INTERNACIONAL
Christian farming communities under siege as US report names Fulani militants Nigeria’s deadliest threat
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JOHANNESBURG — An estimated 30,000 mostly Muslim Fulani militants are operating in Nigeria, causing «worsening insecurity and religious freedom violations,» according to an influential new report.
The report, by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), states «violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year, as compared to attacks by organized insurgent groups and criminal gangs.»
The Fulanis, so-called herders of livestock, have, according to the USCIRF report, «targeted Christian (farming) communities in the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches as well as kidnapping, raping, and murdering.»
CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY
Funerals were held for about 27 Christians reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in Bindi village, Plateau State, Nigeria, on July 28, 2025. (Christian Solidarity International)
But a former counterterrorism expert at the State Department told Fox News Digital that the kind of strikes the U.S., working with Nigerian government forces, have recently carried out in Nigeria’s North against Islamist terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and Islamic State, wouldn’t work against the Fulanis in the predominantly Christian central areas of the country.
Sterling Tilley, former acting director within the Bureau of Counterterrorism, who has worked in Nigeria for the State Department, said that the U.S. «militarily dealing with the farmer-herder conflict is not advisable because it is likely to bring more instability in the country.» Tilley, now director of the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship at Howard University, added, «There are some steps that can be taken to quell the violence, but there must be Nigerian political will to do so.»
Young people protest against the killings following a deadly attack by Fulani militants on Christian-majority villages in Benue state, that left 218 people dead and 6,000 displaced. The protest took place in Benue state in June 2025. (Open Doors UK)
This week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commented on the recent strikes ordered by President Donald Trump on Nigeria, saying, «Maybe a year ago, [the president] heard the call of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS. And he said, ‘Pete, I want the War Department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians.’»
NIGERIA NAMED EPICENTER OF GLOBAL KILLINGS OF CHRISTIANS OVER FAITH IN 2025, REPORT SAYS
Christians make up approximately 48% of Nigeria’s population. Fulani militants, the USCIRF report stated, «have often carried out operations during Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter to further maximize the psychological impact, terrifying those communities from gathering to celebrate or worship. During attacks, assailants sometimes utter slogans with religious connotations, such as «Allahu Akbar« (Arabic for «God is great»).
But, according to the report, Muslims are being attacked too. «Fulani assailants have not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non-Fulani Muslim communities,» the report added.
Coffins arrive at Ibrahim Babanginda Square in Makurdi, Benue State, on Jan. 11, 2018, during a funeral service for victims of clashes between Fulani herdsmen and natives of Guma and Logo districts. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP)
«Violence at the hands of militants from the Fulani tribe far outnumbers violence from all other militant groups such as Boko Haram or ISWAP (Islamic State West African Province),» Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, an organization that highlights the persecution of Christians, told Fox News Digital.
While her organization was not part of the report, she said, «My heart has been broken as I have heard stories from women and men who have seen their beloved family members butchered in front of them or carried off into a life of slavery.»
AFRICAN UNION CHIEF DENIES GENOCIDE CLAIMS AGAINST CHRISTIANS AS CRUZ WARNS NIGERIAN OFFICIALS
Fulani Muslim men pray in Masallacin Shehu Mosque, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria, on April 24, 2019. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
Blyth added: «The situation is complicated, and as the report concludes, it is too simplistic to say all perpetrators are religiously motivated. What is undisputable is that Christians are highly vulnerable and often the victims, paying the price in blood. They desperately need protection and, for hundreds of thousands driven from their homes, the chance to heal and rebuild their lives.»
The USCIRF report also stated, «Criticism of responses to Fulani militant violence from federal and state authorities has often described their responses as unsatisfactory at best and complicit at worst.»
Tilley told Fox News Digital that elections are to be held in Nigeria next year, and «the Fulani do have considerable political influence as a voting bloc. Thus, the Nigerian government seems reluctant to take actions necessary to quell the violence for fear that they could lose their base of support in the North and Middle Belt.»
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Nigerian government for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
africa, christianity religion, persecutions, terrorism
INTERNACIONAL
Zelensky afirmó que la adhesión de Ucrania a la UE es clave para garantizar el futuro de Europa frente a la amenaza rusa
Durante la cumbre entre los líderes de la Unión Europea (UE) del jueves, el presidente de Ucrania, Volodimir Zelensky, afirmó que el futuro del continente está definiéndose a partir de la defensa ucraniana a la invasión rusa y propuso que la mejor garantía de seguridad para el bloque sería otorgar a Kiev una membresía acelerada.
“El futuro de Europa —libre, unida y, por supuesto, en paz— se está decidiendo en nuestra defensa. Eso demuestra lo singular que es nuestra situación”, expresó Zelensky en extractos de su discurso publicados en X.
El mandatario ucraniano comunicó a los Estados miembros que Ucrania busca que la guerra contra Rusia finalice antes del invierno y pidió apoyo para preparar otro periodo frío con misiles de defensa aérea y combustible. “Ucrania se lo merece porque ha pagado más que ningún otro país por su derecho a ser libre, independiente y… europea”, sostuvo.
Durante la misma jornada, ataques aéreos ucranianos alcanzaron objetivos en territorio ruso, incluida una refinería de petróleo en Moscú, en el marco de una campaña de largo alcance que el presidente ucraniano expuso como muestra de la capacidad militar del país durante encuentros con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump y otros líderes del G7 en Francia.
En su mensaje a los líderes de la UE, Zelensky reconoció que no todos los miembros respaldan una adhesión acelerada. Hungría exigió retirar ese lenguaje de la declaración final del Consejo Europeo tras la cumbre. “El paso más importante en este sentido —sé que no a todos les gusta— podría ser una vía rápida para que Ucrania se adhiera a la UE”, planteó.
