southern

Israeli forces struck near Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon. The military said it used 700 tonnes of explosives to destroy parts of a Hezbollah tunnel network. Israel agreed in June to a phased withdrawal from Lebanon, and have the Lebanese military handle disarming Hezbollah.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 30 (UPI) — The widespread destruction left behind by Israeli forces in Zawtar al-Gharbieh — the first U.S.-backed “pilot zone” in southern Lebanon — was beyond anything its returning displaced residents could have imagined, providing a glimpse of the devastation across the southern region and the extensive reconstruction needs ahead.

Situated in the central sector of southern Lebanon near the strategic Litani River, Zawtar al-Gharbieh represents the testing ground for the success of the pilot zones — the cornerstone of the U.S.-brokered framework agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel on June 26.

It was the first village designated by Israel to begin withdrawing its troops, allowing for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and return of displaced residents. Yet, it reveals the significant and complex challenges facing the process.

The residents rushed back to the village when the Lebanese Army moved in July 21, returning each morning and waiting at the entrance for five days before they were finally allowed to enter and inspect their homes and properties.

The army was carrying out security inspections of all homes and removing missiles and unexploded ordnance remaining from the Israeli military presence.

“We were shocked by the scale of the destruction. It was much, much more than we had expected,” Mayor Abed Ezzedine told UPI.

Ezzedine said Israeli forces “spared nothing,” destroying or damaging everything in their path — from homes and schools to places of worship, shops and the municipality building.

He said the water infrastructure was torn up, the electricity networks blown up and burned, and the village’s only water well destroyed.

“In this life, everything has limits. Even war should have limits,” he added. “They changed the face of the village beyond recognition.”

Some 250 housing units — representing up to 80% of the village’s homes — have been destroyed, while the remaining houses have suffered severe damage and are no longer habitable.

Several of Zawtar al-Gharbieh’s 4,500 to 5,000 residents were killed, including entire families, while others were injured as they fled Israeli attacks and advancing troops three months ago, according to Ezzedine, who said “they showed no mercy to anyone.”

Although Israel stopped targeting the village after the Lebanese Army deployment, he said its drones never left the sky, hoovering at very low altitude “over our heads.”

“What kind of cease-fire or arrangement this is?” Ezzedine asked rhetoically.

Very few residents were able to stay — those who were fortunate enough to still have one room in their homes standing and safe. However, they lacked the basic necessities to continue living, including water, electricity and even Internet access.

The vast majority, meanwhile, spent their days in the village and returned at night to their shelters.

Ezzedine struggled to locate his home among the rubble — one of 25 houses in his neighborhood that had been reduced to ruins.

The rapid reconstruction of Zawtar al-Gharbieh will be a key factor in determining the success of the pilot zones, easing residents’ suffering, restoring confidence in the Lebanese state and reducing the likelihood of them turning again to Hezbollah.

“We want to see action on the ground. This is a test of good faith,” Ezzedine said.

According to a Lebanese official source, the main obstacle is the lack of necessary funding.

The source emphasized that rebuilding the village is an important step in supporting Lebanon’s diplomatic approach and consolidating the success of the pilot zones.

He told UPI that the government faces two options: organizing a reconstruction conference for southern Lebanon, which would require considerable time, or quickly rallying support from friendly states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to rebuild the first pilot village.

However, success also largely depends on Israel, which has insisted that it will not withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon it is occupying — specifically its self-declared “yellow zone” — or from Gaza and Syria.

Lebanese and Israeli negotiating teams are scheduled to meet Aug. 4 to 5 to evaluate progress on the pilot zones, the U.S.-led verification mechanism and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from additional occupied Lebanese territories.

The official source told UPI that the United States, which does not want to have boots on the ground in southern Lebanon, would have to “find an acceptable formula for all parties” for the verification process, potentially involving countries such as Italy, France or Spain — proposals reportedly rejected by Israel — or others to carry out the mission.

The source confirmed Lebanon’s commitment to the framework deal, saying, “We will not back out of it,” despite knowing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not prepared to withdraw from southern Lebanon at this stage, ahead of the October 17 Israeli elections.

Netanyahu remained firm that the disarmament of Hezbollah is a precondition for Israel’s complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

A well-informed source expects “tough negotiations” at next week’s Rome talks over the establishment of additional pilot zones, as Israel continues “its aggressions, infiltrations and systematic house demolitions” in violation of the framework agreement.

The Lebanese Army warned this week that Israeli aggressions are hindering completion of its deployment, delaying the return of displaced residents to their villages and undermining efforts to consolidate stability in southern Lebanon.

The source told UPI that the U.S. is exerting pressure on Israel, but “not enough,” adding that Israel “is trying to find an excuse” to withdraw from the framework agreement, which aims to end the nearly three-year war between Israel and Hezbollah and pave the way for peaceful relations between Lebanon and Israel.

Southern Lebanon’s Mansouri village is divided by Israel’s Yellow Line, a military boundary separating 6% of Lebanese territory it occupies from the rest of the country. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr spoke to residents who say they’re living with fear.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has hit Kumamoto on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, sending buildings swaying as people rushed to safety. Authorities have issued a tsunami alert following the quake.

Lauren Bell restricts MI London to six runs in the final over to give Southern Brave a nervy one-run victory in the 2026 Women’s Hundred at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton.

