Nigeria, Gaza, CAR
Today's three stories you should know.
Nigeria
More than 50 people have been abducted in a mass kidnapping in northern Nigeria, according to a report from AFP news agency. The region has for years been plagued by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, who kidnap people for ransom. Authorities have struggled to control the situation as the bandits target remote areas with little government presence. Last month, one gang killed 33 captives despite receiving a ransom of $33,700. Three babies had died while in captivity. The military is overstretched in the north of the country, where it is waging a long-running war with several rebel groups, including an ISIS offshoot.
More from AFP and France 24 here.
Gaza
Jordan said today that Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of 30 aid trucks it dispatched to Gaza, adding it was the second such incident in recent days after settlers slashed the tires of two trucks on Sunday. "This requires a serious Israeli intervention and no leniency in dealing with those who obstruct these convoys," Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani told Reuters news agency. Separately, 20 people were killed and dozens wounded when an aid truck overturned as they rushed it for food, according to Gaza's civil defense agency.
More from Reuters and the Jerusalem Post here.
Central African Republic
One to watch. The Associated Press news agency reported today, citing officials in the Central African Republic (CAR), that Moscow is pressuring the government to replace the Wagner mercenary group with Russia’s state-run Africa Corps. Wagner has been active in CAR since 2018, effectively propping up President Faustin Archange Touadéra. But Russia has been keen to transition from Wagner to the Africa Corps in several nations, since Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in 2023. The rub? Wagner operated in CAR in return for access to mineral resources. But the Russian government wants money, officials said - and it may be more than cash-strapped CAR can afford.
More from the AP here.
I am very curious Barry, with the Federation of Russia having been in an active war with Ukraine for so long, what are they exporting, how many of them work and what decade are they from?