A security analyst, Brant Philip, has reported that terrorists captured several Malian soldiers during coordinated attacks on military positions in parts of Mali on Saturday.

Philip, in a series of posts on 𝕏, said the attacks targeted Malian army positions in Aguelhok, Gao, Sevaré, Anefis and Kenioroba.

He said the offensive was carried out by the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Front de Libération de l’Azawad.

Philip also said there were unverified reports that a Russian Africa Corps Su-24 fighter jet crashed near Gao after it was allegedly hit by anti-aircraft fire close to Anefis.

“Unverified reports that an Su-24 jet of the Russian Africa Corps crashed in Gao after getting hit by AA near Anefis,” he wrote.

“Heavy smoke rising from the Gao Air Base currently,” he added.

The alleged crash had not been independently verified, and there was no official confirmation from Russian or Malian authorities as of the time of filing this report.

According to Philip, the Russian Africa Corps was fighting alongside the Malian military to repel the attacks.

“The Africa Corps reports to be engaged in combat alongside the Malian army to repel the JNIM/FLA offensive against their positions in Gao, Anefis and Aguelhok,” he said.

Philip further claimed that additional Malian soldiers were taken prisoner by the FLA in Anefis.

South Africa has rejected Nigeria’s call for compensation for Nigerians whose properties were left behind following their evacuation from the country.

It was reports that the evacuations followed renewed xenophobic violence against African migrants in South Africa.

Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, had earlier said the Nigerian government had begun compiling records of businesses and properties left behind by returnees.

He said the records would form the basis of discussions with South African authorities on possible compensation.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, South Africa’s Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, dismissed the possibility of government compensation.

Ntshavheni said legitimate properties were formally registered with authorities, while informal settlements were illegal and unrecognised.

She said, “So there’s no compensation that will come from the government.

“Those who leave their properties, if they are properly legally registered in the country, they can dispose of the properties in the property market in South Africa, whether it’s a movable or immovable property.”

The minister also asked Nigeria to provide information on locations allegedly used for drug-related activities.

“We’ll be interested to know where the drug dens of Nigerians are. So they can show us where they have been holding the drugs so that we can clean the drugs in South Africa quite urgently,” Ntshavheni said.

She added, “Squatter camps and informal settlements are never properties because they are illegal in the country. So you are already violating our law if you are going to tell us about a shack in some informal settlement.”

Ntshavheni said the South African government had approved measures to prevent informal settlements from being rebuilt after demolitions.

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The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has clarified that the withdrawal of some United States troops from Nigeria involved personnel temporarily deployed for a specific counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin and not the 200 US troops stationed in the country for ongoing joint intelligence and training operations.

Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, made the clarification on Friday, July 3, following reports that the United States had withdrawn its troops from Nigeria after a successful counterterrorism operation. NigerianCurrent Affairs

According to Uba, the Nigeria-US security partnership remains intact, with intelligence sharing and other forms of cooperation continuing as before. “The Commander was primarily talking about the additional forces that came to execute the mission in Lake Chad. Initial US personnel are still in Nigeria,” he said.

He explained that the troops deployed for the Lake Chad operation were always intended to remain in Nigeria only for the duration of that specific mission. “The partnership between Nigeria and the US is unchanged with key information sharing ongoing. As we saw in May, there are times that require additional forces to execute specific missions. Those forces are intended for short periods of time only,” Uba added.

He said both countries would continue working together to combat terrorism and that additional personnel and resources would be deployed whenever operational requirements demand.

The clarification followed a report quoting Commander of US Air Forces in Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, as saying that the United States had withdrawn most of the forces deployed for the Lake Chad Basin mission after it was successfully concluded.

According to the report, Anderson said the operation contributed to disrupting ISIS activities in the region and included the elimination of a senior ISIS leader responsible for global operations, media and recruitment.

He stressed that while the temporary deployment had ended, the United States would continue supporting Nigeria through intelligence sharing and other security cooperation at the request of the Nigerian government. Anderson also described Nigeria as a key regional partner with a capable military, noting that intelligence collaboration between both countries had produced significant gains in the fight against ISIS.