Verified conflict news from dozens of credible sources. No speculation, no spin. Just the facts across 7 theaters of operation.
It's Thursday, March 26. Day 27 of Operation Epic Fury produced a landmark military action as Israel killed the entire IRGC Navy command at Bandar Abbas, including Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, with CENTCOM declaring the Iranian navy in irreversible decline after 92% of its large vessels were destroyed over 27 days. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi formally rejected the US 15-point peace framework and set five non-negotiable conditions. President Trump extended his pause on Iranian energy infrastructure strikes to April 6. In Lebanon, the IDF deployed a sixth division south of the Litani River, two soldiers were killed, and a Hezbollah rocket struck Nahariya, killing one civilian. In Sudan, drone strikes killed 28 civilians across Darfur and North Kordofan, and the RSF seized Kurmuk in Blue Nile State. In Europe, Ukrainian drones struck the Kirishi Kinef refinery for a second consecutive night, leaving approximately 40% of Russia's oil export capacity offline. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced all 32 allies met the 2% GDP spending target for the first time; hours later, Trump called the alliance a paper tiger. In the Americas, SOUTHCOM released footage of the March 25 Caribbean strike that killed four, while Maduro and Cilia Flores appeared in Manhattan federal court as defense attorneys sought dismissal of drug trafficking charges. The UN Security Council convened an emergency session on the DRC as M23 conducted a tactical withdrawal from 12 positions in Lubero territory. Japan confirmed deployment of approximately 1,000 troops to the Philippines for Balikatan 2026, the first such deployment since World War II, as China's Coast Guard formally demanded the Philippines halt provocations near Scarborough Shoal. Pakistan confirmed Operation Ghazab Lil Haq resumed after the Eid pause as Human Rights Watch declared the March 16 Kabul airstrike on the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center unlawful, with an updated toll of 411 killed. CISA added the Aqua Security Trivy supply-chain vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog and released a CVSS 10.0 advisory on WAGO industrial switches, as the Pentagon successfully tested the Dark Eagle Long Range Hypersonic Weapon.
An overnight Israeli strike on Bandar Abbas, Iran's principal port on the Strait of Hormuz, killed IRGC Navy Commander Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, intelligence chief Behnam Rezaei, and what the IDF described as the rest of the navy's top leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the operation "precise and lethal." CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed the deaths and declared the IRGC Navy on "an irreversible decline," stating US and Israeli forces had destroyed 92% of Iran's large naval vessels since February 28, "the largest elimination of a navy over a three-week period since World War II." Cooper called on all IRGC Navy personnel to "immediately abandon their post."
Israeli forces conducted what the IDF described as "a wave of extensive strikes in Isfahan," targeting the Isfahan University of Technology and Iran's only submarine design and development facility. Additional strikes hit Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Kermanshah, and Dezful. Iranian media reported two teenagers killed in a residential area in Shiraz county. The cumulative Iranian toll reached approximately 1,937 killed and 24,800 injured, per Iran's Health Ministry. The US military had struck over 10,000 targets since February 28, destroying two-thirds of Iran's missile and drone production facilities, per CENTCOM. Iran fired two salvoes of ballistic missiles at central Israel, striking the Arab-Israeli city of Kfar Qasim and causing structural damage and injuries. Israel's Health Ministry reported nearly 150 people injured in the prior 24 hours, with the cumulative Israeli civilian toll at 19 killed and 5,229 wounded. Late Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was extending his pause on striking Iranian energy plants by 10 days to April 6, writing it was "as per Iranian Government request." Tehran denied requesting the pause. Brent crude settled at $101.89 per barrel. The IAEA Director General expressed deep concern over strikes near Iran's operating Bushehr nuclear power plant, warning of a potential major radiological accident.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed at a White House Cabinet meeting that a 15-point action list had been delivered to Iran through Pakistan, forming "the framework for a peace deal." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected the framework in a formal statement, declaring: "We do not want a ceasefire; we want the war to end on our own terms." Araghchi set five conditions including war reparations, recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and a comprehensive end across all fronts including Hezbollah. Pakistan's foreign ministry confirmed facilitating the indirect talks, and a secret meeting between Pakistan's interior minister and the Iranian ambassador occurred on March 26, per OPB/NPR. Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed for the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting near Paris, saying "concrete progress has been made."
On Day 24 of the 2026 Lebanon War, the IDF deployed Division 162 into southern Lebanon, joining five other divisions already operating there. Hezbollah conducted more than 45 military operations against Israel on Thursday, firing over 100 rockets. A Hezbollah rocket struck a residential building in the coastal city of Nahariya, killing Uri Peretz, 43, a father of four, and injuring 11 others, per the Times of Israel. The IDF announced it killed senior Hezbollah anti-tank commander Hassan Mohammad Bashir in an airstrike. IDF soldier Sgt. Ori Greenberg, 21, was killed in southern Lebanon; a second soldier died in a separate ground contact. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported 1,116 killed and 3,229 wounded since March 2, including 121 children and 42 health workers. More than 1.2 million people had been displaced. Israeli Defense Ministry statements indicated formal territorial seizure of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River line. UNIFIL peacekeepers had been fired upon approximately 20 times since early March, with 4 injured and movements heavily restricted.
