Neverending/How many lives does it take?

Two U.S. service members were killed during operations against the Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday, the latest sign of the security challenges the Trump administration faces in America’s longest and most costly war.  Military officials said the deaths occurred during a joint U.S.-Afghan raid on Wednesday evening in Nangahar province, where a small but virulent Islamic State cell poses a threat to Afghan and U.S. coalition forces.  A third service member was wounded in the same operation, the U.S. military command in Afghanistan said in a statement. The Pentagon declined to immediately identify those killed.  Washington Post At least 20 people were killed in ethnic clashes last week in Democratic Republic of Congo's troubled Kasai region, according to the United Nations. The UN's DR Congo mission said in a statement on Wednesday that the clashes took place in the central region, east of the Kasai capital, Tshikapa.  Al Jazeera Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have fled their homes and are now trapped under intense sun without food, water or medical care, aid agencies said on Thursday after fierce fighting forced them to pull out of the region.  Almost 40,000 thirsty people are camped out in temperatures of about 40 degrees centigrade in Aburoc village, near the border with Sudan, said Marcus Bachmann, South Sudan head of mission for the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).  The quantity of water is not enough to survive in this environment," he told a news briefing via Skype from Juba.  With so many people squeezed in one place, the risk of an outbreak of cholera is extremely high. It puts the exhausted population at highest risk of death."  Reuters Human Rights Watch says armed groups targeting civilians in Central African Republic have killed at least 45 people and displaced 11,000 in the past three months.  The rights group said Tuesday that two factions are vying for control of the central part of the country. It says one predominantly Peul faction of the mostly Muslim Seleka group has been fighting since late 2016 with another faction that has aligned itself with the Christian anti-Balaka group.  Associated Press Violent conflict between rebel groups has been raging in the Central African Republic for years. Aid agencies are warning that the humanitarian situation is worsening dramatically.  Holding a hammer, Marcel Hamat walks through his house, or what remains of it. For the first time, the 52-year-old has returned to his hometown, Iyeda, after it was attacked and nearly razed to the ground in October 2016.  All Africa