The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled that some history textbooks in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity, used to teach pupils about the 1990s war, are ethnically biased and contravene education law. Lejla Memic, January 24, 2025 The Bosnian Constitutional Court in session. Photo: Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court in Sarajevo ruled on Thursday that materials in the Republika Srpska school textbook ‘History for Ninth Grade of Primary School’ referring to the founding of the Serb-dominated entity in 1992 and the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not compatible with the constitution and should no longer be used. The ruling came after by 13 members of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed a request for the evaluation of the constitutionality of the part of the curriculum, which they claim glorifies war criminals like former Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadzic and Bosnian Serb Army chief Ratko Mladic. The court ruled that the section f the textbook entitled ‘Republika Srpska and the Homeland Defence War’ also contravened the country’s educational standards legislation. Under the decision it is forbidden to teach the history to the ninth grade of primary school this section of the textbook. The Constitutional Court tasked Republika Srpska’s minister of education and culture, along with the director of the Republic Pedagogical Institute of Republika Srpska, with implementing the decision. The new curriculum in Republika Srpska, which went into use in September, teaches primary school students that Karadzic and Mladic, both sentenced to life in prison by the Hague Tribunal for genocide and other crimes, were wartime heroes. An appendix to the controversial textbook states that all pupils should study theee topics: “The Inception of Republika Srpska; The Army of the Republika Srpska and the Homeland Defence War (1992-1995); The suffering of and crimes against the Serb people and Republika Srpska after the Dayton Agreement; Culture of remembrance in the local community.” Under the heading ‘Learning Outcomes’, it states that every pupil in Republika Srpska should be able to “explain the circumstances and the significance of the establishment of the Army of Republika Srpska; cite the causes and consequences of the Homeland Defence War; cite the most important wartime operations of the Bosnian Serb Army, theatres of operations and their significance; cite the sites of suffering of the Serbs during the Homeland Defence War as well as the biggest killing fields of Serbs in the 20th century”. The Constitutional Court argued that the history curriculum for the period 1992-95 should have been designed “in such a way that it covered several different perspectives in order to obtain the most objective and complete picture of past events, and to take into account the different perspectives and experiences of different ethnic, religious and cultural groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. The textbook also states that January 9 is marked each year as Day of Republika Srpska, despite being banned by the Constitutional Court over discrimination issues. It further states that Republika Srpska”maintains close ties with its motherland Serbia” and that “decisions by the Office of the High Representative [Bosnia’s international overseer] and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina were often against the interests of Republika Srpska”. The Constitutional Court said in a statement that this portrayal “directly undermines trust in the legal order of the state, which is contrary to respect for the principles of democracy and the rule of law”. The court statement declared that educational materials, “especially those related to history and society, must be harmonised with legal norms and democratic values, in order to prevent discrimination, revisionism, ideological manipulation or indoctrination of children”. Failure to mention court verdicts on genocide and war crimes in the appropriate context trivialises these crimes and negatively affects the reconciliation process, it added. Copyright BIRN 2015

People who ‘deny the truth of the bitter past’ could be jailed for up to five years under the law, which still needs parliament approval. By Agence France-Presse 25 Jan 2025 The government of Cambodia’s prime minister Hun Manet (left) has approved a draft law to punish Khmer Rouge genocide denial at the request of longtime former leader Hun Sen (right). Photograph: Heng Sinith/AP Cambodia’s government has approved a draft law that will jail for up to five years anyone denying atrocities, including genocide, committed by the Khmer Rouge. The draft law – which aims to prevent a repeat of the Khmer Rouge’s crimes and provide justice for victims – was approved during a cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister, Hun Manet, on Friday, the government spokesperson Pen Bona said. The bill stipulates “the prosecution of any individual” who denies or condones the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge, according to a government statement. The bill’s definition of atrocities includes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, for which a UN-backed court prosecuted top Khmer Rouge leaders nine years ago. Under the seven-article bill, people who “deny the truth of the bitter past” will be jailed for between one and five years and could face fines of $2,500 (10 million riel) to $125,000.   The ultra-Maoist movement led by Pol Pot wiped out about 2 million people through starvation, torture, forced labour and mass executions during its 1975-79 rule. The draft bill, which comes months before the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover in mid-April, will be sent to parliament soon for approval, Pen Bona said. It was made at the request of influential former leader Hun Sen, who in May claimed that some politicians still refused to recognise the Khmer Rouge’s genocide and called on the government to punish them by law.  The law would replace a similar bill, also initiated by Hun Sen and enacted in 2013, that bans statements denying crimes by the communist Khmer Rouge and carries a sentence of up to two years in jail.  Rights groups have accused Hun Sen – who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades – of using the legal system to crush opposition.  The longtime leader, himself a former Khmer Rouge cadre, stepped down in 2023 and handed the premiership to his eldest son , Hun Manet. A UN-backed tribunal found two top Khmer Rouge leaders guilty of genocide in a landmark ruling in 2018. © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies

Strained relations between Abuja and Niamey have disrupted joint military patrols and allowed the armed group to expand. By Shola Lawal 10 Jan 2025 Government soldiers on patrol in northern Nigeria [File: Sunday Alamba/AP] A new armed group called Lakurawa is attacking villages in remote corners of northwestern Nigeria and across the border in Niger, posing new threats to two countries that already suffer from protracted conflict involving several other groups, including Boko Haram. In November, the Nigerian army acknowledged for the first time the existence of Lakurawa and said its members were operating from headquarters in the country’s Sokoto and Kebbi states. Attacks by the group have killed dozens of people, and at least nine suspected members are known and have been declared wanted by the Nigerian army. The northern region is one of the hottest beds of violence in Nigeria, with its states experiencing a toxic mix of armed attacks, kidnappings and banditry in recent years. The Nigerian army has also been grappling with a long-running battle with the Boko Haram armed group in the northeast for more than a decade. Strained relations between Nigeria and Niger, stemming from Niger’s coup d’etat in July 2023, have also affected joint military operations and given the Lakurawa group more room to expand, officials say. Who is Lakurawa? According to Nigerian army officials, Lakurawa fighters are believed to originally be from troubled Mali , a Sahelian country that’s currently under fire from a swarm of transnational armed groups seeking territory to govern. Groups like Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and ISIL affiliate in the Greater Sahara are some of the armed groups destabilising Mali. Officials in Nigeria say Lakurawa members are affiliated with the Malian groups but have for years settled in communities along the Nigeria-Niger border, marrying local women and recruiting youth. Researchers tracing the origin of the group, however, note that its members have not just begun operating. Originally, Lakurawa members were herdsmen who would carry rifles for protection. They formed an organised armed group after local leaders in rural communities of Gudu and Tangaza, in Nigeria’s Sokoto State, invited them to help tackle armed bandits who were then raiding communities for money a nd cattle, and who helped prompt a kidnapping crisis  in Nigeria. Trucks with goods are seen at the border between Nigeria and Niger. Members of Lakurawa have reportedly settled in border communities [File: Mohammad Babangida/AP] Remote communities in the country are often ungoverned due to the inadequacies of the country’s local and state governments, allowing crime to thrive. The local leaders in Sokoto wanted Lakurawa fighters to battle the bandits and protect the communities. Lakurawa members were able to dislodge the bandit threat between 2016 and 2017 and were paid for their work. However, the group’s members soon turned on communities, too. They fell out with one of the local leaders who had invited them and murdered him. Most Lakurawa fighters are believed to be between 18 and 50 and speak Fulfulde, Hausa, and Arabic, according to the think tank, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. Fulfulde is primarily spoken by the Fulani group whose members are spread across West Africa. The Nigerian military said it had identified some of the group’s leaders: Abu Khadijah, Abdulrahaman (Idi), Dadi Gumba, Muhammed Abu, Usman Shehu, Abu Yusuf, Musa Walia, Ibrahim Suyaka, Ba Sulhu, and Idris Taklakse. What do they want? In its announcement in November, the Nigerian military said Lakurawa’s motivation or ideology is unknown. However, researchers who’ve spoken to communities affected by the violence say the group promotes its own version of Islam and wants to seek a caliphate. In areas they govern, the group is believed to have imposed its own version of Islamic law. What have they done? Members of Lakurawa have been attacking villages in Nigeria and Niger. They are believed to hold territory in several villages, where they also impose taxes on cattle. As a tactic to attract more followers and gain local support, the group is said to be distributing money, farm tools, fertiliser, seeds, and water pumping machines to needy locals. Some estimates put monetary compensation for new recruits at 1 million naira ($645), and about 10,000 naira ($6) for local informants. Villagers who don’t cooperate with the group’s leadership face threats and attacks. Lakurawa-related violence has left dozens dead. In one of the latest attacks on November 9, the group’s raid on the Mera community in Nigeria’s Kebbi State left 15 people dead. How is Nigeria responding? Tensions between Nigeria and Niger have hindered a joint and integrated response to Lakurawa and given the group some leeway. Niger’s military seized power in July 2023, but Nigeria, the current leader of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, has taken a hard line with the military, asking for it to return the country to civilian rule and free detained former President Mohamed Bazoum. Before Niger’s 2023 coup, both countries’ armies maintained joint border patrol operations. That action is believed to have helped disperse the group in 2020. However, amid the tensions that followed the coup, joint operations between the two countries were disrupted. Authorities in Nigeria say that was about the same time the group’s members re-grouped and began attacking communities again, taking advantage of the security vacuum as relations broke down further. Joint border patrols have since resumed. In late 2024, Nigeria launched operations against the group. The military has conducted air strikes on targets believed to be Lakurawa members in the northern states affected, and ground assaults on the group’s camps. Nigeria’s military acknowledged in December that it mistakenly killed 10 civilians after an air strike on the group’s munition hideout in the villages of Gidan Bisa and Gidan Runtuwa, Sokoto State, caused secondary explosions. The villages were a high concentration for the group, an army spokesperson said. What about Niger? Niger’s government has not revealed whether it has conducted special operations targeting the group, and it’s unclear what parts of Niger are affected. In an interview with local reporters in December, military leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani blamed the group’s emergence on Nigeria and said Abuja and France were sponsoring the group to attack Niger. The country, a former colony of France, has fallen out with Paris over the 2023 coup. Similarly, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also ruled by military governments, have fallen out with their former colonial leader, France. Since, French President Emmanuel Macron has gotten closer to Nigeria’s leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, leading to the former allies accusing Abuja of colluding with their enemy. Tchianni, in a December interview, said top Nigerian officials, including President Tinubu’s security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, were part of a plan to keep armed fighters in border communities in order to attack Niger. “He knows about this but he has kept silent,” Tchiani said. The Nigerian government denied the allegations, saying they were “in the realm of imagination”. © 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network

Conflict has forced a fifth of the country’s schools to close. One teacher, determined to keep working despite threats from marauding Islamist militias, shares their testimony. Kaamil Ahmed Fri 10 Jan 2025 Children who fled attacks by one of many groups of jihadists in the Sahel region attend a class in Dori, near the Mali-Niger borders in northern Burkina Faso. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters Teaching in Burkina Faso is a dangerous commitment. Thousands of schools are closed and teachers forced out of the profession because of the risks they face, mostly from Islamist militants attacking schools. Jihadist violence first broke out in 2015 but the conflict has intensified in the past few years, driven by militants who have seized up to 40% of the country. It is estimated that as many as 6.3 million people – a quarter of the population – were in need of humanitarian aid in 2024, with the country named as the world’s most neglected displacement crisis for the second year in a row. There were more than 270 attacks on schools in 2022-23, and a fifth of them are now closed . Armed groups control almost half the country, according to the civilian violence monitor Acaps. One teacher, whose identity and location cannot be revealed, tells the Guardian why they continue to teach, despite having experienced the violence first-hand. “While I was held captive, the militants barked questions at me: ‘where did I come from; where was I going; and why do I still teach?’ “These armed men, who besieged the town where I work in northern Burkina Faso, had ordered our school to close. They did not realise that, for me, teaching is not just a job but a mission – that is why I continue. “Many of my colleagues have not continued, because we live in one of the most dangerous parts of the world to be a teacher, in conditions where the militants make the lives of residents almost unbearable. In 2023, nearly a quarter of our schools were closed because of violence. “I was taken captive while travelling to help with examinations at another school 60km away. I had fretted about the journey beforehand, failing to sleep and originally deciding against it because I knew the road was too dangerous. “Usually, when we have to travel to the area of our school, like we do when we return to our home villages in the summer, we are taken by helicopter. But I had a relative nearby so decided to take the risk. “The militants held me for days alongside other travellers, only releasing us after demanding we tell everyone in our area to leave and for the school to close down. But I did not abandon my school. “Since 2016, my country has suffered some of the worst attacks on education anywhere in the world. Militias kill, rape and kidnap. More than 26,000 people have been killed across the country. It is often described as the world’s most neglected crisis. “After first starting work, I saw only a year of a healthy environment for teaching. In 2018, the fighters began to arrive, slowly taking over the surrounding areas. They originally focused on the police and military but, as they gained more control, turned to others with local influence – mayors, local chiefs and eventually, teachers. Children practice security drills to prepare for attacks by militants. Many pupils have to pass jihadists’ roadblocks to get to school. Photograph: Sam Mednick/AP “They would damage roads, electricity supplies and phone networks to make it impossible to work. For many of my colleagues, these methods worked and they gave up. “But I have continued. I am a supervisor but I also teach because there is no money to incentivise volunteers, let alone hire enough teachers – especially those willing to persevere under these conditions. “The siege by the militants makes life more costly. There is little food in the market and our traditional meals made from millet and beans can cost about 7,000 francs [£8.90] – more than four times what they used to. The farmers and herders cannot work and the parents of our students cannot afford food, let alone school fees, so our students are often hungry. “The authorities considered closing schools in our area because of the security risk but we have said we will continue, as long as we can be helped to travel to work and our children are given food assistance. “We will always care for the future of these poor children – they will build the future of our dear nation." © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, pictured at the White House in April 2023, said Sunday his country will not accept U.S. flights of deported migrants. (Elizabeth Frantz/For The Washington Post) The Washington Post January 26, 2025; updated January 27, 2025  By  Mariana Alfaro , Samantha Schmidt , Mary Beth Sheridan , and  Trisha Thadani   President  Donald Trump  on Sunday announced strict tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia after the South American nation’s president, Gustavo Petro, said his country will not accept deportation flights from the United States unless the Trump administration ensures that repatriated Colombian migrants are treated with the “dignity that a human being deserves.”   In a  series  of  posts shared  on X on Sunday, Petro said the U.S. can’t treat Colombian migrants “like criminals.”   “I do not authorize the entry of North American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory,”   Petro said. “The U.S. must establish a protocol of dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”   On Sunday, Trump retaliated by announcing 25 percent tariffs on all Colombian goods coming into the United States, as well as a travel ban and immediate visa revocations for Colombian government officials, their allies and supporters, and visa sanctions on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government.   “These measures are just the beginning,” Trump threatened in a post  on Truth Social . “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!”   Petro’s refusal to accept the deportation flights could complicate Trump’s  promises of mass deportations  in the early days of his administration. Other Latin American leaders have also raised questions over the United States treatment of deported migrants.   Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is requesting an explanation from the U.S. government over the “degrading treatment” deportees were subject to on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement repatriation flight Friday.   Only Colombia, however, has said it will not accept deportation flights unless migrant conditions improve.   Petro explained on X that he made U.S. “military planes” carrying Colombian migrants turn around.   “I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them; but if that country sends them back, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country,” Petro wrote. “We will receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals.”   Petro’s refusal to accept these flights come as Trump and his administration ramp up efforts to detain undocumented immigrants nationwide — efforts that began soon after the president took office Monday.   4.1 million migrants Places migrants have settled since 2014. The Washington Post analyzed more than 4.1 million U.S. immigration court records from the past decade to find out  where migrants come from and where they live once they arrive in the country . credit...The Washington Post   Cities where migrants have settled by nationality Credit...The Washington Post Petro — Colombia’s first leftist president, who is closely allied with the current presidents of Brazil and Mexico — has taken a more defensive stance against Trump and his deportations.   On X, he noted that over 15,600 U.S. citizens are living in Colombia without the proper documents.  Petro said that, while he’s aware some Americans are living in Colombia illegally, he’s not going to raid them and return them to the U.S. in chains, saying that his government is “the opposite of Nazis.”   “No me verán jamás quemando una bandera gringa,” Petro said on X, Spanish for: “You won’t see me burning a U.S. flag.”   January 27 Update   Trump backs off trade threats after Colombia agrees to deportation flights The nations spent much of the day in a tense standoff, with the U.S. president threatening tariffs and visa restrictions after Colombia turned away two deportation flights. The United States and Colombia averted a trade war, for now, after the White House said late Sunday that Bogotá agreed to accept deportation flights from the United States. The two nations had spent much of the day in a tense standoff, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose steep tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia after the South American nation turned away two deportation flights. The tariffs would have probably devastated Colombia’s flower industry — a key export to the United States — just before the Valentine’s Day season, while also escalating prices for American consumers . Coffee prices in the United States could have soared, too, given that Colombia is a major exporter and that businesses tend to pass along the cost of tariffs to consumers through higher prices. But late Sunday, the White House said Colombia “has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms,” including allowing U.S. military aircraft to send Colombians back. The suspension of visas would remain in effect until the first planeload of deportees is accepted, and the order on tariffs and sanctions would be held “in reserve” in case Colombia does not honor its end of the deal. “Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement announcing the deal. “President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.” Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s foreign minister, and the Colombian ambassador to the United States will hold a series of high-level meetings after the agreements between the two countries. Murillo said the meetings will take place in the coming days to follow up on an “exchange of diplomatic notes” between the two governments. The Colombian government will continue to receive deported Colombians, “guaranteeing them dignified conditions,” Murillo said in a video statement late Sunday. “We have overcome the impasse with the United States government.” Petro made available the presidential plane to facilitate the travel of the deported Colombians who were going to arrive in the country early Sunday morning. Despite the détente, the dramatic dispute was the most significant diplomatic crisis in decades between the United States and one of its most important allies in Latin America. It also apparently took officials from both countries by surprise. Washington and Bogotá have for years had a bilateral agreement allowing for regular deportation flights that have, until now, gone to Colombia at the rate of at least twice a week without problems. Under the agreement, the United States sends Colombia a manifest 48 hours in advance of the flights with the names of the deportees, and Colombia provides authorization before the planes take off. That happened in this case, according to a Colombian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive issue, and Bogotá agreed to accept the flight. It was unclear whether or when Petro was made aware that, for the first time, the planes being used were U.S. military C-17s, although video of shackled deportees being marched onto military aircraft was widely televised and posted on social media. The Colombian official said more than 200 people were on the two flights to Colombia. The planes were approaching Bogotá early Sunday morning when Petro “decided to deny entry” and, within minutes, posted on X that he had done so, the official said. Shortly thereafter, Trump posted about his retaliatory actions, saying they were warranted because Colombia was violating its legal obligations and was harming the national security of the United States. Both presidents have long been known to make frequent use of social media in undiplomatic ways. In response to Trump’s post announcing the tariffs, Petro — a member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla group in the 1980s who was elected president in 2022 — replied: “If you know somebody stubborn, that’s me.” Trump’s tariffs, if enacted, could have had disastrous consequences on the economy in Colombia; the United States is Colombia’s top trading partner, accounting for 26 percent of its trade in 2023. Remittances to Colombia make up an estimated 3.4 percent of the country’s economy — more than coffee, a key Colombian export. Most of those remittances come from the United States. It is one of the top recipients of U.S. foreign assistance since the 2000 launch of Plan Colombia, a counternarcotics and security initiative that has often had bipartisan support in the United States. The United States has sent about $14 billion in funding to Colombia since 2000, at least 60 percent of it for the military and police. The Colombian American Chamber of Commerce, AmCham Colombia, also warned of widespread shocks to the economy if the tariffs would have taken effect. “In coffee alone, more than 500,000 families depend on this sector. In flower farming, thousands of single mothers would lose their livelihood,” the chamber said. Earlier in the day, Sergio Guzmán, director of the political consultancy Colombia Risk Analysis, said that the standoff could push Colombia closer to China. He noted that Colombia has expressed interest in joining BRICS — the economic partnership of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Amid the diplomatic crisis between Petro and Trump on Sunday, China’s ambassador to Colombia posted on X saying Colombia and China are in the “best moment of our diplomatic relations.” While Petro has long criticized the United States, including its role in the war on drugs, he walked a careful line with the Biden administration. Despite Colombia’s role as a cornerstone partner for the United States in South America, Trump appears to see Petro as “an irreverent president who he wants to make an example of,” Guzmán of Colombia Risk Analysis said. “He chose the wrong moment to face up Trump,” Guzmán said. “He’s going to drag us into a personal conflict with President Trump, with a significant burden on all of us.” The rising tensions could have still repercussions for Colombians and their ability to travel to the United States, especially at a time when the Trump administration has said it will implement travel bans for certain nationalities, said Diego Chaves-González, a senior manager for the Migration Policy Institute’s Latin America and Caribbean initiative. Chaves-González, a Colombia native, urged the importance of reinforcing diplomatic channels between the two countries. “The most damaging thing would be to continue to manage this situation in an improvised way on social media,” he said. Petro’s initial refusal to accept these flights came as Trump and his administration are upping efforts to detain undocumented immigrants nationwide — efforts that began soon after the president took office Monday. Skip to end of carousel Leavitt claimed that on Thursday, Mexico “accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!” While NBC News reported Friday that Mexico had refused to accept a U.S. military jet carrying deportees a day earlier, the Mexican Foreign Ministry denied it was blocking the returns of its citizens. “Mexico has a good relationship with the government of the United States, and we cooperate with respect for each country’s sovereignty on a wide range of issues, including migration,” it said in a statement. “As far as repatriations go, we always accept the arrival of Mexicans in our land with open arms.” In Brazil, 88 Brazilian nationals were subject to what the country said was undignified treatment on a repatriation flight. The passengers were handcuffed at their hands and feet and the air-conditioning system was broken, among other problems, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry posted Saturday. The flight, which was bound for Confins International Airport in Belo Horizonte, had to make an emergency landing Friday in Manaus due to technical problems, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security said. The minister of justice and public security, Ricardo Lewandowski, slammed “the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens.” Regarding claims that deportees have been mistreated, former U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that shackles have been traditionally used around the world to prevent deportees from kicking, biting or attacking accompanying security officials. Terrence McCoy, Mary Beth Sheridan, Jeff Stein and Michael Birnbaum contributed to this report.   Copyright 2025 The Washington Post

The public hospital in Kyaukme after the air raids / The Irrawaddy At least 20 people including two small children were killed and dozens injured by the junta’s latest airstrikes in Shan State’s Kyaukme and Mandalay Region’s Myingyan Township over the weekend. On Saturday, a junta warplane dropped two bombs on a district hospital in Kyaukme, northern Shan State, which is controlled by the ethnic Ta’ang National Liberation Army, killing three including two female public health workers who had joined the civil disobedience movement since the 2021 putsch. One male patient died while being evacuated and at least 20 other locals being treated at the hospital were badly injured, according to sources. “The bombs landed at the back of a room where we were having a meeting,” one health worker who survived the bombing told The Irrawaddy. “My two female colleagues died immediately. I was almost trapped beneath the debris. Many were seriously hurt and their bones broken.” When the Irrawaddy visited the hospital after the bombing raid, almost all the buildings had been flattened, suggesting that the facility was deliberately targeted. The TNLA captured Kyaukme early last August during the second phase of the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027. The Health Ministry of Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government and the central executive committee of the Palaung State Liberation Front/TNLA issued statements condemning the airstrike. On Sunday, bombing and strafing also left 17 dead in Singup village in rural Myingyaing Township, Mandalay Region. A junta jet dropped two bombs around 7:30 a.m. before Mi-35 gunships strafed the village, targeting the vicinity of the school, residents said. “Sixteen were killed immediately and one more died later. Some of the injured are in critical condition,” a resident said. A visiting couple and their two children were among those killed, he said. One of them was an infant and the other four years old. “They have been buried,” he added. The airstrikes came a few days after pro-junta Telegram channels claimed that People’s Defense Force (PDF) groups were active near the village, according to residents. Copyright © 2025 The Irrawaddy

