UN rejects plans by Sudan's paramilitary group for a rival government amid civil war
The strongly worded statement by the U.N.'s most powerful body 'unequivocally reaffirmed' its unwavering commitment to Sudan's sovereignty, independence and unity. Any steps to undermine these principles 'threaten not only the future of Sudan but also the peace and stability of the broader region,' the statement said.
The 15-member council said the announcement by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces also risks 'fragmenting the country and worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.'
Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including western Darfur. Some 40,000 people have been killed, nearly 13 million displaced and many pushed to the brink of famine, U.N. agencies say.
The RSF and their allies announced in late June that they had formed a parallel government in areas the group controls, mainly in the vast Darfur region where allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity are being investigated.
The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said last month that the tribunal believes war crimes and crimes against humanity are taking place in Darfur, where the RSF controls all regional capitals except el-Fasher in North Darfur.
The Security Council reiterated that its priority is a resumption of talks by both parties to reach a lasting ceasefire and create conditions for a political resolution of the war, starting with a civilian-led transition that leads to a democratically elected national government.
Council members recalled their resolution adopted last year demanding that the RSF lift its siege of el-Fasher, 'where famine and extreme food insecurity conditions are at risk of spreading.' They expressed 'grave concern' at reports of a renewed RSF offensive on the besieged city.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday that 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, he said.
The U.N. World Food Program is calling for access to el-Fasher to deliver aid to people facing starvation, Dujarric said.
'As a coping mechanism, some residents of the area are reportedly surviving on animal fodder and food waste,' Dujarric said.
WFP is providing digital cash to about 250,000 people in el-Fasher to buy dwindling food left in markets, he said, but escalating hunger makes it imperative to scale up assistance now.
Sudan's foreign ministry accused the United Arab Emirates last month of sending Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF, saying the government has 'irrefutable evidence' that fighters from Colombia and some neighboring countries were sponsored and financed by Emirati authorities.
The UAE's foreign affairs ministry said the government 'categorically rejects' the allegations and denies involvement in the war by backing armed groups.
Without naming any countries, the Security Council urged all nations 'to refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability' and to support peace efforts.
The Security Council also condemned recent attacks in Kordofan that caused a high number of civilian casualties.
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Times
2 minutes ago
- Times
Africa wants new map to represent continent's impact on the world
On classroom walls from Lagos to London, the standardised world map shows a shrunken Africa, comparable in size to the United States or China, with an inflated Britain at the centre. Now African campaigners want it replaced because, they say, the nearly 500-year-old Mercator projection distorts geography by diminishing the world's second-largest continent because it exaggerates the size of the northern hemisphere. 'It might seem to be just a map but in reality it is not,' said Selma Haddadi of the African Union Commission. The AU is calling for schools, governments and international institutions to adopt images that reflect countries' true sizes. She said the present design had long fostered the false impression that Africa is 'marginal', a continent that could be tucked into Russia with room to spare, entrenching stereotypes across media, education and policy. Africa is sufficiently large that the US, China, India, Japan and much of western Europe could fit into the continent with space left over. The Mercator projection, developed in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, began as a tool for sailors. Stretching the lines of latitude, it allowed navigators to plot straight-line courses across oceans — a breakthrough for 16th-century sea travel. By the 18th century, Mercator's projection dominated world mapping, moving from maritime charts to home atlases and now viewed billions of times a year on Google Maps' mobile app. But its design exaggerates the size of landmasses near the poles and shrinks those nearer the equator. Antarctica is rendered so large that publishers often omit part of it and, in the process, centre the world vertically on Europe rather than the equator — which, critics say, gives the global north an exaggerated sense of importance. The 'Correct The Map' campaign has revived the debate over Africa's true size. Led by Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa, and supported by the AU, it urges global bodies — including the World Bank and the UN — to adopt the Equal Earth map, created in 2018 by three cartographers, which campaigners say is a fairer representation of countries' shape and size. The case for change is underscored by President Trump's fascination with Greenland, which on the Mercator map appears to rival Africa in size. Africa is 14 times larger, while Greenland is smaller than a single African country, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Trump is eyeing mineral deals to counter China's dominance. Trump, who floated the idea of acquiring Greenland during his first term, told reporters he was struck by its apparent scale. 'I love maps … and I always said, 'Look at the size of this. It's massive! That should be part of the United States.'' Canada, another country he has suggested annexing, also appears far bigger than its actual size. A World Bank spokesman said that it already used the Equal Earth or 'Winkel tripel' for static maps. Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter, said: 'The current size of Africa is wrong. It's the world's longest misinformation campaign, and it has to stop.'
