Eye on Extremism: June 20, 2025

CEP Mentions

Deutsche Welle: TV-discussion with Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler on Israel-Iran conflict

After its blistering attacks on Iran, how much support would Israel need from the United States to completely destroy the regime’s nuclear program? Our guests: Ryma Sheermohammadi (Iran expert); Kristin Helberg (Middle East expert); Hans-Jakob Schindler (terrorism expert); Shani Rozanes (DW).

Welt TV: Interview with Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler on Israel-Iran conflict (in German)

The escalation between Israel and the Iranian mullah regime raises the question of changing the system. There is little cross-party sympathy for the mullah regime in Germany. However, experts such as Hans-Jakob Schindler also warn of "chaos" and negative consequences.

LBC Opinion: Fears over western 'double standards' are no reason to let Iran build nuclear weapons

CEP Senior Advisor Edmund Fitton-Brown writes: The West is often accused of "double standards", whether in the field of human rights or foreign interventions, environmental targets or nuclear proliferation. I have had to answer this charge with monotonous regularity throughout my diplomatic career in the Arab World and my five-year stint with the United Nations. The accusation that concerns me here is that we have no moral right to prevent countries like Iran from seeking a nuclear capability when Israel has had nuclear weapons for at least half a century and is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Why are we not trying harder to challenge that? Surely we should insist on the whole Middle East becoming a nuclear weapons-free zone? And, in any case, how can we be so sure that Iran doesn't simply want nuclear energy for peaceful, civilian purposes, as it says it does?

Frankfurter Rundschau: Israel's nuclear weapons secret: "ultima ratio" in the war against Iran

The Mullah regime in Tehran has so far denied that it is working on its own nuclear arsenal. However, the amount of enriched uranium casts doubt on Tehran's claim. "As the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency, editor's note) has confirmed, Iran has increased its enrichment to 60 percent, and there has also been an increase in missile tests," security expert Hans Jakob Schindler told Deutsche Welle (DW). This situation suggests that Iran may be heading towards the construction of a nuclear bomb.

Analysis

New York Times: Trump Buys Himself Time, and Opens Up Some New Options

President Trump’s sudden announcement that he could take up to two weeks to decide whether to plunge the United States into the heart of the Israel-Iran conflict is being advertised by the White House as giving diplomacy one more chance to work. But it also opens a host of new military and covert options. Assuming he makes full use of it, Mr. Trump will now have time to determine whether six days of relentless bombing and killing by Israeli forces — which has taken out one of Iran’s two biggest uranium enrichment centers, much of its missile fleet and its most senior officers and nuclear scientists — has changed minds in Tehran.

Tablet: Can Israel End Iran’s Nuclear Program?

Almost no one on earth is more qualified to talk about Israel’s progress against the Iranian bomb than the physicist and former IAEA inspector David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). The institute has already published a detailed summary of the likely impact of Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. I spoke to Albright on Monday afternoon to get an update on where things stand. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Washington Institute: Key Outside Actors in the Iran-Israel Showdown

Whether the fighting between Iran and Israel escalates, plateaus, or goes in unforeseen directions, allies and adversaries alike will be looking to secure their own interests in the fight or, at the very least, avoid getting drawn into the fray. How do actors inside and outside the Middle East view the showdown, and how might their decisions help or hinder U.S. policy objectives? Seven Washington Institute experts offer forecasts on the most impactful players.

GNET: Nascent Adoption: Emerging Tech Trends by Terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan

In the Afghanistan-Pakistan region’s evolving threat landscape, terrorist groups have been slow in adopting technologies such as drones and generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their operations. This is due to several factors, namely the availability of more lethal weapons such as small and light arms; the lack of technical expertise; and utilitarian considerations – the efficacy of more technologically advanced weapons versus the costs involved in developing and using them. However, this dynamic underwent a shift in 2024 as two key trends point towards the nascent adoption of drones and AI in the region.

United States

NBC News: Supreme Court allows terrorism victims to sue Palestinian entities

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that victims of terrorism can sue Palestinian entities in U.S. courts, upholding a law passed by Congress that allows such claims to be brought. The court held unanimously that the 2019 law, called the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, does not violate the due process rights of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.

Politico: Cities sue DHS over frozen anti-terrorism funds

Five major U.S. cities are suing the Trump administration over funding to prevent nuclear attacks and terrorism that they argue has been illegally withheld by the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit filed by Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and Boston alleges that the administration has not reimbursed cities for relevant security expenses since February and has failed to award funding for 2025. The Securing the Cities program was created to help cities prepare for the possibility of nuclear or terrorist attacks. It began first as a pilot program in the New York City region in 2006 and expanded over time to 13 cities. In 2018, the program was formally authorized by Congress.