Sahel sliding Into darkness: Al-Qaeda and Islamic State intensify attacks TruthNigeria January 23, 2025 By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat   Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, photo courtesy of Nigerian Army.   Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa manages a force of approximately 130,000 regular army troops which are deployed to confront four separate insurgencies: Boko Haram; Islamic State of West Africa; Ansaru, and Lakurawa. In addition, his forces have been attacking radicalized bandit gangs numbering 30,000 or more that control vast stretches of ungoverned space in the Northwest. Experts tell TruthNigeria that the size of the armed forces should be greatly enlarged in order to end the complex civil war raging across 36 states. The Sahel is grappling with unprecedented violence, as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked jihadist groups intensify their attacks on civilians and military forces across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad. The region witnessed a  surge in terrorist attacks  in 2024 with a monthly average of 4.4 attacks, up from 3.9 in 2023, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) institution. Recent Surge in Jihadist Attacks Across West Africa Jihadist attacks have left a trail of devastation across West Africa, particularly in Mali, Benin, Chad, and Nigeria. The atrocities committed by these groups are staggering. In September 2024, Al-Qaeda militants  killed up to 100 people  at an international airport complex in Bamako, Mali. The same month, around 600 civilians were machine-gunned in a few hours in Barsalgho, Burkina Faso. A disturbing video from Mali circulated on social media in July 2024, showing a man in a military uniform mutilating a corpse. These incidents underscore the brutality and impunity in this war. On January 11, 2025, Benin Republic suffered a devastating attack by jihadist groups, resulting in the loss of at least 28 troops near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims  (JNIM) claimed responsibility  for the attack, which targeted a military outpost in the northern region of Benin. And in  Chad, Boko Haram launched  a series of attacks on Chadian forces, killing over 50 soldiers. This prompted the Chadian leader to withdraw from the Joint Multinational Joint Taskforce, a regional initiative aimed at combating Boko Haram’s cross-border attacks. The group kept up the pressure on Chad when, in January 2025, it launched a daring attack on the presidential palace in Ndjamena, reportedly targeting Chadian President Mahamat Deby. Similarly, Boko Haram has made a significant comeback since 2023, killing nearly 200 Nigerians in the North East region in less than four months. The group’s resurgence has raised concerns about the effectiveness of Nigerian security forces in combating terrorism. Why the Surge in Attacks? The withdrawal of Western forces from Niger, Chad, Mali, and Burkina Faso has created a security vacuum in the Sahel region, making it easier for jihadist groups to plan and carry out attacks. “The withdrawal of Western forces has left a huge gap in terms of technological reconnaissance and surveillance,” said Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert, in an exclusive interview with TruthNigeria. “The Americans had drone bases in Agadez and Zinder, Niger, while the French had a base in Chad with approximately 2,000 troops. Without these forces, the region is more vulnerable to terrorist activity.” Makama pointed to the recent attack on the Presidential Palace in Chad by Boko Haram as an example of the consequences of the Western withdrawal. “This attack shows that the jihadist groups can now operate freely, without fear of detection or reprisal,” he said. The security expert warned that the situation in the Sahel region will continue to deteriorate unless urgent action is taken to address the security vacuum. “The international community needs to come together to support the countries in the region and help them build their capacity to counter terrorism,” Makama said. “The Americans use their drones to provide the needed intelligence for Nigerian, Nigerien, Chadian, and Malian militaries, but that is not the case anymore,” David Onyilokwu Idah, Director of the International Human Rights Commission, tells TruthNigeria. “The Jihadists are sensing that they can do more harm and attacks now that the West has left,” he added. Idah also noted that the decision of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso to pull out of the regional bloc called the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the bickering between Niger and Benin Republic, Niger, and Nigeria have left the Sahel in a vulnerable state. “The Jihadists are also emboldened by the lack of military cooperation between the ECOWAS states. The direct consequences of that are the attacks on Beninois forces by the Jihadists.” “The Jihadists were able to slip through the Malian side of the border unchecked and launch attacks on Benin Republic,” Idah noted. Jihadists Want to Create a Greater Islamic Caliphate According to regional security experts, groups such as JNIM, ISGS, and AQIM are working tirelessly to recreate  the ISIS caliphate , which they see as a model for Islamic governance. The jihadist groups in the Sahel region are driven by a desire to establish a caliphate similar to the one created by Al Baghdadi in Iraq,” said Idah, a regional security analyst. “These groups already control significant territories in Burkina Faso and Mali,” said Washington-based security analyst Scott Morgan to TruthNigeria.  “By some estimates 40 percent of Burkina Faso and 20 percent of Mali are under their control,” he added. Morgan notes that these groups, including Ansaru and Boko Haram, maintain hidden bases in Nigeria’s Niger State, which shares borders with Benin Republic. They are able to move freely from Mali into Niger State via Benin Republic, taking advantage of the porous borders and lack of effective governance in the region. The only factor preventing these groups from making further gains is the strong military presence in Nigeria – at least compared to other countries in the region. However, Morgan warns that the jihadists have an endless stream of recruits and a steady supply of military hardware, which enables them to engage governments in the Sahel region. Map of African Sahel. Wikimedia commons.   US Urged to Act on Sahel Crisis The deteriorating situation in the Sahel region of Africa has prompted a call to action from the United States by regional security expert Idah. “The Sahel region is a breeding ground for terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda and ISIS, which pose a significant threat to global security, including American interests,” Idah said. The expert urged the United States to take a proactive and sustained approach to address the root causes of this conflict and to support regional efforts to promote stability, security, and democracy. “Countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are American allies, but the Russians, the Chinese and Turks are looking for any means to pry them away from America.” Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria   Copyright 2025 TruthNigeria

