Madagascar, Pakistan-Afghanistan, Syria

Today's three stories you should know.

Apologies for the lack of Proximities on Monday and Tuesday. I was ill.

Barry.

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Madagascar

Madagascar’s military coup leader said he is “taking the position of president” in an interview with AP. Col. Michael Randrianirina led a group of soldiers to oust President Andry Rajoelina after weeks of youth-led protests initially sparked by water and power shortages. Rajoelina fled to an unknown location. Randrianirina said he would be sworn in within days and that a prime minister would then be appointed, but he didn’t give a timeline. Some analysts condemned the coup as the wrong answer to the demands of the Gen Z-branded protests. Madagascar has had several coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.

More from AP here.

Pakistan-Afghanistan

Fighting between Pakistani and Afghan forces along their border has killed more than a dozen civilians and troops, according to officials. Though there have been regular clashes at the contested frontier, the violence over the weekend and on Wednesday was the worst since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The latest tensions between the two are rooted in accusations from Islamabad that Afghanistan is providing a safe haven for armed groups opposed to the Pakistani government. Kabul shoots back that Pakistan shelters the Afghan branch of ISIS, which is bitterly opposed to the Taliban. As mentioned in Proximities, the Taliban foreign minister last week visited India, Pakistan’s arch foe, during which New Delhi and Kabul upgraded ties.

More from Reuters here.

Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is making his first visit to Russia since leading a lightning offensive that toppled the Moscow-backed Bashar al-Assad. Russian support was key to turning the Syrian civil war in Assad’s favour for several years as its air force brutally carpet-bombed rebel strongholds. Though it didn’t step in when rebels closed in on Damascus, it granted Assad asylum in Moscow, where he has lived since. It is believed that al-Sharaa will request Assad’s extradition when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Al-Sharaa and Putin appear to have taken a pragmatic approach to the fact they were on opposite sides during the war, with Russia keen to maintain a military presence in Syria. Moscow is also reported to have sent oil shipments since al-Sharaa came to power.

More from Al Jazeera here.