DR Congo: Fourteen killed in machete attack in Ituri province

Seven children, including a two-year-old girl, and five women aged between 25 and 32 were killed, says Red Cross.

Fourteen people, including seven children, have been killed with machetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Red Cross has said, as a community leader blamed a notorious armed group for the bloody attack.

Any concessions to Putin on Ukraine will mark end of the West, Skobov warns

The stakes in Ukraine are far higher than most people imagine, Aleksandr Skobov says. Putin’s war there is “only part of his global war against the fundamental principles of civilized relations among states,” and that means any agreement with him that accepts any of his demands will mark the end of the West and the world it created.

Somalia Continues to Deteriorate as Al-Shabaab Gains Ground

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, a jihadist militant group active in Somalia and throughout the broader Horn of Africa, is experiencing a resurgence.

S. Army Gen. Steven Townsend told Congress that “we may be backsliding” and that the departure of U.S. troops from Somalia has limited Washington’s ability to contain jihadist groups including al-Shabaab.

What Could Happen If Ukraine Devolves into an Insurgency?

Most analysts believe that unless a ceasefire and subsequent peace deal are reached soon, Russia’s war in Ukraine will devolve into a long and bloody insurgency.

If the conflict does transition to an insurgency, Ukraine is well-positioned to fight, given its knowledge of the home terrain, outpouring of popular support, and pipeline of assistance from Western countries delivering sophisticated weapons.

CIA paramilitary units and elements of SOCEUR can be force multipliers to the Ukrainian insurgency without ever having to step foot on Ukrainian soil, instead operating from Poland or other NATO countries in Eastern Europe.

There are also concerns that, should a full-blown insurgency develop and then drag on, Russia could deploy covert operatives to commit terrorist attacks on European soil.