By Eujin Byun The Lushagala site for internally displaced people in North Kivu province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. © UNHCR/Guerchom Ndebo GENEVA – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is alarmed by the worsening violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has already displaced 237,000 people this year. Escalating clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are intensifying one of the world’s most alarming yet under-reported humanitarian crises, marked by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement. These two provinces are already home to 4.6 million internally displaced people, making the DRC one of the world’s largest hosts for people uprooted within their own borders. From 1 to 6 January, intense fighting in the Masisi and the Lubero territories of North Kivu Province forced approximately 150,000 individuals to flee their homes. Many initially sought safety in Masisi territory, northwest of Goma, the territory’s main town, only to be displaced yet again as violence spread. Simultaneously, in South Kivu’s Fizi territory, the local government reports that 84,000 people are now displaced and it has requested humanitarian assistance from the international community. Civilians in both regions are enduring indiscriminate bombings and sexual violence. The use of heavy weaponry in populated areas has resulted in numerous civilian casualties, including children. The ongoing violence has severely limited humanitarian access in the short term and left displaced populations in desperate need of shelter, food, clean water, and medical care. Many are seeking refuge in overcrowded host communities, makeshift shelters, or public buildings such as hospitals. Already dire humanitarian conditions are worsening rapidly, and access to these vulnerable populations is severely restricted by insecurity, roadblocks and the presence of violent armed actors. Fighters are reportedly using people’s homes as shelters, endangering residents by blurring the distinction between combatants and civilians. Despite the volatile security situation, approximately 25,000 displaced people returned to Masisi-Center following a temporary lull in violence on 4 January. However, renewed clashes on 9 January forced many to flee once again, highlighting the fragility of the situation. The town remains engulfed in uncertainty, with civilians facing ongoing violence, including forced recruitment, and suspicion from armed actors. As soon as access is restored, UNHCR is ready to help these populations. The agency constructed and rehabilitated shelters for more than 95,000 people in this region in 2024 and distributed critical household items such as mosquito nets, blankets, and cooking pots to 45,000 people. UNHCR emphasizes the urgency of addressing the escalating humanitarian crisis. Safe and unimpeded access for aid workers must be guaranteed, and measures to protect civilians – particularly women and children – must be prioritized. While UNHCR remains committed to supporting displaced communities in eastern DRC, the scale of the crisis demands immediate action to scale up relief efforts. In 2025, UNHCR requires a total of $226 million to address the protracted emergency in the DRC and to date UNHCR has received less than 10 per cent of the needed funding. UNHCR reminds all stakeholders that it is high time peace prevails in the DRC in the best interests of the region and humanity. It urges increased investments in peacebuilding and conflict resolution to address the root causes of displacement and build a foundation for lasting stability. © UNHCR 2001-2025

© Amnesty International UK Amnesty is supporting activist Maung Sawyeddollah in filing a complaint against Meta and its role in Myanmar violence Meta was warned repeatedly by activists and researchers that its algorithms were amplifying hateful content against the Rohingya The violence that unfolded in Myanmar in 2017 has been classified as a genocide 'We hope the Securities and Exchange Commission will consider the submission and investigate Meta for any potential violations of federal securities laws' - Mandi Mudarikwa Rohingya human rights activist, Maung Sawyeddollah, has filed a whistleblower complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asking the agency to investigate Meta for alleged violations of securities laws stemming from the company’s misrepresentations to shareholders on its substantial contribution to what the US government has classified as genocide  perpetrated against the Rohingya in Myanmar in 2017.  Amnesty International, the Open Society Justice Initiative and Victim Advocates International have jointly supported the submission.  Mandi Mudarikwa, Head of Strategic Litigation at Amnesty International, said:  “The submission provides information on Meta’s alleged role in the atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya, and highlights misrepresentations to the SEC and public investors. We hope the SEC will consider the submission and investigate Meta for any potential violations of federal securities laws.” Meta: Repeatedly warned against amplifying harmful content The submission to the SEC, an independent US agency responsible for ensuring that shareholders are treated fairly and honestly, details how Meta was repeatedly warned by activists and researchers about the risk of Facebook being used to foment and incite violence against the Rohingya in the lead-up to 2017. The filing argues that, despite this, Meta continued leaving out key information on this risk of real-world violence in statements made to public investors.  A 2022 report by Amnesty found that Meta contributed to the atrocities in Myanmar against the Rohingya through Facebook’s use of algorithms that amplify harmful content and inadequate moderation of harmful content, which breached its own Community Standards  – rules that define permissible content on the platform.  The report revealed that Meta’s business model relied on invasive profiling and targeted advertising, which promoted the spread of harmful content including incitement to violence. Meta’s algorithmic systems are designed to maximize user engagement in order to increase its advertising revenue. As a result, these systems often have the effect of prioritising inflammatory, divisive, and harmful content.  Maung Sawyeddollah, recalling his frustration at his futile attempts to alert Meta about the proliferation of harmful content on Facebook, said: “I saw a lot of horrible things on Facebook, and I just thought that people who posted were bad. I didn’t realise then that Facebook was to blame. One day I saw a post that made me feel so bad. I tried to report that to Facebook. I said it was hate speech but I got a response that said...it does not go against Community Standards.”  Even though such content clearly violated Facebook’s Community Standards, which recently changed as part of a new policy shift , Meta did not sufficiently enforce these in Myanmar nor adequately remove anti-Rohingya content in the months and years before the 2017 atrocities in northern Rakhine State. The insufficient number of content moderators with necessary language skills, the result of the company’s budgeting and staffing choices, also contributed to Meta’s shortcomings. This reflects the company’s broader failure to adequately invest in content moderation across many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, notwithstanding its public claims.  Eva Buzo, Executive Director at Victim Advocates International, explained: “In Myanmar, where Facebook served as the primary social media platform and news source, the reckless deployment of Meta’s harmful algorithms, with negligible safeguards in place, promoted widespread anti-Rohingya online campaigns which contributed to offline violence.” The SEC complaint underscores Meta’s failure to heed multiple civil society warnings from 2013 to 2017 regarding Facebook’s potential role in fueling violence. During that time, civil society repeatedly warned Meta employees that the platform was contributing to a pending “genocide”, similar to the role radios played in the Rwandan genocide. James Goldston, Executive Director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, added: “Although investors had asked Meta to look into the human rights implications of its business, Meta fell far short of being fully transparent towards them, even though by that time Meta had been warned multiple times about the escalating situation in Myanmar and Facebook’s role in it.” Despite these warnings, between 2015 to 2017, Meta told investors that Facebook’s algorithms did not result in polarization, despite having been warned of Facebook’s role in proliferating anti-Rohingya content in Myanmar. At the same time, Meta did not fully disclose in its financial reporting to shareholders the risks the company’s operations in Myanmar entailed. Instead, in 2015 and 2016 Meta objected to shareholder proposals to conduct a human rights impact assessment and to set up an internal committee to oversee the company’s policies and practices concerning international public issues, including human rights.  Violence in Ethiopia Public pressure in 2018 forced Meta to partially and belatedly acknowledge Facebook’s role in the Rohingya atrocities. However, between November 2020 and November 2022, Meta again failed to adequately curb the spread of content advocating hatred and violence, this time against the Tigrayans in Ethiopia, ultimately contributing to severe offline violence. This is despite the company’s public claims to the contrary. Plainly, Meta has neither learned its lesson nor taken meaningful steps to curb its role in fueling ethnic violence around the world.  Recent policy changes by Meta in the US abolishing independent fact-checking, which may well be rolled out internationally, risk even further exacerbating Meta’s contributions to human rights harms and offline violence, as egregious as the crimes against the Rohingya.   Copyright © 2025 Amnesty International UK