MATCH REPORT: Bell stays cool as Brave win last-ball thriller

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The U.S. Navy is seeking a multi-mission maritime security vessel to “launch, recover, and support a mix of manned and unmanned air and surface platforms,” a Navy spokesperson told us on Tuesday. The ship will “support the U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) enduring mission to collaborate with partner nations on maritime security operations in the Eastern Pacific and Southern Caribbean.”

“The Special Mission Vessel is envisioned as a versatile ‘mothership’ designed to significantly enhance maritime domain awareness and response capabilities,” the spokesperson added. “These operations are crucial for conducting command and control, surveillance, and interdiction missions across vast stretches of the open ocean.”

The Navy was responding to our questions about a request for information (RFI) about the ship that was published Monday on the government’s contracting website. The request comes as a contract for the ship currently performing this mission expires in 2028, which we will discuss in more detail later in this story.

The need for a vessel like this exists as U.S. forces continue a long battle with drug traffickers in the region, including ongoing strikes on boats claimed to be operated by smugglers. The strikes have generated a great deal of controversy, with claims they violate the rules of armed conflict and have been carried out without Congressional or judicial approval. The White House and Pentagon have pushed back on those claims.

You can see one of the most recent incidents in the following video.

To obtain this special mission ship, the Navy is looking for “both the design and new construction of a vessel, as well as the acquisition and necessary modification of an existing vessel,” the RFI explained. Interested parties should “seek to use existing, non-developmental platforms to the maximum extent possible.”

While the Navy is open to how the ship is ultimately developed, there are a number of requirements it must meet. 

The Navy wants a steel monohull or catamaran that’s between 300 and 400 feet long and can travel at a 10-knot minimum sustained speed with a range of 9,600 nautical miles.

The ship should be capable of “conducting primary operations and surviving in a Beaufort Wind Scale 6 or greater” and be capable of “performing boat launch and recovery operations in Beaufort Wind Scale 4,” the RFI added.

Under the Beaufort system, Scale 6 refers to conditions with wind speeds of 22 to 27 knots and maximum wave heights of 12 feet. Scale 4 is wind speeds of 11 to 16 knots with maximum wave heights of five feet.

In addition, the ship should be able to stay at sea for “at least 30 days without underway replenishment or resupply for maximum number of personnel,” the RFI noted.

The ship’s flight deck/helicopter pad needs to be able to launch and recover Sikorsky SH-60, MH-60 Seahawk, MH-60T Jayhawk and MH-65 Dolphin helicopters. It should also be capable of “launching and recovering vertical take-off Class 2/3 UAS platforms” and have a minimum of “20×20 ft dedicated clear deck space for UAS recovery and storage” as well as “sockets for minimum of two [20-foot-equivalent] containers for UAS control and maintenance.”

When it comes to small boats, the ship is required to have a “non-deck-crane-based small boat launch and recovery system capable of supporting various boats between 24 ft and 44 ft in length and weighing up to 35,000 lbs,” according to the RFI. It also needs a “small crane (fixed/portable or ‘yellow gear’) for emergency recovery of UAS/USV or other watercraft.”

This ship has to serve as a floating gas station for a wide array of other craft.

“The vessel shall be capable of receiving and storing various grades of fuel for propulsion, ships auxiliaries and delivery to small boats and craft,” according to the RFI. “The vessel must be designated as a refueler vessel and meet U.S. Coast Guard requirements to ensure safe and effective refueling operations.”

When it comes to crew and passengers, the ship needs berthing for up to 69 people, with 20 to 25 civilian mariner staterooms, and open berthing for 29 to 44 embarked crew members. It also needs secure detainee space “with suitable AC/ventilation for 10 – 12 people.”

The mothership is not required to be heavily armed, but should support Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection .50 caliber machine gun mounts. It additionally must have a 160-square-foot armory for storing, maintaining and issuing military small arms and a 100-square-foot magazine for storing ammunition and ordnance.

In a broad sense, many of the requirements the Navy is seeking match the Kellie Chouest, the vessel currently performing a similar mission for SOUTHCOM. It is a 310-foot ship that can travel at 13 knots, berths 53, has a helicopter pad, several 20-foot containers and cranes and winches for launching and recovering smaller ships. As we noted earlier in this story, the Kellie Chouest, which has been chartered for years by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), is nearing the end of its latest four-year contract, set to expire on March 31, 2028, the command told us.

That timeline fits with the Navy’s plans for the ship described in the RFI.

“The Navy intends to issue a formal Request for Proposal upon receipt of FY27 appropriations,” the service’s spokesperson explained. “The RFI is a standard part of the federal acquisition process, allowing the U.S. Navy to conduct market research and understand the capabilities available in the industry. The proposed Special Mission Vessel is included in the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget. By issuing this RFI, the Navy is inviting industry partners to propose innovative concepts that meet the foundational requirements for a vessel designed for this critical mission set.”

It is possible that the Navy could decide to just renew a contract for the Kellie Chouest, or this new ship could be added alongside her if her contract is renewed. We’ve reached out to the Navy, MSC, and SOUTHCOM for more details. SOUTHCOM declined comment about the Kellie Chouest‘s current operations, or what kinds of drones it launches now, but in a previous interview after the command posted an image of the vessel, a SOUTHCOM official offered some insights into what the ship does.

