Eye on Extremism: May 30, 2025

Analysis

CounterPoint Brief: Death of Hamas Leader Muhammad Sinwar

On May 28, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the death of the military leader of Hamas in Gaza Muhammad Sinwar, killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a command center beneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza. Despite no official recognition from the Hamas Temporary Committee, the five-man leadership council established in July 2024, Sinwar assumed leadership of Hamas in Gaza succeeding his older brother, Yahya Sinwar, himself killed in October 2024. He played a key role in the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, which eventually led to the release of more than 1,000 Israeli-held prisoners, including Sinwar’s elder brother, in exchange for the Israeli soldier. Muhammad Sinwar is the fourth major Hamas leader to be eliminated by Israel since the October 7 attack—of which he is believed to have known about in advance—along with Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

ICCT: Violent Extremist Disinformation: Insights from Nigeria and Beyond

The intentional spread of false or misleading information to inflict harm, commonly referred to as disinformation, raises unprecedented challenges in today’s digital age. This phenomenon becomes even more concerning when strategically leveraged by violent extremist actors to disseminate hateful narratives, incite violence, and recruit followers. While both disinformation and violent extremism are widely recognised as critical global threats, their intersections have however received limited scholarly and political attention. Drawing on findings from a multiyear EU-funded project, this policy brief seeks to address this gap and raise awareness on the complex dynamics and potential harms associated with disinformation propagated by extremist actors

Jerusalem Post: Why Israel is even more fearful of Trump nuke deal than Obama’s

If there is a nuclear deal, the latest leaks are starting to fill in the blanks. US President Donald Trump will get to say – correctly – that he got more from Iran in his nuclear deal than former US presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. This would be true in at least two potential areas: having American nuclear inspectors in Iranian nuclear facilities and not just IAEA inspectors who are not American, as well as a complete pause in enriching uranium, even at low levels, for a symbolic time period of possibly around a year. And yet The Jerusalem Post understands that top Israeli officials are far more fearful of the potential Trump nuclear deal with Iran than they were even of the 2015 JCPOA deal, which most of them did view as highly flawed.

The Telegraph: Ignore the Left-wing naysayers, Israel is winning this necessary war

The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, says “Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas”. Perhaps she should head to Jerusalem and give precise instructions to the IDF on what they should be doing to eliminate the Hamas terrorist regime – assuming that’s what she actually wants. She can tell them how you kill terrorists entwined into the population, hiding in tunnels beneath schools, hospitals and houses, protected by the most comprehensively booby-trapped terrain in the history of warfare, all while minimising harm to civilians.

United States

Independent: Experts warn of more attacks and terrorism as Trump hacks law enforcement budgets to fund his deportation plans

Federal cuts to local and state terrorism combating efforts have raised concerns among advocates and researchers about the possibility of more attacks at a time when threats of violence are on the rise. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has directed his administration to reallocate some law enforcement resources to assist in carrying out his mass deportation agenda. That includes shutting down a national database that kept track of attempted and successful terrorism and targeted violence events and cutting FBI staff tasked with focusing on domestic terrorism.

ABC News: Africa terror group ramping up ability to strike inside the US, general says

The Sahel region in Africa is now the “epicenter of terrorism on the globe,” a four-star Marine Corps general warned Thursday, with terror factions there having increased their presence dramatically in the past three years and ramping up their ability to launch attacks inside the U.S. The dire warning by Gen. Michael Langley, head of U.S. Africa Command, comes as the Trump administration cancels aid programs across the continent and considers consolidating military leadership in Africa with one already overseeing troops in Europe.

NPR: Shooting outside Jewish museum raises questions about shifts in political violence

Jeanine Pirro, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has said federal authorities are investigating the killings as a hate crime and a crime of terrorism. President Trump has said they were rooted in antisemitism. If, indeed, the suspect planned to kill people because of their Jewish faith, this would represent a major anomaly in lethal, antisemitic violence. "[It] has typically been the violent far right that has conducted attacks against synagogues, mosques, Black churches," said Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "To have someone from the violent far left conduct an attack against individuals based on their Jewish faith is … relatively new in the United States."

Associated Press: Man who says far-right content led him to threaten election officials is sentenced to 3 years

A man who blamed exposure to far-right extremist content for his online threats to kill Democratic election officials in Colorado and Arizona was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday. U.S. District Judge S. Kato Crews said the penalty for such “keyboard terrorism” needed to be serious enough to deter others, particularly because threats against public officials are on the rise. People need to work out differences through the democratic process, not violence, Crews said.

