Elian Peltier
@elianpeltier.bsky.social
International correspondent with The New York Times covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
When we left an Afghan soldier said to me, “We defeated you, now we’re taking care of them.” We left the area a few hours before the clashes started.
December 6, 2025 at 6:22 AM
When we left an Afghan soldier said to me, “We defeated you, now we’re taking care of them.” We left the area a few hours before the clashes started.
Families who had just crossed the border all shared a similar story: they had been in Pakistan for decades, left under the relentless pressure of the Pakistani police and government, and said they had little to come back to — no housing option, no job prospect.
December 6, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Families who had just crossed the border all shared a similar story: they had been in Pakistan for decades, left under the relentless pressure of the Pakistani police and government, and said they had little to come back to — no housing option, no job prospect.
Heavy weaponry on both sides, and Pakistani soldiers came to enquire what we were doing and greeted us. Afghan soldiers blamed Pakistan for trying to overwhelm them during the day by releasing trucks with returnees all at once.
December 6, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Heavy weaponry on both sides, and Pakistani soldiers came to enquire what we were doing and greeted us. Afghan soldiers blamed Pakistan for trying to overwhelm them during the day by releasing trucks with returnees all at once.
I was at the Spin Boldak border crossing a few hours before Afghanistan and Pakistan accused each other of opening fire there. The damaged “Friendship Gate” remained inaccessible. Only Afghans returning from Afghanistan, on wheelbarrows and in trucks, were allowed to cross.
December 6, 2025 at 6:22 AM
I was at the Spin Boldak border crossing a few hours before Afghanistan and Pakistan accused each other of opening fire there. The damaged “Friendship Gate” remained inaccessible. Only Afghans returning from Afghanistan, on wheelbarrows and in trucks, were allowed to cross.
August 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It’s hard to fathom the scenes of devastation in northern Pakistan, and yet they’re becoming the norm.
August 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It’s hard to fathom the scenes of devastation in northern Pakistan, and yet they’re becoming the norm.
Last week I went to the border between Iran and Afghanistan to report on the mass expulsions and forced returns of nearly 1.5 million Afghans living in Iran this year. The story is on today's front page of the New York Times.
July 17, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Last week I went to the border between Iran and Afghanistan to report on the mass expulsions and forced returns of nearly 1.5 million Afghans living in Iran this year. The story is on today's front page of the New York Times.
23 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, are already in need of humanitarian assistance. UN agencies and aid groups are overwhelmed and don’t know how to cope at the Islam Qala border crossing I visited. These are the effects of slashing foreign aid.
July 14, 2025 at 2:10 PM
23 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, are already in need of humanitarian assistance. UN agencies and aid groups are overwhelmed and don’t know how to cope at the Islam Qala border crossing I visited. These are the effects of slashing foreign aid.
I’m coming back from the Iran-Afghanistan border where 20,000+ Afghans return everyday amid a wave of mass expulsions from Iran. 435,000 have returned since July 1, per UNHCR. 800,000 since June 1 and 1.4 million this year. When was the last time we’ve seen such figures?
July 14, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I’m coming back from the Iran-Afghanistan border where 20,000+ Afghans return everyday amid a wave of mass expulsions from Iran. 435,000 have returned since July 1, per UNHCR. 800,000 since June 1 and 1.4 million this year. When was the last time we’ve seen such figures?
What migration looks like in Africa — via @nytopinion
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
April 18, 2025 at 11:13 AM
What migration looks like in Africa — via @nytopinion
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Congo and our story on the M23 armed group, with an interview with one of its leaders in Goma last month, on the front page of today’s print edition of The New York Times. 📸 Guerchom Ndebo
March 23, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Congo and our story on the M23 armed group, with an interview with one of its leaders in Goma last month, on the front page of today’s print edition of The New York Times. 📸 Guerchom Ndebo
We’ve also published a map of the territory under M23’s control or influence, with help from @IPISResearch. M23 controls approximately 9,600 square kilometers, or 3,700 square miles. It’s like a small U.S. state.
March 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
We’ve also published a map of the territory under M23’s control or influence, with help from @IPISResearch. M23 controls approximately 9,600 square kilometers, or 3,700 square miles. It’s like a small U.S. state.