“It provides support to get after cartels and illicit trafficking,” a SOUTHCOM official told us several months ago. “When we do an operation, it provides our partner nations a platform. They use the ship as a base of operations where they can get intelligence, get fuel, get life support.”

“The Ship Special Mission (SSM) Kellie Chouest is contributing to missions to disrupt cartel and narcotrafficking networks across the Eastern Pacific,” SOUTHCOM said in an April 28, 2026, post on X. “The ship…is serving as a forward operating base for partner nations across the Eastern Pacific — directly supporting counternarcotics operations alongside Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.”

Advancing Western Hemisphere security and countering narcoterrorism:
The Ship Special Mission (SSM) Kellie Chouest is contributing to missions to disrupt cartel and narcotrafficking networks across the Eastern Pacific. The ship, shown here in a file photo from 2021, is serving as… pic.twitter.com/HUwAl8jctr

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) April 28, 2026

Four days earlier, in a post about the Colombian Navy’s seizure of 3.2 tons of marijuana in the South Pacific, valued at $3.4 million, the command explained that the Kellie Chouest “provided direct assistance to Colombian forces, demonstrating our longstanding and highly effective partnership in dismantling drug cartels and narcotrafficking networks throughout the region.”

The U.S. military is proud to have supported this successful, Colombia-led counterdrug operation. The team at @jiatfs and the MV Kellie Chouest provided direct assistance to Colombian forces, demonstrating our longstanding and highly effective partnership in dismantling drug… https://t.co/PPG5k0hjro

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) April 24, 2026

The ship’s last reported position was off the coast of Guatemala 20 days ago, according to the MarineTraffic tracking site.

The Kellie Chouest is one of several converted vessels used by the U.S. military as special mission ships. The Carolyn Chouest, another ship built by the Edison Chouest Offshore conglomerate, is another example. Operated by MSC, it was converted into a sea base platform specially configured to support U.S. special operations forces in the Pacific region and is currently located near Indonesia, according to MarineTraffic. You can read more about it in our story here. 

Another commercial ship that has been turned into a U.S. military sea base is the MV Ocean Trader – a roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel modified to carry special operators, their vehicles, and all their other gear. This ship is far larger and more advanced than the other vessels mentioned here, though. Given its ability to support special operations missions, including launching a variety of smaller boats, UAVs and multiple helicopters, Ocean Trader often appears in conflict zones around the globe. It was spotted in the Caribbean last year during the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Venezuelan drug cartels that culminated with the capture of Nicolás Maduro. You can read more about Ocean Trader and its capabilities in our deep dive here.

The Navy could get a new vessel purposely built for this maritime security role, or one — like the Kellie Chouest — converted to it, or sign a new contract for that vessel. The service could also keep the contract in place for Kellie Chouest and add this new vessel to operate in addition to it. Considering the focus the Trump administration has put on Central and South America, this wouldn’t be surprising.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

The Hundred women’s competition, Sophia Gardens

Welsh Fire 177-4 (100 balls): Devine 52 (29); Matthews 2-52

MI London 117 (92 balls): Henry 30 (23); Potts 3-24

Welsh Fire won by 60 runs

Scorecard. Table

An impressive Welsh Fire earned their first win of the women’s Hundred with a 60-run thrashing of MI London in Cardiff.

Fire suffered a poor defeat by Southern Brave in their opener but bounced back to post 177-4, comfortably the highest total of this year’s tournament and the third-highest in the tournament’s history.

After openers Ella McCaughan and Georgia Voll added 49, captain Sophie Devine and all-rounder Georgia Wareham added 79 from just 35 balls for the fourth wicket as MI London’s bowlers wilted.

Devine was stumped from the penultimate ball for 52 from just 29 balls including four sixes, one of which was smacked out of the ground, while Wareham finished unbeaten on 43 from 20.

To conclude the entertaining innings, Em Arlott came out with one ball to face and launched it for six, as Fire’s performance provided some much-needed entertainment for the women’s tournament where the previous-highest team total so far was just 126.

In reply, MI London – despite a batting line-up stacked with international quality – crumbled to 117 all out and suffered their second successive defeat.

Fire seamer Grace Potts dominated the powerplay with figures of 3-24 as MI London crumbled under the run-rate pressure. Potts accounted for MI London’s powerful top three of Hayley Matthews for 10, Danni Wyatt-Hodge for 12 and Kira Chathli for two.

Devine backed up her knock with figures of 2-15, including the wicket of Chinelle Henry who was MI London’s top-scorer with 30, while Welsh left-arm spinner Sophia Smale chipped in with 2-17.

MI London will take on unbeaten Southern Brave on Monday as they search for their first win, while Fire face Trent Rockets on Wednesday.

Sunrisers Leeds fall from 111-0 to 112-3 as Adil Rashid takes three wickets in five balls to bring his Southern Brave side right back in the match in the men’s Hundred.

WATCH MORE: ‘That is some brutal hitting’ – Marsh hits six sixes in huge innings

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Issy Wong takes three wickets to help Southern Brave make it two wins from two in the women’s Hundred, as they beat Sunrisers Leeds by five wickets at Headingley.

WATCH MORE: ‘What a ball!’ – Wonderful Wong gets three for the Southern Brave

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July 23 (UPI) — Three firefighters were killed, two in France and one in Italy, and 12,000 people were forced to evacuate as wildfires continued to ravage areas of southern France, Italy and Spain.

