La Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en République centrafricaine (MINUSCA) a confirmé que deux Français de son personnel avaient été arrêtés mardi dernier à leur arrivée à Bangui, capitale centrafricaine, a rapporté la MINUSCA dans un communiqué de presse publié mercredi soir.
Une enquête du quotidien allemand taz évoque des soldats blancs qui auraient pris leur quartier dans un hôtel au centre-ville de Goma, dans l’est du pays.
Le 22 décembre dernier, plusieurs hommes blancs atterrissent à Goma. D’après les recherches de la taz, ces hommes armés, évalués à une centaine, séjournent depuis lors dans un hôtel au centre-ville de Goma, non loin de l’aéroport.
Au moins neuf personnes ont été tuées mercredi dans l’attaque d’une mosquée dans le nord-est du Burkina Faso.
Les terroristes sont arrivés peu avant 18H (GMT et locales) dans le village de Goulgountou, près de Falagountou dans la région du Sahel, « sur huit motos », avant de « regrouper les fidèles à l’intérieur de la mosquée », selon un témoin local.
The Pentagon had a very merry Christmas but all the American taxpayers got was a lump of coal.
The U.S. Congress passed an omnibus spending bill that awarded the Pentagon $45 billion more than originally requested – a record $816.7 billion dollars – out of $858 billion for the national defense establishment. The Veteran’s Administration, which is really just deferred defense spending, requested $301.4 billion, and the Intelligence Community budget request includes $26.6 billion for the Military Intelligence Program. There’s also probably something squirreled away at the Department of Homeland Security, but you get the picture.
Eni has announced a significant new gas discovery at the Nargis-1 exploration well located in Nargis Offshore Area Concession, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, offshore Egypt.
The Nargis-1 well has encountered approximately 200 net feet (61 m) of Miocene and Oligocene gas bearing sandstones and was drilled in 1,014 feet (309 m) of water by the Stena Forth drillship. The discovery can be developed leveraging the proximity to Eni’s existing facilities.
As Moscow’s forces advance, Russia and Ukraine continue to dispute control of the salt-mining town of Soledar amid scenes of devastation and fierce fighting on the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has made multiple claims of control in the past week that have been contested by Ukrainian officials, who maintain their forces have not left the town and continue to fight. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on January 13 to have seized Soledar, but the statement was quickly disputed by Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the fight for the town and others “in the east of our country continues.”
According to multiple reports, Russia is recruiting Afghan security personnel, who were previously trained by the United States, for its war effort against Ukraine. The former Afghan elite commandos and soldiers are reportedly joining the Russian private military company known as the Wagner Group, a private mercenary force playing a prominent role in Moscow’s war against Ukraine—especially in the recent intense fighting around Bakhmut (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, December 27, 2022).
Muqtada al-Sadr organized a public prayer on Friday, making a comeback to politics after months of silence.
Following months of silence, Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for his supporters to hold a unified Friday prayer today in Baghdad and a number of other cities.
Syrians in Turkey are wary of losing refuge as the Turkish President eyes dialogue with Assad
Turkey’s bid to reconcile with the Syrian government has left many Syrian refugees in the country on tenterhooks as Ankara faces pressure to cut a deal with Damascus on the return of the Syrians amid rising anti-refugee sentiment in a critical election year.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Democratic Forces head Mazlum Kobane said he expects a Turkish attack in February, and warned Ankara should not punish Syria’s Kurds over its own failure to resolve its own domestic issues.