Rebels Backed by Rwanda Close In on Major City in Congo The New York Times Jan. 23, 2025 Many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power in an attempt to seize land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals. By  Ruth Maclean  and  Elian Peltier Reporting from Dakar, Senegal. Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surrounded the eastern city of Goma, in one of the sharpest escalations in years of a conflict that has pitted the Central African country against its neighbor Rwanda. On Thursday, fighting raged between rebels from the Rwanda-backed M23 group and Congolese forces in the town of Saké, the last major army position before Goma, a provincial capital with more than 2 million people. On Tuesday, M23 captured Minova, a key town along one of Goma’s main supply routes. Goma’s fall would be a major milestone for M23. The group captured the city and held it for two weeks in 2012, but withdrew after Rwanda came under intense international pressure to stop backing the militia. The United States and United Nations say Rwanda funds and directs the M23, charges that Rwanda has denied. South Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi In late 2013, the Congolese Army and United Nations forces quickly defeated the rebel group, which lay dormant afterward for almost a decade.   M23 has since surged back, starting in late 2021, dealing the Congolese Army a series of defeats. At the same time, peace talks spearheaded by Angola, Congo’s southwestern neighbor, have stalled, and the fate of U.N. peacekeepers stationed in eastern Congo was until recently up in the air, with their mandate renewed in December for another year.   Goma has long been a refuge for more than a million civilians fleeing violence from M23 militiamen, Congolese forces and other armed groups in the region. The rebels launched a major offensive in eastern Congo this year, and now the region is increasingly cut off. Rebels control the land immediately to Goma’s north and west. On its east lies the border with Rwanda. Its south is demarcated by Lake Kivu. Rebels are also advancing on two other major eastern cities, Butembo and Bukavu, and have made the capture of Kavumu airport a main objective, according to U.N. intelligence. Government-allied troops have used the airport to support the Congolese armed forces. Wounded civilians fleeing Saké by foot and on motorcycles arrived at a Goma hospital run by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday morning. Abdourahmane Sidibé, a senior surgeon with the group, said he and his colleagues have been treating twice as many civilians over the past few weeks than they did on average last year. “There was too much bombing,” said Hawa Amisi, 52, who fled with only a thin mattress, a bottle of water and four of her children. Ms. Amisi, who had been separated from her husband in the fighting, said she saw dead bodies lying in the street as they fled. Bruno Lemarquis, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official in Congo, said 2025 would be “a difficult year” because humanitarian needs are likely to rise, and funds are expected to dwindle. The United States — traditionally Congo’s largest humanitarian donor — is expected to slash aid under the new Trump administration, humanitarian officials and experts say. “Even before the new U.S. administration came in, we were told that U.S. humanitarian support would be slashed by a third,” Mr. Lemarquis said.   The conflict in eastern Congo — an area about the size of Michigan — was once labeled Africa’s World War. It has been going on since the 1990s, and has involved dozens of armed groups, of which M23 is currently dominant. Rwanda  claims  M23 is fighting for the rights of Congo’s Tutsis — the ethnic group targeted by extremists from Rwanda’s Hutu majority in the 1994 genocide in which  more than 800,000 people were killed . But many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power. Now equipped with high-tech weapons, according to a  recent U.N. report , M23 rebels are trying to establish a long-term presence in the region. They train police, set up courts,  collect taxes  and issue birth certificates, experts say, and have assassinated several traditional leaders, replacing them with officials favorable to their cause. Most observers say M23 wants land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals such as coltan, a metallic ore used to produce tantalum, which is in smartphones and laptops. Last April, M23  seized mines in Rubaya  — one of the world’s biggest sources of coltan.   As the rebels have conquered more territory over the past few years, the violence has reached new heights. Thousands of children  have been killed, maimed and forced to become child soldiers. Serious injuries caused by heavy artillery have increased. Many of the victims are children. Sexual violence has reached extreme levels . In 2023, Doctors Without Borders treated  more than 25,000 survivors  of sexual violence — the highest number ever recorded in the country. Numbers for the first half of 2024 were even higher. More than 240,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes since the start of this year, according to the United Nations’  refugee agency , as M23 rebels have launched new offensives in the eastern regions of North Kivu province, where Goma sits, and South Kivu. They join 4.6 million people who were already displaced in Congo’s east.   Saikou Jammeh contributed reporting from Dakar, Senegal. Ruth Maclean  is the West Africa bureau chief for The Times, covering 25 countries including Nigeria, Congo, the countries in the Sahel region as well as Central Africa.  More about Ruth Maclean Elian Peltier  is The Times’ West Africa correspondent, based in Dakar, Senegal.  More about Elian Peltier https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/world/africa/rwanda-rebels-congo.html?campaign_id=301&emc=edit_ypgu_20250123&instance_id=145583&nl=your-places:-global-update®i_id=82766646&segment_id=189088&user_id=169ae63464e1f318544284fdf4495535   Copyright 2025 The New York Times Company

Sudanese Paramilitary Group Committed Genocide, Says U.S. State Department The New York Times January 7, 2025 A force fighting Sudan’s army in a brutal civil war committed massacres and rape that amount to genocide, the Secretary of State said. The United States sanctioned its leader and financial network. Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region jostled in line to receive food during an impromptu aid distribution on the outskirts of Adré refugee camp, in Chad, in July.  Credit...Ivor Prickett for The New York Times   By  Declan Walsh Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya The United States declared on Tuesday that a genocide took place in Sudan, drawing fresh attention to the scale of atrocities in Africa’s largest war and singling out one side in the conflict as the perpetrators of some of the worst violence. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s military in a bitter civil war, and allied militias had  committed acts of genocide  during a fearsome wave of ethnically targeted violence in the western region of Darfur. The Treasury Department announced a raft of financial measures intended to support the genocide determination, including sanctions that  personally target the R.S.F.’s leader , Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, as well as seven companies in the United Arab Emirates, the R.S.F.’s main foreign sponsor. “The R.S.F. and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys — even infants — on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” Mr. Blinken  said in a statement . “Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies.”   