Suspected Islamist rebels kill 30 in Congo's North Kivu province
The killings took place in Bapere village between Wednesday and Friday, according to Col. Alain Kiwawa, the military administrator of Lubero territory where the village is located.
'We have more than 30 people dead, and at least a hundred who are being held hostage,' Kiwawa told The Associated Press.
A civil society leader, Samuel Kaheni, the president of the Bapere civil society organization, added that several houses were burned and victims were mostly killed with knives.
The attacks are the latest in a string of recent attacks by Islamic State-aligned Allied Democratic Force (ADF) after its members killed nearly 40 people last month in an attack on a Catholic church in Ituri. Most of the victims were killed with machetes.
The ADF, with roots in neighboring Uganda, operates in the border villages between Uganda and Congo. Both countries have launched a joint armed operation against the group, but the group has only increased its attacks in recent months.
The incidence of ADF attacks adds to the complicated security challenges in the eastern region of Congo, where dozens of other armed groups are fighting, and the central government is battling the M23 rebels, which have taken control of Goma and other key cities.
Lubero's military administrator called on the residents to be on guard against further violence.
'I ask the population to speak out and remain vigilant,' he said.
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Los Angeles Times
6 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Iraq begins excavating mass grave believed to hold thousands of victims of Islamic State
IRBIL, Iraq — Iraqi officials have begun the excavation of what is believed to be a mass grave left behind by the Islamic State extremist group during its rampage across the country a decade ago. Local authorities are working with the judiciary, forensic investigations, Iraq's Martyrs Foundation and the directorate of mass graves to carry out the excavation of the site of a sinkhole in Khasfa, south of the northern city of Mosul, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported Sunday. Ahmad Qusay al-Asady, head of the Martyrs Foundation's mass graves excavation department, told the Associated Press that his team began work at Khasfa on Aug. 9 at the request of Nineveh province's Gov. Abdulqadir al-Dakhil. The operation is initially limited to gathering visible human remains and surface evidence while preparing for a full exhumation that officials say will require international support. After an initial 15 days of work, the foundation's Mosul teams will build a database and start collecting DNA samples from families of suspected victims. Al-Asady explained that laboratory processing and a DNA database must come first to ensure proper identification. Full exhumations can proceed only once specialized assistance is secured to navigate the site's hazards, including sulfur water and unexploded ordnance. Khasfa is 'a very complicated site,' he said. Based on unverified accounts from witnesses and families and other unofficial testimonies, authorities estimate that thousands of bodies could be buried there, he said. Scores of mass graves containing thousands of bodies of people believed to have been killed by Islamic State have been found in Iraq and Syria. At its peak, the extremist group ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom in Iraq and Syria and was notorious for its brutality. It beheaded civilians and enslaved and raped thousands of women from the Yazidi community, one of Iraq's oldest religious minorities. The group was defeated in Iraq in July 2017, when Iraqi forces captured the northern city of Mosul. Three months later, it suffered a major blow when Kurdish forces captured the Syrian northern city of Raqqa, which was the group's de facto capital. The war against the Islamic State officially ended in March 2019, when U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces captured the eastern Syrian town of Baghouz, which was the last sliver of land the militants controlled. Rabah Nouri Attiyah, a lawyer who has worked on more than 70 cases of missing people in Nineveh, told the AP that information he obtained from the foundation and different Iraqi courts during his investigations points to Khasfa as 'the largest mass grave in modern Iraqi history.' Al-Asady said that claim cannot yet be confirmed, 'but according to the size of the space, we estimate it to be one of the largest.' Attiyah said roughly 70% of the human remains at Khasfa are believed to belong to Iraqi army and police personnel, with other victims including Yazidis. He said he has interviewed numerous witnesses from the area who saw Islamic State fighters bring people there by bus and kill them. 'Many of them were decapitated,' he said. Attiyah's uncle and cousin were police officers killed by the extremist group, and he is among those hoping to identify and recover the remains of loved ones. Testimonies and witness statements, as well as findings from other mass graves in Nineveh, indicate that most of the military, police and other security forces personnel killed by Islamic State are expected to be found at Khasfa, along with Yazidis from Sinjar and Shiite victims from Tal Afar, he said. Martany writes for the Associated Press.
