Latest news with #alFashir
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Sudan paramilitaries attack Darfur camp, killing over 40
Sudan 's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked a famine-hit refugee camp in Darfur on Monday, killing at least 40 civilians, first responders said, as fighting in the western region rages on. The RSF stormed Abu Shouk camp, opening fire inside homes and on the streets, said the local Emergency Response Room – one of hundreds of volunteer networks providing frontline aid since war erupted between the army and the RSF in April 2023. It said more than 40 civilians were killed and at least 19 others wounded in the attack. The rescue group said civilians were 'killed either by stray bullets or direct executions' at the camp, located on the northern outskirts of al-Fashir – the last major city in Darfur still held by the Sudanese army. The RSF has laid a siege on al-Fashir since May 2024. The local resistance committee, a pro-democracy volunteer group, confirmed the toll of at least 40 killed in Monday's attack. The group condemned what it called 'horrific violations being committed against innocent, unarmed people.' In recent months, North Darfur state capital al-Fashir and nearby displacement camps have come under renewed RSF attacks, after the group was pushed out of Sudan's capital Khartoum by the army earlier this year. A major RSF offensive in April on the Zamzam camp displaced tens of thousands of people, with many seeking shelter in al-Fashir. The war between Sudan's army and the RSF, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis. The conflict has effectively split the country in two with the army holding the north, east and center while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. Last year, famine was declared in three camps around al-Fashir, including Abu Shouk, and the UN warned it could spread to the city by May. But data shortages have prevented an official declaration. This week alone, malnutrition has killed at least 63 people in al-Fashir, mostly women and children, a senior health official told AFP. Many families are unable to reach hospitals due to insecurity and lack of transport, choosing instead to bury loved ones quietly. At a community kitchen in al-Fashir, organizers have said some of the children and women they serve arrive there with swollen bellies, sunken eyes and signs of acute malnutrition. Abu Shouk community leader Adam Essa told AFP on Sunday that the camp has seen between five and seven child deaths daily. Across Sudan, nearly 25 million people are suffering dire food insecurity, according to UN figures. UNICEF's Sudan representative, Sheldon Yett, warned this week of a 'looming catastrophe.' 'We are on the verge of irreversible damage to an entire generation of children.'
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Malnutrition in Sudan's al-Fashir kills 63 in a week: Health official
Malnutrition has claimed the lives of at least 63 people, mostly women and children, in just one week in Sudan's besieged city of al-Fashir, a health official said on Sunday. The official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the figure only included those who managed to reach hospitals, adding that many families buried their dead without seeking medical help due to poor security conditions and a lack of transportation. Since May last year, al-Fashir has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with Sudan's regular army since April 2023. The city remains the last major Darfur urban center in army control and has recently come under renewed attack by the RSF after the group withdrew from Sudan's capital Khartoum earlier this year. A major RSF offensive on the nearby Zamzam displacement camp in April forced tens of thousands of people to flee again – many of them now sheltering inside al-Fashir. Community kitchens – once a lifeline – have largely shut down due to a lack of supplies. Some families are reported to be surviving on animal fodder or food waste. Nearly 40 percent of children under five in al-Fashir are now acutely malnourished, with 11 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to UN figures. The rainy season, which peaks in August, is further complicating efforts to reach the city. Roads are rapidly deteriorating, making aid deliveries difficult if not impossible. The war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.