Israeli forces continued military operations in Gaza despite the October 2025 ceasefire. An airstrike struck a tent camp for displaced families in Deir al-Balah, killing one Palestinian and injuring eight others. The cumulative death toll since October 7, 2023 exceeded 72,253 killed and 171,912 injured, per UNRWA. The IDF controlled over 53% of Gaza's territory. Phase two of Trump's Comprehensive Plan remained suspended. In Yemen, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi declared his movement fully militarily ready in a televised address. A senior Houthi official told Reuters: "As for determining zero hour, they are left to leadership." The US Maritime Administration issued Advisory 2026-006 warning about threats in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Somali Basin. The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed for the 27th consecutive day, with approximately 2,000 vessels and 20,000 seafarers stranded.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan issued a joint statement on March 26 condemning Iranian attacks as "a blatant violation of their sovereignty" and reaffirming their right to self-defense and all necessary measures, per The National. The invocation of Article 51 of the UN Charter marked a significant hardening of the collective Gulf posture. Specific March 26 incidents included two people killed in Abu Dhabi from intercepted missile debris, an Iranian strike on Kuwait Airport fuel facilities, and a fire at a facility in Bahrain's Muharraq governorate. Kuwait's Interior Ministry announced it had foiled a Hezbollah-linked assassination plot targeting state leaders, arresting six suspects and identifying 14 additional suspects abroad. This was the third Hezbollah cell dismantled in Kuwait in under two weeks. In Iraq, US A-10 aircraft struck the 63rd PMF Brigade in Amerli, Salah al-Din province. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed attacks on the US base at Harir in Erbil.
Israeli forces conducted a brief incursion into the Quneitra region of southwestern Syria before withdrawing, with the IDF confirming strikes on Syrian military infrastructure. An ISIS ambush killed one customs officer in Aleppo countryside and one SDF member in southern Hasakah. In Sudan, two drone strikes killed at least 28 civilians. A strike on the Saraf Omra market in North Darfur hit a parked oil truck, killing 22 people including an infant. A separate strike near El-Rahad in North Kordofan killed 6 and injured 12. The RSF and allied SPLM-N faction expanded operations toward Geissan district following their capture of Kurmuk in Blue Nile State on March 25, releasing footage showing control of government buildings in Magaja. A regional government source warned that the Roseires Dam, Sudan's second-largest hydroelectric facility, was at risk. Over 73,000 civilians had been displaced toward Ed Damazin since fighting intensified during the Eid al-Fitr period. The EU imposed sanctions on seven individuals for escalating the conflict, including RSF leader Hemedti's brother.
Sources
Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, Reuters, CNN, IDF Spokesperson, CENTCOM, Al-Monitor, OPB/NPR, Axios, AFP, Euronews, UNRWA, Al-Masirah TV, US Maritime Administration, The National, Bloomberg, Breaking Defense, Barlaman Today, The Media Line, Democracy Now, SANA, SOHR, Xinhua, Arab News, Daily Sabah, Mada Masr
Day 1,492 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Overnight on March 25 to 26, Ukrainian drones struck the Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis refinery (Kinef) in Leningrad Oblast, setting fire to primary crude processing units and two storage tanks and halting all operations. Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces and General Staff confirmed the strike. The facility processes approximately 17.7 million metric tons of crude annually, roughly 6.6% of Russia's total refining capacity. This was the third consecutive night Ukraine struck Russian energy infrastructure in the northwest. Fires at Primorsk and Ust-Luga from prior nights were still burning on March 26, visible from Finland nearly 48 hours after the initial strikes. Reuters calculated that approximately 40% of Russia's oil export capacity, roughly 2 million barrels per day, was offline as of March 26. Brent crude traded above $106 per barrel. Ukraine's operation was internally designated "The Unmanned Systems Forces Fly to the White Nights." Separately, a Ukrainian drone struck the military icebreaker Purga at Vyborg Shipbuilding Plant during the March 25 operation. Russia's Navy subsequently began escorting shadow fleet tankers in both the Baltic and Black seas.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported 133 combat encounters on March 26 across all frontline sectors. The Pokrovsk direction absorbed the highest volume with 36 Russian attacks, six still active at the time of reporting. Ukrainian forces in this sector reported 93 Russian troops eliminated, 51 wounded, and 33 pieces of equipment destroyed. The Konstantynivka direction recorded 21 assaults; the Hulyaipole direction in Zaporizhzhia Oblast saw 18 attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed its forces seized Shevyakovka in Kharkiv Oblast and Nikiforovka approximately 4.6 km from Rai-Oleksandrivka. ISW's March 26 assessment confirmed that Russia's Spring-Summer 2026 offensive against Ukraine's "Fortress Belt" defensive line is underway in Donetsk Oblast. ISW assessed that Russian forces are unlikely to achieve a breakthrough in 2026 but will produce tactical gains at significant cost. The cumulative 24-hour report to 08:00 on March 26 recorded 158 combat engagements, with Russia deploying 70 airstrikes dropping 231 guided aerial bombs, 9,414 kamikaze drones, and 4,184 shellings including 131 from MLRS systems.