Almost 6,000 acres have been burnt in the area west of Bordeaux, where 10,000 people were ordered to flee amid a ban on internal combustion and electric engines and road closures, the Gironde regional government said Thursday.

Authorities said 500 firefighters were tackling the blaze, which was moving southwestwards after breaking out in Saumo, a small town 20 miles northwest of Bordeaux, on Wednesday and that firefighting aircraft were en route to the scene.

No injuries had been recorded.

The two French firefighters died Tuesday as they battled to bring a separate blaze under control in a suburb of Bordeaux.

Var, a department on the Cote d’Azur between Marseille and Nice, was also badly affected, with thousands of acres burnt. Residents evacuated there were allowed to return to their homes Thursday to assess damage on strict instructions to restrict movement and activities because of the risk the fire could flare up again, amid windy conditions.

Meteo-France red alerts for forest fires were in place across several other departments in southern France on Thursday.

In Italy, a firefighter was killed and another was injured Wednesday battling a major fire on Sicily.

Sicilian Civil Protection chief Salvo Cocina said the wildfire in San Cataldo, in the southwest of the island, was one of 10 major incidents that had triggered the evacuation of residents, as a precaution.

About 6,000 firefighters, forestry officers and civil protection personnel were deployed in the operation.

The regional government said the most critical fires were in Casaboli, Bivona, Alimena, San Cataldo, Galati Mamertino districts and certain areas of the Madonie Park and Syracuse areas.

Footage online, shot by the Spanish Civil Guard, shows officers going door-to-door telling residents to leave as a major wildfire raged southwest of Madrid, between Almorox and Villa del Prado.

It comes after a huge wildfire to the north of the capital in Guadalajara province that broke out on July 16 razed almost 80,000 acres and a deadly forest fire in southeastern Almeria province that killed at least 11 people on July 10.

Across European Union countries, wildfires have burnt more than 628,000 acres so far in 2026, European Forest Fires Information System figures show — although the figure was below the 668,000 acres burnt in the same period in 2025.

Thousands of people are being evacuated from areas of southern France as firefighters battle huge wildfires. Researchers say climate change is intensifying heat and drought, creating conditions for larger and more destructive wildfire seasons across Europe.

July 23 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Bertha was nearing southern coast of Louisiana late Wednesday, hours after it made landfall over the state, according to forecasters.

The center of the storm was about 75 miles southwest of New Orleans and about 135 miles east-southeast of Lake Charles, La., the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. CDT update. The storm was traveling west at 12 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, marking no change in strength or direction.

There was a tropical storm warning in effect from the Alabama-Mississippi border to Sargent, Texas, and metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.

The NHC said a faster westward or west-southwestward track is expected for Bertha over the next day or so.

“On the forecast track, the center of Bertha will move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts through Thursday afternoon, and then move farther inland into Texas Thursday evening and Thursday night,” the NHC said.

Little change in strength in the storm is expected over the next day or so. Bertha is expected to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches the upper Texas coast on Thursday. It’s expected to dissipate inland over Texas by Thursday night or Friday.

Bertha, which formed Monday night, is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 1 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals through Thursday along the central Gulf Coast from western Florida into southern Louisiana. This could produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas, the NHC said.

Surf conditions caused by Bertha will continue spreading west along the northern Gulf Coast, with swells likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions

Captain Phil Salt led from the front as he finished unbeaten on 47 to guide Welsh Fire to a six-wicket victory against Southern Brave in a low-scoring match in Southampton.

READ MORE: Captain Salt leads Fire to victory against Brave

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About 130,000 people have been evacuated from the Guangxi region while thousands of rescuers have been deployed.

Flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak has killed 39 people in southern China, most of them after a dam breach inundated the city of Nanning.

Ding Wei, the city’s vice mayor, announced the toll at a news briefing on Thursday, up sharply from a previous count of six, after record rainfall breached reservoirs and sent torrents of water through towns and cities in the Guangxi region.

The dam breach in Nanning killed 26 people, Ding said.

About 130,000 people have been evacuated from the region, and drones and thousands of boats have been used in a huge relief and rescue operation to reach people trapped by the waters.

Heavy rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with cumulative rainfall of 10-40cm (4-16in) in some areas and more than 90cm (35in) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological centre said.

More than 8,000 people and about 5,700 boats have been deployed in the rescue operation, with rescuers battling strong currents and debris to reach victims.

Ding said the floodwaters are receding, but more rain is expected in certain areas in the next two days.

Crews have been deployed to clear mud and debris and disinfect several towns in hard-hit Hengzhou city, which is east of Nanning and under its jurisdiction.

Road repairs are ongoing, and electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, Ding said.

Animals escape after flooding hits zoo

At least 100 animals, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras, escaped Guangxi province’s Guigang Zoo after the flooding damaged their enclosures.

The zoo appealed to the public Wednesday for help in finding its escaped animals.

The missing creatures include “two North American raccoons, four porcupines and thirty peacocks”, according to a statement posted by a local district’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

The zoo said some of the escapees “may be frightened and potentially aggressive”.

“If you spot any of the animals, please keep a safe distance,” the statement said.

