Latest news with #MohamedHamdanDaglo
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Twenty years on, Darfur is facing hell on earth once more
The attackers came from all sides, with machine guns mounted on the beds of their pickup trucks. Their target: the Samsam refugee camp in Sudan's North Darfur state. Panic broke out in the camp, which was home to between 500,000 and 1 million internally displaced people, according to different estimates. The attackers were fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, the very group the refugees had fled from. Refugees like Mohamed, who does not wish to disclose his full name, experienced horrific events. "Older people who couldn't flee quickly enough were burned alive in their huts. Children were dragged out of hiding and killed," Mohamed reported by phone from Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur. He said the RSF abused and racially insulted their victims. Aid workers were executed on the spot. Mohamed's statements cannot be independently verified, but observers and aid organizations on the ground confirm the violent deaths of staff from the humanitarian organization Relief International. According to UNICEF, at least 23 children were killed. Reports indicate those killed numbered at least 129, possibly several hundred. Violence in Darfur has deep roots Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for more than two years between the RSF militia, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, and the government forces of Sudan's de facto leader Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan. The two generals originally seized power together in 2021 and are now fighting each other. Multiple diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire and launch peace negotiations have failed. However, the roots of the violence in Darfur go back further, to conflicts between Arab nomads and African farmers over resources such as water and land. Twenty years ago, Arab militias on horseback, some of whom later became part of the RSF, attacked villages belonging to African ethnic groups such as the Massalit, Zaghawa, and Fur. Thousands of villages were destroyed, and there were widespread reports of sexual violence and massacres. In 2004, then-US secretary of state Colin Powell described the events in Darfur as genocide. In 2010, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an international arrest warrant for Sudan's then-president Omar al-Bashir for crimes against humanity in Darfur. Unlike today, Darfur received international attention at the time, with Hollywood stars such as George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Mia Farrow making public appeals to "Save Darfur." History repeating itself? Now, history seems to be repeating itself. As early as summer 2023, there were reports of massacres targeting the Massalit ethnic group in West Darfur. Human rights groups have since repeatedly accused the RSF of torture, mass rapes and other crimes. Since the attack on Samsam in mid-April, there have been daily reports of dozens of deaths from shelling in Al-Fashir and surrounding villages. Al-Fashir, the last major city under government control and besieged by the RSF for a year, is of strategic importance. If the RSF captures Al-Fashir, they would control all of Darfur and could implement their plans to establish a parallel government there. Amnesty International demands action While many flee, those still in Sudan face "killings, summary executions, injury, rape, gang-rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, torture and enforced disappearances and widespread looting – all amounting to war crimes and some of which may also amount to crimes against humanity," Amnesty International wrote in an appeal to the European Union to act. "Children have been caught in the crossfire of aerial bombardments and shelling, resulting in numerous casualties and impacting severely on their safety, education and well-being." Since the start of the war, access to independent and reliable information has been under pressure as journalists are targeted by both parties with (death) threats, violence and attacks, Amnesty noted in its open letter. Media infrastructure, including offices and equipment, has been looted, burned and deliberately destroyed. "Ethnically motivated killing, forced displacement and sexual violence by both parties have re-emerged, raising alarming parallels to the Darfur crisis of 2003-2005, when mass atrocities were committed against ethnic communities." The resurgence of these tactics heightens the risk of a return to the darkest days of Sudan's wars, when systematic ethnic cleansing and war crimes devastated entire communities. "Diplomatic efforts have failed to bring a change in the behaviour of the warring parties or end the violations," the NGO noted, adding Washington's suspension of foreign aid only amplified the "urgency for robust and timely diplomatic action." Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reports that sexual violence has become so widespread in the Darfur region that many people chillingly speak about it as unavoidable. "Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere. They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped," MSF emergency coordinator Claire San Filippo says. "These attacks are heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators. This must stop."