Russia launched 153 drones against Ukraine overnight on March 25 to 26, of which Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 130. A Shahed-type drone struck the Slobidskyi district of Kharkiv, injuring six people including a 65-year-old man with blast injuries and five women treated for acute stress reactions. The strike damaged a multi-story residential building and at least 10 vehicles. Russian forces also struck Kryvyi Rih, damaging an infrastructure facility. Over the preceding 24 hours, Kharkiv and 16 surrounding settlements came under attack, with 2 killed and 17 wounded including a child. In Belgorod Oblast, Ukrainian FPV drone strikes left approximately 450,000 people without power.
President Zelensky gave an interview to Le Monde calling for negotiations at the level of national leaders and stating Ukraine's readiness for a direct meeting with Putin. He accused Russia of seeking an ultimatum resolution and demanding Ukraine withdraw from Ukrainian-controlled portions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Zelensky landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the evening of March 26 for meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Ukraine offering battlefield-tested drone interception expertise in exchange for air defense missiles held by Gulf states. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "there is still no progress on the main issues, including the territorial one." President Trump stated: "I think the situation is calming down a little, and I believe we have a chance to get it done." In Washington, a Russian State Duma delegation led by Vyacheslav Nikonov met with US Congress members on March 26, the first bilateral legislative contact since 2022. The delegation received guidance from President Putin, per Peskov.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte presented the Alliance's 2025 Annual Report in Brussels on March 26, announcing that all 32 allies met or exceeded the 2% of GDP defense spending target for the first time in alliance history. European allies and Canada increased defense spending by 20% in real terms compared to 2024, with total Alliance military expenditure reaching $1.412 trillion. Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia exceeded the new 3.5% of GDP benchmark. Hours after the report's release, Trump called NATO a "paper tiger" at a White House Cabinet meeting, criticizing alliance members for refusing to support US military operations against Iran. "That's why I'm so disappointed in NATO. This was a test for NATO. We're going to remember," he said. The Joint Expeditionary Force Leaders' Summit convened in Helsinki with key outcomes including Ukrainian military units set to participate in JEF LION exercises later in 2026. The UK government confirmed its authorization for the Royal Navy to board, inspect, and potentially seize Russian shadow fleet vessels transiting UK waters.
President Trump extended Russia-related sanctions under Executive Order 14024 for one year on March 26, while simultaneously easing Belarus sanctions following President Lukashenko's release of 250 political prisoners. In Armenia, Prime Minister Pashinyan warned Armenia could face a "disastrous war" in September unless his party wins a constitutional majority in June elections. In Georgia, the CIVICUS Monitor added the country to its civic-space watchlist with a rating of "repressed," following the OSCE's conclusion of democratic backsliding and the EU's suspension of visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic passport holders. In Moldova, court proceedings revealed a Russian transnational network recruiting and deploying spies and saboteurs with Wagner Group ties, paid in cryptocurrency. In the Balkans, Serbian President Vucic continued publicly describing Serbia as preparing for a potential attack from a Croatia-Albania-Kosovo alliance, while Republika Srpska leader Dodik confirmed plans to attend Russia's May 9 Victory Day Parade.
Sources
Ukrainian General Staff, Ukrinform, Reuters, ISW, Kyiv Independent, BBC, Table Media, Euromaidan Press, AFP, Le Monde, GOV.UK, The Record, NATO, CIVICUS Monitor, OSCE
Joint Task Force Southern Spear released aerial footage on March 26 of the March 25 kinetic strike on an alleged narco-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea that killed four men. The video shows the vessel destroyed by an aerial munition with no survivors recovered. The strike was the 47th of Operation Southern Spear. The campaign's confirmed death toll stands at approximately 163 people across 47 destroyed vessels since September 2, 2025. Legal challenges continue, with the ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights having active lawsuits seeking disclosure of the Pentagon's legal justification. The USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and Carrier Strike Group 11 were underway in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility as part of Southern Seas 2026, a circumnavigation exercise with ten partner nations. The Nimitz deployment is its final operational voyage before decommissioning. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division were simultaneously deploying to CENTCOM for the Iran campaign.
Former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared before Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse in Manhattan on March 26 for their second federal court hearing since the January 5 arraignment. Defense attorney Barry Pollack argued the four-count narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracy charges should be dismissed because the US Treasury's OFAC reversed approval for Venezuelan government funds to pay legal fees within three hours of granting it, characterizing it as a Sixth Amendment violation. The hearing ended without a future court date being set. Pollack warned he would withdraw from the case if charges are not dismissed. Acting president Delcy Rodriguez was simultaneously in Miami pitching Venezuela's newly opened oil sector to investors, having signed amnesty laws resulting in 621 political prisoner releases and restored diplomatic relations with the United States since taking power on January 5.