Independent: Mahmoud Khalil claims he was detained by Trump admin after right-wing group tipped off ICE and Ted Cruz

There is evidence to “strongly suggest” that federal officials acted on tips and lobbying from right-wing and pro-Israel advocacy groups to detain Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil in March, according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed Thursday. “For years, these anti-Palestinian doxxing groups have served as agents of repression, weaponizing inflammatory rhetoric and conflating criticism of Israel with hate speech in order to chill activism for Palestinian rights,” Ayla Kadah, an attorney the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing Khalil as he appeals his case, said in a statement.

Wired: A Swedish MMA Tournament Spotlights the Trump Administration's Handling of Far-Right Terrorism

While the Trump administration carries out a mass deportation campaign against undocumented immigrants allegedly involved with “terrorist” organizations and targets foreign students with granular social media surveillance, at least one American member of a neo-Nazi fight club has connected with a group linked to a far-right Scandinavian organization listed by the United States Treasury Department as a terrorist group. In September 2024, at least one American affiliated with the “Active Club” movement—a transnational alliance of far-right fight clubs that closely overlap with skinhead gangs and neo-fascist political movements—appears to have traveled to Borås, Sweden, to participate in a mixed-martial-arts tournament with members of other affiliated fight clubs from across Europe. Social media posts from Tvåsaxe and GYM XIV, the Swedish skinhead organizations that hosted Holmgang 2024, claim that at least one member from the Southern California Active Club was in attendance. Photographs of the tournament were also published online by Media 2 Rise, the American ACs’ media wing.

New York Times: Trump Nominates a Former Far-Right Podcast Host to Head an Ethics Watchdog

President Trump on Thursday nominated Paul Ingrassia, a former far-right podcast host now serving as the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, to a new important role: head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent corruption-fighting agency that safeguards federal whistle-blowers and enforces some ethics laws.

Reuters: State Dept overhaul will cut thousands of jobs, push 'Western values'

The Trump administration on Thursday formally notified Congress of its plans for a major overhaul of the State Department, which will cut thousands of jobs, refocus the agency's human rights bureau on "Western values" and reorient the refugee bureau toward returning migrants to their countries of origin. The shake-up comes as part of an unprecedented push by President Donald Trump to shrink the federal bureaucracy and align what remains with his "America First" priorities.

Canada

CBC: Edmonton-area youth, 15, arrested for terrorism-related offence

An Edmonton-area youth, linked to a violent online network that targets vulnerable children, has been arrested for a terrorism-related offence, RCMP said Thursday. RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region's National Security Enforcement Team arrested the 15-year-old on May 12, police said in a news release.

Finland

YLE: Terrorism trial starts for former athlete-turned-politician

Simon Ekpa, a former local councillor from Lahti, appeared before the Päijät-Häme District Court on Friday to face terrorism-related charges in a preparatory hearing. Ekpa is accused of participating in a terrorist organisation and publicly inciting crimes for terrorist purposes. Prosecutors allege that he has been actively involved in a separatist movement seeking independence for the so-called Biafra region in southeastern Nigeria. The prosecution argues that the activity, conducted online and coordinated from Finland, may constitute terrorism under Finnish law.

Germany

B.Z.: Berlin universities still can't expel Israel-haters

Since the attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, anti-Semitism has also been spreading more and more at the capital's universities: Occupations of lecture halls and the FU presidium, destruction of furniture and technology, slogans and Hamas symbols on the walls and also physical violence. Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (52, CDU) urged the universities to make it easier to take action against the hate mob. In July 2024, parliament therefore decided to reintroduce the regulatory law into the Higher Education Act. Compulsory de-registration is now possible again if there is a legally binding conviction - in theory. Because nothing has happened. "All universities are working on issuing corresponding statutes," says State Secretary for Science Henry Marx (42, SPD). "This legally complex process is still ongoing." CDU MP Timur Husein (44) also wanted to know the reasons for this delay in a question - the Senate response mentions working groups, votes and committee processes.

Hungary

Reuters: Human rights groups challenge Hungary's anti-Pride law in court

Five human rights groups including Amnesty International challenged in court Hungary's legislation that created a legal basis for police to ban Pride marches by the LGBTQ community, the groups said in a statement on Friday. Hungary’s parliament, where the ruling Fidesz party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that creates a legal basis to ban LGBTQ marches and lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend.

United Kingdom

The Telegraph: Manchester terrorist was granted taxpayer money in religious discrimination claim

The Manchester Arena terrorist who seriously injured three prison officers in a knife attack was granted £1,200 in taxpayers’ money for legal aid to pursue a complaint of religious discrimination. Hashem Abedi’s lawyers were granted the money to fight the complaint, which he lodged from his high-security prison cell. It was rejected by the Ministry of Justice, and he did not pursue it any further.

