Following information that an attack on ground troops was being planned, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) claims to have killed at least 35 armed fighters in airstrikes close to the nation’s border with Cameroon.
According to NAF spokesman Ehimen Ejodame, the strikes were launched on Saturday on four targets in Borno State’s Kumshe region, which is close to the border with Nigeria.
He claimed that after the operation, ground troops’ communication was reestablished, and that stabilizing conditions had been established.
The Nigerian military’s latest strikes come as it fights a resurgence of attacks in the country’s troubled northeast.
Boko Haram and its rival splinter group, ISIL (ISIS), West Africa Province (ISWAP), frequently attack the area.
In northeastern Nigeria, which borders Chad and Niger as well as Cameroon, both ISWAP and Boko Haram have recently increased their military assaults. Armed fighters have taken over military installations, killing soldiers, and seizing weapons.
Attacks have increased since the start of the year, despite Nigeria’s 16-year-old armed conflict slowing down since the violence reached its peak in 2015.
More than 35, 000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the UN.
Under the condition that Congress approves, the US State Department last week approved the sale of $346 million worth of weapons, including bombs, rockets, and munitions to Nigeria.
According to the department, the weapons would “improve Nigeria’s capacity to face current and future threats through operations against terrorist organizations.”
Huda Abu Naja lies weak and emaciated on a thin mattress in her family’s tent in a displacement camp in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah.
The 12-year-old Palestinian girl’s arms are painfully thin, and the bones on her torso are protruding from under her skin, a telltale sign of her acute malnutrition.
“My daughter has been suffering from acute malnutrition since March when Israel closed Gaza’s borders”, Huda’s mother, Somia Abu Naja, tells Al Jazeera, stroking her daughter’s face.
“She spent three months in hospitals, but her condition did not improve”, said Somia, explaining that she decided to bring Huda back to the family’s tent after witnessing five children die of starvation at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
“She used to weigh 35 kilos]77lbs], but now she’s down to 20]44lbs]”, Somia added.
Huda is just one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza, according to local health authorities, as Israel continues to block food and other humanitarian aid from entering the bombarded enclave.
On Friday, a United Nations-backed hunger monitor confirmed for the first time that more than half a million people were experiencing famine in northern Gaza – the first such designation ever recorded in the Middle East.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system warned that the figure could reach 614, 000 as famine is expected to spread to the Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis governorates by the end of September.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, more than 280 people, including more than 110 children, have died due to Israel-induced starvation since the country’s war on Gaza began nearly two years ago.
Children are being hit hard by the crisis, the IPC said on Friday, with an estimated 132, 000 children under the age of five projected to be at risk of death from acute malnutrition by June 2026.
Dr Ahmad al-Farra, the chief paediatric physician at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said 120 children are seeking treatment for malnutrition at the facility, while tens of thousands more are suffering in displacement camps with little assistance.
He told Al Jazeera that children in Gaza will suffer the consequences of malnutrition for the rest of their lives, as hospitals in the enclave are lacking the resources and supplies to respond to the crisis.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, also told Al Jazeera that an estimated 320, 000 children across Gaza were in a state of severe malnutrition.
He said all wounded patients in hospitals were suffering from malnutrition, as well, amid Israel’s continued blockade of the enclave.
Israel has rejected the IPC’s findings, with its foreign ministry saying – despite mounds of evidence – that there was “no famine in Gaza”.
While Israel has allowed limited supplies into the territory , in recent weeks amid global outrage over the starvation crisis, the UN and humanitarian groups say what is being allowed in remains woefully insufficient.
An Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme known as GHF has also been condemned as ineffective and deadly, with Israeli forces and US contractors killing more than 2, 000 Palestinians as they sought food at the sites since late May.
The IPC famine classification has triggered a renewed wave of calls for Israel to urgently allow a massive and sustained influx of aid into Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that the famine was a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself”.
Who: Oviedo vs Real Madrid What: Spanish La Liga Where: Estadio Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo, Spain When: Sunday, August 24, at 9:30pm (19:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the updates on Al Jazeera Sport from 6:30pm (16:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
The La Liga season reaches its second round of fixtures with a potentially early-season giant-killing in the offing.
Newly promoted Oviedo will not be expected to take much from the record Spanish league winners, Real Madrid.
Los Blancos limped over the line last weekend in their first match of the new season, Xabi Alonso’s first in charge.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at what could be an even bigger banana skin on Sunday.
How are Real Madrid shaping up?
Alonso took charge of Madrid before the FIFA Club World Cup, in which his new charges reached the semifinals before suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
After a short close-season break, Real returned to training before edging Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to a Kylian Mbappe penalty.
“After a two-week preseason, against a team who had longer, there were things missing, but the result gives us stability going forward,” said Alonso after that match.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his side’s goal against Osasuna [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters]
What are Oviedo’s credentials?
Oviedo returned to Spain’s top flight after an absence of almost a quarter of a century by beating Mirandes in the second-tier playoff final in June.
The club from the northern region of Asturias, coached by Serbian former player Veljko Paunovic, were therefore left facing a quick turnaround before tackling life back in La Liga.
How did Oviedo fare in their first match back in La Liga?
With a 40-year-old Santi Cazorla coming off the bench and Venezuela veteran Salomon Rondon leading the attack, Oviedo lost 2-0 away at Villarreal in their first game back in the elite.
Now, they host the 15-time European champions in front of what will be a sellout 30,000 crowd at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere.
How are the new Los Blancos signings settling?
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, signed before the Club World Cup, made their La Liga bows for Madrid in that game, while left-back Alvaro Carreras made his debut after joining from Benfica.
Teenage Argentinian sensation Franco Mastantuono also came on for his first appearance.