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Drones hit paramilitary sites in west Sudan: Witnesses
Three drone strikes have hit key paramilitary positions in western Sudan, witnesses said Sunday, as fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces escalates in the war-torn region. The strikes in Nyala, the South Darfur state capital, targeted a hotel and a medical unit in the city center and RSF-held positions on the eastern outskirts, residents said. 'We saw ambulances transporting the wounded to several hospitals,' one resident told AFP in a message. The RSF has controlled much of Nyala since the conflict began in April 2023 between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Air strikes on RSF positions have intensified, hitting Nyala airport -- a key RSF base -- and other targets. In early May, army planes bombed RSF sites in Nyala and the West Darfur capital, El-Geneina, destroying depots and equipment, a military source said. A cargo plane was also reportedly fired on while landing at Nyala airport, though the source did not say who was responsible. Satellite images released last month by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab showed six advanced at the city's RSF-held airport. The Chinese-made drones appeared 'capable of long-range surveillance and strikes', it said. After nearly daily attacks in early May, the strikes paused for a week before resuming on Saturday. Residents reported intercepts of drones by air defenses north and west of the city. The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced 13 million -- nearly a quarter of the population -- in what the United Nations calls one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. The conflict has effectively split the northeast African country in two with the army holding the north, east and center while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
Jordan Times
14-05-2025
- Health
- Jordan Times
UNICEF says artillery fire leaves Sudan hospital patients without water
Displaced Sudanese sit at a shelter after they were evacuated by the Sudanese army to a safer area in Omdurman, on May 13, 2025 (AFP photo) KHARTOUM — Around 1,000 critically ill patients in Sudan's Darfur region are nearly without drinking water after artillery fire destroyed a water tanker at a hospital, UNICEF said on Wednesday. The tanker was stationed at the Saudi hospital, one of the few still operational in El Fasher, a city in North Darfur with a population of around two million. The city is the only state capital among Darfur's five states to remain outside the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but has been under siege by the paramilitary group since May 2024. "Yesterday, a UNICEF-supported water truck in the Saudi hospital compound, El Fasher, was destroyed by artillery fire, disrupting access to safe water for an estimated 1,000 severely ill patients," the UN agency said. "UNICEF continues to call on all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and end all attacks on or near critical civilian infrastructure," it added. The war in Sudan, now in its third year, has pitted the armed forces led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the RSF headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has effectively split the country in two, with the army controlling the north, east, and centre, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. On Wednesday, the army accused the RSF in a statement of targeting populated areas of the city. In April, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimated that 70 to 80 per cent of health facilities in conflict-affected areas in Sudan were out of service, citing El Fasher as a prime example. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 13 million, including 5.6 million in Darfur alone. According to the UN, the war has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Both sides in the conflict have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminately bombing residential areas and obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
33 killed in Sudan strikes blamed on paramilitary RSF
At least 33 people have been killed in Sudan in attacks blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the Army since April 2023, first responders said Saturday. The attacks came after six straight days of RSF drone strikes on the Army-led government's wartime capital Port Sudan damaged key infrastructure including the power grid and the country's last operational civilian airport. On Friday evening, at least 14 members of the same family were killed in an air strike on a displacement camp in the vast western region of Darfur, a rescue group said, blaming the paramilitaries. The Abu Shouk camp "was the target of intense bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces on Friday evening", said the group of volunteer aid workers, which also reported wounded. "Fourteen Sudanese, members of the same family, were killed" and several people wounded, it said in a statement. The camp near El-Fasher, the last state capital in Darfur still out of the RSF's control, is plagued by famine, according to the United Nations. It is home to tens of thousands of people who fled the violence of successive conflicts in Darfur and the conflict that has been tearing Africa's third largest country apart since 2023. The RSF has shelled the camp several times in recent weeks. Abu Shouk is located near the Zamzam camp, which the RSF seized in April after a devastating offensive that virtually emptied it. Drone attacks The United Nations says nearly one million people had been sheltering at the site. On Saturday, an RSF strike on a prison in the army-controlled southern city of El-Obeid killed at least 19 people and wounded 45, a medical source said. The source told AFP that the jail in the North Kordofan state capital was hit by an RSF drone. Elsewhere on Saturday, army warplanes struck RSF positions in the Darfur cities of Nyala and El-Geneina, destroying arms depots and military equipment, a military source said. This week, the RSF said it had taken the strategic town of En Nahud in West Kordofan, a key army supply line to Darfur. Sudan's army-aligned authorities accuse the United Arab Emirates of supplying drones to the RSF, which has no air force of its own. The war -- which began as a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- has killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 13 million people and triggered what the United Nations calls one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. It has effectively divided the country in two with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south. Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
33 killed in Sudan strikes blamed on paramilitary RSF
33 killed in Sudan strikes blamed on paramilitary RSF (Photo: AP) At least 33 people have been killed in Sudan in attacks blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces , at war with the army since April 2023, first responders said Saturday. The attacks came after six straight days of RSF drone strikes on the army-led government's wartime capital, Port Sudan, damaging key infrastructure, including the power grid. On Friday evening, at least 14 members of the same family were killed in an air strike on a displacement camp in the vast western region of Darfur, a rescue group said, blaming the paramilitaries. The Abu Shouk camp "was the target of intense bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces on Friday evening", said the group of volunteer aid workers, which also reported wounded. "Fourteen Sudanese, members of the same family, were killed," and several people were wounded, it said in a statement. Operation Sindoor 'Pakistan army moving its troops in forward areas': Key takeaways from govt briefing 'Pak used drones, long-range weapons, jets to attack India's military sites' 'Attempted malicious misinformation campaign': Govt calls out Pakistan's propaganda The camp near El-Fasher, the last state capital in Darfur still out of the RSF's control, is plagued by famine, according to the United Nations. It is home to tens of thousands of people who fled the violence of successive conflicts in Darfur and the conflict that has been tearing Africa's third largest country apart since 2023. The RSF has shelled the camp several times in recent weeks. Abu Shouk is located near the Zamzam camp, which the RSF seized in April after a devastating offensive that virtually emptied it. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Get Exclusive Offers on 1 & 2 BHK Homes @Dosti™ Nest Dosti Realty Learn More Undo The United Nations says nearly one million people had been sheltering at the site. On Saturday, an RSF strike on a prison in the army-controlled southern city of El-Obeid killed at least 19 people and wounded 45, a medical source said. The source told AFP that the jail in the North Kordofan state capital was hit by a RSF drone. The war, which began as a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has spiralled into what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. It has effectively divided the country in two with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
