Latest news with #Insurgents
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Dozens of troops dead after rebels overrun Mali military base
JNIM has claimed responsibility for a host of recent attacks in the Sahel region. (AFP pic) BAMAKO : An Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group active in West Africa's Sahel region has claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base in Mali yesterday that two sources said had killed more than 30 soldiers. More than 400 soldiers have reportedly been killed by insurgents since the start of May in bases and towns in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, an unstable region prone to coups. The extremist group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), said in a statement yesterday that it had seized the base in Boulkessi in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. The Malian army said it had been forced to pull back. 'Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation,' its statement said, without giving any casualty numbers. A spokesman did not respond to a question about the toll, but two security sources said more than 30 soldiers had been killed. A municipal source at Mondoro, near the base, said the insurgents 'cleared the camp' and that there were many dead. Videos shared online showed dozens of insurgents overrunning the base. One showed rebels stepping on the bodies of soldiers who had fallen between sandbags. Reuters could not immediately authenticate the videos. Widening insecurity JNIM has claimed responsibility for a host of recent attacks in the region. On May 24, it said it had attacked a base in Dioura, central Mali, killing 40 soldiers. Last Friday, it said it had seized a base in Sirakorola in southwestern Mali, although the army said it had repelled the attack. It did not provide a toll for that incident either. In neighbouring Burkina Faso, JNIM claimed attacks on military positions and the town of Djibo in mid-May in which it said it had killed 200 soldiers. And in Niger, more than 100 soldiers were killed in two attacks in the Tahoua region on May 24 and the Dosso region on May 26, security sources said. Neither Burkina Faso nor Niger has published an official death toll. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all ruled by juntas that seized power between 2020 and 2023, citing the inability of civilian governments to stamp out jihadist insurgencies. All have cut ties with western nations and turned to Russia for military support, but are still struggling to contain violence that has displaced millions.
Washington Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump to meet with ex-insurgent turned Syrian president in Saudi Arabia he weighs easing sanctions
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Donald Trump will meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad. 'The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,' the White House said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India and Pakistan's dispute over Kashmir – explained in 30 seconds
Control of Kashmir, in the foothills of the Himalayas, has been disputed since India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim it in full, but each controls a section of the territory, separated by one of the world's most heavily militarised borders: the 'line of control' based on a ceasefire border established after their 1947-48 war. India and Pakistan have gone to war twice since over Kashmir, most recently in 1999. The dispute stems from the partition of colonial India in 1947, when small, semi-autonomous 'princely states' across the subcontinent were being folded into India or Pakistan, and the local ruler chose to become part of India despite the fact the area had a Muslim majority. Armed insurgents in Kashmir have resisted Delhi for decades, with many Muslim Kashmiris supporting the rebels' goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of backing militants – a claim Pakistan denies. In 2019 Narendra Modi's government launched a severe security crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir and revoked the region's special status, which had granted it limited autonomy since 1949. The move fulfilled a longstanding Hindu-nationalist pledge and was widely welcomed across India, but angered many in the territory itself. New rules were implemented that allowed outsiders to buy land in Kashmir for the first time, which many saw as an attempt by Modi's Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to dispossess them of their land and change the Muslim demography of the region.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
India and Pakistan's dispute over Kashmir – explained in 30 seconds
Control of Kashmir, in the foothills of the Himalayas, has been disputed since India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim it in full, but each controls a section of the territory, separated by one of the world's most heavily militarised borders: the 'line of control' based on a ceasefire border established after their 1947-48 war. India and Pakistan have gone to war twice since over Kashmir, most recently in 1999. The dispute stems from the partition of colonial India in 1947, when small, semi-autonomous 'princely states' across the subcontinent were being folded into India or Pakistan, and the local ruler chose to become part of India despite the fact the area had a Muslim majority. Map of Kashmir Armed insurgents in Kashmir have resisted Delhi for decades, with many Muslim Kashmiris supporting the rebels' goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of backing militants – a claim Pakistan denies. In 2019 Narendra Modi's government launched a severe security crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir and revoked the region's special status, which had granted it limited autonomy since 1949. The move fulfilled a longstanding Hindu-nationalist pledge and was widely welcomed across India, but angered many in the territory itself. New rules were implemented that allowed outsiders to buy land in Kashmir for the first time, which many saw as an attempt by Modi's Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to dispossess them of their land and change the Muslim demography of the region.
