Latest news with #Militants
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Togo tight-lipped as Burkina militants infiltrate north
LOME: Militants from Burkina Faso have stepped up their assaults on northern Togo since the beginning of the year, with the Togolese government tight-lipped on their covert infiltration. Keen not to sap the morale of the Togolese soldiers fighting the incursion, the small west African nation's authorities have offered little in the way of official comment or figures on violence by militants, who have gained ground since their first deadly attack in the country in 2022. In a rare admission, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey recently said Islamist fighters had killed at least 62 people since January — more than double the deaths the government recorded in the whole of 2023. Those losses reflect a surge in militants unrest in Togo's north, at a time when armed fighters linked to Al-Qaeda or the Daesh group are gaining ground across the wider west African region. For Togolese political scientist and essayist Madi Djabakate, the lack of coverage in the Togolese press stems from the government's 'policy of informational lockdown.' Togo's High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC) has 'expressly forbidden journalists from mentioning the attacks or human or material losses, so as not to demoralize the troops engaged on the ground,' he told AFP. Like neighboring Benin, Togo is confronted with an overspill of violence from eastern Burkina Faso, where militants run rampant. In 2024, Burkina Faso saw the most deaths of any country in the world from 'terrorism' for the second year running, with 1,532 victims out of a worldwide total of 7,555, according to the Global Terrorism Index. Located near the Togolese border, the Burkinabe province of Kompienga is home to a powerful branch of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym, JNIM. Just over the frontier, Kpendjal prefecture is the Togolese region worst-hit by militant attacks, which west African security specialist Mathias Khalfaoui said was a result of the porous border. Yet in the past year the violence has spread beyond the borderlands. In a study for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank associated with Germany's conservative CDU party, Khalfaoui said the militant advance could easily go under the radar 'because of its slow and methodical nature.' 'Until 2023, the danger was still concentrated in the territories directly bordering Burkina Faso,' the analyst said. Since May 2024, he said, the miliants have extended their influence further south, toward the nearby prefectures of Oti and South Oti. Khalfaoui said the expansion of the militants' scope in Togo was 'becoming clear.' 'We have to go back to December 2022 to find a month when, to our knowledge, there was no attack,' Khalfaoui said in his study. But tackling the issue is a challenge given the dire economic situation of Togo's north, the poorest and least developed part of an already impoverished nation, Khalfaoui added. Djabakate, the Togolese political scientist, agreed, arguing that the country's current approach was 'essentially military and repressive.' 'The affected prefectures, notably Kpendjal and West Kpendjal, suffer from a structural absence of the state,' Djabakate said. 'Civil servants posted to these areas perceive their assignment as a punishment, given the harsh living conditions and the absence of public services,' he added. Togo has deployed around 8,000 soldiers to the affected region, while the defense budget ballooned from 8.7 percent of GDP in 2017 to 17.5 percent in 2022, according to Foreign Minister Dussey. The government has also attempted to improve living conditions for Togolese in the north, through an emergency aid program launched in 2023. But the situation is unlikely to improve without better coordination on tackling militancy between countries in a divided west Africa, according to analysts in the region.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Protestors go on strike in Israel demanding ceasefire and hostage releases
JERUSALEM — Protestors in Israel demanding their government make a deal to secure the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza escalated their campaign on Sunday, staging a strike that snarled traffic and shuttered businesses. The action organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum marked a fresh push, weeks after militant groups released videos of hostages and Israel signaled plans for a new Gaza offensive.
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Pakistani militants kill six policemen in eight targeted attacks
Militants in Pakistan's northwest carried out eight overnight gun and grenade attacks targeting the police, killing six officers, an official said on Thursday. The attacks targeted police stations, checkpoints and patrols across seven districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, police officer Mohammad Ali Babakhel said, as the nation of 240 million people celebrated its 78th independence day. The militants used rocket-propelled grenade launchers in some of the attacks, he said, adding six officers were killed and another nine injured. A spike in the attacks in recent months is a tough challenge to handle for the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Pakistani militant group with links to the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The TTP is an umbrella group of several extremist groups. It has been fighting against the state since 2007 in a bid to overthrow the government and replace it with its version of religious law. Attacks have accelerated since the TTP revoked a ceasefire with the Pakistani government in late 2022. In 2024, militants carried out 335 countrywide attacks, killing 520 people, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent organization. Pakistan says the militants operate out of neighboring Afghanistan, where they train fighters and plan attacks, a charge Kabul has denied.
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Under heavy guard, Hindu pilgrimage resumes at site of Kashmir attack
PAHALGAM, Indian-administered Kashmir — Two months after militants targeted Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 people and sparking conflict between India and Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims set out from Pahalgam, the site of the attack, for an annual pilgrimage through the disputed territory. The Indian government has deployed a security force of tens of thousands to facilitate the journey by devotees through one of the most militarized zones in the world.
Associated Press
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Family pleads for the release of a Nepali student abducted by Hamas
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The family of a Nepali man taken captive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas appealed Thursday to his captors for his release, stressing that he has no involvement in the conflict in Gaza. Bipin Joshi, now 25, was among 17 Nepali students studying agriculture in southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that ignited the war in Gaza. Joshi had worked hard in a government competition to earn a spot to study in Israel, his 17-year-old sister Pushpa Joshi said Thursday in Kathmandu. He arrived in southern Israel just three weeks before the attack. It was his first time out of Nepal. 'Bipin Joshi is an innocent agriculture student,' Pushpa Joshi said. 'He is a student who has a long life ahead of him, who is just 25 years now.' Militants killed 10 of the Nepali students in the attack and injured six. Joshi saved multiple lives by tossing a live grenade out of the bomb shelter where they were hiding, his sister said, before he was abducted and taken to Gaza. His family hasn't had a sign of life from him since Israel obtained security footage from a hospital in Gaza showing Joshi, so they know Joshi was taken alive to Gaza, but have no information about him since then. Pushpa, who was 15 when her brother was kidnapped, lives with their parents in a town in western Nepal. She travels eight hours each direction on buses to Kathmandu regularly to lobby officials to secure her brother's release. She has met the country's prime minister and president several times. Nepal's government says it has repeatedly sought help from Qatari and Egyptian officials to get Joshi freed. 'He is alive and we believe from the bottom of our hearts that he for sure is going to come back all safe and sound,' Pushpa said. 'We have big hopes that he will be back.' Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. They are still holding 53 hostages, around 20 them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies, including five over the past week. In the ensuing conflict, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed 'doubts' about whether several hostages are still alive. None of the previously released hostages have seen Bipin Joshi recently during their captivity. His parents are constantly monitoring news about the Gaza conflict, and get their hopes up whenever they see signs of a hostage release. 'News is always on, all day from the morning to night, at our house,' Pushpa Joshi said. They also are in contact with families of other Nepalis who were killed or injured in the attack, though Joshi is the only Nepali hostage. Pushpa said her brother is her best friend, and that they would often learn, sing and dance together while their parents were at work. 'In rainy season like now, we used to get wet in the rain and dance,' she said. He studied diligently to earn the scholarship to study agriculture in Israel, she said. The exchange program at Kibbutz Alumim was close to the Gaza border in a major agricultural area. Nepalese go to Israel for both education and employment, to learn the country's advanced agricultural techniques. Agriculture is the backbone of Nepal's economy, and the primary source of income for more than 60% of the population. —- Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.