The Telegraph: Comedian Reginald D Hunter prosecuted over ‘anti-Semitic messages’

Reginald D Hunter, the American comedian, is being prosecuted over alleged anti-Semitic social media posts, a court has heard. The stand-up is accused of three counts of sending an offensive communication on three different occasions – on Aug 24, Sept 10 and Sept 11 last year – to Heidi Bachram on X.

The Ferret: ‘Neo-Nazi’ group condemned for using children in by-election campaign

A far right group branded as neo-Nazi has been condemned for using children to promote its white nationalist politics ahead of the by-election in South Lanarkshire next week. Patriotic Alternative (PA) posted images posted on its social media channel on 28 May showing two young males, on bikes, covering their faces with the group’s leaflets, alongside banners hung up in Bothwell, north of Hamilton.

New York Times: U.K. Weighs Sanctions on 2 Israeli Cabinet Ministers as Gaza Crisis Worsens

Britain has hardened its position toward Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza. But as it weighs the next possible step — imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers — it confronts a complex landscape, not least because of the recent deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington.

Afghanistan

Amu: Taliban once again award degrees to graduates of Pakistani seminary tied to militant leadership

Taliban are once again awarding academic degrees to graduates of Darul Uloom Haqqania, a conservative Islamic seminary in Pakistan long associated with senior Taliban figures and militant ideology. According to documents released Wednesday by the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, at least 200 individuals who studied at the seminary in Akora Khattak, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees during ceremonies scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Amu: 15 journalists and three clerics remain in Taliban custody: Sources

At least 15 journalists and media workers, along with three religious scholars critical of the Taliban, remain in Taliban custody, according to sources familiar with the situation. Two additional sources from organizations that support journalists confirmed to Amu that some of the detained reporters have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to three years by Taliban courts.

Amu: Karzai says Taliban’s ban on girls’ education harms Afghan well-being

Former President Hamid Karzai has said the Taliban’s continued ban on girls’ education and their restrictions on women’s rights is a serious barrier to both international recognition and the well-being of Afghan society, urging the Taliban to reopen schools and universities for women and girls. “We want our girls to go to school. We want schools and universities in Afghanistan,” Karzai said in an interview with the Russian broadcaster RTVI. “We want our girls to participate fully. For all Afghans to be in Afghanistan, we must have hope for a better future and good relations with the outside world. This can be done already under the current government — the Taliban government — but we must keep these goals in mind.”

Amu: Taliban impose fines in Herat for men who miss congregational prayers: Sources

Taliban have imposed a fine on men in the western province of Herat who do not attend daily congregational prayers at local mosques, according to residents familiar with the policy. Eight local sources confirmed to Amu that the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has ordered mosque leaders to monitor attendance and impose a fine of 100 afghanis — roughly $1.15 — on individuals who miss daily prayers. The move is part of a broader expansion of religious and social enforcement across the city.

Egypt

Dar al-Ifta: Advisor to Egypt's Mufti: Moderate Fatwas Are Key Tools against Islamophobia and Extremism

During his participation in the two-day International Conference titled "Islamophobia in Focus: Unveiling Bias, Shattering Stigmas", held in Baku from May 26-27, Dr. Ibrahim Negm, Senior Advisor to Egypt's Grand Mufti and Secretary-General of the Fatwa Authorities World, emphasized that moderate fatwas have become crucial in correcting misconceptions about Islam, combating extremism, and safeguarding societies from hate speech.

Gaza Strip

Newsweek: Who Will Lead Hamas After Sinwar? Israel Eyes Next Targets

Izz al-Din al-Haddad, also known as Abu Suhaib, is believed to have taken on a key leadership role within Gaza, leading Hamas's military operations on the ground. Khaled Mashal, acting chairman of Hamas's political bureau, is a leading figure within the temporary five-member leadership committee, but he is not in the Gaza Strip. Known for his diplomatic efforts, Mashal maintains strong ties with Turkey and Qatar. Khalil al-Hayya, also based in Qatar, serves alongside Mashal on the committee and is involved in ceasefire negotiations. Zaher Jabarin, based in mainly in Turkey, plays a crucial role in overseeing Hamas's financial network, and Muhammad Ismail Darwish, chairman of the Hamas Shura Council and also in Qatar, is another influential member, particularly responsible for managing foreign relations.