An ELN explosive device struck a Colombian Army convoy on the Anillo Vial Occidental road in Cucuta, Norte de Santander on the night of March 25, injuring five soldiers. The attack indicates the ELN's February 20 unilateral ceasefire has ended or been violated, consistent with the broader collapse of President Gustavo Petro's Total Peace negotiations. Colombia remained in national mourning for the 69 victims of the March 23 C-130H Hercules crash at Caucaya Airport in Putumayo. On March 24, Colombia's attorney general issued arrest warrants for seven Segunda Marquetalia leaders including Ivan Marquez and Jhon 40 over the June 2025 assassination of Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, the first killing of a Colombian presidential candidate in three decades. The Global Terrorism Index 2026 shows Colombia returning to the top 10 most terrorism-affected countries, with attacks rising from 301 in 2024 to 442 in 2025.
The UN Human Rights Council held a formal session on March 26 in which Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif described Haiti as trapped in a "vortex of violence." At least 5,500 were killed and 2,600 injured between March 2025 and January 2026, per UN figures. An estimated half of all gang members are children under 18. The Haitian National Police reported that 43 suspected gang members were killed and two officers died during 32 anti-gang operations in Q1 2026. The US State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced a $3 million bounty for information about the financial networks of the Viv Ansanm coalition and Gran Grif, both designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, targeting gang financing infrastructure rather than individual leaders. Total internal displacement stood at 1.45 million, approaching 2010 earthquake levels. The Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission was completing its final drawdown. The UN-backed Gang Suppression Force is expected to deploy in April with a target of 5,500 personnel by October 2026.
Trinidad and Tobago security forces conducted a successful at-sea rescue that produced 11 arrests on March 26. A 73-year-old businesswoman seized from her San Juan home was intercepted approximately one nautical mile off Corozal in a vessel bound for Venezuela. Eleven suspects were detained, six Venezuelan nationals and five Trinidadians. In Honduras, Congress voted 93 of 128 deputies to remove Attorney General Johel Zelaya in an express impeachment proceeding. Hours later, Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebeca Raquel resigned to avoid her own removal. Congress installed pro-government ally Pablo Reyes as replacement attorney general, consolidating executive-aligned control over Honduras's judicial institutions. Cuba's energy crisis reached new 2026 lows, with available generation of just 1,043 MW against demand of 2,334 MW and a nighttime peak deficit forecast of 1,955 MW. The grid collapsed entirely three times in March. The WHO warned Cuban hospitals were struggling to maintain emergency services with thousands of surgeries postponed.
Chilean police fired water cannons at student protesters in central Santiago on March 26, the first significant street violence under President Jose Antonio Kast, inaugurated March 11. The demonstration coincided with a government-ordered fuel price hike driven by international oil prices above $100 per barrel linked to the Iran conflict. Argentina on March 26 formally designated the CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) a terrorist organization, placing it alongside Hamas and Iran's Quds Force on the country's terrorism list. In Bolivia, an indefinite transport strike began in La Paz and El Alto after the Federacion Departamental de Choferes shut down all public transit over poor-quality fuel damaging vehicle engines. The crisis traces to President Rodrigo Paz's December 2025 elimination of fuel subsidies, which doubled gasoline prices and triggered Bolivia's worst economic crisis in four decades.
Sources
SOUTHCOM, Reuters, AP, CNN, Bloomberg, Miami Herald, InSight Crime, United Nations, ACLU, AFP, Voz de America, El Tiempo, Telesur, Caribbean News Global, Honduras Proxima
The most consequential diplomatic event of March 26 was the UN Security Council's open briefing on the DRC, convened under the US presidency, in which acting MONUSCO chief Vivian van de Perre delivered a stark assessment: the conflict was "extremely tense" and actively expanding. Her briefing documented drone strikes and GPS jamming affecting Bangoka Airport in Kisangani, Tshopo province, hundreds of kilometers west of the traditional eastern front lines. Both FARDC and M23/Rwanda forces were confirmed deploying Chinese CH-4 and Turkish TAI Anka drones in and around urban areas. The humanitarian toll: 6.4 million internally displaced, 26.6 million facing food insecurity, and 173 documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence since December 2025. US Senior Advisor Massad Boulos, who chaired the session, called resolving the eastern DRC conflict a matter of "highest priority" for the Trump administration, citing an April 15 Washington Accords compliance assessment deadline. Reporters Without Borders separately revealed M23 was using shipping containers to detain journalists and civilians in Goma, with up to 80 people per container without light or ventilation. On the ground, M23 forces conducted a notable tactical withdrawal from at least 12 positions in Lubero territory, North Kivu, with the territory administrator cautioning the movement may represent repositioning rather than genuine concession. The Doha peace process was simultaneously reported fully paralyzed.
The Nigerian Air Force conducted precision strikes on ISWAP positions in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, on March 26, targeting ISWAP logistics and command positions following credible intelligence of regrouping activity. The strikes came ten days after the March 16 Maiduguri suicide bombings, which killed 23 to 27 people and wounded 146 in the most lethal attack on the Borno capital in recent years. Reports indicated a concurrent ISWAP assault on the military camp at Kajeri in the Bama-Banki-Gwoza junction with heavy casualties. In the northwest, armed Lakurawa militants had killed 9 soldiers, one police officer, and one civilian in Giron Masa, Shanga LGA, Kebbi State on the night of March 24, destroying two military gun trucks. Governor Nasir Idris visited injured soldiers and pledged government assistance. Nigeria ranked fourth most terrorized country globally in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index, with terrorism fatalities up 46% to 750 in 2025.
