only aggression against Belarus, but also an attack on the Union State or a member country of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) can be grounds for its introduction. The law also introduces the concept of “militarized organizations.” This will allow structures outside the Armed Forces, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, or the Ministry of Emergency Situations, to be involved in defense. The bill is intended to bring national legislation into line with the new Military Doctrine approved in 2024. The bill must be passed in two readings in the House of Representatives and then approved by the Council of the Republic. After that, it will be sent to Lukashenka for signature. Once officially published, the new law will come into force. © Belsat.

For a fifth night in a row, protests in Serbia were marked by clashes between demonstrators and police – with each side accusing the other of provoking conflict. Katarina Baletic, August 14, 2025 Numerous members of the public, police officers and soldiers were injured on Wednesday night during another night of protests in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities. Clashes erupted between demonstrators, ruling Serbian Progressive Party activists and police near local headquarters of the ruling party, as they also did on Tuesday. The unrest followed previous clashes during the weekend in the northern Serbian towns of Vrbas and Backi Petrovac. The clashes represent the latest development in months of student-led protests that erupted last November amid anger over high-level corruption in the wake of the Novi Sad railway station disaster. Most of the protests again took place in front of local offices of the ruling party, where party activists had gathered. Riot police officers stand guard during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC There is still no exact information about the total number of injuries, but dozens of photos and videos on social media showed members of the public who were beaten by the police. A student protest group from the southern city of Nis said that one student was severely beaten by riot police and later detained. They published a video on X of riot police surrounding the student and beating him, with one of the policemen striking his neck with his elbow. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic in a press release on Wednesday night condemned “an attack on the state”, claiming the protesters had attacked the police for no reason. “There are many injured citizens, six injured police officers. Those who were heading toward the offices of the Serbian Progressive Party – the blockers, the demonstrators – were attacking both citizens and the police without any reason,” Dacic said. He insisted the police had responded with minimal force, adding that those who had attacked the police would be detained for 48 hours. Anti-government protesters stand-off with riot police officers during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Videos and photos published by the media and members of the public show various incidents in which police can be seen attacking and pushing people, including women, and beating people on the ground. Andrej Vucic, brother of President Aleksandar Vucic, was filmed entering a pro-government tent camp that was set up in the centre of Belgrade near the National Assembly in March. Andrej Vucic was filmed there calling the demonstrators “Ustase”, a pejorative expression referring to World War II Croatian fascists who killed tens of thousands of Serbs in concentration camps. In recent months, the ruling party has routinely used the term to slur opponents of President Vucic’s regime. Anti-government protesters stand-off with riot police officers during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Student protest organisers, meanwhile, blamed the government and police for the night of violence. “Tonight, the authorities tried through clashes to finally provoke a civil conflict,” protest organisers Students Blockade wrote on Instagram, adding that “the regime has long since determined the culprit – the students and the citizens are to blame”. “The state leadership no longer hides behind phrases about dialogue; the President has announced a purge,” they added. “The police once again protected the regime’s loyalists, who were throwing stones and launching fireworks at the demonstrators.” They called for renewed protests. A protester holds a banner reading ‘Truth’ during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Students Blockade also called attention to one incident in Novi Sad where fireworks were used against members of the public and a man was seen pointing a gun into the sky. After a video of the man with the gun spread on social media, the director of the Military Security Agency, Lieutenant General Djuro Jovanovic, on Thursday identified him as Vladimir Brkusanin, a member of the army’s Kobra unit, responsible for the close protection of officials. Jovanovic added that seven Kobra members had been injured in the protests in Novi Sad, four of them seriously. Brkusanin said later at a press conference that he and his colleagues were attacked on Wednesday night in Novi Sad by nearly 100 people, and he had fired his gun into the air when he felt their lives were in danger. “At the moment when they surrounded us from three sides, with a wall behind us, I assessed that my life and the lives of my colleagues were in danger. I used a firearm and fired a shot into the air in a safe direction. At that moment, the attackers scattered,” he said. A protester holds a banner reading ‘Your hands are bloodied’ during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC Copyright BIRN 2007

People queue in a cemetery as they visit the tomb of Ilie Lacatusu, one of the Romanian Orthodox Church's latest saints, bearing the flag with the insignia of the Iron Guard, one of Europe's most violent antisemitic movements in the 20th century, in Bucharest, Romania April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu/File Photo BUCHAREST, July 11 (Reuters) - A Romanian Jewish legislator said he would return his national order of merit on Friday in protest after the centrist president challenged a bill seeking harsher punishment for antisemitism and hate speech in the country's top court. Romania's parliament  updated existing legislation  outlawing the celebration of fascist leaders or imagery in June at the proposal of Jewish lawmaker Silviu Vexler, introducing prison sentences for the promotion of antisemitism and xenophobia via social media platforms. The bill also raised jail terms for creating or belonging to racist organisations. Romania had one of Europe's most  violent antisemitic movements  of the 1930s, the Iron Guard, known for political assassinations and pogroms. The country was also an ally of Nazi Germany until August 1944, when it changed sides. The centrist President Nicusor Dan challenged the bill at the Constitutional Court, saying it raised freedom of speech concerns and arguing it did not include a proper legal definition of fascists or Iron Guard members, which would force judges to interpret the law arbitrarily. The top court has rejected a similar challenge against the bill by hard-right parties. "The impact of the Romanian president's act will directly or indirectly encourage continuing to promote Iron Guard ideology, the leaders of extremist organisations and inevitably antisemitism and all forms of extremism," Vexler said. The presidency did not reply to a request for comment. The National Order of Merit which Vexler said he would return recognises important civil or military services to Romania. Romania cancelled a presidential election in December after allegations of Russian interference – denied by Moscow - in favour of far-right contender  Calin Georgescu , who was later banned from running in the May ballot re-run and has since been  sent to trial  for promoting Romania's wartime fascist leaders. Dan  ultimately won the presidential re-run against a hard-right leader who had replaced Georgescu. Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Alex Richardson © 2025 Reuters.  All rights reserved

