Dozens kidnapped in northwest Nigeria after bandits invite them to talks

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By Reuters and Posted by TOE Armed bandits in northwest Nigeria abducted dozens of villagers whom they invited to a meeting ‌about potential peace negotiations, authorities and residents said on ‌Monday, highlighting the region’s worsening security. Police said 39 people were seized on Sunday ​when they went to a meeting in the forest near Magamin Diddi village in the Maradun municipality of northwest Zamfara State. Some local residents and officials said the number could be as ‌high as 50. According to ⁠a Zamfara State Police Command statement, the victims were meeting relatives of a bandit leader in ⁠an attempt to broker peace and ease restrictions on movement imposed on the community. Zamfara is at the centre of a long-running security ​crisis in ​which armed groups, locally referred ​to as bandits, carry ‌out mass kidnappings, killings and village raids. The violence has disrupted farming and displaced thousands. Security forces have deployed personnel and...
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Iran launches missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq in response to strikes

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Iranian state media has announced Iran has begun its “mighty and victorious” response to US strikes.

The state-run Tasnim agency says that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq. In the last few minutes, we’ve seen reports of explosions heard in Qatar.

Majed al-Ansari, official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes on X: “We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations charter.”

He says Qatar’s air defence systems “successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles” and the base had been evacuated earlier.

He adds: “All necessary steps were taken to ensure the safety of personnel at the base, including Qatari Armed Forces members, friendly forces, and others.

“We confirm that no injuries or human casualties resulted from the attack.”

The spokesperson says Qatar reserves the right to respond “in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression”.

By Andrew Mills, Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell Reuters

 Iran’s military said on Monday it had carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for U.S. airstrikes.

The diplomat spoke soon after Qatar announced it had closed its air space temporarily to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. Earlier, the U.S. embassy in Qatar had advised Americans to shelter in place, out of what it said was “an abundance of caution”.

Iran has issued threats to retaliate against the United States after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on the country’s underground nuclear installations over the weekend, while President Donald Trump openly raised the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled.

Earlier on Monday, Israel struck a jail for political prisoners in Tehran in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran’s ruling system.

Two U.S. officials said Washington assessed that Iran could carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East soon, although the U.S. is still seeking a diplomatic resolution that would see Tehran forgo any reprisal.

Despite Iran’s threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices largely held steady , suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/UBoevMx

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