Round up| Cream of the crop in international headlines for the week

By: Daramola Luke with contributions from Saheed Muheez

As all sectors count down to the last days of 2024, the world continues to spin with lots of happenings that shape the face of concurrent Global politics. From an assassination in the Russo-Ukrainian war to the reversion of a multimillion-dollar bounty, here’s a rundown of the cream of the crop in international headlines.

1. Russia’s top General, Igor Kirilov assassinated in explosion in Moscow

2. Israel accused of genocidal acts over water access restrictions in Gaza

3. US deportation under Biden reaches post-2015 record high

4. US retracts $10 million reward for the arrest of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed Al Sharaa

5. Paris battles waning influence as its military bases in Africa dissipate

Let’s take a deep dive;

1 – Russia’s top General, Igor Kirilov assassinated in explosion in Moscow

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia took an ugly turn as Russia’s Chemical weapons chief, Igor Kirilov was assassinated on Wednesday in an explosion orchestrated by the Ukrainian SBU intelligence service. The explosion which happened outside an apartment building on the Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow, was confirmed by Ukrainian sources to have been caused by an electric scooter loaded with homemade explosives.

Kirilov had recently been sanctioned by the UK and charged by Ukraine for alleged chemical weapons use in the ongoing conflict and is the most senior Russian military officer to be assassinated on Russian soil by Kyiv. He is renowned for his outrageous claims that Ukraine was building biological weapons with the help of the West.

Moscow already holds Kiev responsible for a string of high-profile assassinations on its soil which it says is targeted at weakening morale and punishing those Kyiv regards guilty of war crimes. Kyiv on the other hand has allegedly made it clear that it regards such targeted killings as a legitimate tool in its war against Russia.

Kirilov’s murder is likely to prompt Russia to review security protocols for the country’s top brass as Moscow seeks revenge for the murder.

2 – Israel accused of genocidal acts over water access restrictions in Gaza

Tel Aviv has been accused of ‘acts of genocide’ for deliberately denying Palestinians adequate access to water by destroying water and sanitation infrastructure.

The allegations by Human Rights Watch in its scathing 179-page report which was released on Thursday said the Israeli Government intentionally destroyed critical infrastructure like solar panels powering treatment plants, a reservoir, and a spare parts warehouse while also cutting electricity supplies, attacking repair workers and blocking fuel from reaching generators.

The report was culled from interviews with dozens of Palestinians, including water authority officials, sanitation experts, and healthcare workers while Satellite imagery from October 2023 to September 2024 attested to it.

The HRW report is the latest in a series of accusations by rights groups that Israel is orchestrating a genocide in Gaza. However, the claim has been debunked by Israel which claimed the government has allowed the free flow of water supplies and aid were delivered through Israeli crossings. It is estimated that at least 45,000 people have been killed since Israel began its major offensive in the Gaza Strip.

3 – US deportation under Biden reaches post-2015 record high

More than 271,000 immigrants were evicted from the United States of America in the last fiscal year according to a report released by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Thursday.

The numbers which broke the record for the largest number of undocumented immigrants since 2015, were a stark opposite of what President Joe Biden had promised in 2021 when he pledged to pause deportations however, the rise in deportations is resulting from a surge in border crossings.

A big chunk of the 271,000 immigrants were apprehended by border officials, this accounted for more than 222,220 immigrants. The immigration reports come barely a month before the return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office and as well known, he has vowed to launch the largest deportation operation in American history.

4 – US retracts $10 million reward for the arrest of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed Al Sharaa

Washington announced it has scrapped a multimillion-dollar ‘reward for justice’ bounty for the arrest of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed Al Sharaa also known as Al-Joulani. The announcement came on Friday in a statement from US diplomat for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf after she led the first American diplomatic mission to Damascus in a decade.

The mission which met the top officials of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) for the first time since the HTS came to the fore of Syrian politics earlier this month, was directed towards discussing the transitional process and also exchanging information on the whereabouts of missing American citizens in Syria.

Barbara Leaf said the defacto leader was pragmatic with his statement and priorities for the country, but that Washington would judge by deeds and not just words. The meeting has increased hopes that Washington will likely delist the HTS from its terrorist group list and also help transition to an inclusive non-sectarian government especially as the country seeks to erase the throes of the deposed Assad family regime.

5 – Paris battles waning influence as its military bases in Africa dissipate

It’s been an unpleasant second term for France’s President, Emmanuel Macron both domestically and internationally. On the home front, he has had the unsavory and unpleasant task of picking four prime ministers in 2024 with his candidates being ousted from the position by a disgruntled and politically locked French parliament.

External turbulence has also come from France’s former colonies in Africa as the countries in the Sahel have all cut ties with their former colonial master. Late Thursday, Chad followed the trend by requesting that Paris remove all troops and equipment in the next six weeks. This meant all French troops were to be withdrawn by late January 2025 which follows Senegal’s declaration of the same implication.

N’djamena remains the last country in the Sahel to host French troops and has created a special commission to supervise the retraction of the military agreement between her and France. Chadian officials claim the request for troop withdrawals does not imply a full breakdown of relations with France, unlike the status quo with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

To international onlookers, the move indicates the intensity of France’s dying influence in francophone Africa with countries reaffirming their sovereignty while possibly aligning with the East.