A major fuel convoy escorted by Forces Armees du Mali (FAMa) arrived in Bamako on March 26, a tactical victory against JNIM's economic blockade strategy, which has intermittently strangled the capital since September 2025. The convoy's arrival followed a reported informal agreement in which JNIM agreed to pause attacks on fuel transports until the end of May, representing a form of de facto negotiation between the Malian government and the armed group it officially refuses to engage. Islamic State Sahel Province circulated a formal claim for an ambush against Niger Army forces at Sanama in Tillaberi region, reporting six Nigerien soldiers killed, following a March 9 ambush in the same region that killed 21 pro-government militia members. The AU High Representative concluded a 72-hour visit to Niamey, describing the Alliance of Sahel States as "an undeniable reality," signaling pragmatic AU recalibration toward the junta-led alliance.
Ethiopia on March 26 was managing three simultaneous armed conflicts. In the Amhara region, Fano insurgency fighting was documented across at least 8 zonal administrations and 26 woreda and city administrations during the week containing March 26. Brigadier General Gaddissa Diro was killed by Fano forces in Dega Damot woreda on March 22 during "Operation Wubante," and Fano claimed to have captured hundreds of ENDF prisoners of war in Gojjam. In Oromia, an attack attributed to the OLA on the Metehara Sugar Factory on March 23 killed seven workers. The New Humanitarian published analysis explicitly warning that the Ethiopia-Eritrea confrontation risked escalating into a "regional mega-war" drawing in 10 to 15 countries. Both militaries had amassed forces along their shared border, with ENDF redeploying large formations including heavy artillery and tanks toward Tigray since February 7.
South Sudan on March 26 was in its third month of full-scale civil war following the collapse of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement. Active fighting continued through March 26 in Nyirol, Uror, Duk, Ayod, and Canal and Pigi counties in Jonglei State. Government airstrikes using incendiary weapons documented by Human Rights Watch struck populated areas. Save the Children and other humanitarian organizations had suspended operations in Jonglei. By late March, at least 280,000 people had been displaced in Jonglei alone, with over 2.6 million internally displaced nationwide per UNMISS. FEWS NET's March 2026 assessment cited Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity conditions in Jonglei and Upper Nile states with a risk of famine through September 2026. Uganda had deployed troops to support the SSPDF in an arrangement viewed by UN experts as violating the arms embargo. International Crisis Group warned that December 2026 elections were now widely considered impossible.
In Cabo Delgado, IS Mozambique fighters maintained active positions in the Catupa forest area. The EU financing of approximately 40 million euros supporting Rwanda's roughly 5,000-troop deployment expires in May 2026, and Rwanda has explicitly warned it may withdraw if funding is not renewed. A Rwandan withdrawal would remove the single most operationally capable external force in the province and almost certainly trigger ISM resurgence, threatening the TotalEnergies LNG project representing approximately $25 billion in invested capital. A March 15 incident in which Mozambican navy forces fired on six fishing boats off Mocimboa da Praia killed 13 civilian fishermen. In Kenya, the Special Operations Group killed two suspected al-Shabaab militants in a confirmed operation near Sarira, Mandera County. In South Africa, multiple gang shootings in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township left at least three dead, with the National Police Commissioner simultaneously served with a court summons over a R360 million procurement scandal. Zimbabwe disclosed that 15 citizens had died fighting in Ukraine after being recruited through trafficking syndicates using false employment advertisements. The WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference opened in Yaounde, Cameroon, the first WTO ministerial ever convened on African soil.
Sources
UN Security Council, MONUSCO, Reuters, Reporters Without Borders, AP, Pointblank News, ACLED, Mada Masr, FEWS NET, International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, UNMISS, The New Humanitarian, ISS Africa
March 26 was the eve of Myanmar's 81st Armed Forces Day, and the junta held formal pre-celebration ceremonies in Naypyidaw with dress rehearsal parades. The ceremonies stood in contrast to ongoing systematic violence against civilians. DVB reported that junta airstrikes killed at least 27 civilians in Sagaing Region between March 20 and 25: 17 civilians died when jets struck a monastery in Katha Township on March 20, 6 were killed in Ayardaw Township on March 22, and 4 more died in Myaung Township on March 23. On March 25, a Yak-130 fighter jet from Tada-U Air Base struck near Haw Zaung village in Phaungpyin Township with no active fighting reported in the area, per MoeMaKa. In Mandalay Region, junta forces arrested 5 civilians, forced them into PDF uniforms, tortured and killed them, and dumped the bodies, which residents discovered on March 24. Junta columns burned more than 800 houses in Min Te village in Taungtha Township on March 23, leaving only four structures standing. Resistance forces continued operations across Bago, Magway, and Sagaing regions overnight.
