The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen has declared a two-week ceasefire in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the war-torn country, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The ceasefire in the five-year conflict was set to begin Thursday, according to coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki. SPA said the move was prompted by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a pause of hostilities in the country in order to counter the spread of Covid-19.

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Insurgents made a major attack in Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado this week.

They also reoccupied Bilibiza on Monday (6 April), and at a meeting told local people that Islamic practices would now be followed.

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Afghan forces announced they have arrested the leader of the country’s ISIL (ISIS) affiliate along with 19 other fighters.

Two high-ranking commanders were among those arrested in addition to the leader of the Islamic State of the Khorasan Province (ISKP), Abdullah Orokzai, also known as Aslam Farooqi, a statement by the Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS) said on Saturday.

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The Saudi-led Arab coalition launched a series of airstrikes on several areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday, a government official told Xinhua.

The airstrikes were launched in support of the pro-government Yemeni forces who are battling the Houthi rebels on the ground, according to the official who preferred to remain anonymous.

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The Turkish-backed militants in northeastern Syria were involved in a deadly firefight with one another on Sunday, resulting in several dead and wounded, Kurdistan 24 reported.

According to the publication, at least eight Turkish-backed militants were killed during the firefight, with many more reportedly wounded as a result of the violence in the Al-Hasakah Governorate town of Ras Al-‘Ain.

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Four soldiers and 63 jihadists have been killed in fighting between Niger’s army and heavily armed extremists in the nation’s west, the government said Friday.

Extremists on motorcycles fought the army Thursday in the Tillaberi region near the border with Mali before being forced to flee, according to a defense ministry statement. The army was able to recover dozens of weapons and motorcycles, it said.

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Turkey claimed on Saturday that its army has “neutralized” tens of fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in days of clashes in northern Syria, despite the country’s agreement to two ceasefires in the area last October.

The Turkish defense ministry said on Saturday morning it had “neutralized” 24 members of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish armed group which makes up most of the SDF.

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