Strike on Sudan's Darfur kills 14 members of one family: rescuers
PORT SUDAN: At least 14 members of the same family were killed in an air strike on a displacement camp in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, a rescue group said Saturday, blaming paramilitaries.
The Abu Shouk camp 'was the target of intense bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday evening,' said the group of volunteer aid workers, which also reported wounded.
The camp is located near the city of El-Fasher, the last state capital in Darfur still out of the RSF's control.
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Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Red Cross confirms office closures in Niger and the departure of its foreign staff
DAKAR: The International Committee of the Red Cross announced the closure of its offices in Niger and the departure of its foreign staff, four months after the ruling junta ordered the organization to leave the country. The ICRC confirmed the closure and departure in a statement on Thursday. 'We reiterate our willingness to maintain constructive dialogue with the authorities of Niger with a view to resuming our strictly humanitarian protection and assistance activities,' Patrick Youssef, the ICRC's regional director for Africa, said in the statement. In February, Niger's Foreign Affairs Ministry had ordered the ICRC to close its offices and leave the country. No official reason was given for the military junta's decision to shut down the organization's operations in the country at the time. The ICRC said it had been in dialogue with Niger's authorities since February to understand the reasons for their decision and provide any necessary clarification but that these efforts were unsuccessful. On May 31, Niger's junta leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, justified the ICRC expulsion on Nigerien state television, accusing the organization of having met with 'terrorist leaders' and funding armed groups. The ICRC refuted the accusations in its statement on Thursday, saying that dialogue with all sides in the conflict is necessary to carry out its humanitarian mandate and that it 'never provides financial, logistical, or any other form of support' to armed groups. The humanitarian organization had been active in the West African country since 1990, mainly helping people displaced by violence by Islamic extremists, food insecurity and natural disasters. According to the organization, it provided humanitarian aid to more than 2 million people in Niger. Niger's military rulers took power in a coup two years ago, the latest of several military takeovers in Africa's Sahel, the vast, arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert that has become a hotspot for extremist violence by militant groups. Since the coup, Niger has pulled away from its Western partners, such as France and the United States, turning instead to Russia for security. Last November, the country's military junta banned the French aid group Acted from working in the country amid tensions with France.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
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UNHCR Praises Saudi Support Amid Dire Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan
A senior United Nations official has described the ongoing crisis in Sudan as one of the world's largest humanitarian emergencies, yet also among the least funded. Less than 18 percent of the $1.8 billion needed to support relief operations in 2025 has been secured. Mamadou Dian Balde, Regional Director of the UNHCR for East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes, and the agency's regional refugee coordinator for Sudan, stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia's continued support. He noted that the Kingdom's contribution remains vital to maintaining life-saving aid, especially at a time when global humanitarian funding is shrinking. During a recent visit to Riyadh, Balde met with key Saudi officials to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation with UNHCR. His discussions focused on supporting over 27 million refugees and displaced individuals across East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and surrounding regions. He stressed that Saudi Arabia's partnership, both through direct aid and international collaboration, has played a crucial role in sustaining relief efforts in the face of the largest displacement crisis worldwide. Balde's visit included meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), the Saudi Fund for Development, and Islamic development institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development. He also consulted with humanitarian and religious organizations like the Muslim World League and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth. In Sudan, despite limited resources, UNHCR continues to deliver core services such as refugee registration, relocation to safer areas, and distribution of emergency supplies. This includes shelter kits, blankets, mosquito nets, solar lamps, and kitchen essentials, as well as medical supplies and support for survivors of gender-based violence and unaccompanied children. Balde highlighted the scale of the crisis, pointing to nearly 13 million Sudanese who have been displaced in just two years, with 4 million fleeing across borders. He warned that displacement is accelerating, citing the arrival of approximately 2,000 new refugees daily in Chad due to recent violence in North Darfur. With only 11 percent of the regional response plan for Sudan funded, humanitarian actors face difficult choices, often unable to reach all those in need. Looking ahead, UNHCR's strategy combines emergency relief with long-term development. Balde stressed the need to integrate refugees into national systems, improve host community services, and avoid parallel aid structures, Balde told Asharq Al-Awsat. For 2025, the agency and its partners require $1.8 billion to assist 4.8 million people, including refugees, returnees, and local communities across the region.
