Headline

Sudan: Ethiopia Blocks Fleeing Nigerian Students, Factions Agree 72-hour Ceasefire

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2023

The Federal Government, on Monday, confirmed that some Nigerian students fleeing the conflict in Sudan were denied entry into Ethiopia, but stated that the situation was being handled.

The Federal Government said Nigerian authorities in Ethiopia were addressing the issue, as they had sought clearance for the fleeing students, stressing that it was, however, risky for the students to have embarked on such a journey.

This was as the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday that Sudan’s warring generals had agreed to a three-day ceasefire starting Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday), after previous bids to pause the conflict quickly disintegrated.

“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours,” Blinken said in a statement two hours before the truce was to go into effect.

“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said.

Blinken said the United States was also working with partners to set up a committee that would negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Sudan, where the conflict between rival generals descended into deadly violence 10 days ago.

Foreign countries rushed to evacuate their nationals from Sudan as deadly fighting raged into a second week between forces loyal to two rival generals.

More than 420 people have been killed and thousands wounded, according to UN figures, amid fears of wider turmoil and a humanitarian disaster in one of the world’s poorest nations.

The Director, Special Duties, National Emergency Management Agency, who doubles as the Chairman, NEMA’s Committee for the Evacuation of the Stranded Nigerians from Sudan, Dr Onimode Bandele, told The PUNCH that the students’ case was receiving the required attention.

“Yea, you must have been reading on social media that some students got into a town at the border of Ethiopia and they have not been able to grant them passage.

“The Nigerian Ambassador in Egypt, Nura Rimi, confirmed to me that the ambassador in Ethiopia is working on that, and hopefully they should be able to get a passage,” Bandele stated.

He, however, explained that “In our own humanitarian assignment, self-evacuation is at the risk of the person that is involved. If you decide to self-evacuate, whatever you meet is your headache, because you did not listen to the authorities that are supposed to cater for you.

“We empathise with them; we understand their situation; some of them are doing that out of panic or running to safety. But at the same time, self-evacuation has its own disadvantages.

“So, our appeal to Nigerians is that wherever they are, they should please wait for further instruction from the Federal Government, especially the ambassador that is with them in Sudan. He is there with his family too. It is not that he has run out and left them,” Bandele stated.

The NEMA official also said the Federal Government had considered using the services of the United Nations in evacuating Nigerians stranded in Sudan.

But this, according to him, did not work, because the UN said it could not support anyone now, due to the loss of five UN staff in Sudan.

“We were looking at the possibility of using the UN Utility Service and he (Rimi) said the UN had released a message that they cannot guarantee helping anybody.

“This is because the UN has already lost five staff in Sudan. So they are looking for a way to protect themselves and cannot guarantee anybody,” Bandele stated.

Headline

US Approves Sale Of Bombs, Others Worth $346m o Nigeria

Published

52 minutes ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

The United States Government has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Nigeria of munitions, precision bombs, precision rockets, and related equipment valued at $346 million.

The approval was contained in a statement from the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, dated August 13, but received via email on Thursday.

The agency said it has notified the US Congress of the potential sale.

“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Nigeria of Munitions, Precision Bombs, and Precision Rockets and related equipment for an estimated cost of $346 million. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today, ” the statement partly read.

Under the request, Nigeria seeks to purchase 1,002 MK-82 general purpose 500-pound bombs; 1,002 MXU-650 Air Foil Groups for Paveway II GBU-12; 515 MXU-1006 Air Foil Groups for Paveway II GBU-58; 1,517 MAU-169 or MAU-209 computer control groups for Paveway II GBU-12/GBU-58; 1,002 FMU-152 joint programmable fuzes; and 5,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II all-up-rounds.

“The Government of Nigeria has requested to buy one thousand two (1,002) MK-82 general purpose 500 lb bombs; one thousand two (1,002) MXU-650 Air Foil Groups (AFGs) for 500 lb Paveway II GBU-12; five hundred fifteen (515) MXU-1006 AFGs for 250 lb Paveway II GBU-58; one thousand five hundred seventeen (1,517) MAU-169 or MAU-209 computer control group (CCG) for Paveway II GBU-12/GBU-58; one thousand two (1,002) FMU-152 joint programmable fuzes; and five thousand (5,000) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) all-up-rounds (AURs) (consisting of one each WGU-59/B guidance section (GS); high-explosive warhead; and MK66-4 rocket motor), ” it stated.