“Do not attempt to catch, approach or tease them, as this could be dangerous,” the zoo warned.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

The US military says it has launched airstrikes against Iran as explosions were reported in several locations in the south of the country.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes began on Tuesday, and are being conducted “in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

Iranian media have reported several explosions in the southern port city of Sirik, as well as Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas.

“According to state TV, six explosions have been heard on the island of Qeshm which is the largest island in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, with very geostrategic significance when it comes to Iran’s control and authority over the Strait of Hormuz,” Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi reported from Tehran.

“The state TV also says that at least seven explosions have been heard in the areas close to Sirik Port which is very important because it oversees the Strait of Hormuz, another strategic point from which Iran imposes its control and authority over the Strait of Hormuz,” Asadi said.

Starting from the time after the signing of the [memorandum of understanding], we have been witnessing limited confrontation and escalation in this highly escalated situation at the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

Following the blasts, Iran’s foreign ministry said it held the US government responsible for the consequences of breaching the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed between the two countries in June, which was supposed to put to an end to the war the US and Israel began against Iran in late February. The MoU mandated lifting the US naval blockade on Iran in exchange for Tehran reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The US also agreed at the end of June to waive sanctions on Iranian oil for 60 days.

However, the US Treasury Department on Tuesday moved to revoke the temporary suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil, less than 20 days sales after the MoU was signed. The department cancelled a licence announced in June that had allowed Iran to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products through August 21.

The move by the Treasury Department comes after tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked. A Qatari tanker caught fire off the coast of Oman Monday after being struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

Iranian television reported claims that the LNG tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings, but Tehran did not directly claim the assault. Neither the US Central Command (CENTCOM) nor the IRGC commented on the incident.

A second ship, a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, was also damaged in the Strait of Hormuz when the IRGC fired missiles, sources told Reuters news agency.

A US ⁠official warned that Iran’s attacks on vessels in the Strait ‌of Hormuz were “wholly unacceptable” and would ‌be ‌met with consequences, Reuters reported Tuesday.

In response, Iran’s foreign ministry said it would take any measure it deemed necessary to safeguard the country’s interests and national security.

“The United States’ action in revoking the waiver for the exemption of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales constitutes a blatant violation of Article 10, and the subsequent military operations of this country against Iran also constitute a serious violation of Articles 1 and 2 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said in a post on social media.

Gharibabadi said the US has “repeatedly” violated the MoU, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and threatening statements made against Iran.

Joy Oga, a pregnant woman in her second trimester, was harvesting yams on her farm in Kwanta/Dooshima area when armed men attacked. The 31-year-old farmer had gone out with three others from her community on June 16 to harvest the farm she had been unable to reach since her village was invaded in September 2025. She never finished the harvest. 

“I went to the farm to pack yams when I was attacked,” Joy told HumAngle. 

Joy had farmed in her village in Chanchanji, Takum Local Government Area, in Taraba State, northeastern Nigeria, for five years, and farming is her only means of livelihood. After enduring months of hardship in a displacement camp in Chanchanji town, she was eager to resume farming as soon as she and other residents were asked to return home. On the day of the recent attack, she was there to also clear the land for a new planting season. 

Joy said the attackers, whom she claimed were herders, confronted her and the other people that were with her, and immediately started hacking them with the machete. She ran back to the community with a cut on her face, wrist, and legs.  

The attack came barely two months after a peace deal was struck between the Fulani and Tiv communities of southern Taraba, and has raised questions about the restoration of peace and the fate of residents who rely on farming for survival in the area. 

In April, a peace dialogue organised by the Taraba State government, northeastern Nigeria, brought together leaders of the Fulani and Tiv ethnic groups to put an end to the series of clashes that claimed lives and properties in communities within southern Taraba. The Fulani in the area are predominantly nomadic herders, while the Tiv are mostly farmers. During the dialogue in Jalingo, the state capital, both parties agreed never to raise arms against one another. 

The government also instructed displaced residents across the affected areas to return home. Weeks later, some residents began to exit the displacement camps in Chanchanji and Amadu for their hometowns after months of facing terror attacks, mass displacement, and food shortages. Three committees were set up by the government to manage the displaced persons’ return, inter-boundary and migration control, and boundary assessment and settlement. 

A multitude of motives

Southern Taraba has witnessed recurring violence involving farming and pastoralist communities for more than two decades. The area comprises five Local Government Areas (LGAs): Donga, Ibi, Takum, Ussa, and Wukari. Researchers say the conflict is driven by a complex mix of competition over land and water, population growth, the proliferation of small arms, weak law enforcement, and criminality. While these clashes are often described as “farmer-herder conflicts”, several studies caution that they increasingly involve organised armed groups whose activities go beyond disputes over grazing routes. Indigenous Tiv communities in Taraba and neighbouring Benue State also say the attacks are a strategic move to take over their lands and resources. 

A security expert, who has also worked as a police officer in the area, told HumAngle that the crisis goes beyond ethnicity. “This is terrorism, because the attackers come into town, destroy property, and run back. They do not have a settlement around that area, and whenever they come to Chanchanji, it does not only affect one tribe — it affects other tribes living in Chanchanji too,” the source, who pleaded anonymity, noted. 

He argued that terrorists are exploiting the unresolved ethnic clash between both parties to infiltrate the area, particularly in ungoverned spaces, adding that if it were purely an ethnic conflict, only the Tiv and Fulani would be affected; since every tribe in the area suffers during the attacks, he believes it is more accurate to describe the situation as terrorism.