CNN
7 minutes ago
- CNN
A cartel war bleeding Sinaloa dry: homicides rise 400% in the year after the fall of ‘El Mayo'
August 10 was, for many in Mexico, a quiet Sunday like any other. But in Sinaloa – a northwestern state facing the Pacific – it was no ordinary Sunday. That day, 17 homicides were committed: one every 85 minutes. According to Mexican government figures, it was the most violent day of 2025 in Sinaloa, exceeding every other state in the country. Sunday's killings were some of the latest in a spate of violence that has gripped the state following the surprise arrest of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who authorities say is a long-time leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico's oldest and most violent criminal organizations. Since his capture, homicides in Sinaloa have risen by more than 400%, according to an analysis of public data conducted by CNN. This analysis also reveals discrepancies between figures compiled by the Sinaloa Prosecutor's Office, Mexican federal authorities, and the monitoring organization Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). Historically, Mexican authorities have underreported the number of victims during periods of violence in the region. Even behind closed doors, U.S. defense and law enforcement officials distrust Mexico's homicide figures, according to a source familiar with these conversations. El Mayo's capture on July 25, 2024, in El Paso, Texas, unleashed an internal war between rival factions, according to analysts consulted by CNN, trapping the people of Sinaloa in the middle of a conflict that has disrupted daily life, forcing large chains and family businesses alike to close their doors. The surge in violence in Sinaloa traces back to rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel that erupted after Zambada's capture, says Victoria Dittmar, investigator and project manager at InSight Crime. From then, intense fighting broke out between his followers—known as the Mayitos—and allies of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, punctuated by sustained clashes between smaller Sinaloa Cartel factions. This trend is reflected in ACLED's data. In a statement released by his lawyer, El Mayo claimed he was deceived by one of El Chapo's sons and a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel himself, Joaquín Guzmán López, who lured him to the United States under false pretenses. According to Zambada, the meeting pitched to him as a real estate investment opportunity ended with his arrest in El Paso, Texas. Zambada said in his letter that he was tricked, kidnapped, and handed over to US authorities by Guzmán López—an account the latter denied through his legal team, which has also rejected the idea that El Chapo's son voluntarily surrendered. Both men face multiple charges in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York, where they have pleaded not guilty. Before El Mayo's arrest, clashes between the cartel's factions were sporadic. But the unusual circumstances of his capture have escalated tensions. Now, both the Mayitos and Chapitos have stepped up their offensives to seize key territories, Dittmar explains. ACLED data shows a sharp increase in violence in early September, when analysts agree the war officially began. To protect students in Sinaloa, Governor Rubén Rocha Moya ordered classes canceled on September 12 and 13. The next day, amid the insecurity, Independence Day celebrations were suspended in several towns across the state—including in the capital of Culiacán. 'We have decided that the September 15 celebration will be suspended. There will be no celebration, neither public nor private,' he announced in a video posted on his X account. Figures from that month confirm the scale of the violence: 4 deaths per day—or one every 6 hours—according to official data. ACLED reported 2 daily deaths, or one every 12 hours. Dittmar notes that the 'deceptive' way Zambada was captured not only strained relations between factions but also unleashed a wave of reprisals that has made Culiacán the main stage for an urban cartel war—something 'we don't see in any other Mexican city.' The violence in Sinaloa transcends statistics—it has upended residents' daily lives. In Culiacán, the constant fear of armed clashes has forced large chains and small family businesses to reduce their hours or shut down completely. One small business owner, who operated her grandmother's decades-old restaurant in the Sinaloan capital, was forced to close its doors. 'There were days when there was maybe one customer, if that… because people don't go out at night, to this day they still don't,' says Sonia—not her real name—who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity, saying she feared for her safety given the city's insecurity. Like many others in Culiacán, Sonia and her family have had to adapt to a new normal, imposing a 'self-curfew.' 'We, the citizens, decided months ago to only go out at certain times,' she explains. 'At first, between September and December, it was like a self-imposed rule because you were afraid to go out. Normally, nights and early mornings were most violent… but really, the whole day is. You can go out at noon and get caught in a shootout leaving a school, on a main street, between police, soldiers, marines, and gunmen. Just like that. That's the reality every day.' Videos shared on social media and verified by CNN illustrate scenes that have become increasingly common in Culiacán and other cities across the state: shootouts in broad daylight, clashes between armed groups and security forces, and burning vehicles in residential neighborhoods. Footage shows that the clashes have largely occurred in urban areas—a new trend that, according to Dittmar, has exposed hundreds of thousands of people who, previously, were not directly impacted by the conflict. Some of these violent incidents have taken place near Sonia's restaurant, she says; CNN corroborated her claim using open-source data. In May, the body of a man was found hanging from a nearby bridge alongside a narco-message; a month later, a human head was left near a tourist site in Culiacán; and two weeks after that, several police officers were seriously injured in a nearby ambush. On the