Times of Israel: Freed hostage Edan Alexander given jubilant welcome as he returns home to New Jersey

Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli who was released from Hamas captivity last month, on Thursday returned home to jubilant crowds in New Jersey. Hundreds lined the streets of Alexander’s hometown, Tenafly. The crowd cheered, waved Israeli flags, held signs that said “Welcome home,” and chanted “Edan,” according to a video shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a hostage advocacy group.

Reuters: How Trump, a self-proclaimed "peacemaker," embraced Israel's campaign against Iran

Roughly one month ago, from the stage at an investment forum in Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran that would prove prophetic. "We'll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack," Trump told the crowd, sending a message to the leadership in Tehran.

NBC News: NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani responds to accusations of antisemitism

While at an event in Manhattan, New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani responded to accusations of antisemitism after he appeared to defend the slogan “globalize the intifada” during an interview. Mamdani also became emotional when he described the vitriol he has faced as a Muslim mayoral candidate.

Reuters: Muslim NYC mayoral candidate, Jewish Ohio lawmaker report threats

The New York City Police Department said on Thursday its hate crime unit was probing anti-Muslim threats against mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and in another incident U.S. Representative Max Miller of Ohio said he was "run off the road" by a driver with a Palestinian flag. These marked the latest U.S. incidents to raise concerns about a rise in hate against Americans of Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian heritage since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in late 2023.

Jewish Insider: Hegseth defends Kingsley Wilson amid questioning about antisemitic record

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth offered a strident defense of Kingsley Wilson, the recently promoted Pentagon press secretary with a history of espousing antisemitic conspiracy theories, under questioning at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday. Wilson, prior to her appointment, attacked the Anti-Defamation League for memorializing the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was wrongly convicted for raping and murdering a child, and called the ADL “despicable.” Wilson insisted that Frank was guilty — a niche and discredited theory largely associated with neo-Nazis.

Jerusalem Post: 'F*** the Jews': San Francisco man charged with antisemitic hate crime

A man has been charged with a hate crime in connection with an antisemitic group assault last week, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced.

WSMV 4: Man suing neo-Nazi group accused of attacking him in downtown Nashville

A man is suing a neo-Nazi group that he says attacked him in downtown Nashville last year. Deago Buck filed a lawsuit against members of the Goyim Defense League. This group visited Nashville last July. In the lawsuit, Buck claims the group violently targeted Jewish and people of color in Nashville.

Olympian: Neo-Nazis accused of robbing JBLM, possessing military-grade weapons arraigned

Two men accused of robbing Joint Base Lewis-McChord, hoarding weapons at a Lacey home and being white nationalist extremists have pleaded not guilty to several crimes. Charles Ethan Fields, 26, and Levi Austin Frakes, 27, made their pleas during their arraignment hearings in Thurston County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Ozark County Times: Swastikas and other neo-Nazi symbols spray-painted onto city park slides

City employees said it took a couple of hours to remove spray-painted swastikas and other neo-Nazi symbols left on the metal slides at the city’s Hoerman Memorial Park in Gainesville last month. The graffiti was painted on the slides sometime in mid-May and was discussed at this month’s city council meeting.

Germany

B.Z.: Terror raid on Brandenburg "Reich citizens"

According to public prosecutor Michael Petzold, the men, aged 64, 59 and 46, are accused of supporting a terrorist organization in conjunction with aiding and abetting the preparation of a treasonable enterprise and failing to report planned crimes. During the search of the apartments in Stahnsdorf (Potsdam-Mittelmark), Spremberg (Spree-Neiße) and Königs Wusterhausen (Dahme-Spree), various electronic storage media as well as air guns and a PTB weapon were seized. The 64-year-old suspect is said to have had detailed knowledge of the violent coup plans of the nationwide terrorist group "Kaiserreichsgruppe" since March 19, 2022 at the latest. On April 12, 2022, he is said to have agreed in an internal chat within the group to scout out Deutsche Bahn signal boxes as possible targets for an attack on the nationwide rail infrastructure.

Deutsche Welle: What's fueling right-wing extremism in young German men?

Germany has seen a jump in politically-motivated crimes. But what is feeding right-wing radicalization in young men? One of them shared his story with DW.

