Kano, Nigeria | AFP | The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said eight soldiers have been confirmed dead in a Boko Haram attack on a military base over the weekend in the country’s restive northeast. Gunmen from the self-styled Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram attacked the …
Read More »War on football? Chinese players get army drills, ‘thought education’
Shanghai, China | AFP | Chinese national squads and a top league team have packed young footballers off to military camps for drills and Marxist-style “thought education” as a campaign to promote Communist Party values spreads even into the sporting world. Chinese fans have watched the militarisation of football with a …
Read More »Nigerian troops foil Boko Haram attack
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian troops repelled an attack on a military base in northeastern Borno state in which a soldier was killed and four others were injured, military and militia sources told AFP Saturday. On Wednesday jihadists from IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province killed three soldiers when …
Read More »Pence says US to partner in Papua New Guinea military base
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | AFP | The United States said Saturday it will join forces with Australia in the development of a new naval base in Papua New Guinea, a project seen as a move to curb China’s influence in the Pacific. Australia, which has long-standing military ties …
Read More »Pentagon to trim Africa forces as focus shifts to Russia, China
Washington, United States | AFP | The Pentagon will trim the number of US troops deployed across Africa as it concentrates more on countering threats from “Great Power” competitors Russia and China, officials said Thursday. Currently, about 7,200 US military personnel are based in dozens of African nations, with notable …
Read More »Nigerian army silent as families seek news of the missing
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The soldier’s father remembers the exact day when he spoke to his son for the last time. It was August 26. He hasn’t heard from him since. He’s not alone: dozens of other soldiers stationed in northeast Nigeria, in the heart of Boko Haram’s Islamist …
Read More »Trump says US planning ‘tent cities’ for migrants
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump said Monday his administration was planning to build tent cities for thousands of Central American migrants making their way through Mexico to the United States. The announcement during a Fox News interview came as the Pentagon announced it was deploying 5,200 …
Read More »Trump says Mattis ‘could be’ leaving as US defense chief
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said in an interview airing Sunday that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “could be” leaving, referring to him as “sort of a Democrat.” Mattis, seen as one of the steadiest but also more independent members of Trump’s cabinet, has served as a …
Read More »A photojournalist’s nightmare
Akena relives torture visited on him by Uganda’s military Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | James Akena is a hardened photojournalist. He is also very professional, having worked and trained with the international news agency; Thomson Reuters. But, on Aug.20 in Kampala, images of Akena, kneeling with hands raised as a …
Read More »Assad still has ‘limited’ chemical capability: Pentagon
Washington, United States | AFP | The Syrian regime remains able to conduct chemical attacks, though only at a limited level, the Pentagon said Thursday following last week’s international cruise missile strikes on chemical targets. General Kenneth McKenzie, director of the US military’s Joint Staff, said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime …
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