US and Ukraine concluded ‘productive’ talks in Riyadh: Ukraine defense minister

NAIROBI: At least six police personnel were killed in Kenya while four were injured in an attack on a police camp by suspected militants in Garissa county in the country’s east on the border with Somalia, police said.

The assault which occurred on Sunday was carried out by suspected fighters from Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-allied Al-Shabab group, said a police report sent out to the media.
Al-Shabab frequently carries out cross-border attacks in the area against both military and civilian targets.

Attackers from the group launched an assault around dawn on a camp housing police reservists and “used assorted weapons to overrun the camp,” the report said.
“Six fatalities have been confirmed with four (4) injured and in hospital.”
On Tuesday, the US Embassy issued an advisory, telling Americans not to travel to some places in Kenya including Garissa and other counties along the border with Somalia due to threats of terrorism.
Al-Shabab has been fighting for years to overthrow Somalia’s central government and establish its own rule in the Horn of Africa country.
Elsewhere, militants killed at least 44 civilians and severely injured 13 others during an attack on a mosque in southwest Niger, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
The attack occurred on Friday during afternoon prayers in the village of Fombita in the rural commune of Kokorou, which is near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali known as the epicenter of an insurgency in West Africa linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
The Defense Ministry blamed the attack on the EIGS group, a Daesh affiliate.
Militants encircled a mosque, where people had gathered for prayers and carried out a “massacre of rare cruelty,” it said.
The attackers then set fire to a market and houses before retreating, the ministry said.
Troops deployed to the scene provided a provisional death toll of 44 civilians, with 13 severely injured. Three days of national mourning have been declared.
The insurgency in West Africa’s Sahel region started when militants took over territory in north Mali after a 2012 Tuareg rebellion.
It has since spread into neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, and more recently into the north of coastal West African countries such as Togo and Ghana.
Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced as militants have gained groups, attacking towns, villages, military and police posts and army convoys.
The failure of governments to restore security contributed to two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger between 2020 and 2023. All three remain under military rule despite regional and international pressure to hold elections.
Since the coups, authorities have turned away from traditional Western allies and sought military support from Russia instead.

LONDON: The family of a British couple fears for their health after their trial in Afghanistan was abruptly delayed, it was reported on Sunday.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, who have lived in Afghanistan for more than 18 years and have become Afghan citizens, were arrested in February while traveling to their home in Bamyan Province.

The couple had been presented in chains at a Kabul court on Saturday but were informed “at the last minute” that their judge had been changed, delaying proceedings.

Their daughter Sarah Entwistle told The Guardian the conditions in their maximum-security prison were “brutal” and “what I imagine hell is like.”

Entwistle highlighted the severe deterioration of her parents’ health, saying: “Mum’s health is rapidly deteriorating, and she is collapsing due to malnutrition. She and the other women are provided only one meal a day, while the men receive three.”

She also expressed concern for her father, adding: “Dad’s health is also still declining, and he’s experiencing tremors in his head and left arm.”

She said that at court “they spent four hours sitting on the floor, chained to other prisoners, before being returned to the prison.”

She added: “At the last minute they were informed that they would not be seen by the judge. The guards indicated that a different judge would now be handling the case, and we continue to hope they will receive a fair hearing in the coming week.”

Mrs. Reynolds struggled to climb the four staircases to the courtroom, and Entwistle said: “There are still no charges against them, and no evidence of any crime has been submitted.

“We are, of course, devastated by this delay. It makes little sense, especially given that the Taliban have repeatedly stated that this situation is due to misunderstandings, and that they will be released soon.”

The couple, who married in Afghanistan in 1970, remained in the country following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, saying they “couldn’t leave the country and the people they love, in their darkest hour.” They were arrested alongside an American friend, Faye Hall, and their Afghan translator, Juya.

Mr. Reynolds has reportedly suffered beatings and is in immense pain. Entwistle said: “His health has significantly deteriorated. We hear he now has a chest infection, a double eye infection, and serious digestive issues due to poor nutrition. Without immediate access to necessary medication his life is in serious danger.”

Appealing for their release, she urged the Taliban to show mercy, adding: “Again, we ask the Taliban to release Dad, Mum, Faye, and the interpreter as a gesture of goodwill during this season of Ramadan.”