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
I've found the best beach holiday in Africa
'You've picked a beauty of a day to fly,' the helicopter pilot says with a grin, as I strap myself into his five-seater on the small airstrip of the seaside town of Vilanculos, on Mozambique's southeast African coast. 'I think you're going to wish Benguerra Island was a little more than seven minutes away. So enjoy!' He's right. Within seconds of us taking off, soaring over thatched fishermen's houses and a palm-fringed cream beach, a jaw-dropping expanse of blues stretches out below us. In the pale aquamarine shallows, creamy sandbars swirl amid lacy blobs of coral. In the distance, the triangular sails of dhows cast black shadows on the ocean's surface. As we swoop down on the baguette-shaped island of Benguerra, there's nothing beyond the rolling dunes but sparkling sea and cloudless sky. Thirty years ago, the only helicopters that hovered over Mozambique were army ones. From 1975, when the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique party declared independence from the country's Portuguese colonisers, through to the end of the ensuing civil war in 1992, the country was a no-go zone for holidaymakers. City walls were pockmarked with bullet holes. The countryside was littered with landmines that killed thousands and destroyed wildlife. Ten years after its wars ended, Mozambique was still one of the poorest countries on earth. Today, infrastructure is still basic, the roads potholed and 800 miles away in the gas-rich far north, Isis-affiliated fighters have made the Cabo Delgado and Nampula areas a no-go zone, displacing thousands and killing hundreds. In the south, though, it feels like a different place. Around the seaside towns of Inhasorro and Vilanculos and on the nearby Bazaruto Archipelago, confidence is growing as the government tries to lure tourists back. On the mainland smart new private houses and boutique hotels have been built on the palm-lined beaches. On the San Sebastian Peninsula a 30,000-hectare wildlife sanctuary is dotted with mansions owned by wealthy families, including the Oppenheimers. And on the five islands that make up the Bazaruto Archipelago smart hotels are springing up, including Kisawa, where the helicopter is dropping me, on Benguerra and the British-owned Azura Marlin Beach, which opened in May. The reason? The coastline, stretching over 1,700 miles, is not only the longest around the Indian Ocean but one of the most beautiful on earth. Its sands and seas are the colours of the Maldives but but far less discovered; its waters throng with marine life; its food farmed or fished locally. The fact that Mozambique's neighbour, South Africa, produces very fine wine doesn't hurt either. When I check into my suite at Kisawa, I can see why Nina Flohr, the daughter of the Swiss VistaJet billionaire Thomas Flohr, and her husband Philippos, Prince of Greece and Denmark, fell in love with the 21 sq m island. They spent six years on its southern tip building Mozambique's most luxurious retreat. The 740-acre estate was, when they bought it, home only to nesting turtles and seabirds. Today it's still pretty pristine. Other than the 168 staff who service the eight-villa private retreat, the only other creatures I see are a passing fisherman and a tiptoeing crab. The exclusivity, says Jared Maranga, the Kenyan butler who is assigned to look after my every need, is because guests — European royalty, Hollywood stars, jet setters — want total privacy; many don't leave their vast beach homes all week. Secluded within 2.5 acres of dunes, each exquisite, African modernist 540 sq m villa has its own tadelakt-walled living room, polished bedroom and capacious bathroom, as well as a cottage-sized open-sided sala with a private pool for lounging and dining. • 10 of the best safari and beach holidays As you might expect for £3,000 per person a night, every centimetre of this luxury designer hideaway has been carefully considered by Flohr. The shell-like terrazzo baths and basins, for instance, were specially carved in Italy and the 'horned' wooden bathroom chairs sculpted in Nigeria. There are Indian-made Vanaveda natural bath products customised according to your dosha, and a fridge pre-filled with guests' favourite drinks, from French champagne to Mexican tequila. Even the vinyl to play on the retro turntable can be pre-selected from a collection curated by Bryan Ferry's DJ son, Isaac. Perhaps most fun of all is the electric Mini Moke on which to whizz to the gym and spa where the sweet Balinese masseuse Ayu kneads knots and delivers soothing sound baths; to the shack-like Baracca bar attended by the cool mixologist Mr Dube; or the beachside restaurant (behind glass on this very windy southern stretch of the island). Dishes, from perfectly spiced Moroccan salads to fire-grilled seafood feasts, are served up by the accomplished South African executive chef Jean-Pierre 'JP' Nunez. I can't help but ponder whether this polished excess feels very Mozambiquan. But on a tour of the island, I'm put to rights by Pedro Mucuacuane, Kisawa's community manager. Twenty years ago, he tells me as we climb a 90m dune to admire the forest views, the islanders scraped a living from fishing. Today, 35 per cent of its 2,034 inhabitants work in the island's four luxury hotels, which have also funded a school, clinic and wells. At the school, the teacher tells me, the children's uniforms are funded by guests' donations. At the Bazaruto Centre for Scientific Studies, founded by Flohr, the Portuguese chief scientist Dr Mario Lebrato states that without Kisawa, Mozambique would lose its only permanent ocean observatory, which hosts international research and helps the national parks team to protect creatures such as dolphins, turtles and dugongs — all of which I spot on a