The genocide determination comes two decades after the United States took a similar step in 2004, when then Secretary of State Colin Powell determined that the Janjaweed, ruthless ethnic militias allied with Sudan’s military, had committed genocide during a vicious counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur. The Janjaweed later morphed into the Rapid Support Forces. But instead of being allied with Sudan’s military, the group is now fighting it, in a civil war that has driven one of Africa’s largest countries into a devastating famine, killed tens of thousands of people and forced  more than 11 million people  — almost one-quarter of Sudan’s population — to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.   Atrocities and war crimes have been committed on both sides, say officials from the United States, the United Nations and human rights groups. The military has repeatedly massacred civilians in indiscriminate bombing raids, sometimes  killing dozens at once .   But only the R.S.F. has been accused of genocide, particularly during a  systematic wave of violence  in Darfur between April 2023 — when the civil war began — and November of that year. The group targeted members of the Masalit ethnic group, a central element in the American genocide determination, said two senior U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters. (The Masalit are ethnic Africans and the R.S.F. are dominated by ethnic Arabs.)   Gen. Mohamed Hamdan (Hemedti), leader of the Rapid Support Forces that are fighting the Sudanese military, in 2019.Credit ...Declan Walsh/The New York Times The toll of that violence is unclear. The Sudanese Red Crescent said it counted 2,000 bodies in a single day, then stopped counting. U.N. investigators later estimated that as many as 15,000 people were killed in the city of Geneina alone. More than three million people have fled Sudan for neighboring countries, the United Nations says, including hundreds of thousands of Masalit civilians who are living in squalid, overcrowded camps in Chad. The genocide determination followed months of deliberation inside the U.S. government, as lawyers and intelligence officials evaluated the merits of the case, said the two senior U.S. officials. Some officials hesitated to support the determination because they feared it might draw further criticism of the Biden administration over its refusal to declare Israel’s campaign in the Gaza Strip a genocide against Palestinians, the officials said. But on Monday, while traveling in Asia, Mr. Blinken signed off on the genocide determination. Under international law, the finding does not oblige the U.S. to take action, although officials said the sanctions provide some immediate teeth to the measure. More broadly, experts said it might propel a new drive for accountability in a war that has caused up to 150,000 deaths, the U.S. envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, estimated last year. The genocide determination may also bring new scrutiny to the role of the United Arab Emirates, which has supplied the R.S.F. with smuggled weapons and powerful drones, according to American officials and visual evidence  collected by The New York Times . Mr. Blinken said the finding did not mean the United States was supporting Sudan’s army in the war. “Both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan,” he said. Critics who have accused the United States of acting too slowly on Sudan welcomed the finding, with caveats. “This attempt to position the administration on the right side of history won’t work,” a former American diplomat and Sudan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said on social media of the Biden administration. “It’s too late and too many people have died for that to happen.” Declan Walsh  is the chief Africa correspondent for The Times based in Nairobi, Kenya. He previously reported from Cairo, covering the Middle East, and Islamabad, Pakistan.  More about Declan Walsh Copyright 2025 The New York Times Company

The Justice Dept. orders investigations and prosecutions of any city and state officials who obstruct immigration enforcement. The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington.Credit ...Rod Lamkey Jr. for The New York Times The interim leadership of the Justice Department has ordered U.S. attorneys around the country to investigate and prosecute law enforcement officials in states and cities if they refuse to enforce the Trump administration’s new immigration policies, according to an internal department memo. The three-page memo, intended as guidance to all department employees for carrying out President Trump’s executive orders seeking to limit immigration and foreign gangs, asserts that state and local officials are bound to cooperate with the department under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and could face criminal prosecution or civil penalties if they fail to comply. The memo came as the Department of Homeland Security prepared to make targeted raids in cities, including Chicago and San Diego, with high numbers of undocumented immigrants — setting up a possible confrontation with local officials. The document underscored the central role the Justice Department will play in enforcing Mr. Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda. “Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands,” wrote Emil Bove III, the department’s interim deputy attorney general and a former member of the president’s criminal defense team. U.S. attorneys’ offices and officials from various branches of the department’s Washington headquarters “shall investigate instances involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution,” Mr. Bove wrote, pointing to the same federal obstruction law used in the federal indictment against Mr. Trump that accused him of inciting the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Bove also warned localities against taking action to contradict the new federal policies and instructed the department’s civil lawyers to “identify state and local laws, policies, and activities” that flout Mr. Trump’s executive orders and “where appropriate, to take legal action to challenge such laws.” The memo did not provide information about how extensive the planned raids or other actions would be. But it cited the fentanyl and opioid crisis, gang activity and crime by immigrants as justifications for the impending immigration crackdown. Texas National Guard soldiers positioned on the U.S.-Mexico border.Credit ...Paul Ratje for The New York Times The unusual missive, written in blustery language, doubled as a warning shot to department employees who slow-walk or refuse to aggressively enact “the president’s actions” or federal law. A copy of the memo was obtained by The New York Times and was earlier reported by Bloomberg Law. The Trump team, concerned that career department employees will not execute orders they deem to be immoral or unlawful, has considered transferring or instigating disciplinary actions against prosecutors who refuse to comply with commands. They have also been making plans to transfer prosecutors to five U.S. attorneys’ offices near the border with Mexico, and have discussed tactics to pressure recalcitrant departmental employees to unpalatable jobs in an effort to encourage their mass departure, according to people familiar with transition planning. In the memo, Mr. Bove ordered prosecutors to immediately step up immigration investigations against the most dangerous undocumented immigrants, and warned employees that “any deviations” from that policy had to be cleared with supervisors. In addition, prosecutors will be required to file an “urgent report” if they decide not to bring charges against serious offenders. The department will also begin tracking cases brought by each U.S. attorney’s office on a quarterly basis. The memo also instructed other parts of the Justice Department — including the Bureau of Prisons, F.B.I., Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — to share any information they have regarding the immigration status of people they investigate or regulate. Copyright 2025 The New York Times Company