Romania

Balkan Insight: Romania Moves to Confront ‘Threat’ of Far-Right Tendencies

In a landmark decision last month, a Romanian court handed down a one-year suspended prison sentence to a man who sold far-right T-shirts online, marking the first such ruling in over two decades. The individual had been selling apparel emblazoned with symbols and slogans linked to fascist and ultra-nationalist movements. In addition to the suspended sentence, the court in Cluj-Napoca (central Romania) suspended his right to vote and to run for public office. The ruling represents a significant shift in the way Romania combats extremist propaganda. Although the country has had legislation since 2012 banning the glorification or promotion of fascist, racist, or xenophobic ideologies, such laws have rarely been enforced.

United Kingdom

Reuters: Pro-Palestinian activists damage planes at UK military base

Pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in central England on Friday, damaging and spraying red paint over two planes used for refuelling and transport. Palestine Action said two members had entered the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire, putting paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars.

Reuters: UK police arrest six on suspicion of assault near Iran's London embassy

British police arrested six men on suspicion of grievous bodily harm on Friday following reports of an altercation at a location close to the Iranian embassy in London. "Six men have been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm – they remain in police custody," police said in a statement.

BBC: Neo-Nazi paedophile admits having gunpowder manual

A neo-Nazi paedophile who was jailed 17 years ago for a nail bomb plot is due to be sentenced again after he admitted having a gunpowder manual. Martyn Gilleard, 48, of Town Street in Armley, Leeds, pleaded guilty to a single count of collection of material likely to be of use to a terrorist at the Old Bailey on Friday.

BBC: Teenager arrested on suspicion of terrorism bailed

Police have bailed a 16-year-old boy who was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. The Perranporth teenager was arrested on suspicion of dissemination of terrorist publications by counter terrorism officers, said Devon and Cornwall Police.

Afghanistan

Iran International: Taliban weighs IRGC, al-Qaeda escape as Iran refugee intake looms

The Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) held a high-level internal session on the possible escape of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and al-Qaeda members into Afghanistan, alongside a potential wave of Iranian refugees, Afghanistan International has learned. Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Islamic Republic, the session outlined several key concerns and scenarios.

Amu: Taliban say Norway plans delegation to review ‘ties with Afghanistan’

The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that Norway is planning to send a delegation to Afghanistan in the near future to evaluate the state of its relationship with the Taliban administration. The announcement came in a statement following a meeting between Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister, and Per Albert Ilsaas, Norway’s chargé d’affaires for Afghanistan. The Norwegian government has not publicly confirmed the visit.

Amu: Taliban near completion of legal code rooted in religious law

The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced Wednesday that it is nearing completion of a new legal code, with 95 percent of the drafting process finalized. The laws, described as “subsidiary legislation,” will take effect once formally ratified by the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. According to Taliban officials, the legal framework has been developed based on the Quran, the Sunnah — the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad — and the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. The drafting process has involved both religious clerics and legal scholars appointed by the Taliban.

Afghanistan International: Taliban Publicly Flog 14, Including 3 Women, In Three Afghan Provinces

The Taliban have publicly flogged 14 individuals, including three women, in Kabul, Parwan and Faryab provinces, after convicting them on charges including extramarital relations, murder, running away from home, and drug-related offences. In a series of statements issued this week, the Taliban’s Supreme Court said that the punishments were handed down by various provincial courts and included prison sentences ranging from seven months to five years, in addition to public lashings.

Iran

Reuters: Iran rules out nuclear talks under fire, sources say Qatar met energy majors

Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the United States considers whether to get involved in the conflict. A week into its campaign, Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets overnight, including missile production sites, a research body involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran.

Reuters: Israel's airstrikes aim to break foundations of Khamenei's rule in Iran

Israel's sweeping campaign of airstrikes aims to do more than destroy Iran's nuclear centrifuges and missile capabilities. It seeks to shatter the foundations of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government and leave it near collapse, Israeli, Western and regional officials said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region, the sources said.

Times of Israel: How close was Iran to the bomb, and how far has Israel pushed it back?

The Iranians have the enriched uranium, produced at their now largely destroyed main enrichment facility at Natanz. It has likely been stockpiled at the Isfahan site, also targeted by the IAF. In 2023, the IAEA reported evidence of uranium enriched further, to 83.7 percent purity, just short of weapons-grade, by the advanced centrifuges at the relatively invulnerable Fordo facility. Critically, too, they have developed the highly complex nuclear detonator — the engineering device that causes the nuclear explosion of the bomb’s uranium core. And they have long had the missile capacity to deliver such a device.

