🇷🇺❌🇲🇩 — Moldovan Foreign Ministry expelled 3 Russian embassy employees from the country.

🇳🇪❌🇳🇬🇹🇩🇳🇬🇧🇯🇨🇲— Niger leaves MNJTF counter-terrorism coalition, deepens strains between the country and the sub-region.

➡️ Nigerien Defense Ministry, in a statement announced its' full retreat from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) coalition, composed of Nigeria, Chad, Benin, Cameroon and formerly Niger.

➡️ The coalition has many bases around the Lake Chad basin area, the coalition was created to eradicate ISWAP and JAS presence in the region, the MNJTF base of Wulgo was attacked just a few days ago.

➡️ Niger's retreat from the coalition comes only a month before the yearly Operation Lake Sanity offensive against ISWAP and JAS is due to begin, meaning Niger will not participate.

➡️Niger will redeploy its' military assets to protect its oil installations against the growing IS-Sahel threat that infiltrated northwestern Nigeria, commonly referred to as 'Lakurawa'.

#BREAKING
🏳️❌🇲🇱🇲🇱 — FLA outlets claim to have shot down an Akinci drone of the Malian Armed Forces above their stronghold of Tinzawaten, near the border with Algeria.

➡️ Unclear what they have shot it down with, this is the first time such drone is shot down in the region.

—❗️🇮🇱/🇱🇧/🇱🇧 NEW: According to initial reports, several floors of an appartment building have been struck

Most likely, the strike was a targeted assassination against a Hezbollah official. No warning was given.

@Middle_East_Spectator

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇶🇦🇦🇪🇬🇷 — Yedioth Ahronoth Israeli newspaper says Qatari, Emirati, Israeli, American, and Greek air forces will conduct joint exercises.