SBS Australia
7 days ago
- General
- SBS Australia
'They're dying daily': Inside Sudan's besieged city of al-Fashir as famine takes hold
In the Sudanese city of al-Fashir, women sing prayers, begging for food. The city has been cut off from the world by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than 15 months. No food or aid delivery has been allowed in. Now, civilians worry the only thing that awaits them is death. "If you don't rescue us, I swear by God, no treatment or hospitals are available, only death," a woman trapped in the besieged city told SBS News. "We have nothing left for us but death." 'They're dying daily' Hundreds of thousands of people are under siege in al-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last holdout in the western Darfur region. People are running out of food and coming under constant artillery and drone barrages, while those who flee violent attacks and a cholera outbreak in surrounding areas. The city is the biggest remaining frontline in the region between Sudan's army and the RSF, under fire at a pivotal point in a civil war now well into its third year. But the RSF has blocked food supplies and sources speaking to Reuters have said aid convoys trying to reach the city have been attacked. Prices for the goods that traders are able to smuggle in cost more than five times the national average. LISTEN TO Now, residents are facing famine. Mohamed Dodah, a refugee and Zaghawa community leader, fled to the besieged city as it was the last city in Darfur not under RSF control. Dodah said people eat one meal a day — if that — and said he's surrounded by starvation and death. "If you could eat breakfast, you'll wait for the next day to eat another meal," Dodah told SBS News. "They're suffering right now. They're dying daily." What food civilians can get is poor. Some eat hay. Ambaz — peanut oil waste, which is typically used to feed animals — is reportedly now the primary source of food. But there are fears that even that is running out. Ambaz — or peanut oil waste — is typically used to feed pets in Sudan. But now, it's civilians' primary source of food amid famine. Source: Supplied / Mohamed Dodah Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the United Nations' secretary-general, said civilians in al-Fashir are at a breaking point. "Local sources say people are dying from hunger and malnutrition," Haq told SBS News. "Community-run kitchens have shut down due to a lack of food stocks, and some residents have reportedly resorted to consuming animal feed." The UN says half of Sudan's 50 million population is facing acute hunger after more than two years of civil war between RSF militants and the Sudanese army. In Darfur, the UN has declared famine in 11 locations. UNICEF estimates more than 330,000 people are facing malnutrition in the city of al-Fashir alone due to a total blockade of aid by RSF militants. LISTEN TO It's becoming an increasingly impossible situation for civilians, who also struggle with shellings and increasingly more dangerous weather conditions. "One and a half million civilians are suffering from the ravages of artillery and drone shelling, as well as shrapnel from the fighting on the outskirts of the city," Dodah said. One civilian said the citizens are "suffering extremely harshly", especially in harsh weather conditions. Temperatures are hitting 35 degrees, while rain and storms bombard the city. "These houses do not provide shelter or cover," she said. "These children are not eating. Even the main meal is not available." What is happening in al-Fashir? Al-Fashir has been cut off from the world by the RSF for more than 15 months. The civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted in April 2023 when the former allies clashed over plans to integrate their forces. The RSF made quick gains in central Sudan, including the capital Khartoum, but the army pushed them westward this year, leading to an intensification in fighting in al-Fashir. The city's fall would give the RSF control over nearly all of Darfur — a vast region bordering Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan — and pave the way for what analysts say could be Sudan's de facto division. Besieged along with the army and its allies are hundreds of thousands of al-Fashir's residents and people displaced by previous attacks, many living in camps that monitors say are already in famine. LISTEN TO As a child, Dodah's village was destroyed by Arab militias who targeted his tribe, the Zaghawa people, along with the Masalit and Fur tribes. These militias later became the RSF. In April, the RSF raided Dodah's home in the Zamzam displacement camp, where he alleged they set fire to the camp and even killed foreign aid workers. "The entire Relief International staff had been wiped out, including the camp director and nine other employees. I found their bodies stacked, each with a bullet wound to the head," he said. Mohamed Dodah (centre) fled to al-Fashir after the Rapid Support Forces raided his home in the Zamzam displacement camp. A new investigation estimates over 1,500 civilians were killed in the attack. Source: Supplied / Mohamed Dodah Reports on the attack suggested up to 400 non-Arab civilians were killed during the three-day assault. The UN said "hundreds" of civilians, including 12 humanitarian workers, were killed. But a new Guardian investigation estimates the real number of civilians killed sits at 1,500, with repeated testimony of mass executions and large-scale abductions. That number could be even higher with many bodies still not recovered from the camp, now controlled by the RSF. Dodah fled to the last city in Darfur, not under RSF control — al-Fashir. Now, he believes he will be killed — or at least held hostage — if the city falls. "If they control al-Fashir, there will be killing and raping and kidnapping. Firstly, they will kill the leaders. They will catch me, [they will] put me in a prison — if not kill me," he said. No escape Sudanese-Australian man Algaly Abdelrasoul lives in Sydney, but his uncle, aunt and extended family are trapped in al-Fashir. He's only able to get through to his uncle on occasion, hearing glimpses of the violence. "So basically, he says this [person's] doing well. This one has passed away. This one's wounded. This one is gone somewhere. This one we haven't spoken to, we don't know where they are," Abdelrasoul told SBS News. "This is the norm. I say tell me more. What is happening? How are you feeling? He just tells me, we just survived another day. He sees it as, I just need to survive." When asked if it's possible for his uncle to escape the starving city, which is surrounded by the RSF, Abdelrasoul said there's no safe way out of al-Fashir. "Men — you can't [escape]. Women and kids, [you might] if they show mercy, and that's a risk — you might try to escape and they might kill you. They might rape you," he said. "If they feel like letting you go — if you're lucky enough — you might be able to escape to a surrounding town. "It's a very delicate situation. Because if you stay there, if you're not being killed by the RSF, then you're dying of hunger, starvation, lack of medical assistance is also a big issue. "They're just holding on for dear life." 