Reuters: Iran's divided opposition senses its moment but activists remain wary of protests

Iran's fragmented opposition groups think their moment may be close at hand, but activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. Exiled opponents of the Islamic Republic, themselves deeply divided, are urging street protests. In the borderlands, Kurdish and Baluchi separatist groups look poised to rise up, with Israeli strikes pummelling Iran's security apparatus.

Associated Press: Under attack from Israel, Iran’s supreme leader faces a stark choice

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who crushed internal threats repeatedly during more than three decades in power, now faces his greatest challenge yet. His archenemy, Israel, has secured free rein over Iran’s skies and is decimating the country’s military leadership and nuclear program with its punishing air campaign. It is also threatening his life: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei “cannot continue to exist.”

Iraq

Shafaq News: Iraqi Counter-Terrorism launches operation against ISIS in Kirkuk

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces launched a targeted military operation in southern Kirkuk on Friday, destroying ISIS hideouts in a rugged valley long used as a base by the group. A security source told Shafaq News Agency that elite units from the Counter-Terrorism Service, backed by air support, conducted a field operation in Wadi al-Shay, within the Daquq district, south of Kirkuk, destroying several ISIS shelters used for movement and concealment.

Israel

Reuters. Netanyahu says fall of Iran's leadership not a goal but could be a result

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the change or fall of Iran's leadership was not a goal of Israel's attacks but could be a result. "The matter of changing the regime or the fall of this regime is first and foremost a matter for the Iranian people. There is no substitute for this. "And that's why I didn't present it as a goal. It could be a result, but it's not a stated or formal goal that we have," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's Kan public television. He said Israel had the power to remove all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, whether U.S. President Donald Trump decides to join in or not.

Reuters: Israel says it hit dozens of military targets in Iran, including nuclear research site

The Israeli military said on Friday it carried out strikes on dozens of military targets in Iran overnight, including the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research that it said is involved in Iran's nuclear weapons development. An industrial plant in northern Iran was damaged in an attack, Iranian media reported on Friday, hours after Israel issued a warning for residents to move away from nearby areas.

Times of Israel: Quietly transforming Mossad, David Barnea paved the way for triumph in Iran

Two key figures spearheaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dramatic decision to launch sweeping strikes on Iran last week, targeting its nuclear facilities, ballistic missile infrastructure, military leadership, scientists and symbols of the regime: Mossad Director David Barnea and Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar. Coordination between the Mossad spy agency’s activities on the ground and the Air Force’s strikes from the sky was “down to the millimeter in terms of complexity,” according to a senior Israeli defense official familiar with the details.

Times of Israel: Iranian missile with cluster warhead scattered bombs in central Israel, IDF says

At least one ballistic missile launched by Iran at Israel in a barrage on Thursday morning was carrying a cluster bomb warhead, the Israel Defense Forces said, marking a dangerous new development after nearly a week of attacks. The IDF Home Front Command said the missile’s warhead split while descending, at an altitude of around 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), spreading around 20 smaller munitions at a radius of around 8 kilometers (5 miles).

Times of Israel: For second day in row, Iran missile hits Beersheba, damaging buildings, wounding 7

An Iranian ballistic missile struck Beersheba in southern Israel on Friday morning, lightly wounding seven people and causing substantial damage to homes, as Israel and Iran continued their exchange of fire. The southern city’s Soroka Hospital, which was hit by an Iranian strike a day earlier, said it had received seven casualties, all lightly injured.

Reuters: Grenade thrown at Norway's ambassador residence in Tel Aviv, says Israeli foreign minister

A grenade was thrown at the residence of the Norwegian ambassador to Israel on Thursday evening in Tel Aviv, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said, causing no injury. "I spoke a short time ago with the Norwegian ambassador to Israel, Per Egil Selvaag, in whose yard a grenade was thrown this evening," Saar said on X.

Associated Press: Iranian missile strikes Israel’s ‘crown jewel of science’

While no one was killed in the strike on the Weizmann Institute of Science early Sunday, it caused heavy damage to multiple labs on campus, snuffing out years of scientific research and sending a chilling message to Israeli scientists that they and their expertise are now targets in the escalating conflict with Iran.

