SOMALI WORLD CUP REFEREE DENIED ENTRY TO UNITED STATES. (PHOTO).

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 Somali World Cup Referee Denied Entry to United States Award-winning Somali referee, Omar Artan, has been denied entry into the United States despite holding a valid visa, according to a senior official in Somalia’s sports ministry. Artan, who is set to become the first Somali referee to officiate at the FIFA World Cup finals, was stopped at Miami International Airport and subsequently returned to Istanbul, where he had been residing. The reason for the denial was not immediately disclosed. However, Somalia is among the countries affected by a travel ban introduced by the administration of Donald Trump. Reacting to the development, Ciise Aden Abshir, a senior adviser to Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and a former national team captain, described Artan as one of Africa’s most respected referees. “Omar Artan is among Africa’s most respected referees and deserves the support of the entire football community,” Abshir told AFP on Monday. He added that preventing the referee fro...
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AL QAEDA-LINKED MILITANTS KILL AT LEAST 10 SOLDIERS IN NIGER, SOURCES SAY. (PHOTO).

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 Al Qaeda-linked militants kill at least 10 soldiers in Niger, sources say


Militants from the al Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) killed at least 10 soldiers in an attack in western Niger, security sources said on Thursday.


The soldiers were attacked on Wednesday close to the village of Garbougna in the Tillaberi region near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the three sources said.


The tri-border region is known as a hub of jihadist activity in West Africa linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.


One source put the death toll at 20 soldiers, while a second said more than a dozen soldiers were killed and a third source said at least 10 had died.


Al Qaeda claimed the attack in Tillaberi, along with others in Mali and Burkina Faso, in a series of statements and photos posted on the website managed by its Sahel media wing Al-Zallaqa. The claim was first reported by the SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization that tracks online reports by Islamist militants.


A Nigerien government spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Military spokespersons for Mali and Burkina Faso could not be reached for comment.


Niger, one of several West African nations grappling with Islamist insurgencies stemming from Mali over the past 12 years, has seen thousands killed and millions displaced in the conflict.

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