The fracture of the Three Brotherhood Alliance remained the dominant structural shift in the conflict as of March 26. The MNDAA had launched a coordinated offensive against the TNLA over control of Kutkai in northern Shan State on March 14, capturing Kutkai's tactical operations center by March 15. A ceasefire brokered by March 18 held as of March 26, but the alliance that had threatened the junta's core positions was effectively split. The MNDAA reopened the Muse-Lashio Highway, restoring the vital China border trade corridor. Foreign Policy analysis assessed that China played a behind-the-scenes role in engineering the inter-alliance split to reassert leverage over northern Shan State. The junta's parliament announced the presidential selection process would begin March 30, with Min Aung Hlaing widely expected to transition to nominal civilian president. A severe fuel crisis continued gripping the country, with gasoline reaching 10,000 to 15,000 kyats per liter in remote areas, compounded by the Iran war's disruption of Myanmar's Iranian jet fuel supply chain.
China's Coast Guard issued a formal statement on March 26 demanding the Philippines "immediately stop provocations and smear campaigns" near Scarborough Shoal. Philippine Coast Guard surveillance counted 6 CCG vessels, 20 Chinese maritime militia ships, and 1 PLA Navy warship operating in the vicinity while over 20 Filipino fishing boats reported harassment. Near Thitu Island on March 25, a PLA Navy missile frigate bearing bow number 532 closed at dangerous proximity on the Philippine landing ship BRP Benguet (LS507), forcing crew to take evasive action. Philippine Western Command spokesman Colonel Nep V. Padua confirmed the "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver." This followed AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr.'s March 24 disclosure that a Chinese corvette had locked fire-control radar on the Philippine guided-missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar near Sabina Shoal on March 7, an act the AFP described as hostile. The Philippines and France signed a Visiting Forces Agreement in Paris on March 26, making France the first European nation to hold such an agreement with Manila. President Marcos separately announced a successful gas strike at the Camago-3 well in the Malampaya field, producing up to 60 million standard cubic feet per day.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported 6 PLA aircraft sorties, 10 PLAN vessels, and 2 official ships operating around Taiwan during the 24-hour period ending 6 AM on March 27. Four of the six sorties crossed the Taiwan Strait median line into Taiwan's southwestern and eastern Air Defense Identification Zone. A Reuters and Mitchell Institute report confirmed China had stationed obsolete J-6 supersonic fighters converted into attack drones at six air bases near the Taiwan Strait, five in Fujian Province and one in Guangdong. PLAAF incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ had decreased approximately 46.5% since January 2026, with analysts attributing the reduced air tempo to the upcoming Trump-Xi summit rescheduled to May 14 and 15, China's ongoing military anti-corruption purge, and possible strategic recalibration. China's Taiwan Affairs Office separately indicated it offered Taiwan a guaranteed energy supply in exchange for agreeing to peaceful reunification talks, leveraging the Hormuz closure as a coercion instrument.
Kim Jong Un and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Pyongyang on March 26, declaring relations were entering a "fundamentally new stage." The summit built on Kim's March 22 address pledging to "irreversibly" cement North Korea's nuclear status, citing Operation Epic Fury as proof that denuclearization would be suicidal. South Korea rolled out its first mass-produced KF-21 fighter jets on March 25, with President Lee Jae Myung calling them a step toward self-reliant defense. Japan confirmed deployment of approximately 1,000 troops to the Philippines for Balikatan 2026 exercises, the first deployment of Japanese combat troops to the Philippines since World War II. Japan also confirmed deployment of upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles to Camp Kengun in Kyushu by March 31. North Korea warned the Type-12 deployment would cross a "red line." In Indonesia, the TPNPB released three hostages between March 18 and 19 while issuing a "final warning" to Jakarta, as Indonesia tripled troop numbers in Yahukimo following a sharp increase in security incidents in early 2026.
The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed for the 27th consecutive day. The IEA's March 2026 Oil Market Report cited the Hormuz closure as the largest single supply disruption since at least 1973. Japan, South Korea, China, and Southeast Asian nations were each managing worst-case energy scenarios through emergency reserve releases, alternative supplier negotiations, and domestic demand restrictions. The Asian Development Bank announced an emergency financial support package for developing member countries on March 25. China's state-owned ships were being permitted to transit the Strait under Iranian authorization, as Iran declared the waterway open to "peaceful ships." The redeployment of US assets from Asia to the Middle East continued to concern allied governments, with South Korea warning the Iran war could force permanent shifts of US missile defense assets away from the peninsula. The AUKUS submarine program received a $1 billion US foreign military sales package cleared March 23 and 24.
Sources
DVB, MoeMaKa, The Irrawaddy, Myanmar Now, Mizzima, Manila Bulletin, Philstar, Philippine News Agency, Reuters, ANI News, Defense News, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, USNI News, Japan Times, South China Morning Post
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry confirmed on March 26 that the temporary Eid pause in Operation Ghazab Lil Haq had concluded. Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stated the operation would continue "until the objectives are achieved, and until the Afghan Taliban regime reviews its misplaced priority of supporting terror infrastructures and terror proxies over the welfare of their own Afghan people." The Eid ceasefire had been brokered by Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and ran from March 18 through midnight March 23 to 24. Separately, the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) announced on March 26 it had ended its own Eid ceasefire and resumed attacks inside Pakistan. The TTP's concurrent resumption compounds Pakistan's three-front security burden alongside the Balochistan Liberation Army's parallel campaign against CPEC-linked infrastructure. Pakistan entered 2026 ranked first on the Global Terrorism Index, with 1,045 terrorist incidents in 2025 causing 1,139 deaths.
