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US Congressman Recounts Harrowing Experience in Nigeria, Confirms ‘Systematic Genocidal Campaign’

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United States Congressman, Riley Moore, has described his recent visit to Nigeria as distressing, recounting harrowing encounters with victims of violent attacks, particularly in the Middle Belt region.

Moore last week led a congressional delegation on a fact-finding visit to Nigeria over killings in the northern part of the country.

The five-member team arrived in Nigeria last Sunday and spent several days in Benue State, meeting internally displaced persons, survivors of attacks, Christian leaders, traditional rulers, and communities affected by violence.

They also held meetings in Abuja with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi.

The delegation expected to brief President Donald Trump on their findings before the end of the month.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Moore said his trip exposed him to the human cost of insecurity in Nigeria, particularly among vulnerable communities affected by terrorism and communal violence in the North.

The West Virginia lawmaker posted the interview on his X handle on Saturday.

Speaking on his experience, Moore said he met women who had survived brutal assaults that claimed the lives of their families.

He recalled meeting a woman who watched all five of her children murdered in her presence.

“It is really heartbreaking. I met a woman who unfortunately had to witness all five of her children murdered right in front of her. I met another woman in an internally displaced persons camp who lost her husband and her two daughters, and the Fulani Islamic radicals had murdered her unborn child—they took it out of her. She survived that, and they are all living in these IDP camps.

“There is a systematic genocidal campaign by the Fulani Muslim radicals in the Middle Belt of this country to push these Christians off their ancestral land,” he said.

The US lawmaker alleged that the violence in parts of the Middle Belt amounted to a coordinated campaign against Christian communities, claiming they are being driven off their ancestral lands.

“There is a systematic genocidal campaign by the Fulani Muslim radicals in the Middle Belt of this country to push these Christians off their ancestral land,” he reiterated.

Despite the grim accounts, Moore said his delegation held what he described as a positive meeting with the Nigerian government, expressing optimism that concrete steps could follow.

“We did have a positive meeting with the Nigerian government. There are positive things coming out of that government that I think will put us on a path toward a strategic security framework and a cooperative agreement to start addressing these issues,” he said.

Moore added that the protection of Christians facing violence remained a top concern for both him and the US President, noting the broader security challenges posed by terrorist groups in other parts of the country.

“First and foremost, my concern, and the President’s concern, is for these Christians, our brothers and sisters who are being slaughtered,” he said. “But there is also the terrorist threat in the North East from Boko Haram and ISIS, who are responsible for the unwanted deaths of Christians, non-Christians, and Muslims alike,” he added.

The Congressman described Nigeria’s security crisis as multi-layered, stressing the need for a comprehensive approach that addresses both terrorism in the North East and what he termed persecution in the Middle Belt.

“The problem is two-tier, and we have to address this Christian persecution and genocide that is happening in the Middle Belt of this country,” he said.

Source: The Punch

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World

140 Missing As US Submarine Sinks Iran’s Warship in Indian Ocean

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No fewer than 140 persons are missing after an Iranian navy ship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan navy says around 180 people were on board, with 32 rescued.

A spokesperson told the BBC the cause of the sinking was not known. But US Defence Secretary (Secretary of War) said that the US submarine sank Iranian warship with torpedo in Indian Ocean.

Hegseth says that in the Indian Ocean, the US sank “an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters”.

“Instead it was sunk by a torpedo,” he says.

Hegseth did not name the Iranian ship that was attacked.

But earlier, the Sri Lankan navy reported the IRIS Dena went down in the Indian Ocean, with around 140 people on board missing.

Hegseth says “more waves” are coming

This “was never meant to be a fair fight, and it’s not a fair fight”, says Hegseth, adding that the US was punching Iran “while they’re down”.

“More and larger waves are coming, we are just getting started,” he said

Hegseth says Iranian regime are “toast”

Hegseth said the results over the past four days had been “incredible, historic really”.

“They are toast, and they know it,” he said referring to the Iranian regime.

He added that US forces had begun to “hunt, dismantle, demoralise, destroy and defeat” the regime’s capabilities.

He said that Iranian leaders would be looking up and seeing only “US and Israeli air power” until US and Israel decided the war was over.

“America is winning,’” says Hegseth

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said “America is winning, decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”

“We are only four days in”, he said, but “as Trump has said” the US “will take all the time we need” to make sure the operation is a success.

BBC

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Middle East

Israel Declares Hezbollah Leader Marked Target

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Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has declared the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement a “marked target” following overnight rocket fire from Lebanon.

Katz said on X that Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, had acted on orders from Iran in launching attacks on Israel and warned that the group would “pay a heavy price.”

Qassem succeeded Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon in September 2024.

The Israeli military said several rockets were fired from Lebanon overnight, with one intercepted and others landing in open areas.

Hezbollah said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on Saturday.

In response, Israel said it carried out fresh strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including weapons depots and other infrastructure.

The military reported bombardments in Beirut and elsewhere, saying senior militia members were among those hit.

Meanwhile, residents near the office of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reported no signs of a missile strike on Monday, after Iran claimed it had targeted the building.

The residents said that prime minister’s fate was unknown.

Air raid sirens sounded around noon in the Jerusalem area, as well as in several regions across central and southern Israel.

In spite of the alerts, local police and rescue services said there were no reported hits, injuries, damage or interceptions over Jerusalem.

Residents living close to the prime minister’s office said they had not witnessed any missile impact in the vicinity.

Reporters at the scene observed no visible presence of military personnel, police forces or emergency responders outside the compound.

Traffic in surrounding streets continued as normal, with no smoke seen rising from the area.

The building appeared intact and undamaged.

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Iranian statement.

Israeli media commentators dismissed the claim.

Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Channel 12 News, described it as “fake news” in a post on Telegram.

Suleiman Maswadeh, chief diplomatic correspondent for the State-owned Kan, also said on Telegram that the claimed lacked corroboration.

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Middle East

Saudi Arabia Shuts Down One of World’s Largest Oil Refinery after Iran’s Drone Strike

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Saudi Aramco has halted operations at its Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia after a reported drone strike in the area, according to Reuters.

Ras Tanura, one of the largest oil refining and export facilities in the world, has a refining capacity of roughly 550,000 barrels per day and serves as the kingdom’s largest oil export terminal.

The facility handles approximately 6.5 million barrels of crude daily nearly 7% of global oil supply flows through this single site.

Reports indicate the attack was carried out by Iran amid rising regional tensions, affecting critical Aramco infrastructure.

Following the strike, a fire reportedly broke out in the refinery’s processing complex.

Authorities say the blaze has been contained, and no casualties were recorded.

A series of strikes by the US and Israel against Iran began last Saturday.

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