Alonso will now hope for a more fluid display as his side continue what looks like a kind opening run of fixtures, building up to the derby away to Atletico in late September.
Real Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono comes on as a substitute to replace Brahim Diaz for his Los Blancos debut [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters]
The Argentinian teenager is tipped for a huge future and made his La Liga debut on Tuesday off the bench for Madrid.
Mastantuono moved to the Bernabeu in June, signing from River Plate for just more than 63 million euros ($72m and penning a six-year deal.
The winger or attacking midfielder, who made his senior Argentina debut in early June, just before playing at the Club World Cup with River, will hope to make a big impact in La Liga this season.
“He has that Argentine grit and competitive spirit,” said Real coach Alonso this week, while also hailing the youngster’s ability to play the final pass.
With Rodrygo still being tipped to depart Real in the transfer window, that would leave Mastantuono and Brahim Diaz to contest a spot on the right wing.
What happened the last time Oviedo played Real Madrid?
This is the first meeting between the sides since Real won a Copa Del Rey meeting in November 2002.
Head-to-head
This is only the 18th meeting between the sides, with Real winning nine times and Oviedo on four occasions.
Oviedo team news
Alvaro Lemos misses out through injury, while Santiago Colombatto, Jaime Seoane and Lucas Ahijado face late fitness tests.
David Costas returns from suspension, but Alberto Reina was sent off in the defeat by Villarreal last time out, so he sits this game out.
Real Madrid team news
Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Endrick are all absent for Los Blancos due to injury.
Many eyes will still be on Rodrygo with the Brazilian forward left on the bench against Osasuna while being heavily linked with a move away from Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger returns to the backline following suspension.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 competitive goals for four different clubs, though Al Nassr lost to Al-Ahli in a penalty shootout after the Saudi Super Cup final ended 2-2.
The first half strike at Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday took the 40-year-old to his century for the Saudi Arabian club, which he joined in December 2022.
It adds to his 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United and 101 for Juventus and moves Ronaldo ahead of the three players who had scored 100 times for three clubs: Isidro Langara, who played in Spain from 1930 to 1948, as well as Brazilian stars Romario and Neymar.
Ronaldo, who has yet to win a major trophy in Saudi Arabia, is also the leading international goalscorer with 138 goals for Portugal.
Al-Ahli’s Edouard Mendy lifts the trophy and celebrates on the podium with Franck Kessie and teammates after winning the Saudi Super Cup [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner put Al Nassr ahead after 41 minutes with a penalty, though Franck Kessie quickly equalised for Al-Ahli.
With seven minutes remaining, Marcelo Brozovic restored Al Nassr’s lead, but there was still time for Brazilian defender Ibanez to head home a corner and take the game into a penalty shootout.
Ronaldo scored once more from the spot, but his teammate Abdullah al-Khaibari did not, and Al-Ahli won 5-3 to lift the first trophy of the Saudi Arabian season.
Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo with Joao Felix and teammates as he looks dejected after the match [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
Immigration officials in the United States say they intend to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, according to a court filing, in what the man’s legal team describes as an act of “vindictiveness” by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The court filing on Saturday said the idea of sending Abrego Garcia to Uganda came after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges.
He has pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is an attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation from the US to El Salvador earlier this year.
Abrego Garcia’s case has become a flashpoint in Trump’s hardline, anti-immigration agenda after the Salvadoran national was mistakenly deported in March.
Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the US in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.
The Costa Rica offer came late on Thursday, after it was clear that Abrego Garcia would likely be released from a Tennessee jail the following day.
Abrego Garcia declined to extend his stay in jail and was released on Friday to await trial in Maryland with his family.
Later that day, the US Department of Homeland Security notified his lawyers that he would be deported to Uganda and should report to immigration authorities on Monday.
“The government immediately responded to Mr Abrego’s release with outrage,” Saturday’s filing by Abrego Garcia’s lawyers reads.
“Despite having requested and received assurances from the government of Costa Rica that Mr Abrego would be accepted there, within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr Abrego’s counsel that the government intended to deport Mr Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to report to ICE’s Baltimore Field Office Monday morning.”
The filing also accuses US officials of “using their collective powers to force Mr Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat”.
“It is difficult to imagine a path the government could have taken that would have better emphasized its vindictiveness,” it says.
Although Abrego Garcia was deemed eligible for pretrial release, he had remained in jail at the request of his lawyers, who feared the Trump administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed.
Those fears were somewhat allayed by a recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland, which requires immigration officials to allow Abrego Garcia time to mount a defence.
Questions on due process
Abrego Garcia had been living in the US under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country.
He then became one of more than 200 people sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison as part of Trump’s crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers in the US.
But Department of Justice lawyers admitted that the Salvadoran citizen had been wrongly deported due to an “administrative error”.
Abrego Garcia – who denies any wrongdoing – now stands accused of involvement in smuggling undocumented migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and other countries into the US between 2016 and earlier this year.
His trial in his human smuggling case is set to begin in January 2027.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer at the American Immigration Council, said in a social media post on Saturday that “no matter what you think about Mr Abrego Garcia, if you believe in due process, you should be infuriated” by the effort to send him to Uganda.
“The Trump admin is threatening to dump him in Africa as punishment for not pleading guilty to criminal charges they brought to avoid complying with a court order,” Reichlin-Melnick wrote on X.
The Trump administration has defended its policies, saying the US president was elected on a promise to carry out the “largest deportation operation” in the country’s history.
But Washington’s push to deport people has drawn widespread criticism, with removals to third countries, in particular, fuelling fears that those being sent abroad could face human rights abuses and other dangers.