snorkelling trip at the appropriately named Aquarium area off nearby Two Mile Reef. The next day, on the 56-mile road trip from Vilanculos to my second stop, at the Sussurro boutique hotel, my driver, Jamal, confirms the importance of tourism. His four adult children — a builder, a plumber and two doctors — were educated thanks to his job, he says. Without tourism, which contributed £164 million to the economy in 2024, their choices, like those of most of Mozambique's 34 million nationals (a staggering 45 per cent of whom are under 15), would have been more limited. His point is illustrated on the last 20 miles of our journey, north of Inhassoro, when we drive on a beach thronging with fishermen pulling in their nets, some heaving in their catch on ropes, others sorting sardine-sized fish into big blue tubs which are carried back to villages near Sussurro. Alongside the wide Bartholomew Dias lagoon, Sussurro is properly remote. It's owned by the Zimbabwean couple Adam Humphreys and Sarah Birkett. Humphreys' father had bought a stretch of coastal land more than 20 years ago. When Birkett first saw it, from the family's basic reed hut, she thought it was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen. 'I knew we could create a proper African beach resort together,' she told me. Neither had lived in Mozambique before, or worked as hoteliers. She had lived in London for 12 years, modelling for Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney then studying art direction at the London College of Fashion, and he had helped to run an estate in Tuscany. The first five years were 'super-hard', Birkett admits. They had a clapped-out Toyota truck, and had to drive 20 miles to get fresh water and a phone signal. But with the help of the community, slowly they built their dream: an eco-friendly boutique hotel with a soul. Nine years on, they've just opened their seventh cottage at Sussurro: a two-bedroom, shaggy-fringed family pool house. And their own beach house is now also home to their two toddlers and a pair of dachshunds. It all feels super-chilled and extremely romantic, which is why it's become so popular among honeymooners. Walls are punctured by wooden louvres that funnel the sea breeze and filter the sun. The simple whitewashed Afro-minimalist interiors have muslin-swathed beds, and there are big baths in the courtyards for moonlit soaks. Everything is local: the makuti-woven ceilings and soapstone-carved basins, the chairs carved with animal designs and the rows of giant fire-baked terracotta urns. In the evening, sisal cushions are placed by a bonfire for cocktails and simple delicious food served under the palms: inventive salads, fire-grilled fish or crab and peanut curry, and fruity ice creams, all made from ingredients grown by themselves or by the community. Activities include picnics on remote beaches; days out on sandbars watching fisherman in dugouts; sundowners on the hotel's shabby-chic wooden dhow, and after-dinner drinks under a night sky thick with stars. It's a space in which to chill out, and tune into nature. After this remote wilderness, driving back into Vilancoulos feels like a real jolt back into civilisation. This bustling little town, its streets thronging with vendors selling piles of fresh fruit and vegetables and bowls of silvery fish, has been the holiday home of the South Africans Mike and Sarah van Hone for 23 years. When, eight years ago, the plot alongside their own villa on a 14-home beach estate came up for sale, they snapped it up and built a white architectural villa they named Saudade. This February they launched it as a six-bedroom boutique hotel (you can also rent the whole thing). That Sarah has designed homes and gardens all her life is immediately clear. Saudade's a beauty: an Axel Vervoordt-inspired, wabi-sabi blend of clean monochrome lines and rough African accessories, polished concrete floors and scalloped wooden mirrors, all accessorised with characterful ceramic vases, rattan lampshades and ocean-themed embroidery. Two downstairs rooms open onto a grassy garden and circular pool; two upstairs into the airy open-plan living-dining area overlooking Vilanculos beach. Although the garden isn't huge, the couple have created courtyards and verandah in which to dine privately and trained their local chef Papi to create delicious three-course meals, from ceviche and Mediterranean-style salads at lunch to crispy deep-fried Asian-style prawns, then rare rump steak with dauphinois and gooey chocolate bombes at dinner. You can be as busy or lazy as you like. The couple have teamed up with operators they've known for decades who will take you out fishing for the day or horse riding along the beach, diving on Two Mile Reef or snorkelling off sandbars. Or you can go, as I did, for a tour in Mike's 1967 refurbished turquoise Land Rover of the charmingly ramshackle town, then out on a dhow, snorkelling among seahorses with a local environmental organisation devoted to protecting the endangered creatures. Like other Mozambiquans I meet on all three properties, Saudade's staff are a delight: smiley, helpful and determined to use their extraordinarily beautiful coastline to improve the welfare of their people. I've now been to their country ten times. If their roads improve, one day I might be able to drive there from Zimbabwe, as my parents did when I was a child, Bob Dylan songs about Mozambique blasting from the tape Grainger was a guest of Kisawa, Sussarro, Saudade and Mahlatini. Ten nights' all-inclusive (with six nights at Saudade and four nights at Sussurro) from £6,910pp, including flights and transfers ( Tucked into luxuriant undergrowth on steep dunes just north of Vilanculos, this simple nine-bedroom lodge overlooks the Bazaruto Archipelago's turquoise channels and islands. Accommodation comprises two cottages, six