Iran

Associated Press: Iran says a US nuclear deal isn’t imminent and that its enrichment program must continue

Senior Iranian officials on Thursday dismissed speculation about an imminent nuclear deal with the United States, emphasizing that any agreement must fully lift sanctions and allow the country’s nuclear program to continue. “Iran is sincere about a diplomatic solution that will serve the interests of all sides. But getting there requires an agreement that will fully terminate all sanctions and uphold Iran’s nuclear rights—including enrichment,” Abbas Araghchi, the country’s foreign minister, wrote in a post on the X. Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on X that previous U.S. presidents also had “fantasies” destroying Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and warned that Iran has strong defenses and “clear red lines.”

Iran International: Iran rejects Reuters report on Saudi message regarding nuclear deal

Iran's foreign ministry has dismissed a Reuters report that said Saudi Arabia urged Tehran to engage in nuclear negotiations with the United States to avert a potential Israeli military strike. The Reuters report said that during an April visit to Tehran, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman conveyed a message from King Salman bin Abdulaziz, advising Iranian officials to consider US President Donald Trump's offer for nuclear talks seriously.

Israel

Reuters: US proposes 60-day ceasefire for Gaza; hostage-prisoner swap, plan shows

A U.S. plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians. The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement. The aid will be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. On Thursday, the White House said Israel had agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal. Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters it was reviewing the plan and would respond on Friday or Saturday. The U.S. plan provides for Hamas to release the last 30 of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce takes effect, it shows.

Associated Press: Israel accepts a US proposal for a temporary Gaza ceasefire and Hamas gives a cool response

Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House said Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expressed optimism earlier this week about brokering an agreement to halt the Israel-Hamas war and return more of the hostages captured in the attack that ignited it.

New York Times: Israel Seeks to Clear Much of Northern Gaza, Warning of Dangerous Combat to Come

A sweeping new evacuation order by Israel’s military covers much of northern Gaza, warning residents that these areas will soon turn into dangerous combat zones. Many of the inhabitants have already been displaced at least once during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which began almost 20 months ago. And little humanitarian aid has been reaching the area, where hunger is widespread.

Times of Israel: IDF downs missile fired from Yemen in week’s 6th Houthi attack

A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military said Thursday night, in what has recently become an almost daily occurrence. The missile set off sirens shortly after 9:20 p.m. across central Israel, several West Bank settlements, and towns near Jerusalem, sending millions to bomb shelters.

Wall Street Journal: Israel Says It Destroyed Drones With Lasers

Israel said it used a laser air-defense system to shoot down drones in wartime, deploying weapons that would mark a technological leap on the battlefield. Israel’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it has intercepted drones with laser-powered weapons more than 40 times since its multifront war began after Hamas attacked from Gaza in October 2023. Most of the drones the lasers destroyed came from Lebanon, said Daniel Gold, head of the ministry’s directorate of defense research and development. The U.S. military said last year that it had used lasers in the Middle East to shoot down unmanned aircraft, but didn’t detail those operations or provide video of the interceptions. Israel, the U.S. and other countries have pursued laser-powered air-defense systems for years as a less expensive way to neutralize aerial threats than planes or missiles.

Reuters: Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza: a timeline of the crisis

A U.S. plan for Gaza has revived hopes for securing the release of the remaining 58 hostages Hamas holds in Gaza, 21 of whom are still believed to be alive. Following are some key moments of the hostage crisis:

Times of Israel: Terrorists took wrong turn trying to reach sensitive intel base on Oct. 7, probe finds

Hamas terrorists who invaded southern Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught attempted to capture a sensitive military intelligence base located some 16 kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip. However, the terrorists made a wrong turn upon arriving at Urim Junction and instead attacked an adjacent Home Front Command base, where eight soldiers were killed and several others were wounded, according to an Israel Defense Forces probe published Friday.

Jewish News Syndicate: Israel Police: Suspects sold hazardous materials to terrorists

Israeli security forces recently broke up a smuggling ring transporting “hazardous materials” to terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Police said on Thursday night. Following a months-long undercover investigation led by the police’s Lahav 433 National Unit for International Crimes, in cooperation with the Border Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), security forces thwarted the smuggling of fertilizer to terrorists in the Gush Etzion region of Judea.

Haaretz: Netanyahu Intervened and Blocked Shin Bet Investigations Against Jewish Terrorism

The director of Israel's Shin Bet security agency, Ronen Bar, protested to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his refusal to authorize wiretaps in several cases involving suspects in nationalistically motivated crimes and Jewish terrorism. In a letter sent to Netanyahu several weeks ago, Bar warned of the decision's potential harm to national security. A political source familiar with the details told Haaretz that Netanyahu's move was "unprecedented." Security sources described Netanyahu's conduct in the matter as exceptional and dangerous.

