OVER SIXTY BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS SURRENDER TO MNJTF IN CAMEROON, NIGER.

The troops of Operation Lake Sanity 2 under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) have successfully facilitated the surrender of more terrorists while rescuing others from hideouts between 1 and 6 July 2024.

A statement by the Chief Military Public Information Officer MNJTF N’Djamena Chad, Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi said troops in Sector 1 Cameroon, on 6 July 2024 conducted a combined maritime operation by Cameroonian and Nigerian forces led to the surrender of 56 Boko Haram terrorists.

The 56 surrendered members included 13 adult males, 43 females and children. On the same date, 12 family members of terrorists, including 5 women and 7 children, were rescued.

The surrendered individuals and the rescued family members have been handed over to the troops of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai, in Gamboru and Banki for further action.

The troops of Sector 4, Niger Republic, on 1 July 2024, received 24-year-old Tijjani Muhammad, who surrendered with one AK-47 rifle, 4 magazines, and numerous 7.62mm rounds.

He reported that he had escaped from a Boko Haram camp in Libye Soroa, driven by the current Operation Lake Sanity 2.

The increasing number of surrenders according to the MNJTF significantly weakens the operational capability of Boko Haram and undermines the morale of their remaining fighters as the joint forces urges terrorists to take advantage of the opportunity to lay down their arms and surrender to the authorities for lasting peace in the Lake Chad basin region.

SUDANESE REFUGEES HIDING IN ETHIOPIAN FOREST.

Thousands of Sudanese refugees are dwelling in a forest near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan after surviving attacks by local militias on United Nations-run refugee camps.

The refugees fled In May after gunmen and bandits repeatedly stormed the camps to steal supplies, rape women, kidnap people for ransom and terrify civilians.

Refugees who spoke to Al Jazeera say at least 7,000 people left the camps and some 3,000 are still in the forest where they live alongside “wild animals” like hyenas, scorpions and snakes.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said about 1,000 people left the camps.

Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis more than 10 million people have fled since a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into war in April 2023.

More than 53,000 people came to Ethiopia, and about 8,500 of them were settled in UN-administered camps at Awlala and Kumer in the Amhara region.

RWANDA GOVERNMENT NOT TO REFUND OVER TWO HUNDRED POUNDS PAID BY UNITED KINGDOM.

The Rwandan government has hinted that it won’t reimburse more than $300 million it has received from the United Kingdom since 2022 for a deal to deport asylum seekers deemed to have arrived illegally in the UK to the East African nation.

A Rwandan government spokesperson said its migrant deal with the UK did not include any clause regarding reimbursement after the newly-elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would scrap the controversial agreement.

Spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said in a video posted by state-owned Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, saying within the agreement there was no clause regarding reimbursement, it never stated that the money would be refunded,” .

The UK has given Rwanda £240 million (around $307 million) so far as part of the deal, according to a fact sheet published by the British government in April this year.

Speaking at his first press conference as prime minister on Saturday, Starmer said he was “not prepared to continue” with the controversial deal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, calling the scheme a “gimmick” and denying that the bill acted as a deterrent.

The controversial plan was first announced in April 2022 by the Conservative government at the time under Prime Minister Boris Johnson but faced a series of political and legal challenges as lawmakers and activists sought to scupper the legislation on human rights grounds.

After the bill was passed in April this year, former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed the plan was introduced “to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.”

The bill was condemned at the time by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi who said the arrangement sought to “shift responsibility for refugee protection, undermining international cooperation and setting a worrying global precedent.”

Amnesty International UK also called the plan “a stain on this country’s moral reputation” that “takes a hatchet to international legal protections for some of the most vulnerable people in the world.”

GRENADE IN UN CONGO KILLS SOUTH AFRICAN SOLDIER.

South Africa’s military says a South African soldier, who was part of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, died on Monday when a hand grenade exploded close to his sleeping quarters.

It was not clear what caused the hand grenade to explode, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said in a statement late on Tuesday, adding that a board of inquiry including UN officials would investigate the incident that happened in Beni.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo will pause its withdrawal, the government and mission have said.

South African soldiers are in Congo as part of the UN force called MONUSCO and a separate mission deployed by southern African regional bloc SADC to help the government fight rebel groups.

Including the latest death, at least seven South African soldiers have lost their lives in Congo since February.

Two were killed in a mortar attack on an SANDF base in Sake in eastern Congo last month, one was killed in a battle with Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in May.

Another died after receiving treatment for unspecified health issues in April and two were killed in a mortar attack in February.

At the time of the February deaths South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hit back at opposition criticism that the troops in Congo were ill-equipped.

The UN force is withdrawing from Congo in stages. A first stage was completed last month, but no timeline has been set yet for the next phase amid an escalation in clashes in the restive east.

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT ADDRESS PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER POOR DEBATE OUTING.

United States President Joe Biden will Thursday give his first press conference since his debate disaster against Donald Trump, in a pressure-cooker moment that could seal the fate of his reelection bid.

The eyes of the world will be on the 81-year-old at a NATO summit as he tries to calm growing calls from his Democratic party to step aside over his age and health.

