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TimesLIVE
21-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Sudan accuses UAE of May 4 drone attacks on Port Sudan
Sudan says the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is responsible for an attack on Port Sudan this month, accusing the Gulf state for the first time of direct military intervention in a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UAE denied the allegations in a statement and said it condemned the attack. "It is deeply regrettable that the Port Sudan authorities continue to perpetrate violence against their own citizens, yet seek to deflect blame from their own responsibility for Sudan's internal conflict by making unfounded allegations against others," a UAE official said. Speaking in New York on Monday, Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations al-Harith Idriss alleged that the May 4 strike on the army's wartime capital Port Sudan was carried out by MQ-9 or MQ-9B warplanes and kamikaze drones launched from an Emirati base on the Red Sea with the aid of Emirati ships. Idriss alleged that the strike on Port Sudan was revenge for an army attack a day earlier on an alleged Emirati warplane in the RSF-controlled city of Nyala, which he said had killed 13 foreigners including "Emirati elements."
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Sudan accuses UAE of May 4 drone attacks on Port Sudan
CAIRO - Sudan said the United Arab Emirates was responsible for an attack on Port Sudan this month, accusing the Gulf state for the first time of direct military intervention in a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Sudan cut diplomatic relations with the UAE this month, saying the Gulf power was aiding the RSF with supplies of advanced weaponry in the two-year-old conflict, a charge the UAE has denied. It did not immediately comment on Tuesday's statements. Speaking in New York on Monday, Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations al-Harith Idris alleged that the May 4 strike on Port Sudan, the army's wartime capital, was carried out by warplanes and drones launched from an Emirati base on the Red Sea with the aid of Emirati ships. Beginning on May 4, Port Sudan has been hit with a volley of drone strikes largely against army facilities, the main airport, and fuel depots. Idris alleged that the strike on Port Sudan was revenge for an army attack a day earlier on an alleged Emirati warplane in the RSF-controlled city of Nyala, which he said had killed 13 foreigners including "Emirati elements." While drones presumed to be launched by the RSF have repeatedly hit civilian and military infrastructure in the army-controlled eastern regions of the country, they had not previously reached Port Sudan, which has become a government and humanitarian hub since war broke out in the capital Khartoum in April 2023. The army has been regaining territory at a faster pace since the start of the year, but the drone strikes have plunged much of its territory into blackouts and cut off water supplies and hobbled other essential functions. On Monday the army said it was close to expelling the RSF from Khartoum state. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Multiple explosions heard in Port Sudan; attacks rock the city for third day
Multiple explosions and fires were seen and heard in the Sudanese city of Port Sudan early on Tuesday, a witness said, though the exact locations and causes were unclear, as a civil war rocks the previously quiet city for the third day. Dark plumes of smoke could be seen emerging from the vicinity of the country's main maritime port in the city where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge. The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, one likely to be worsened by the attacks on Port Sudan, where UN officials, diplomats, aid agencies and the army-aligned government ministries have set up headquarters. A major hotel in the vicinity of the residence of the country's leader General Abdelfattah Al Burhan was also hit in the attack, the witness said. The attacks which began Sunday represent a sharp escalation in fighting, as the Red Sea coastal city had remained untouched by ground or air attacks until this week. On Sunday, a military base near Sudan's only functioning international airport, had been struck by drones followed by the targeting on Monday of fuel depots in the city. In both cases military sources blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The attacks came after a military source said the army had destroyed an aircraft and weapons depots in the RSF-controlled Nyala airport. The RSF did not claim responsibility for the attacks. The attacks this week drew condemnation from neighbors Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as expressions of concern from the UN. Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by war between the army and RSF, triggered by a dispute over a transition to civilian rule. The conflict has displaced over 12 million people and pushed half the population into acute hunger, according to the United Nations. Two years into the war, the army has succeeded in pushing the RSF out of most of central Sudan, and the paramilitary has shifted tactics from ground incursions to drone attacks targeting power stations and other facilities deep in army-controlled territory. The army has continued airstrikes in the Darfur region, the RSF's stronghold. The two forces continue to fight ground battles for control of al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur state, and elsewhere as the battle lines in the war harden into distinct zones of control.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Sudan: Experts Denounce Systematic Attacks On Women And Girls
Press Release – UN Special Procedures – Human Rights We are deeply troubled by the harrowing reports of sexual violence, abductions, and killings targeting women and children, including in displacement camps, which reflect a systematic and brutal campaign against those least protected in Sudanese … GENEVA (14 May 2025) – A group of independent human rights experts* today strongly condemned the widespread and systematic violations committed against women and girls in Sudan, including conflict-related sexual violence, abductions, and killings, many of which have been attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 'We are deeply troubled by the harrowing reports of sexual violence, abductions, and killings targeting women and children, including in displacement camps, which reflect a systematic and brutal campaign against those least protected in Sudanese society,' the experts said. Now entering its third year, the conflict in Sudan continues to exact a devastating toll on civilians, with women and girls facing escalating risks of gang rape, sexual slavery, trafficking, and forced marriage, particularly in Al Gezira, Sinnar, Darfur, and South Kordofan, the experts noted. In some attacks, entire families have reportedly been torn apart, with women raped in front of relatives or abducted for prolonged sexual violence. 