A second mass funeral was held on March 26 at Sarai Shamali cemetery in Kabul, where 60 coffins were lowered into a large pit. Afghan Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman announced an updated toll of 411 killed and 263 wounded following the recovery of additional bodies from the March 16 airstrike on the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center, a 2,000-bed complex on the grounds of former NATO base Camp Phoenix. Human Rights Watch published its findings declaring the strike "unlawful and a possible war crime." HRW's analysis of satellite imagery from March 23 showed widespread structural destruction at the site with no evidence of secondary detonations that would suggest stored ammunition, directly contradicting Pakistan's claim it struck an ammunition depot. HRW's Patricia Gossman stated: "The available evidence indicates that the Pakistani airstrike against a well-known Kabul medical facility killing dozens of patients was unlawful." Amnesty International issued a parallel statement raising serious concerns under international humanitarian law. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan maintained a lower verified figure of at least 143 killed. The UN Secretary-General demanded an independent international investigation.
Active cross-border combat resumed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier from the night of March 25 through March 26, with Kunar Province absorbing the heaviest bombardment. Pakistani forces fired a total of 85 artillery shells across five districts. In Nari District, 16 rounds struck residential areas, killing 1 civilian and wounding 6. In Sarkano District, two drone strikes plus 47 long-range projectiles killed 1 civilian and wounded 2. Afghan border forces returned fire, with Taliban officials claiming destruction of 3 Pakistani military posts and death of 1 Pakistani soldier, claims that could not be independently verified. In neighboring Nuristan Province, the Taliban reportedly dispatched two additional battalions to eastern Nuristan as reinforcement. The Torkham border crossing reopened at 2 p.m. local time on March 26, but exclusively for the deportation of undocumented Afghan nationals, with trade and general travel remaining suspended. Over 9,000 containers valued at more than $5 billion remained immobilized at Pakistani border crossings. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held separate phone calls with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and Taliban PM Mohammad Hassan Akhund, with Akhund calling for issues to be resolved "through wisdom and rationality."
Suspected Kuki militants opened fire on an Indian Army post in Phougakchao Awang Leikai, Bishnupur district, Manipur, at approximately 11:40 PM on March 25, with the security response unfolding through March 26. No security force casualties were reported. A combined operation launched from early morning on March 26 dismantled six illegally constructed bunkers in Litan and Mongkat Chepu Upper village. The Manipur attack was the second incident targeting security forces in Northeast India in four days, following ULFA(I)'s March 22 assault on an Assam Police Commando camp in Tinsukia, the insurgent group's first such attack in a decade. India's Ministry of Home Affairs ordered a pan-India audit of CCTV installations following the dismantlement of a Pakistan ISI-linked espionage network in Ghaziabad. The network had installed solar-powered CCTV cameras at sensitive locations including Delhi Cantonment and along the Delhi-Jammu railway corridor, streaming real-time footage of military troop movements to handlers in Pakistan via cellular networks. Twenty-two people were arrested in total, including six minors.
Bangladesh celebrated its 56th Independence Day on March 26 with a major military parade in Dhaka, the first such parade in 18 years. The event occurred against the backdrop of an acute energy crisis: Bangladesh imports 95% of its oil from Middle Eastern suppliers, Qatar had suspended gas deliveries, and the government had shut universities and imposed fuel rationing. Sri Lanka was operating on an estimated 25 days of remaining fuel reserves, with prices raised 25%, a QR-based rationing system in force, a mandatory four-day public sector working week, and a private bus strike that had removed approximately 90% of buses from roads. Iran's announcement permitting Strait of Hormuz passage for vessels from named "friendly nations," listing India, China, Russia, Iraq, and Pakistan, offered partial relief. Kazakhstan's First Deputy Minister of Defense conducted a combat readiness inspection of the country's Caspian Sea naval forces on March 26, stating the Navy plays "a key role in maintaining regional stability." The EU-Turkmenistan Business Forum in Ashgabat brought over 200 participants together to discuss energy security cooperation and the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor as an alternative to Iran-transit routes.
Sources
Dawn, ISPR, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, AP, Reuters, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, OPB/NPR, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, NDTV, Daily Star Bangladesh, BenarNews, Kazinform
CISA added CVE-2026-33634 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on March 26, formally acknowledging that the supply-chain compromise embedded in Aqua Security's Trivy container-scanning tool (versions 0.45.0 through 0.48.2) is under active exploitation. The flaw, CVSS score 9.4, allows attackers to steal tokens, SSH keys, cloud credentials, and database secrets from any CI/CD pipeline running a compromised Trivy version. Federal agencies face a remediation deadline of April 9. CISA separately released three Industrial Control System advisories, the highest-priority covering a hidden command-line interface function in WAGO GmbH industrial managed switches that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to achieve full device compromise. CISA assigned this flaw a CVSS score of 10.0, affecting energy, critical manufacturing, and transportation sectors. A second advisory covered PTC Windchill Product Lifecycle Management software with a remote code execution path against engineering document management systems. The Langflow AI workflow automation vulnerability CVE-2026-33017, added to the KEV Catalog on March 25, was being exploited by attackers approximately 20 hours after the advisory published, per BleepingComputer.