Other claims about the motive of the attacks have been circulating; one of them originated from the deceased leader of a criminal gang that operated along the border between Benue and Taraba. Before his death in the hands of the Nigerian Military in September 2020, Terwase Akwaza, known popularly as Gana, a notorious criminal gang leader in Benue, claimed during an interview that armed groups posing as herders had approached him and asked him to carry out attacks in “about three states they want to [capture], being Plateau, Taraba, and Benue.” Joy, like many other residents, believes that the attacks were carried out by these armed groups.

After Gana’s death, his allies fractured into rival factions, with the most prominent ones being led by Fullfire and Chen. Despite attempts by community leaders urging these groups to cease fire, they have continued to operate violently in the region.

On the allegations from both parties about the hiring of militias, the security expert acknowledged that “in an environment where there is crisis, there are people who try to bring up some things to justify their actions”, adding that parties might exaggerate casualties or incidents.

A blow on both sides?

Benjamin Kwazza, who also survived the June 16 attack, told HumAngle that the attackers were tactical, targeting their heads and necks with the intention of causing instant death. “They pursued us, and along the line when they got us, they started to cut my neck,” he said, adding that he sustained a deep neck wound. 

When Joy, Benjamin, and the others returned to the village, residents organised a search party, but the attackers had already fled. 

The following day, June 17, two other farmers were attacked on their farmland in the same community. While the other farmer managed to escape untouched, Terkura Mathew was brutalised and left in his pool of blood. Locals found him and brought him back to the village. His condition remains critical. 

HumAngle reviewed videos and photographs of the June attacks, which showed visible wounds sustained by survivors, including deep cuts and injuries consistent with machete assaults. 

Bello Mbela, the Taraba State chairperson of Tabital Pulaaku International, an organisation that serves as a unified voice for Fulani communities across the continent, explained that the southern Taraba crisis is a blow to both sides. Tabital Pulaaku represented the Fulani community during the signing of the peace deal in Jalingo. 

According to him, Fulani people who live around Southern Taraba communities like Kofai Amadu, Tor Damisa, Kurmi and other areas are always caught up in the violence, which has led to loss of lives, cattle, and properties, with many who are currently displaced.  

Bello said the most recent incident occurred in February. “In Kofai Amadu under Takum Local Government Area (LGA), several women and children. The children were grazing when they were attacked, and their necks were snapped,” he stated. 

The Tabital Pulaaku leader also stressed that the herder communities in the region were set ablaze by aggrieved locals multiple times. “Also, around Kurmi LGA, there were rape cases. When a young woman sets out, she’s captured, threatened with a knife and raped.  Especially those who go to hawk Fura da Nono,” Bello claimed. 

Although he did not provide visual evidence of the alleged violence, he said attacks against herders and their families often go unreported and undocumented. “We do not record their deaths. We bury them instantly and keep moving. Most of the deaths are common among the elderly, disabled, pregnant women, and children,” he told HumAngle. 

Bello added that the affected herder communities are afraid of seeking shelter in temporary displacement camps in the towns due to fear of being profiled. Hence, they retreat farther into the bush for safety when their homes are razed. “Some of them come to Jalingo where they are sheltered by the Muslim council,” he said. 

Similarly, farming communities report a similar pattern of targeted abuse. Uzaki Peter, a local leader in Bachula, a community in southern Taraba that was displaced by attacks, told HumAngle that farmers have been experiencing a series of fresh attacks since they resumed farming in June. According to him, locals were adamant about returning home despite the hardships in the camp, but the peace meeting in April gave many hope. 

HumAngle learnt that locals and herders lived together in the region for years until clashes started recurring in 2025. “We always meet with the herders. They were telling us there is no problem. We should invite our people to come back. So, we started feeling like there was a solution, so our people started going back,” he said. However, Bachula is currently experiencing the same pattern of attack that occurred last year, according to Uzaki. “They will come and attack you. If you have a phone, they will collect it, and if you have money, they will collect it. They were sleeping with our women who were going to the farm,” the community leader said. 

Despite the peace dialogue 

Bello, who was present during the peace dialogue, told HumAngle that both parties have been trying to abide by their agreement that no party must attack the order. However, new cases are coming up. “In May, two women went to the Chanchanji area and did not return. They were killed.”

He explained that the incident sparked outrage and nearly led to fresh clashes. Since there was a peace dialogue, the issue was reported to the police station, and an investigation began. To date, none of the perpetrators has been caught. 

“If someone goes to the bush to graze alone, he does not return,” Bello gave another instance, stating that they are probably killed because such incidents took place in the past. 

When HumAngle reached out to James Lashen, the Taraba State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, regarding the recent attacks in the region, he said that Kwanta/Dooshima and other areas in Chanchanji that are constantly under attack fall under “ungoverned spaces”.

“Taraba is the third largest in landmass in this country after Borno and Niger,” he stated, explaining that the landmass affects security response and patrol. “But for now, Chanchanji, Amadu and other areas, there is peace. There is a sustained patrol. We would like to embark on a convoy patrol due to the length of the road. You know, from Takum to Wukari, it is a long distance. And that is where they normally perpetrate. But for now, we have already taken charge of that area. For now, no incidents are taking place there,” he asserted. 

When asked about the recent incidents in the area, despite his assurance of peace, Lashen said it is quite common during the farming season and that it is the responsibility of the Divisional Police Officers to report to the command. However, he noted that he had yet to receive a report of the incident in Kwanta/Doorshima or Bachula at the time of our communication. 

The PPRO stressed that the Taraba State Police Command has ensured displaced communities returned home. “Everybody has been back. Policemen are stationed there. We have posted tactical teams there in that area. Everybody has gone back to his house,” the officer said. 

However, some residents disagree. Uko Moses, a farmer and resident of Peva, another affected area in the region, told HumAngle that the Peva community remains deserted to date, and locals are still in displacement camps in Amadu and Chanchanji town due to recurring attacks and unresolved tension. He also noted that areas such as New Gboko, Demavaa, and other southern Taraba communities remained abandoned. 

“Those who try to access their farmlands are being hurt on a daily basis,” Moses said. 

According to him, food, clothing, and healthcare are the basic challenges faced by displaced people still in camps due to fear of returning home. Also, children have been out of school for over nine months. “We depend on the government, humanitarian organisations, and philanthropists. The insecurity has made us become beggars,” he stated. 

To cushion the suffering of displaced persons in the displacement camps, HumAngle learned that Kefas Agbu, the Taraba State Governor, donated bags of rice and other relief items across the camps in March. Also, Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia visited the displaced and assured those living along the Benue border that they would soon be able to return home.  

“His words were full of hope. According to him, it will not take long for the people to return to their communities and continue with their daily business.” Moses spoke of the Benue State Governor’s promise.

However, locals remained in the displacement camps, and despite the hardship, Moses said they prefer to stay in the camps rather than come home where their safety is not guaranteed. 

“The security architecture there is very poor. In some of the villages, there are no checkpoints close by or police stations built there,” he said. 

Uzaki, the Bachula caretaker, echoes Moses’s security concerns in the area. “Yesterday [June 16], I reported a case of three people. They were admitted to the hospital, and the day before yesterday [June 15], I reported a case involving two people. They are also here. And today [June 17] two have been brought out that have been matcheted,” he said. 

Lashen, the police spokesperson, said officers in the region cannot be everywhere. “So that is why we always engage with the stakeholders within the community to talk to their people. Because the police cannot be everywhere. Because of this landmass,” he said. 

Herder communities are also grappling with another crisis. According to the Tabital Pulaaku leader, herders are often segregated in local healthcare facilities when it comes to receiving treatment for injuries sustained during clashes. “Some of them are even arrested on the spot. This has made some of them stop accessing healthcare centres and rely on home treatment, which leaves them dead,” he said. 

What now?

During a summit in 2025, the Federal government described Taraba state as “a cornerstone of Nigeria’s agricultural and industrial future”, owing to its agricultural potential. The state was also hailed as a major producer of export-grade tea, coffee, and livestock for the meat industry.

A recent study by socio-political science researchers in the country’s northeastern region found that the majority of the population in IDPs camps and those killed, injured and displaced due to the conflict are farmers. While the rate of the clashes is said to be high, the impact on food insecurity in the region is also high due to the magnitude of the attacks on farming communities. 

Felix Ashe, a farmer from Chanchanji, told HumAngle that the most recent attacks in the area occurred on farmland, prompting locals to abandon their farms. He says hunger now shapes the lives of many who usually depend on farming for survival. 

“We planted yams, groundnuts, benniseed and so on. The yam that was planted last year was not able to be harvested, and those who tried to harvest them are being attacked,” he said. 

In the Peva and Amadu communities, which are known as agrarian areas, Moses said locals are facing food scarcity. “Seriously, we are living at the mercy of God, because predominantly, we are farmers and we started receiving these unprovoked attacks since last September, and till today, we are still receiving attacks. We don’t have access to farms, and farm produce has been destroyed. We are facing the challenge of hunger,” Moses said. 

If the attacks persist, local farmers in the region say they fear for their future. 

“The most important thing we need now is peace. That is the restoration of peace in the area. If we’re able to get peace, everything will come back gradually,” Moses said. 

While peace efforts are being made, the Tabithal Pulaaku leader said most of the herders around the affected Southern Taraba communities are still displaced, while some remain missing. Through stakeholder engagements and awareness-raising campaigns, Bello said leaders of the Fulani community are sensitising locals to shun violence and embrace peace to resolve the crisis. 

To permanently break the cycle, the security expert calls on the government to move beyond temporary peace declarations and to continue engaging local leaders and stakeholders from both ethnic groups, formally entrusting them with responsibility for maintaining peace among their people. He strongly advocates for the establishment of modern ranches and clearly designated grazing routes for herding communities. 

“They don’t have a route to follow with their cattle, so they follow people’s farmlands, and that causes a lot of issues. There should be a dedicated path for them,” he said. “The herders should maintain their particular axis and also, people should be notified not to go there and farm.”

He also emphasised the need for a visible security presence in those areas and for constant patrols. “The security agencies should be well equipped and motivated to be very active at work,” the expert added.

In the city of Nabatieh, ambulance teams, civil defense units, scouts, municipal workers, and residents joined forces in a large cleanup campaign to remove rubble and reopen streets following extensive destruction caused by the Israeli war on Lebanon.

