Insurgents

Uganda has reportedly dispatched another thousand soldiers into the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), joining a rapidly-escalating battle in which a vicious Rwanda-supported insurgency called M23 has captured a regional capital and set its sights on the seat of government in Kinshasa.

Syrian insurgent leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani when he was a high-ranking al-Qaeda member, on Sunday repeated his promise that the new Syria would be inclusive and respectful of minority groups.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday filed criminal complaints against subsidiaries of electronics giant Apple in France and Belgium, accusing them of using “blood minerals” sourced to mines controlled by armed gangs in the eastern DRC.

Members of Syria’s Alawite community — a small but formerly influential Shiite sect whose members included dictator Bashar Assad — are fearful of persecution at the hands of the Sunni Muslim extremist groups that deposed Assad in a swift attack on Damascus last week.

Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani insists his forces have abandoned terrorism and wish to build a more free and inclusive Syria.

Archbishop Boutros Marayati of Syria’s second city, Aleppo, told his congregation last week the city’s Islamist conquerors provided “assurances” Christians and other religious minorities could “continue living normally.”

Russia may lose its base at the Syrian port of Tartus after the fall of dictator Bashar Assad, which would deprive the Russians of their only fueling port on the Mediterranean Sea and cripple Moscow’s ability to threaten the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from the south.

A senior Iranian official said on Friday that his country will send missiles, drones, and more “military advisers” to Syria.

Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany says his forces have begun to penetrate the strategic city of Hama.

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that U.S. forces in Syria were compelled to conduct a “self-defense” strike against rocket launchers, mortars, and at least one tank in eastern Syria, where a jihadi insurgent group is fighting the Syrian government.

Hundreds of Iran-backed Shiite militia fighters from Iraq have reportedly crossed the border into Syria to help dictator Bashar Assad battle a surprise offensive from Islamist insurgents in Aleppo.

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso signed a mutual defense agreement called the “Alliance of Sahel States” on Saturday, committing all three juntas to defend each other if any of them is attacked. The pact also requires each country to help suppress armed uprisings in the others.

Heavily armed gangs attacked two police stations in Vietnam on Sunday, killing nine officers and wounding a number of police and bystanders.

The Premium Times of Nigeria reported on Monday that a panel investigating human rights violations in the insurgent-plagued northeast has heard testimony from 50 witnesses on abuses perpetrated by the Nigerian military, including mass abortions and the murder of children.

The Colombian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that cocaine seizures in 2022 added up to 671 metric tons, which was 1.7 tonnes more than the already record-setting total from 2021. 

The Chinese government is so concerned about the potential for kidnappings of Chinese workers and businessmen in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that it sent a delegation of top criminal investigators to met with Congolese officials and shore up security in the African nation, according to a Thursday report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Sunday it received $41 million in funding from the U.S. government for emergency aid in Mozambique.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday expelled Mathias Gillmann, spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping mission. The move followed a week of intense protests against the U.N. that resulted in 36 deaths, including four peacekeepers.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Monday paid a visit to the turbulent northern province of Cabo Delgado to introduce the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Standby Force, a unit including troops from several southern African nations deployed against the Islamic State jihadis wreaking havoc in Mozambique for years.

The Belize men’s national soccer team was waylaid by heavily armed insurgents as they drove from an airport in Haiti to their hotel.