first anniversary of El Mayo's arrest, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government was taking action: 'We are working and will bring peace to Sinaloa,' she said in her daily press conference. Nonetheless, for Sonia, that promise feels distant: 'You see military convoys everywhere, but there's no real strategy. There are areas where there are shootouts every day and the authorities arrive hours later. It's all for show. We'd like to see a real strategy… because there isn't one.' On the July 25 anniversary, Sheinbaum reiterated the imperative for collaboration with US authorities and warned against foreign interference in countering cartel-linked violence and trafficking in Mexico. Her comments came days before US President Trump signed a secret directive instructing the Pentagon to use military force against certain cartels in Latin America that his administration had designated as foreign terrorist organizations, according to a New York Times report. While it remains unclear whether the US Defense Department intends to coordinate its efforts with Mexican authorities, the Sinaloa Cartel is one of eight criminal networks designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump Administration. In the first year of her administration, ACLED data shows, Sheinbaum's efforts to contain violence have generally coincided with a drop in attacks against civilians; since January, civilian killings have declined in nearly every Mexican state. But Sinaloa remains, without a doubt, the weak spot in Mexico's security strategy, with at least 571 civilians killed there in 2025 so far. (In three other states where civilian homicides have increased, the combined total is 49 victims, through July 25). Targeted killings of civilians have already surpassed the total recorded for all of 2024, setting the stage for this year to be one of the deadliest in Sinaloan history. And for many in Sinaloa, that August Sunday was yet another reminder of the raging war with no end in sight. Mauricio Torres, Ivonne Valdés, Marlon Sorto, Jorge Venegas, and Isa Cardona contributed to this reporting by Mackenzie Happe, Isa Cardona, and Avery Schmitz. CNN reviewed data shared by the Sinaloa Prosecutor's Office and Mexican federal authorities, as well as independent figures compiled by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). Statistics obtained from ACLED were specifically filtered to include violence against civilians from January 1, 2020 through July 25, 2025—exactly one year after 'El Mayo's' arrest. Taken together, these datasets illustrate the sharp rise in violent deaths across Sinaloa over the past 12 months.
News24
7 minutes ago
- News24
Mali says thwarted coup supported by ‘foreign states'
Mali's military leadership has said it thwarted a coup attempt and arrested two generals as well as a French national who they say is a suspected foreign agent, among others. Security Minister General Daoud Aly Mohammedine announced the arrest of a group of military officers and civilians in a statement read out on state television late on Thursday evening. The statement also confirmed the detention of dozens of soldiers in recent days. Rumours of the arrests had circulated for several days in Mali. The group had support from abroad, Mohammedine said, and had allegedly attempted to destabilise Mali. What do we know about the arrested individuals? The security minister said the French national was arrested on suspicion of 'acting on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel' in Mali. Mali's junta, which came to power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, provided few other details about what this alleged coup entailed and the French national implicated in it. France, Mali's former colonial ruler, has yet to comment on the man's arrest, according to various news agencies. One of the arrested generals, Abass Dembele, is popular among Malian soldiers. A former governor of the central Mopti region, he was dismissed in May after demanding an investigation into allegations that the Malian army executed at least civilians during a military operation in the village of Diafarabe. Mali's military cracks down on dissenting voices The development comes amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent by Mali's military following a pro-democracy rally in May, the first since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago. Rida Lyammouri, an analyst at the Morocco-based Policy Centre for the New South, told the Associated Press that Mali's military is aware of the discontent among the population and members of the military. 'The military leaders are simply not willing to let those grievances build into something more, like a coup, and therefore these arrests seem more of a way to intimidate than a legitimate coup attempt,' Lyammouri said. 'It's a continuation of the repeated unjustified arrests and prosecution of anyone speaking against the current regime,' he added. Mali military chief granted extendable mandate until 2030 In July, military leader General Assimi Goita was granted a five-year presidential term, which is renewable indefinitely. This was despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military's dissolution of political parties in May. Goita also withdrew Mali from the regional grouping ECOWAS over its demands that Mali restore democratic rule. Separate arrest of former Prime Minister Maiga In a separate incident, Mali's civilian former prime minister Choguel Maiga and a number of his former colleagues were taken into custody on Tuesday. The detentions are part of an investigation into claims of 'misappropriation of public funds'. Maiga was appointed prime minister in 2021 before being dismissed in late 2024 after criticising the military government, something he continued to do after his dismissal. And earlier in August, another former prime minister, Moussa Mara, was arrested on charges of undermining the credibility of the state. Mara had previously posted on social media his 'unwavering solidarity with prisoners of conscience' jailed by the military junta. Mali's junta, led by Goita, has turned away from Western partners, most notably France, to align itself politically and militarily with Russia in the name of national sovereignty.
