Armed gunmen have murdered Haiti President Jovenel Moïse and severely wounded First Lady Martine Moïse in a coordinated attack on their home, marking the most high-profile act of violence to hit the Caribbean nation amid significant unrest recently.

Prime Minister Claude Joseph confirmed the targeted killing in a press release. The attackers - some of whom reportedly spoke English and Spanish - ambushed the president’s private residence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince in the early morning hours of July 7, shooting and killing him, while the first lady is in the hospital in critical condition.

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General Commander of the National Police Cesar Cervantes on Monday confirmed the death of 18 people in a population center in Vizcatan Province, located in the Valley of Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM) area, which was allegedly caused by remnants of the terrorist organization known as Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path).

“According to pamphlets found (in the area), which have been read and analyzed by agents of the Anti-Terrorism Directorate (Dircote), at this moment we can already say that they are members of the terrorist organization Shining Path,” he said in statements to Canal N.

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Fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban has left more than 100 insurgents dead in the past 24 hours, the defence ministry said Sunday as it took control of a US military base in a restive province.

The US military handed over Camp Antonik in the southern Helmand province to Afghan forces, a day after it formally began withdrawing its remaining troops from the country.

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Some 14 rebels and one Colombian soldier have been killed in combat between guerrillas and the Andean country’s military, army sources said on Saturday.

Fourteen members of the Carlos Patino front - founded by former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who reject a 2016 peace deal - were killed in the confrontations in Argelia, Cauca province, two military sources told Reuters.

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More than 3,000 people have been displaced by heavy clashes between Colombian non-state armed groups and the Venezuelan army in La Victoria and rural surroundings in Venezuela. Displaced communities are fleeing into Colombia, many in need of aid.

“It was reported that families continue to flee across the border in search of safety as the violence in the area has not completely stopped. People we have spoken with are terrified and fear for their lives,” said Dominika Arseniuk, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Country Director in Colombia.

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