Lebanon

Naharnet: Aoun holds security meeting on camps disarmament after 'excellent' talks with Berri

President Joseph Aoun held Friday a security meeting with the Minister of Defense, the Army Commander, and the Intelligence chief over the disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon, which will start in mid-June in three Beirut camps. Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had met earlier Friday at the Baabda Palace, in talks described by Berri as "excellent."

Naharnet: Report: Hezbollah disarmament north of Litani likely to begin next week

The Lebanese Army will likely begin removing Hezbollah’s weapons north of the Litani River next week, informed sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Friday. The process will take place “without media coverage and in coordination with Hezbollah’s leaders,” the sources added.

Naharnet: Report: Hezbollah changed entire military and security structure after major blow

Hezbollah changed “its entire military and security structure, from the Shoura Council to the lowest-ranking member,” after it was dealt a “major blow” during the latest war with Israel, a source close to Hezbollah said. The group “lost most of its military capabilities” due to the blow to its security apparatus, the source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

Syria

Associated Press: Islamic State group claims first attack on Syrian government forces since Assad’s fall

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that an opposition war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army to be carried out by the extremists since the fall of Bashar Assad.

Associated Press: Syria’s government and Kurds reach agreement on returning families from notorious camp

Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria announced Monday they have reached an agreement with the transitional government in Damascus to evacuate Syrian citizens from a sprawling camp in the desert that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group. Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, said an agreement was reached on a “joint mechanism” for returning the families from al-Hol camp after a meeting among local authorities, representatives of the central government in Damascus and a delegation from the U.S.-led international coalition fighting IS. Ahmed denied reports that administration of the camp will be handed over to Damascus in the near future, saying “there was no discussion in this regard with the visiting delegation or with the Damascus government.”

Turkey

Reuters: Turkish foreign minister discusses ceasefire efforts with Hamas, source says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday discussed the ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza in a phone call with officials from Palestinian militant group Hamas' political bureau, a Turkish diplomatic source said. The source added that Fidan also spoke by phone with Qatar's prime minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss developments in Gaza and Syria, without providing further details.

Yemen

Times of Israel: After Sanaa airport strike, Houthis say they’ll start targeting Israeli civilian planes

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels plan on escalating their actions against Israel by targeting planes belonging to El Al and other Israeli civilian carriers, sources from the Yemeni rebel group told Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday.

India

Hindustan Times: In warning shot at Pakistan, PM Modi declares India's 3-point rule on terror: Hollow atom bomb threats'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday delivered a fiery address in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur and said the world witnessed the raging power of India’s indigenous BrahMos missile during a military confrontation with Pakistan.

Pakistan

Amu: Pakistan announces elevating its Kabul envoy to ambassador

Pakistan announced on Friday that it will upgrade its diplomatic representation in Kabul from chargé d’affaires to ambassador, a move officials say is intended to deepen engagement with Taliban and enhance cooperation between the two countries. The announcement was made by Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, who said the decision followed what he described as a “very productive” visit to Kabul on April 19.

Myanmar

New York Times: Under Pressure From China, Myanmar Rebels Cede Hard-Won Territory

It was one of the biggest rebel victories of the four-year civil war in Myanmar. Thousands of resistance fighters from half a dozen rebel armies took the city of Lashio and overran a military command center 75 miles from the Chinese border. Facing junta artillery and airstrikes, the rebels attacked with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and drones, ultimately winning in intense street fighting. The triumph in August came at a cost of more than 500 fighters killed, the rebels said. But in a stunning reversal, resistance forces quietly abandoned Lashio, in northern Shan State, last month without a shot fired and handed their hard-won territory back to the junta. A military convoy of 200 vehicles flying the national flag rolled into the city in late April and reclaimed control.

Africa

Defense One: AFRICOM asks for help deterring terrorism, after Trump pulls aid to allied countries

Deterring the spread of terrorism in Africa and countering China’s push to influence African governments got a lot harder after the Trump administration cut off billions in foreign aid earlier this year, officials say. U.S. Africa Command, which does everything from helping the Somalian military target strikes on al-Shabaab to sending Army civil affairs soldiers to build schools in Cameroon, is working out what their new role on the continent will look like as the U.S. halts aid that was meant to stabilize those countries and make it easier for them to defend themselves.

Nigeria

Reuters: Nigeria detains soldiers, police over weapons sales to armed groups

The Nigerian military has detained over two dozen soldiers and members of the police force over sales of weapons from military stockpiles to armed groups, including Islamist insurgents, a spokesperson said.Africa's most populous country and biggest energy producer, Nigeria is battling insecurity on many fronts, including a long-running insurgency in the northeast and armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest.