Strike on Sudan's Darfur kills 14 members of one family: rescuers
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
10 hours ago
- Arab News
Malawi's restless youth challenged to vote in polls
BLANTYRE: At a rally of pounding drums and ululating women, star Malawian rapper Fredokiss urged young people to vote in next month's elections despite their disenchantment with the government and the choice of main presidential candidates, all aged over 70. More than half of the population of the impoverished central African country is under 35 and the turnout on Sept. 16 of young voters — who made up 54 percent of registered voters in the 2019 election — is seen as a potential game-changer. 'Young people have the numbers, we have the voice,' the 37-year-old rapper-turned-politician said on the sidelines of the recent event in the southern city of Blantyre, a part-rally and part-street party held in a swirl of the red colors of his United Transformation Movement. 'We are the ones who will choose the next president — whether we like them or not — and the next MPs and councillors,' said Fredokiss, whose real name is Fredo Penjani Kalua. But with campaigning in full swing, many young voters said they were uninspired by the familiar faces running to unseat President Lazarus Chakwera, 70, and his Malawi Congress Party, which has been accused of mismanagement since regaining power in 2020. Chakwera took office following 2020 elections after the previous year's poll was nullified over charges of widespread irregularities. His main challengers are two former presidents: Peter Mutharika, 85, of the Democratic Progressive Party, and People's Party candidate Joyce Banda, 74. At 51, former central bank governor Dalitso Kabambe — candidate for another of the major parties, the UTM — is a spring chicken in comparison. 'This is our country, our home. We have to make it better,' said Fredokiss, who is running for the second time for a seat in parliament after losing out in 2019. Nearly three-quarters of Malawi's more than 21 million people live in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank. Months of inflation nearing 30 percent and crippling fuel shortages have made the economy a key issue in the largely rural and underdeveloped country, which is rich in natural resources but heavily indebted and dependent on foreign aid. Fredokiss uses his music to denounce nepotism, tribalism and cronyism in Malawian politics, and to criticize the exploitation of local labor by foreign businesses and the crushing weight of youth unemployment. 'Governments and politicians are not providing solutions for young people: jobs, business opportunities, real hope,' Fredokiss said. 'That's why many are disgruntled. But this election should be the start, not the end, of our action.' 'It's the same old faces with the same tired promises,' said a 30-year-old shopkeeper in the capital, Lilongwe, who would only give her name as Sandra. 'I registered hoping for fresh candidates with real ideas, but none have shown up — so why waste my vote?' 'None of the candidates make sense to me, so why pretend my vote would?' said Robert Chimtolo, 30, who runs the Maphunziro youth empowerment non-profit organization. Sixty percent of the under-35 electorate turned out at the 2019 vote compared to 80 percent of older voters, according to election commission figures.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Paramilitary group in Sudan shells famine-stricken camp in Darfur, killing 31 people
CAIRO: A paramilitary fighting against Sudan's military shelled a famine-stricken displacement camp in the western region of Dafur Saturday, killing at least 31 people, including seven children and a pregnant woman, a medical group said, in a second attack on the camp in less than a week. The Rapid Support Forces artillery shelling of the Abu Shouk camp outside El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, also wounded 13 others, the Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement. The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a grassroots group tracking the war, said RSF launched an hours-long 'extensive artillery shelling' on the camp early morning. It said in a Facebook post that the attack also resulted in severe damage to private properties and the camp's infrastructure. The RSF didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The RSF attacked Abu Shouk last week and killed more than 40 people, as the paramilitaries have tried to seize el-Fasher, the military's last stronghold in Darfur. Abu-Shouk is one of two camps for displaced people outside El-Fasher. They have repeatedly been attacked by the RSF and their Janjwaeed allies, including a major offensive in April which killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands others to flee. Both camps Abu Shouk and Zamzam have been hit by famine. Sudan's civil war broke out in April 2023 over a power struggle between commanders of the military and the RSF. The fighting wrecked the Northeastern African country, forced about 14 million people out of their homes, and pushed some of its parts into famine. Thousands of people were killed in the conflict and there have been atrocities, including mass killings and rape, particularly in Darfur. The International Criminal Court is investigating potential crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Bus plunges into river in Algeria capital, killing 18
ALGIERS: Eighteen people were killed and nine injured in the Algerian capital on Friday when a bus plunged from a bridge into a river, the emergency services said. The accident happened in late afternoon in the Mohammadia district of east Algiers and two of the injured were in critical condition, they added. There was no immediate word on the cause of the accident.