'We are watching al-Fashir be murdered' Nathan Raymond, a human rights investigator who leads the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, has worked with the UN to better understand the hunger crisis. He said while the people in Gaza have had aid deliveries severely limited for several months now, in al-Fashir, it's been over a year of total blockade. "In the case of al-Fashir, they have been in a state of humanitarian siege now since the spring of 2024 — so over a year," Raymond told SBS News. "The famine review committee of the United Nations declared an IPC five event, which is the highest degree of famine." While both the military and the RSF have been accused of war crimes in the current conflict, several human rights groups, as well as the United States, say the paramilitary group has committed genocide in Darfur — a claim the militia denies. The RSF also denies committing genocide, saying it was not involved in what it describes as a "tribal conflict" in Darfur. Raymond's team at Yale have monitored alleged war crimes in Darfur using ultra-high resolution satellites and sensors provided by NASA and the European Space Agency. "It's very easy to make assessments due to the remote sensing data. We monitor cemeteries at al-Fashir and over the past year, those cemeteries have been growing exponentially," Raymond said. "We can watch them bury their loved ones from space." He said the satellites have picked up damage to feeding centres, hospitals, mosques and other critical humanitarian infrastructure. "We are watching al-Fashir be murdered from 450 miles above the Earth's surface," he said. But the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the civilians within the city may not be able to hold out for much longer. "At this point, it's a matter of time unless there's a major change in SAF's military strength "Most of the city has been reduced to rubble. "By our calculations, more than 40 per cent of the city has been destroyed by RSF bombardment and attacks and Sudan Armed Forces airstrikes and artillery bombardment to try to target the Rapid Support Forces. "The civilians have been caught in the crossfire at this point. There is no food in the city." — With additional reporting by Reuters
Reuters
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Sudanese army retreats from Libyan border after alleging Haftar attack
DUBAI, June 11 (Reuters) - The Sudanese army retreated from the Libya-Egypt-Sudan border triangle area, it said on Wednesday, a day after it accused forces loyal to eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar of an attack alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Sudanese soldiers, largely from former rebel groups aligned with the army, had patrolled the area. Sudan's military, which is fighting against the RSF in a civil war, accuses the RSF and Haftar's forces of using the corridor for weapons deliveries. The area is close to the city of al-Fashir, one of the war's main frontlines. "As part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression, our forces today evacuated the triangle area," the Sudanese army said in a statement without elaborating. Late on Tuesday, Haftar's forces had denied participating in a cross-border attack, saying forces allied to the Sudanese army had attacked Libyan patrols. Sudan accuses the United Arab Emirates, one of Haftar's backers, of being behind the weapons deliveries, which the UAE denies. Egypt, a close ally of the Sudanese army, also backs Haftar.
CNN
03-06-2025
- General
- CNN
Five killed in attack on UN food convoy heading to Sudan hunger hot spot, UN says
An attack on a United Nations food convoy in Sudan overnight killed five people and prevented food deliveries to children and families who face starvation in North Darfur's al-Fashir, UN agencies said on Tuesday. 'Five members of the convoy were killed and several more people were injured. Multiple trucks were burned, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged,' the UN children's agency and the World Food Programme said in a joint statement. They did not say who was responsible and called for an urgent investigation into the attack, which they said was a violation of international humanitarian law. Without fresh supplies soon, hundreds of thousands of people in al-Fashir are at 'high risk of malnutrition and starvation,' the UN joint statement said. Aid has frequently come under crossfire in the two-year-old war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has left more than half the population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes. In statements, the RSF and the army blamed each other for the latest attack. The RSF said the army had attacked in an airstrike, while the army said the RSF had torched the truck. Reuters could not independently verify the contradictory accounts. The UN joint statement said the route of the 15-truck convoy, which traveled over 1,800 kilometers from Port Sudan, had been shared with the parties in advance. It was negotiating access to complete the journey when it was attacked, it said. Al Koma is controlled by the RSF, and earlier this week saw a drone strike that claimed several civilian lives, according to local activists. Famine conditions have previously been reported in al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur. The fighting and barriers to the delivery of aid put in place by both sides have cut off supplies. The attack is the latest of several assaults on aid in recent days. It follows the repeated shelling of UN World Food Programme premises in al-Fashir by the RSF and an attack on El Obeid hospital in North Kordofan that killed several medics late last month.