The White House has dubbed it a “big boy” press conference, and Biden will be under severe pressure to show he can handle what has become a rare unscripted moment in his presidency.

Any missteps by Biden at the 5.30 pm (2130 GMT) event at a Washington DC conference center could turn the trickle of Democrats who have so far urged him to abandon his 2024 election bid into a flood.

The walls closed in further on Wednesday when Hollywood actor and supporter George Clooney called on Biden not to stand, just weeks after holding a glitzy fundraiser for the president.

Party heavyweight and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi also subtly twisted the knife by stopping short of backing Biden, saying only that he should make a decision after the NATO summit.

The first Democratic senator, Peter Welch of Vermont, meanwhile joined at least eight House Democrats in openly urging the man who beat Trump in 2020 not to stand again.

But many Democrats are believed to be waiting to see if Biden pulls off his first solo press conference since November 2023, or whether it will be a repeat of the debate.

Biden has given fewer news conferences than his predecessors. His recent appearances have been joint appearances with foreign leaders restricted to two questions each.

Coupled with a lack of interviews, it has led critics to accuse the White House of shielding the effects of age on America’s oldest president from the public.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has repeatedly promised Thursday’s “big boy press conference” — a phrase first used by a journalist that she has since adopted — will feature multiple questions.

A poor performance will pour fuel on the flames of the concerns about Biden’s age and health that were sparked when he appeared listless and often incoherent against Republican Trump, 78.

NATO allies have also been seeking reassurance about Biden’s leadership abilities, and over fears that a return of the isolationist Trump could spell trouble for the alliance.

ISRAELI MILITARY ORDERS ‘EVERYONE IN GAZA CITY’ TO LEAVE.

The Israeli military has told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, amid intensified operations in the north.

Leaflets dropped by aircraft instruct “everyone in Gaza City” to leave what is described as a “dangerous combat zone” via designated safe routes – marked as two roads that lead to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida.

The UN has said it is deeply concerned about evacuation orders being given. It is the second time since the war began that Gaza City as a whole has been asked to evacuate.

Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have re-entered several districts where the military believes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters have regrouped since the start of the year.

Hamas has said Israel’s renewed activity in the city is threatening to derail negotiations over a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal, which resumed on Wednesday in Qatar.

The talks are being attended by the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the US and Israel, as well as the prime minister of Qatar.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised Israel’s commitment to a deal as long as its “red lines are preserved.”

There are estimated to be more than a quarter-of-a-million people still living in Gaza City.

Some were observed evacuating to the south after the Israeli military dropped leaflets there urging them to leave, which an Israel official later said it was a recommendation rather than an instruction.

Others, though, were not willing to leave.

NORWAY TO DONATE SIX F-16 FIGHTER JETS TO UKRAINE.

Norway will donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help it in defense efforts against Russian air attacks.

The Norwegian government said in a statement as NATO leaders attended a summit in Washington.

Leaders of NATO member states are poised to unveil new aid to Ukraine to help it defend itself following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Hoping to change the course of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants the 32-member alliance to send more weapons and money, and to offer security guarantees.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Stoere said deliveries of the F-16s were planned to start in 2024.

Stoere said in a statement that combined with air defence systems, the fighter jets will be vital to enabling the Ukrainians to defend themselves against Russian air attacks.

The prime minister first announced that Norway would donate the F-16s to Kyiv in August last year, but didn’t say how many would be given.

Since then, Oslo has sent two F-16s jets to Denmark to be used for the training of Ukrainian pilots.

F-16s have been on Ukraine’s wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability. The fighter jet is equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles.

A senior NATO official said this week that Ukraine had not yet amassed the munitions and personnel it needs to mount its own large-scale offensive operations.

UKRAINE ACCUSES RUSSIA OF KILLING TWO PRISONERS OF WAR.

Ukraine’s top prosecutor has accused Russian forces of killing two Ukrainian servicemen who were captured in June in the partially-occupied southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia has repeatedly denied its forces have committed war crimes during their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv says it has documented nearly 130,000 war crimes committed by Moscow.

Ukraine’s top prosecutor Andriy Kostin said a video posted on social media showed two Russian soldiers ordering two unarmed Ukrainian servicemen to get into a trench and kneel before shooting them.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Meanwhile, reporters could not independently verify the video clip circulated on social media as the footage was grainy.

PHILIPPINES AIR FORCE JOINS MULTI-NATION WAR GAMES.

The Philippines Air Force has arrived in northern Australia on its first overseas deployment in six decades for combat practice alongside US and Australian fighter jets, amid a rise in tensions with China in the South China Sea.

Four Philippine FA-50 fighter jets and 162 personnel are taking part in the Pitch Black war games over Australia’s largely unpopulated Northern Territory, involving 20 countries and 140 aircraft

China and the Philippines are locked in a confrontation in the disputed South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to shoals in waters that Manila says are well within its exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst, Euan Graham said although the Philippines has a mutual defence treaty with the United States, it would look to its own air force and navy as the first line of defence.