Sudan's Burhan shakes up army, tightens control
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Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Drone attack destroys 16 trucks carrying UN food to Sudan's famine-hit Darfur region
A drone attack on a UN convoy set fire to all 16 trucks carrying desperately needed food to Sudan's famine-hit North Darfur region and destroyed all the vehicles, the United Nations said Thursday. UN associate spokesperson Daniela Gross told reporters that all drivers and personnel traveling with the World Food Program convoy are safe. Gross said it was not yet clear who was responsibility for Wednesday's attack, the second in the past three months to prevent a UN convoy from delivering to North Darfur. In early June, a convoy from the World Food Program and UNICEF was attacked while awaiting clearance to proceed to North Darfur's besieged capital, el-Fasher, killing five people and injuring several others. Sudan plunged into conflict in April 2023, when violence sparked by long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders erupted in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including western Darfur. Some 40,000 people have been killed and nearly 13 million displaced, UN agencies say. Nearly 25 million people are experiencing acute hunger, Gross said. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies announced in late June that they had formed a parallel government in areas they control, mainly in the vast Darfur region where allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity are being investigated. The RSF has encircled el-Fasher, where the UN says people are facing starvation. It is the only capital the paramilitary forces don't hold in Darfur, which is comprised of five states. Over a year ago, famine was declared in the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur. The risk of famine has since spread to 17 areas in Darfur and the Kordofan region, which is adjacent to North Darfur and west of Khartoum, the UN says.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
US congresswoman joins effort to limit offensive weapons to Israel
CHICAGO: Democratic Congresswoman Robin Kelly on Thursday said she supports 'Block the Bombs' legislation that would prevent the 'unchecked transfer' of offensive weapons to Israel. In a statement to Arab News, Kelly said she will continue to support 'defensive' systems for Israel, but its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'has turned a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, allowing starvation and famine to spread.' She added: 'We've reached a critical point where Congress needs to act.' The legislation was introduced in May by Democratic Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, and is backed by 21 other members of Congress. As the Gaza conflict continues and the loss of civilian life grows, more mainstream members have joined in pushing for the law's adoption. 'As Senator, I will support essential security aid to Israel. But in this moment, we cannot allow the transfer of the deadliest offensive weapons without taking definitive action to prevent the loss of civilian life,' Kelly said, referencing her candidacy for the US Senate next year.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Warring Factions Trade Blame over Strike on Aid Convoy in Darfur
The warring parties in Sudan's civil war have traded blame for an attack on a UN World Food Program convoy trying to bring aid to an area of North Darfur where fighting and blockades have led to deadly hunger. The convoy was hit north of the city of al-Fashir, the army's only holdout in the wider Darfur region where an estimated 300,000 remaining residents have been subject to a long siege by the rival Rapid Support Forces as fighting rages. Aid has frequently come under fire and been blockaded by both sides in the war, which erupted from a power struggle in April 2023 and has caused what the UN has called the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, AFP reported. "On 20 August, a WFP convoy of 16 trucks carrying life-saving food aid for the most vulnerable populations in Alsayah village came under attack near Mellit, a famine-affected area in North Darfur," WFP said in a statement, adding that three of the trucks caught fire but no one was hurt. The RSF accused the Sudanese army of hitting the convoys as part of a drone attack on Mellit market and other areas. The army later said in a statement that this was a fabrication to distract from what it termed the RSF's crimes in al-Fashir. The RSF's siege of al-Fashir has cut off supplies and driven up prices. Experts determined that famine had taken hold in parts of the area last year. Civilians have come under artillery bombardment, drone strikes, as well as direct attacks. Camps for displaced people have been repeatedly attacked. Last week, local activists said more than 40 people were killed, including by direct fire, when RSF soldiers entered the Abu Shouk camp in the north of the city. The RSF denied responsibility for the deaths. Those who leave al-Fashir face RSF checkpoints and have come under attack, including sexual assaults. Some 70 trucks of supplies are waiting in the RSF-controlled city of Nyala to get to al-Fashir, but security guarantees were needed as humanitarian workers were coming under attack, said Edem Wosornu of UN humanitarian agency OCHA. "We have food, we have medical supplies, we have kits for gender-based violence, we have life-saving equipment that will save lives," she said. US senior Africa advisor Massad Boulos, who last week called on the RSF to ensure aid reaches al-Fashir, condemned the convoy attack.