WASHINGTON — Asylum seekers may be turned away without a hearing at the southern border, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a historic retreat from the promise of relief for those who say they are fleeing persecution.

The justices split over whether this was a simple dispute over legal wording or a moral question involving desperate families.

Siding with the Trump administration, the court’s conservatives said the Refugee Act of 1980 offers a right to seek asylum to migrants who “arrive in the United States” but not those who are turned back when they approach a border crossing or a port of entry.

“This case presents a straightforward question” that turns on the word “in,” said Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. “In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person ‘arrives in’ a place — for example, a house, a city, or a country — before the person enters that place.”

The liberal dissenters agreed with immigration rights lawyers who saw this as a nonsensical reading of the law.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the asylum law arose from the “international moral reckoning that followed the Holocaust and World War II.”

She cited the infamous voyage of the MS St. Louis in 1939. More than 900 Jewish refugees attempted to flee persecution in Nazi Germany by setting sail aboard the ship, which was turned away from Cuba and the United States.

Most of the passengers were returned to Europe, and several hundred died in the Holocaust, she said.

“Congress passed the Refugee Act in 1980 because it did not want this country to repeat the mistakes of its past. Yet if the refugees on the M.S. St. Louis were to walk up to a port of entry on our southern border today, the majority’s interpretation would allow immigration officers to refuse even to consider their asylum applications by physically blocking them from stepping foot onto U. S. soil,” Sotomayor wrote.

Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson agreed.

The decision upholds a turn-back policy that began in 2016 as an emergency response to a surge of Haitian immigrants at the San Ysidro border crossing.

The Department of Homeland Security said these asylum seekers must wait on the Mexican side of the border until they could return for a scheduled interview. The policy was extended to other border crossings, but it was challenged as illegal in federal court in San Diego.

Last year, a divided 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that those restrictions were illegal if they prevented migrants from applying for asylum.

“To ‘arrive’ means ‘to reach a destination,’” wrote Judge Michelle Friedland. “A person who presents herself to an official at the border has ‘arrived.’”

She said the “government’s reading would reflect a radical reconstruction of the right to apply for asylum because it would give the executive branch vast discretion to prevent people from applying by blocking them at the border.”

The 2-1 decision upheld a federal judge in San Diego who ruled for migrants who had filed a class-action suit and said they were wrongly denied an asylum hearing.

But Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to review and reverse the appellate ruling, noting 15 judges of the 9th Circuit joined dissents that called the decision “radical” and “clearly wrong.”

The administration argued federal immigration law “does not grant aliens throughout the world a right to enter the United States so that they can seek asylum.”

From abroad, they may “seek admission as refugees,” Sauer said, but the government may enforce its laws by “blocking illegal immigrants from stepping on U.S. soil.”

Defenders of the asylum system denounced the decision.

“We believe that today’s ruling violates international law, as well as the express intent of Congress,” said Erika Pinheiro, executive director of the migrant support organization Al Otro Lado, which led the legal fight. “For decades, the United States has allowed individuals and families who are fleeing persecution, torture and death to ask for protection at U.S. borders.”

“Cruelty is not a substitute for real solutions. Blocking people from seeking asylum at official ports of entry will do nothing to fix our broken immigration system, said Rebecca Cassler, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council. “It only makes things more chaotic and dangerous for vulnerable families.”

The Federation for American Immigration Reform applauded the decision.

“Our immigration laws are written to be pro-enforcement, not-anti-enforcement,” said Christopher J. Hajec, deputy general counsel of FAIR. “Because of this, courts that hamstring enforcement are often forced to violate basic logic, as the 9th Circuit did here. We are pleased the Supreme Court saw that the lower court’s reading would make immigration law incoherent, and reversed.”

Witnesses say Lebanese citizens have been killed and Israeli soldiers wounded amid a new Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon. Social media video shows rockets and helicopters in the skies above Kfar Tebnit and Ali al-Taher.

Drone attacks target vehicles in Nabatieh amid fragile ceasefire negotiations between Iran and the US.

Multiple Israeli strikes have killed at least four people in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh governorate, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), despite a ceasefire and a recent understanding between the United States and Iran to end the war on all fronts.

Tuesday’s killing took place as separate drone attacks targeted two vehicles in Mayfadoun. A third vehicle was also targeted in the village of Shoukin, the agency said.

Throughout the often fragile negotiations between Iran and the US, Iranian officials repeatedly said that any ceasefire arrangement would need to include an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

While the final text of the memorandum of understanding has not yet been made public, the prime minister of Pakistan, which is acting as one of the mediators in the conflict, said on Monday that the agreement envisaged an immediate halt to military operations “on all fronts, including Lebanon”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the deal, adding that “without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end”.

In a phone conversation with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, called for the US to compel Israel to end its war on Lebanon, stop home demolitions, and withdraw from occupied Lebanese territory.

Soon after the announcement of the deal between the US and Iran, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will continue to occupy southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanese group Hezbollah says it has received ⁠assurances ⁠from Iran that Tehran will demand ⁠a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon ⁠in its next phase of talks with the US, the Reuters news agency reported.

Since the resumption in fighting on March 2, at least 3,826 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon and 11,851 wounded, according to the country’s health ministry.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett reports from the site of an Israeli attack on a residential building in southern Beirut, which Israel calls a Hezbollah command centre. The strike came hours before President Trump said a US-Iran deal was meant to be signed.