By  Monica Machicao  and  Lucinda Elliott An Aymara man bangs an empty utensil in a symbol of protest, as the country faces one of its worst economic crises in a long time, pushing Bolivian Indigenous voters away from the ruling party, in La Paz, Bolivia June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales/File photo LA PAZ, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The rise in power and influence of the Indigenous Aymara in Bolivia has been the country's biggest political shift of recent decades, driven by the success of former President Evo Morales and the leftist party he founded. But as Bolivia prepares for a general election on August 17, it seems increasingly clear that Indigenous voters are abandoning the ruling Movement to Socialism, or MAS, the party that once claimed to champion them. Voters from inner-city Aymara and Quechua communities say their loyalty to MAS has been eroded over the country's worst  economic crisis  in decades, and younger Bolivians in particular say questions of identity now loom less important. "Most Indigenous people are having to deal with how to earn money," said Sayuri Loza, an Aymara social media influencer and daughter of Remedios Loza, the first Indigenous woman elected to Bolivia's national legislature. "The need for economic stability, for education, for healthcare — none of those are being met," said the 42-year-old, who does not plan to cast her vote for MAS. Bolivia has the highest Indigenous population proportionally of any country in Latin America, at about 62%, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Made up of diverse ethnic groups, the largest are Aymara and Quechua, long the backbone of MAS, which has dominated the country's politics for nearly two decades. Now support for leftist and MAS-affiliated candidates is trailing the right-wing opposition. A July survey by Ipsos CIESMORI showed  Andronico Rodriguez , the leading leftist contender, with just 6% support in July, from 19% earlier this year. Another candidate of Aymara heritage, Eva Copa, stood down from the race last week. Such is the rout that the official MAS candidate is polling around 2%, while Rodriguez has distanced himself from the party. President Luis Arce  is not seeking reelection. Nearly half of the electorate is under 35 - a generation that has known no political era other than that shaped by Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous leader, and Arce, his successor. Younger voters like Lirio Fuertes, 29, who runs a fashion brand and teaches the Quechua language on TikTok, said the party's promises fell short. "Indigenous identity was paraded in speeches, flags, and festivals," said Fuertes, who on social media goes by T'ikita Wara, meaning little flower in Quechua. "But it never translated into better healthcare, education, or justice." Loza, a historian who promotes Indigenous traditions on social media, also said public services and financial stability rather than her identity were the key drivers of her vote. Bolivia's emerging middle class, much of it Indigenous, has moved beyond identity politics, and the younger generation spanned diverse professions, said Bolivian sociologist Renzo Abruzzese. "Bolivia's social structure has transformed," he said. TENSIONS EMERGE The 2006 election of Morales was a historic moment for a nation where  Indigenous groups  for centuries had felt like second-class citizens. They were forbidden, until the mid-1950s, from entering the square outside the presidential palace. Serfdom was only abolished in 1945. Before his first inauguration, Morales received the chieftain's staff at the pre-Inca site of Tiwanaku, pledging to grant rights to the Amerindian majority. "Today begins a new era for the native peoples of the world," Morales said at the time, surrounded by Indigenous activists who had traveled from as far as the United States. Tensions first emerged with some Indigenous groups in 2011, when Morales  wanted to build a highway through Indigenous territory in the Bolivian Amazon. Protests broke out and relations between MAS and those groups suffered. Morales, who served three terms until 2019, is  barred from running  after a failed attempt to change the constitution to allow a fourth term. He is now in hiding in the coca-growing region of the Chapare, after a court in December issued a warrant for his arrest on child abuse and terrorism charges. The former president denies the allegations. Instead of standing for hope, Morales is now associated with disillusionment, Fuertes said. "Sadly, Evo Morales and this radicalized group that refuses to relinquish power have caused the Indigenous movement to be associated with anti-democracy, with corruption and abuse," she said. MAS did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, said last month that the problems in Arce's administration had been "identified." "There are people who believe in us and trust us," he told EFE in an interview last month. 'WALLET VOTE' This election comes as Bolivia faces its worst economic crisis since the mid-1980s. Natural gas exports have plummeted, inflation is at a 40-year high, and dollars are scarce. The boliviano currency has lost half of its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention. Urban, business-minded Indigenous voters were questioning the relevance of MAS, and many blamed the ruling party's spend-to-grow model for the downturn, said Quechua political analyst, Andres Gomez. "The 'wallet vote' is starting to outweigh the identity vote," said Gomez. It was still unclear, he said, how that would manifest on election day. Polls show conservative contenders Samuel Doria Medina and Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga leading the race, but neither commands more than 30% support, while around a third of Bolivians remain undecided. If no candidate wins the August vote outright the election will head to a runoff scheduled for October 19. Some Indigenous voters who are passing over MAS were also skeptical of the alternatives. "The right doesn't understand Indigenous Bolivia either," Loza said. Reporting by Monica Machicao in La Paz and Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo. Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Rosalba O'Brien Our Standards:  The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. © 2025 Reuters.  All rights reserved

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