The package also includes non-major defence equipment such as FMU-139 joint programmable fuzes, bomb components, impulse cartridges, high-explosive and practice rockets, integration support, test equipment, and logistical and program support services.

The DSCA said the proposed sale aims to strengthen Nigeria’s capability to address current and future threats, including operations against terrorist organisations and illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. It added that the deal will not alter the military balance in the region and will have no adverse impact on US defence readiness.

“The following non-MDE items will also be included: FMU-139 joint programmable fuzes; bomb components, impulse cartridges, and high-explosive and practice rockets; integration support and test equipment; U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics personnel services; and other related elements of logistical and program support. The total estimated program cost is $346 million.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a strategic partner in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The proposed sale will improve Nigeria’s capability to meet current and future threats through operations against terrorist organisations and to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria will have no difficulty absorbing these munitions into its armed forces.

“The proposed sale of this equipment will not alter the basic military balance in the region, ” the statement added..

The principal contractors for the potential sale are RTX Missiles and Defence, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and BAE Systems.

“At this time, the U.S. Government is not aware of any offset agreement proposed in connection with this potential sale. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Nigeria.

“There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defence readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

“The description and dollar value are for the highest estimated quantity and dollar value based on initial requirements. Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded, ” the statement concluded.

Headline

Israeli Military Intercepts Missile From Yemen

Published

3 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

The Israeli military said on Thursday it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claiming responsibility for the attack.

Israel’s army said on Telegram that “the air force intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree later said the group had launched a “Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile” targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.

Headline

Wildfire Engulfs Mountain Near Western Canada City

Published

21 hours ago

August 13, 2025

Editor

Nearly 20,000 residents of a community in western Canada were on standby on Wednesday as a wildfire engulfed a mountain overlooking the city of Port Alberni, the latest area threatened in the country’s second-worst fire season on record.

“I’ve lived in Port Alberni since 1956, and this is one of the biggest fires we’ve ever seen,” Russ Wetas, 69, told AFP as smoke from Mount Underwood filled the sky behind him.

The wildfire service in the west coast province of British Columbia has listed the Mount Underwood fire as “out of control,” meaning it is expected to spread further.

But it remained unclear if Port Alberni, roughly 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) north, will be evacuated.

On the opposite end of the vast country, in the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador, parts of the capital, St. John’s, received evacuation orders on Tuesday, following several days of intensifying fire.

A wildfire was also burning on Wednesday on the outskirts of Halifax, a major city in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, with a population of nearly half a million.

This is already Canada’s second-worst wildfire season in terms of landmass burned, based on figures dating back to 1983.

So far, 7.4 million hectares (18.3 million acres) have been scorched, an area nearly as large as Panama, putting 2025 past the 7.1 million hectare mark from 1995.

But this year is not expected to pass 2023, when 17.3 million hectares burned, an extraordinary toll that focused global attention on the growing threat of wildfires boosted by human-induced climate change.

Smoke from this year’s wildfires has put tens of millions of people under air quality alerts in both Canada and the United States. The haze has even crossed the Atlantic, affecting people in western Europe.

More than 700 wildfires were burning across Canada on Wednesday, including 161 considered out of control, with nearly every province and territory impacted.

Mount Underwood is on Vancouver Island, making the blaze there part of a worrying trend of increased wildfire activity near the coast.

Experts have said that historically, coastal areas did not burn, but more serious wildfires near the ocean are being recorded, even if they remain less intense than blazes further inland.

“This is a fire that hasn’t been seen on Vancouver Island,” John Jack, a First Nations chief and regional official, told the public broadcaster CBC.

Ted Hagard, who works at Port Alberni’s paper mill, told AFP he had been watching the fire’s progression on social media but needed to see it for himself.

It’s “insane how huge it is,” the 46-year-old said, standing on the shores of a lake adjacent to Mount Underwood.

Canada is experiencing a rise in conditions that are conducive to fires, experts say, linking the trend to climate change, which has caused elevated temperatures, reduced snow, shorter and milder winters, and earlier summer weather.