Tag Archives: troops

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  Albert Kunyuku Ngoma was a young Congolese corporal in the colonial Belgian army when he was forced to battle in WWII as far away as Myanmar. Now 97, Ngoma is one of only two surviving former members of the colonial “Public Force” military living in …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Algeria’s newly-elected President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received Turkey’s foreign minister Tuesday, the official APS news agency reported, days after Ankara confirmed it was deploying troops to Libya. The meeting between Tebboune and Mevlut Cavusoglu focused on Libya’s “escalating violence resulting from foreign interventions, which complicate the search …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  President Emmanuel Macron called for greater “political clarity” from Sahel countries hosting French troops fighting Islamist militants on Saturday, as he visited the troubled African region amid criticism of the former colonial power’s role. Macron arrived in Ivory Coast on Friday to celebrate Christmas with …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP |  It posted tens of thousands of troops in Iraq, huddled with its leaders and helped craft its laws — but with the country swamped by deadly protests, Washington is staying out of the fray. Its apparent absence during a key turning point in Iraq lays bare …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | If military operations depend on winning hearts and minds, the thousands of foreign troops deployed to the Sahel to combat jihadism seem to be on losing ground. At first welcomed, these troops find themselves today in the crosshairs as a growing number of locals in …

Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria | AFP |  A Nigerian navy speedboat loaded with special forces troops skims across the waves towards a suspect vessel in the Gulf of Guinea. Guns ready, black-clad officers clamber up a rope ladder and fan out across the decks, looking for pirates believed to have taken …

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | AFP | Troops and police were out in force in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo on Monday blocking a planned opposition march, three days after brutally dispersing a banned protest in the capital Harare. Soldiers and armed police on horseback and in trucks patrolled the city’s  central business …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Five hundred twenty-nine Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) soldiers attached to United Nations Guard Unit (UNGU) in Somalia returned to the country on Saturday after two years of service. The combatants returned alongside 1406 soldiers of the 25 battle group who had also completed one …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | A surprise UAE troop drawdown in war-torn Yemen aims to restore the Gulf country’s reputation, but may strain ties with key ally Saudi Arabia at a time of heightened tensions with Iran, experts say. “The political, reputational and operational risks Abu Dhabi incurred in …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The United States announced Friday it was deploying 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East in response to what the Pentagon called an “campaign” of recent attacks approved by Iran’s top leadership. The escalation of the US military presence follows a decision in early …