It has razed camps for displaced people and ordered them to move back to territories now under the group’s control. Humanitarian groups say the evictions and departures have created another wave of displacement.
March 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
It has razed camps for displaced people and ordered them to move back to territories now under the group’s control. Humanitarian groups say the evictions and departures have created another wave of displacement.
Nangaa hosted journalists at the governor’s house, on the shore of Lake Kivu. Bertrand Bisimwa, M23’s political leader, sat next to him in silence. A Congolese flag stood behind them. Nangaa called Bisimwa his deputy.
March 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Nangaa hosted journalists at the governor’s house, on the shore of Lake Kivu. Bertrand Bisimwa, M23’s political leader, sat next to him in silence. A Congolese flag stood behind them. Nangaa called Bisimwa his deputy.
🇷🇼🇺🇬Nangaa said his group shared common security and economic interests with Rwanda and Uganda. And he appeared to condone the presence of Rwandan troops in eastern Congo.
March 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🇷🇼🇺🇬Nangaa said his group shared common security and economic interests with Rwanda and Uganda. And he appeared to condone the presence of Rwandan troops in eastern Congo.
Throughout the interview Nangaa positioned himself as someone able to fix and rebuild Congo's state apparatus. Congo has no state authority, he said, and M23/CRA wants to re-establish it through 4 pillars: justice, army, police, administration.
March 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Throughout the interview Nangaa positioned himself as someone able to fix and rebuild Congo's state apparatus. Congo has no state authority, he said, and M23/CRA wants to re-establish it through 4 pillars: justice, army, police, administration.
🇨🇩 I interviewed the M23 and Congo River Alliance leader Corneille Nangaa on my trip to Goma last month. I’ll share a few highlights here. 🧵
March 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🇨🇩 I interviewed the M23 and Congo River Alliance leader Corneille Nangaa on my trip to Goma last month. I’ll share a few highlights here. 🧵
Lake Kivu & Mount Nyiragongo, Congo & Rwanda 🛥️🌋🇨🇩🇷🇼
February 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Lake Kivu & Mount Nyiragongo, Congo & Rwanda 🛥️🌋🇨🇩🇷🇼
Kagame who a week ago said he didn’t know whether Rwandan troops were in eastern Congo, now calls their presence “obvious.”
www.jeuneafrique.com/1657080/poli...
www.jeuneafrique.com/1657080/poli...
February 13, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Kagame who a week ago said he didn’t know whether Rwandan troops were in eastern Congo, now calls their presence “obvious.”
www.jeuneafrique.com/1657080/poli...
www.jeuneafrique.com/1657080/poli...
A small sample of programs affected by Trump’s aid freeze across the world 🌍 Full story ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...
February 1, 2025 at 1:08 PM
A small sample of programs affected by Trump’s aid freeze across the world 🌍 Full story ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...
Back from a week of holidays in Tunisia where among other things I discovered this very cool project on satellite imagery and new forms of political domination (1st pic)
www.paulmesnager.com/geography-of...
www.paulmesnager.com/geography-of...
January 13, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Back from a week of holidays in Tunisia where among other things I discovered this very cool project on satellite imagery and new forms of political domination (1st pic)
www.paulmesnager.com/geography-of...
www.paulmesnager.com/geography-of...
Russia keeps pushing the claim that the U.S. is setting up “biolabs” in Africa. Earlier this year I reported on Russian-driven disinformation against efforts to stop the spread of malaria in Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/w...
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/w...
December 24, 2024 at 10:16 AM
Russia keeps pushing the claim that the U.S. is setting up “biolabs” in Africa. Earlier this year I reported on Russian-driven disinformation against efforts to stop the spread of malaria in Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/w...
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/w...
Worst air quality in the world today: Dakar 🇸🇳📍
December 18, 2024 at 10:55 AM
Worst air quality in the world today: Dakar 🇸🇳📍
Some photos from our trip to northern Côte d’Ivoire this fall 🇨🇮
December 16, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Some photos from our trip to northern Côte d’Ivoire this fall 🇨🇮