Los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de la UE optaron por moderar las expectativas respecto a una incorporación acelerada de Ucrania al bloque, a pesar del respaldo político y militar reiterado durante la cumbre. En el documento consensuado tras varias horas de debate, los mandatarios señalaron que el proceso de ampliación seguirá sujeto al criterio de méritos concretos y a las reformas implementadas por cada aspirante, lo que aleja la posibilidad de avances inmediatos en la adhesión ucraniana.
El texto final de la cumbre estableció que la continuidad de las negociaciones con Ucrania dependerá del progreso demostrado en las áreas definidas por la Unión Europea y del cumplimiento de reformas verificables, sin fijar un calendario para una eventual aceleración.
Por otra parte, Zelensky insistió, en la cumbre frente a sus pares, en que Ucrania desea terminar la guerra este año y apuesta por una solución diplomática, aunque advirtió sobre las dificultades en la interlocución con Rusia. “Putin es la guerra”, declaró. El presidente ucraniano sostuvo que el país necesitará gas, diésel, equipos energéticos y al menos 300 misiles si el conflicto persiste, y reclamó el desembolso de 6.000 millones de euros del Fondo Europeo para la Paz.
El mandatario pidió a Europa mantenerse firme en las sanciones hacia el Kremlin, avanzar en la confiscación de activos y asegurar la financiación de su país. También alertó a la población ucraniana a prepararse para un posible aumento de ataques rusos. “Por favor, utilicen los refugios, se lo ruego”, solicitó.
Tras un ataque ucraniano con drones a una refinería en Moscú en la mañana del jueves, el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores ruso, Serguéi Lavrov, anunció que Moscú llevará a cabo “ataques masivos y coordinados de forma regular” contra Ucrania.
La presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, destacó durante la cumbre que las fuerzas ucranianas recuperaron terreno frente a las tropas rusas en varios puntos del frente. Esa dinámica reforzó el respaldo del bloque, pero no modificó la cautela respecto de los tiempos del proceso de adhesión. Zelensky agradeció el apoyo europeo y expresó su deseo de avanzar en la apertura de los capítulos restantes durante el verano, aunque la declaración final no recogió esa urgencia.
(Con información de Reuters)
eu,flags,leaders,summit
INTERNACIONAL
Obama knocks Founders at presidential center debut before America’s 250th: ‘Fell terribly short’
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Former President Barack Obama said during the dedication of his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday that America’s Founders fell «terribly short» of the Declaration of Independence’s promise, while casting the nation’s story as one of generations coming together to make the union «more perfect.»
«The success of this experiment was never a given,» Obama said in his speech, referring to the nation’s founding just days before America celebrates its 250th anniversary on the 4th of July.
«In forming our union, the founders fell terribly short of the Declaration’s promise, leaving slavery intact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who owned property. But in drafting a Constitution and a Bill of rights, they did have the foresight, the genius, to provide us with a framework that allows each generation to make our union more perfect.»
The 44th president devoted much of his speech Thursday to outlining the work he believes America still has ahead, echoing themes he has emphasized in past appearances on the campaign trail and during his time in the White House.
BIDEN CLAIMS CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS ARE BEING ‘TRAMPLED ON’ AHEAD OF AMERICA’S 250TH
Barack Obama speaks during the dedication of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)
While the Obama Presidential Center officially opens to the public Friday, the dedication featured a slew of former diplomats, officials and celebrities, such as former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Steven Spielberg, Hillary Clinton, and former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden.
«And over more than two centuries, through petitions and protests, marches and strikes, moral appeals from the pulpit and conversations at the family dinner table – men and women from all walks of life, of every color, every faith, every region took up the cause of democracy and made it their own. Until, we the people, came to include not just some of us, but all of us. And that’s why the story we tell in this building begins not with Michelle’s origins or my origins, but with our nation’s,» he continued.
Obama also used the speech to champion what he described as shared American values and the importance of finding common ground across the political spectrum.
«Every president here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold the values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believed in no less than I did,» said Obama, naming the two Republicans.
«It is our greatest inheritance. The story of America at its best, because it reflects a basic faith in the decency of our fellow citizens and the possibility that, despite all of our differences, we can see each other and understand one another and make common cause together. That’s what I hope every visitor to this center takes away from their experience,» he said.
TOM HANKS, OPRAH, STEVEN SPIELBERG TURN OBAMA’S PRESIDENTIAL CENTER OPENING INTO HOLLYWOOD’S HOTTEST TICKET
Oprah Winfrey arrives at the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. (Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP via Getty Images)
The presidential museum features an Oval Office replica, along with America’s founding and civil war artifacts.
Among the historical artifacts featured in the museum are a print of the Declaration of Independence, a pen and ink stand used by Frederick Douglass, Lincoln’s Bible, and a pamphlet by journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells.
The center’s opening Friday follows a decade of planning and construction while facing scrutiny over rising costs, construction delays and public infrastructure spending.
Taxpayers footed hundreds of millions of dollars in public infrastructure costs for Obama’s museum that constructed roads, transit, and utility updates around the campus.
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An aerial view shows the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. The center includes a museum tower, public gathering spaces, athletic facilities and offices for the Obama Foundation. (Fox News Flight Team)
Overall construction costs were reported to be $830 million in 2021 and have likely climbed past the $1 billion mark.
A recent Fox News Digital investigation identified multiple construction firms claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions.
barack obama, infrastructure across america, museums exhibits, constitution, america 250
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