Lebanon

Reuters: Israeli defence minister warns Hezbollah against joining conflict with Iran

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon's Hezbollah to exercise caution on Friday, saying Israel's patience with "terrorists" who threaten it had worn thin. The head of Iran-backed Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, said on Thursday that the Lebanese group would act as it saw fit in the face of what he called "brutal Israeli-American aggression" against Iran.

Naharnet: Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in support of Iran

Hundreds of supporters of Hezbollah gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs after Friday afternoon prayers to demonstrate in support of Tehran in the ongoing Israel-Iran war. Demonstrators carried the Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian flags as well as that of Hezbollah, and chanted "death to America" and "death to Israel." Some also chanted pledges of allegiance to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is revered as religious authority by many Shiite Muslims.

Naharnet: Geagea tells Hezbollah's Qassem only state 'can act as it sees fit'

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Friday that only the Lebanese state "can act as it sees fit" after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said that the militant group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel. "Sheikh Naim, you cannot act as you see fit. Only the Lebanese government can do that because it represents the majority of the Lebanese people," Geagea said, adding that it is "absolutely unacceptable" for anyone to allow themselves to act as they like.

Naharnet: Qassem says Hezbollah 'not neutral,' will act as it sees fit

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Thursday that his Iran-backed group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel. In a written statement, Qassem said Hezbollah was "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression."

Syria

Jerusalem Post: What’s behind Syria’s silence on the Israel-Iran War?

The conflict, which began with a series of strikes and counterstrikes, has rapidly escalated into a full-scale confrontation marked by long-range missile exchanges. With missiles from both countries regularly traversing Syrian airspace near Damascus, Syria’s silence has prompted speculation over its political and military calculus. President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government has not issued any formal statement. Syrian state media have remained vague, offering only brief remarks about “the importance of Syrian sovereignty” without clarifying the government’s stance on the conflict.

Yemen

Yemen Online: Failed Houthi Missile Launch Triggers Massive Explosion in Eastern Taiz

A powerful explosion rocked the Al-Houbane area east of Taiz city on Wednesday, following a failed attempt by Houthi forces to launch a ballistic missile, according to local sources and media reports. Eyewitnesses reported a loud blast that shook residential neighborhoods, sparking panic among civilians. The explosion occurred shortly after the Houthis attempted to fire a missile from a launch site within a populated district. However, the missile malfunctioned and detonated on-site, causing widespread alarm.

Long War Journal: The Houthis join Iran’s attacks on Israel

The Houthis are the only Iranian proxy to openly attack Israel in solidarity with Iran during the latter two countries’ most recent conflict. The Yemeni terrorist group has fired ballistic missiles at Israel on two confirmed occasions since Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s campaign to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, began on June 13.

JNS: Houthi ‘military’ chief seriously wounded by IAF

Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari, the “chief of staff” of the Houthi terrorist group’s “military” forces in Yemen, was seriously wounded during an Israeli Air Force attack on June 14, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported on Thursday, citing security sources.

Mali

Deutsche Welle: Mali's junta tightens grip after five years of military rule

One of the main justifications for the coup was to improve the nation’s security amid a growing number of jihadist attacks. However, this plan has not worked, said Ahmed Ould Abdallah, president of the Sahel Sahara Center for Security Strategies. "Not only has terrorism not disappeared, it is actually increasing and becoming more intense. It no longer affects only the north and center of the country, but also the south toward Sikasso, and the Kayes region in the west," he told DW. In early June 2025, several Malian army positions were attacked by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known as JNIM. At least 30 people were killed in the attack on a camp. In September 2024, JNIM succeeded in attacking Bamako and occupied the airport for several hours. In July 2024, heavy fighting took place in the town of Tinzaouatene near the Algerian border.

Niger

France 24: Armed attack in Niger kills 34 soldiers near Mali border

Several hundred armed men killed 34 Nigerien soldiers in an attack Thursday in western Niger, close to the border with Mali, the defence ministry said. "This Thursday, June 19, a cowardly and barbaric attack was carried out against (the town of) Banibangou by a horde of several hundred mercenaries aboard eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes," the ministry said in a statement read out on state television, adding that 34 soldiers were killed and 14 wounded.

Nigeria

BBC: What is behind the wave of killings in central Nigeria?

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has ordered security agencies to bring an end to the wave of killings in central Benue state which he visited on Wednesday. It is believed that more than 200 people died in a series of attacks across various communities last week. The president met some of the victims and also announced the formation of a committee, comprising four former Benue governors and the two highest-ranking traditional chiefs in the state, tasked with restoring lasting peace.