Iraqi Shi’ite paramilitaries take Baaj town west of Mosul from Islamic State – army

Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have agreed to extend their cease-fire by 72 hours. Meanwhile, the UN is sending its top humanitarian envoy amid the "unprecedented" situation. DW has the latest.

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A much-awaited report released by the United Nations (UN) on Friday claimed that at least 500 people were executed by foreign fighters and the Malian army during an anti-militant operation carried out in March 2022.

Clashes broke out as demonstrators tried to prevent a newly elected ethnic Albanian mayor from entering his office in the Kosovar town of Zvecan. A police car was set on fire and tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.

The death toll from the attack on the garrison, southwest of the capital Mogadishu, has not yet been confirmed. But a Somali military commander said both sides suffered large casualties.

Recent drone attacks and the shelling of a Russian border town have forced residents to flee their homes, sowing panic and fear. The Kremlin has downplayed the raids, but experts think they reveal Putin's weaknesses.

Three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egypt's security forces have died in a fairly rare exchange of fire near the two countries' border, their militaries said. The countries said they were investigating together.

The Bedouin communities living in the unforgiving Badia, or the Syrian desert, are facing a surge in armed attacks. The violence reaches a peak each year between February and April: the truffle season. As tribes go out to hunt truffles, they risk being ambushed by sleeper cells of the Islamic State group, which has taken refuge in the Badia since 2019. This exclusive investigation from FRANCE 24's Observers team exposes the horrific abuses being carried out deep in the desert.

The Sudanese army has accused the Rapid Support Forces militia of killing the governor of the West Darfur Province, Khamis Abdalla Abakar in a statement issued on Thursday. In the same vein, the paramilitary RSF said the rogue elements should be held responsible for Abakar's death.

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Russia's military leaders targeted his troops, after he made critical remarks. The Russian Defense Ministry denies the allegations.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said five people had been killed and over two dozen wounded in the attack in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

A suicide bomber has killed between 20 and 30 soldiers and injured nearly 60 more in an attack on a military academy in Mogadishu. Al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Shabab has been trying to topple Somalia's government since 2007.