Biden calls criticism of Trump jury verdict ‘dangerous, irresponsible’

BEJAIA, Algeria: In a village nestled in the mountains of northeastern Algeria, locals and visitors gathered under a cold winter sky to celebrate Tamechrit, a centuries-old Berber tradition rooted in sharing.
Seeking to preserve a practice that faded during the Algerian civil war of the 1990s, villagers marked Tamechrit with Berber music and food on the occasion coinciding in January with the Amazigh new year.
The minority community of Berbers refer to themselves as the Amazigh, meaning “free people.” They have long fought for recognition for their ancient culture and language in modern states across North Africa.

Berbers are descendants of pre-Arab North Africans, whose historic homelands stretched from the Canary Isles and Morocco to the deserts of western Egypt.
“We hope to perpetuate this tradition during cultural or religious festivals,” bringing together different people from the village and even those who have left, Dahmane Barbacha, a 41-year-old from Ath Atig village, told AFP.
Children wore temporary Amazigh face tattoos at the event that dates back to the 13th century, according to historian Saleh Ahmed Baroudi.

Tamechrit means “offering” in Tamazight, the community’s language recognized as an official language alongside Arabic in Algeria.
It represents “an occasion for gathering, fraternity, and reconciliation between families” across Amazigh villages, said Baroudi, who teaches contemporary Algerian history.
Different regions of the country use other names for the custom, he added.
The merrymaking is also held to observe major Islamic events such as the fasting month of Ramadan, Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, and Ashura.
It is often held in Zawiyas, small places for worship and religious teaching, usually where a local saint or holy figure lived and was buried.
Baroudi said most of those sites are in mountainous regions, adding to the “spiritual dimension” of Tamechrit.

The festival begins days in advance, when men from the village collect donations to purchase cattle whose meat is later distributed equally among families.
During the event a communal meal — usually couscous prepared by village women — is served to everyone, regardless of social standing.
Ammar Benkherouf, a 36-year-old living in France, said he has been taking annual leaves in recent years to attend the ceremony.
“I can’t describe the happiness it brings me to help keep this heritage alive,” he told AFP.
By midday, the communal couscous is served to villagers and visitors while volunteers distribute the portioned meat around the village’s households.
Tamechrit had also been a tool for fostering solidarity during Algeria’s Independence War against French colonial rule from 1954-1962, according to Baroudi.
The ritual then faded during the country’s civil war between 1992 and 2002, a conflict between authorities and Islamist groups that claimed the lives of around 200,000 after the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party won municipal and legislative elections.
Tamechrit then “made a comeback in the early 2000s” with the end of the civil war, said Baroudi.
Today, Tamechrit continues to bring together villagers and resolve conflicts between them.
Farhat Medhous, a 31-year-old who heads a cultural association in Ath Atig, said his group now looks to “restore women’s participation in these traditions inherited from their ancestors.”
He said that, traditionally, women held their own gatherings in a separate area from the men’s, but their involvement diminished even after the civil war.
In addition, he added, the association aims at teaching the younger generations Tamechrit values, meaning sharing and reconciliation.
He said this year’s festivity was organized by villagers aged 18 to 40.
“We have held activities for children to teach them the values of volunteerism and community,” said Medhous. “This prepares them to preserve these traditions as they grow older.”
 

WASHINGTON: The US military has conducted airstrikes against Daesh operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the strikes by US Africa Command were directed by Trump and coordinated with Somalia’s government.
An initial assessment by the Pentagon indicated that “multiple” operatives were killed. The Pentagon said it assessed that no civilians were harmed in the strikes.
Trump, in a post on social media, said a senior Daesh planner and recruits were targeted in the operation.
“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Our Military has targeted this Daesh Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!” Trump said. “The message to Daesh and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!”
Trump did not identify the Daesh planner or say whether that person was killed in the strike. White House officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Pentagon’s counterterrorism strategy in Africa has been strained as two key partners, Chad and Niger, ousted US forces last year and took over key bases that the US military had used to train and conduct missions against terrorist groups across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.
US military officials have warned that Daesh cells have received increasing direction from the group’s leadership that relocated to northern Somalia. That has included how to kidnap Westerners for ransom, how to learn better military tactics, how to hide from drones and how to build their own small quadcopters.
The Daesh affiliate in Somalia emerged in 2015 as a breakaway faction from Al-Shabab, Al-Qaeda’s East African link, and is most active in Puntland, particularly in the Galgala Mountains, where it has established hideouts and training camps and is led by Abdulkadir Mumin.
While its influence is relatively limited compared to Al-Shabab, Daesh in Somalia has been involved in attacks in southern and central Somalia. The group funds its activities through extortion, smuggling, and illicit taxation, particularly in some coastal areas where it has attempted to control local businesses.
Despite facing counterterrorism pressure from Somali security forces, US airstrikes and Al-Shabab rivalries, it continues to operate in remote and urban areas, seeking to expand its influence through recruitment and propaganda.
The number of Daesh militants in the country are estimated to be in the hundreds, mostly scattered in the Cal Miskaat mountains in Puntland’s Bari region, according to the International Crisis Group.
Saturday’s operation followed military airstrikes on Jan. 30 in northwest Syria, killing a senior operative in Hurras Al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, US Central Command said.