Follow us on social

Shutterstock_1515638258-scaled

Nigerian military’s forced abortions raise questions about US aid

The shocking revelation is the latest in a long line of alleged human rights abuses carried out during the fight against Boko Haram.

Africa

Since 2013, the Nigerian military has “run a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country’s northeast,” leading to the termination of at least 10,000 pregnancies, according to a new report from Reuters.

The campaign, which targets women who have been raped by Islamist fighters, stems from the idea that “the children of insurgents are predestined, by the blood in their veins, to one day take up arms against the Nigerian government and society,” according to report.

Reuters confirmed the programs existence through interviews with victims, soldiers, and health workers who have been instructed to carry out the forced abortions, which legal experts say could amount to crimes against humanity. Nigerian authorities strongly deny the allegations.

The shocking revelation is the latest in a long line of human rights-related accusations lodged against the Nigerian military in recent years. Alleged abuses include “extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions,” according to Amnesty International.

The report comes just eight months after the United States approved a $1 billion sale of military equipment to Nigeria. Though officials had initially delayed the sale over human rights concerns, the deal went through after including a mandate of “special training on the law of armed conflict and human rights, and air-to-ground integration to minimize civilian harm in air operations.”

The news will add pressure on leaders in Washington to reduce or end U.S. military support for the country, which, between direct aid and arms sales, has totalled more than $2 billion since 2000.

As journalist Nick Turse wrote earlier this year, “Nigerian armed forces have not only failed to defeat militants but routinely commit grave human rights abuses in the name of counterterrorism without repercussions from the United States.” This pattern has continued despite years of U.S. training aimed at encouraging soldiers to protect civilians and reduce human rights violations.

Beyond concerns about rights abuses, experts have also questioned whether Nigeria’s expensive, militarized approach to Boko Haram and the Islamic State has made any progress in destroying the groups. 

“The United States should support nonviolent peacebuilding programs, and the Nigerian government must prioritize its spending to address the same,” wrote Nigeria analysts Charles Kwuelum and Iyabo Obasanjo earlier this year. 

“In a place where high percentages of the population are food insecure and lack adequate health or educational opportunities, the expenditure of nearly $1 billion for weapons will further erode trust in the Nigerian government,” Kwuelum and Obasanjo added. “While we fully support the need to address insecurity, more weapons won’t solve Nigeria’s security crisis.”


(Shutterstock/ Bumble Dee)
Africa
Kurdistan drone attacks
Top photo credit: A security official stands near site of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Kurdistan oil is the Bermuda Triangle of international politics

Middle East

In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that a strong Kurdistan Region within a federal Iraq is a "fundamental and strategic component" of U.S. policy. Two months later, that policy was set on fire.

A relentless campaign of drone attacks targeting Iraqi Kurdistan’s military, civilian, and energy infrastructure escalated dramatically in July, as a swarm of Iranian-made drones struck oil fields operated by American and Norwegian companies. Previous strikes had focused on targets like Erbil International Airport and the headquarters of the Peshmerga’s 70th Force in Sulaymaniyah.

The attacks slashed regional oil production from a pre-attack level of nearly 280,000 barrels per day to a mere 80,000.

The arrival of Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji in Erbil personified the central paradox of the crisis. His mission was to lead an investigation into an attack that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials had already publicly blamed on armed groups embedded within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)—components of his own government.

keep readingShow less
Sudan
Sudanese protester stands in front of a blazing fire during a demonstration against the military coup, on International Women's Day in Khartoum, Sudan March 8, 2022. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Sudan civil war takes dark turn as RSF launches 'parallel government'

Africa

In a dramatic move last week, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced the selection of its own prime minister and presidential council to compete with and directly challenge the legitimacy of the Sudanese government.

News of the new parallel government comes days before a new round of peace talks was expected to begin in Washington last week. Although neither of the two civil war belligerents were going to attend, it was to be the latest effort by the United States to broker an end to the war in Sudan — and the first major effort under Trump’s presidency.

keep readingShow less
starvation gaza
Top photo credit: A doctor checks Jana Ayad, a malnourished Palestinian girl, as she receives treatment at the International Medical Corps field hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the southern Gaza Strip, June 22, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem /File Photo

Mainstream media largely sidelined starvation story, until it couldn't

Middle East

The headlines are increasingly dire.

  • “Child Dies of Malnutrition as Starvation in Gaza Grows” (CNN, 7/21/25)
  • “More Than 100 Aid Groups Warn of Starvation in Gaza as Israeli Strikes Kill 29, Officials Say” (AP, 7/23/25)
  • “No Formula, No Food: Mothers and Babies Starve Together in Gaza” (NBC, 7/25/25)
  • “Five-Month-Old Baby Dies in Mother’s Arms in Gaza, a New Victim of Escalating Starvation Crisis” (CNN, 7/26/25)
  • “Gaza’s Children Are Looking Through Trash to Avoid Starving” (New York, 7/28/25)

This media coverage is urgent and necessary—and criminally late.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.