WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump says extraditing a Turkish-born Muslim cleric blamed by Turkey for engineering a 2016 military coup attempt is "not under consideration."
Fethullah Gulen has lived for nearly 20 years in self-exile at an Islamic retreat in the Pocono Mountains. He denies the allegations made by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The US has told Turkey it must present convincing evidence for any extradition proceeding to go forward.
Trump tells reporters that "we are always looking at whatever we can do for Turkey," and he says the US is "having a very good moment" with Turkey following Turkey's recent release of a detained American pastor.
Trump is praising Erdogan as "a strong man," ''a tough man" and "a smart man."
Trump: Sending cleric to Turkey 'not under consideration'
Trump: Sending cleric to Turkey 'not under consideration'
- Fethullah Gulen has lived for nearly 20 years in self-exile at an Islamic retreat in the Pocono Mountains
- He denies the allegations made by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali
- “Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor said
- The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group
ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.
“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.
“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.
The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.
Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.
It blamed the violence mainly on the Daesh in the Sahel group, followed by the Nigerien army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The association source said the victims came from four neighboring villages — Doukou Makani, Doukou Djinde, Doukou Saraou and Doukou Koirategui.
The Anzourou district is made up of around 50 villages and hamlets in Tillaberi, which borders near the area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, long the scene of deadly militant attacks.
Niger has been run by a military junta since a coup in July 2023.
For the last decade, the country has been blighted by deadly militant attacks. Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 2,000 deaths, according to ACLED.
With the Nigerien army struggling to contain the attacks, it has tolerated the creation of self-defense militias by villagers, leading to bloody clashes with militants.
In December last year, the military regime in Niamey announced a “general mobilization” and the “requisition” of people and property to better fight the Islamists.
Niger has created a 6,000-strong joint force with Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also run by the military and facing militant violence.
