Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the rebel leader who controls Libya’s oil-rich east, recently declared he has a popular mandate to rule all of the North African nation, a move that may give Russia the upper hand if he can succeed in taking Tripoli amid nearly a decade’s worth of sectarian strife.

At least 40 people have been killed in a bomb attack in the north-western Syrian city of Afrin, Turkey says.

Extremism experts said the latest “hygiene demos” were the first time politicians from far-right parties turned out to show their support.