Asharq Al-Awsat
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- Asharq Al-Awsat
Cutting Off Rhinos' Horns is a Contentious Last Resort to Stop Poaching. New Study Found it Works
Cutting off the horns of sedated rhinos with a chainsaw has been viewed by wildlife conservationists in Africa for more than 30 years as a necessary evil to save the iconic endangered species from poaching. They hoped the drastic action was working, but evidence was scarce. Now, a study published Thursday in the academic journal Science has found that dehorning rhinos has led to a large reduction in poaching in game reserves in and around the Kruger National Park in northern South Africa — an area that's home to 25% of the world's rhinos and is especially vulnerable to poaching. The results of the seven-year study that ended in 2023 are seen as long-awaited evidence that removing rhinos' horns — which needs to be done every one to two years because they grow back — helps them survive, even if the animals lose part of their makeup. Consistently reduced poaching The conclusions seem obvious. Lucrative illegal markets in parts of southeast Asia and China crave rhino horns for use in traditional medicines, and removing the rhinos' horns take away what poachers are after. But Tim Kuiper, a biodiversity scientist at South Africa's Nelson Mandela University and the lead author of the study, said it was new to have long-term data from multiple sites on dehorning rhinos. He said the study, conducted between January 2017 and December 2023, focused on 11 reserves in the Kruger area and compared data from eight that dehorned their rhinos against the three that didn't. It also analyzed data from the reserves before and after they dehorned their rhinos. The study showed that dehorning consistently reduced poaching, Kuiper said. It found that the dehorning of more than 2,000 rhinos resulted in a 78% reduction in poaching in those eight reserves, providing some confirmation that such an invasive intervention was worth it. 'It is a big part of what a rhino is, having a horn,' The Associated Press quoted Kuiper as saying. 'So having to remove it is kind of a necessary evil, if I can put it that way. But it's very effective. There's no doubt it saved hundreds of rhinos' lives.' South Africa has the largest numbers of black and white rhinos. Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya also have significant populations. There are around 17,500 white rhinos and 6,500 black rhinos left in the world, with black rhino numbers reduced from 70,000 in 1970 to less than 2,500 by the time poaching reached a crisis point in the mid-1990s, according to the Save the Rhino organization. Dehorning was not always accepted Dehorning rhinos started in southern Africa as early as 1989. It has not been accepted without question. There has been opposition from animal rights activists but also questions from conservationists over what impact it has on a rhino's wellbeing, and what a future might look like with more hornless rhinos. Vanessa Duthe, a rhino researcher in South Africa not involved in the study, said rhinos use their horns to defend themselves against predators, to compete for territory and, in the case of black rhinos, to look for food. There is also evidence that dehorned rhinos adjust their movements to live in smaller ranges, she said. She said conservationists don't know the full impacts of dehorning, but research had found it had no adverse effect on rhinos' breeding rates or mortality rates. 'What we do know is that the benefits of dehorning by far outweigh any ecological cost that we're aware of today,' Duthe said. She said dehorning a rhino now takes around 10 minutes and the process causes minimum distress. Blindfolds and earmuffs are put on sedated rhinos during dehorning, which also provides an opportunity to microchip rhinos and collect samples that aid research. Only one part of the battle Conservationists agree that dehorning alone will not end rhino poaching and Kuiper said he saw it as a short-to-mid-term solution. Other efforts like more effective law enforcement and better support for game rangers on the frontline are key. While South Africa has helped pull rhinos back from the threat of extinction, more than 400 rhinos a year are still killed by poachers in the country. The dehorning study was a collaboration between scientists from three South African universities, Oxford University in England and game reserve managers and rangers. It also involved the South African National Parks department, the World Wildlife Fund and the Rhino Recovery Fund.