safari-style canvas-walled rooms and a new Luxury Iconic Suite, each spacious, wooden floored, thatched and simply furnished, with a private pool. The Italian owners, Elena and Fabio Ratti, are known for their all-inclusive fresh Mediterranean-style food, Italian wines and inventive cocktails. Additional activities can be arranged with longstanding local operators from fishing and whale-watching to market trips, scuba diving and cooking Full-board doubles from £446 ( A private self-catering villa, just four miles north of Vilanculos, this rustic thatch and wood house sits on a point, overlooking a quiet mile-long bay. Sleeping eight in four en suite bedrooms, it was built as a family holiday house 20 years ago and has been looked after by the same housekeeper ever since. This is a place to hang out in a hammock, lie by the pool, fire up the barbecue, watch fishing dhows —and perhaps go for a walk or swim. Although its interiors are the rustic end of shabby chic, it has two attentive staff who will help to organise activities or hire a A night's self-catering for eight from £342 ( A Greek-inspired hotel might seem odd in Mozambique. Until you look at the colours around it: white beaches and blue seas and skies. Set on the cliffs on nearby Kingfisher Bay, Santorini has four villas, with one to five bedrooms that cater to both families and honeymooners. In the five-bedroom main house, with crisp white fittings, rooms around a common pool with sea views can be booked individually. All-inclusive meals, wines and cocktails can be served on the beach, the rooftop, in a courtyard under the stars — or even the vegetable garden. The therapist uses natural Thalgo and CSpa products in the little All-inclusive doubles from £1,039 ( This little Fairtrade community-based hotel, built from stone and thatch by a cashew farmer and furnished with simple woods and cottons, has links with various projects, from groups cleaning the beach and schooling children to former fishermen saving seahorses. The 17 clean, airy rooms include 12 with a sea view and five quiet garden suites amid greenery above the beach. Ingredients are sourced locally, for dishes from cashew-nut curries and giant grilled prawns to crab ravioli. A small gym, spa and yoga classes are available — or there's a long white beach to walk on and warm Indian Ocean water to swim B&B doubles from £243 (
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Mali's junta arrests generals and French national over alleged coup plot
Mali's military rulers say they have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accusing them of attempting to destabilise the country. The security minister, Gen Daouda Aly Mohammedine, who announced the arrests on the local evening news on Thursday, told viewers an investigation was under way and that the situation was 'completely under control'. Sources told the Reuters and Agence France-Presse agencies earlier this week that dozens of military officials had been taken into custody. The development comes as the military continues to crack down on dissent after a pro-democracy rally in May, the first since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago. Few details were provided about the alleged coup plotters, what they had intended or the French national implicated in it, beyond identifying him as Yann Vezilier. Mohammedine said he had been acting 'on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel' in Mali. Some reports in Mali have identified Vezilier as a flight officer who was listed on the French government website Légifrance as a lieutenant colonel as of 2020. There was no immediate word from France, Mali's former colonial ruler, on Vezilier's arrest. 'The transitional government informs the national public of the arrest of a small group of marginal elements of the Malian armed and security forces for criminal offences aimed at destabilising the institutions of the republic,' Mohammedine said. 'The conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved.' A national television channel broadcast photos of 11 people it said were members of the group that planned the coup, and Mohammedine identified two generals he accused of being part of the plot, which he said had begun on 1 August. One of them, Gen Abass Dembélé, is a former governor of the central Mopti region. He was abruptly dismissed in May, when he demanded an investigation into allegations that the army had killed civilians in the village of Diafarabé. The other, Gen Néma Sagara, was lauded for her role in fighting militants in 2012. Rida Lyammouri, an analyst at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, told Associated Press Mali's rulers were well aware of discontent among the population and members of the military. 'The military leaders are simply not willing to let those grievances build into something more, like a coup, and therefore these arrests seem more of a way to intimidate than a legitimate coup attempt,' he said. Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion 'It's a continuation of the repeated unjustified arrests and prosecution of anyone speaking against the current regime. We have seen this behaviour against journalists, civil society and political leaders, so it's not surprising to see this against military members.' Mali, along with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long fought an insurgency by armed militants, including some allied with al-Qaida and Islamic State. After two military coups, the ruling junta expelled French troops in 2022 and turned to Russia for security assistance. But the security situation remains precarious, and attacks by militants have intensified in recent months. Gen Assimi Goïta was granted another five years in power in June, despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military's dissolution of political parties in May.