Stryker Corporation stated its manufacturing operations were "mostly restored" following the March 11 wiper attack attributed to Handala. The attack had executed through compromised Microsoft Intune administrator accounts that issued mass remote-wipe commands to approximately 200,000 devices across offices in 79 countries, the most destructive corporate cyberattack attributed to Iran-linked actors. Resecurity published intelligence on March 26 documenting that NasirSecurity, a pro-Iranian hacktivist group, had been conducting supply-chain attacks against energy sector contractors in the UAE, Oman, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, claiming breaches of Dubai Petroleum, CC Energy Development, and Al-Safi Oil Company. NasirSecurity also posted UAE Customs as a ransomware leak site victim. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 updated its Iran threat brief adding data on 7,381 conflict-themed phishing URLs spanning 1,881 unique hostnames. Iran's near-total internet blackout, which had reduced civilian connectivity to between 1 and 4 percent, entered its 27th consecutive day.
The Record reported on March 26 that the pro-Ukraine hacktivist group Bearlyfy had deployed a custom-built Windows ransomware strain called GenieLocker since early March, escalating from prior use of modified commodity tooling. The group has conducted over 70 cyberattacks against Russian companies over the past year. Armenian national Hambardzum Minasyan appeared in federal court in Austin, Texas following extradition on charges of being a lead developer of RedLine, a credential-stealing infostealer deployed in attacks across more than 150 countries since March 2020. Minasyan faces up to 30 years on charges including conspiracy to commit access device fraud and money laundering. Russian law enforcement detained the suspected administrator of LeakBase, a cybercrime marketplace with over 147,000 registered users, in Taganrog. The arrest followed Operation Leak, an international crackdown by the FBI and European law enforcement that involved over 100 enforcement actions against 45 individuals across 12 or more countries. Russian domestic action against cybercriminals is rare during the current geopolitical period. At least 12 new organizations appeared on ransomware leak sites across six operations on March 26, with government targets including Cape May County, New Jersey and UAE Customs drawing particular note.
The Pentagon successfully tested the Dark Eagle Long Range Hypersonic Weapon from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on March 26, per Space Coast Daily. The Dark Eagle system pairs a common hypersonic glide body with a road-mobile launcher, giving the Army a strike capability against time-sensitive targets at ranges exceeding 1,700 miles at speeds above Mach 5. In congressional testimony on March 26, Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess told the House Armed Services Committee that the grounding of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket, imposed after a solid rocket motor anomaly on February 12, could delay or require reassignment of several national security launches including WGS-11, the first Next-Generation OPIR GEO missile warning satellite, and the SILENTBARKER space domain awareness satellite. GPS III SV-10 had already been shifted to a SpaceX Falcon 9 on March 20. SpaceX launched Starlink 17-17 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, deploying 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites. A Chinese Long March 2C rocket deployed an undisclosed payload from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
CNBC published a comprehensive report documenting GPS interference across the Persian Gulf since Operation Epic Fury began February 28. Maritime analytics firm Windward logged over 1,100 vessels experiencing AIS interference within 24 hours of the conflict's start. By mid-March, Lloyd's List Intelligence had documented 1,735 GPS interference events affecting 655 distinct vessels. Affected ships appeared in navigation systems to teleport across airports and nuclear power plants, consistent with GPS spoofing designed to confuse drone and missile guidance systems. The UK and Belgium announced the establishment of a Joint Electronic Warfare Centre designated JEWC 2.0, with a $176 million budget covering 2026 through 2030, focused on cyberwarfare integration, weapon system data reprogramming, and counter-UAS electronic warfare. March 26 was also the final day of the Electronic Warfare Association Conference at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
Under Secretary of the Army Michael Obadal announced at the AUSA Global Force Symposium that the Army is accelerating AI-enabled targeting during active combat in Operation Epic Fury, citing results from Operation Ivy Sting at Fort Carson where the 4th Infantry Division executed 15 targeting actions in one hour using AI-enabled tools. The Palantir Maven Smart System, with over 20,000 active users, processed 1,000 targets within the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury. The Record reported that Volt Typhoon, the China-linked pre-positioning operation, remains actively embedded in US utility networks. CyberScoop reported that Salt Typhoon's threats are "still very much ongoing" after affecting over 200 targets across more than 80 countries, with Norway disclosing on March 26 that it had been a Salt Typhoon victim. China-linked Red Menshen APT separately deployed BPFDoor implants in telecommunications networks across the Middle East and Asia. March 26 was the final day of RSAC 2026 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, at which CISA, the FBI, and the NSA did not send speakers, an unprecedented absence that drew significant commentary from the cybersecurity community.
Sources
CISA, BleepingComputer, Reuters, The Record, Resecurity, Dark Reading, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, Space Coast Daily, CNBC, CyberScoop, Military.com, DefenseScoop, Security Affairs, NK News