'Sexual violence continues to be used systematically as a weapon of war in Sudan,' they warned. The experts said that in villages such as Al Seriha, Azrag, Ruffa, and Abu Gelfa, women have taken their own lives following traumatic assaults, noting that survivors are increasingly and openly contemplating suicide as a means of escaping the ongoing horrors of the conflict. 'These harrowing accounts underscore the scale of the mental health crisis among women and girls, lack of access to attention and support and impunity that perpetrators enjoy, particularly in areas where support systems have completely collapsed,' they said. 'Behind each report is a woman or girl whose life has been irreparably altered,' the experts said. 'This crisis demands not only attention, but urgent action to end these atrocities grounded in justice and humanity.' The experts noted that since 2025, at least 330 cases of conflict-related sexual violence have been documented, although the real number is believed to be significantly higher due to underreporting. Survivors, including children, face enormous barriers to accessing medical or psychological care. In El Fasher and other besieged areas, the collapse of health systems, and attacks in displacement camps, have left women giving birth in unsafe, unhygienic conditions. Maternal mortality has risen sharply, and emergency reproductive care remains virtually non-existent. Enforced disappearances of women and girls have reportedly surged in RSF-controlled areas, with many believed to have been abducted for sexual slavery and exploitation, the experts said. Victims are taken from displacement settings, markets, and shelters, amid a collapse of protection systems. Conditions in these areas have worsened drastically, exposing women and girls to increased sexual violence. The experts were also alarmed by continued attacks on women human rights defenders and frontline workers, who have reportedly been raped, killed, or harassed for assisting survivors or documenting abuses. 'These violations cause profound harm to individuals and communities, while steadily dismantling remaining protections and undermining prospects for recovery and justice,' they said. 'The horrific scale of violence that women and girls continue to experience is an alarming testament to the erosion of protections for women and girls during times of conflict and normalisation of such violence. The international community must urgently step in to stem the tide,' the experts said. The experts have been in contact with the Government on these matters.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Scoop
Sudan: Experts Denounce Systematic Attacks On Women And Girls
GENEVA (14 May 2025) – A group of independent human rights experts* today strongly condemned the widespread and systematic violations committed against women and girls in Sudan, including conflict-related sexual violence, abductions, and killings, many of which have been attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 'We are deeply troubled by the harrowing reports of sexual violence, abductions, and killings targeting women and children, including in displacement camps, which reflect a systematic and brutal campaign against those least protected in Sudanese society,' the experts said. Now entering its third year, the conflict in Sudan continues to exact a devastating toll on civilians, with women and girls facing escalating risks of gang rape, sexual slavery, trafficking, and forced marriage, particularly in Al Gezira, Sinnar, Darfur, and South Kordofan, the experts noted. In some attacks, entire families have reportedly been torn apart, with women raped in front of relatives or abducted for prolonged sexual violence. 'Sexual violence continues to be used systematically as a weapon of war in Sudan,' they warned. The experts said that in villages such as Al Seriha, Azrag, Ruffa, and Abu Gelfa, women have taken their own lives following traumatic assaults, noting that survivors are increasingly and openly contemplating suicide as a means of escaping the ongoing horrors of the conflict. 'These harrowing accounts underscore the scale of the mental health crisis among women and girls, lack of access to attention and support and impunity that perpetrators enjoy, particularly in areas where support systems have completely collapsed,' they said. 'Behind each report is a woman or girl whose life has been irreparably altered,' the experts said. 'This crisis demands not only attention, but urgent action to end these atrocities grounded in justice and humanity.' The experts noted that since 2025, at least 330 cases of conflict-related sexual violence have been documented, although the real number is believed to be significantly higher due to underreporting. Survivors, including children, face enormous barriers to accessing medical or psychological care. In El Fasher and other besieged areas, the collapse of health systems, and attacks in displacement camps, have left women giving birth in unsafe, unhygienic conditions. Maternal mortality has risen sharply, and emergency reproductive care remains virtually non-existent. Enforced disappearances of women and girls have reportedly surged in RSF-controlled areas, with many believed to have been abducted for sexual slavery and exploitation, the experts said. Victims are taken from displacement settings, markets, and shelters, amid a collapse of protection systems. Conditions in these areas have worsened drastically, exposing women and girls to increased sexual violence. The experts were also alarmed by continued attacks on women human rights defenders and frontline workers, who have reportedly been raped, killed, or harassed for assisting survivors or documenting abuses. 'These violations cause profound harm to individuals and communities, while steadily dismantling remaining protections and undermining prospects for recovery and justice,' they said. 'The horrific scale of violence that women and girls continue to experience is an alarming testament to the erosion of protections for women and girls during times of conflict and normalisation of such violence. The international community must urgently step in to stem the tide,' the experts said. The experts have been in contact with the Government on these matters. *The experts: Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working group on discrimination against women and girls; Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Tomoya Obokata,.
