Latest news with #displaced families
Zawya
6 days ago
- Politics
- Zawya
Scores killed in Sudan's Kordofan region as fighting intensifies
Amid ongoing communication disruptions in the area, confirming the exact civilian death toll remains difficult, but reports indicate that at least 300 people – including children and pregnant women – were killed in attacks on villages in Bara locality, North Kordofan State, between 10 and 13 July. During the same period, a series of attacks – including an air strike on a school sheltering displaced families – reportedly killed more than 20 people, in the villages of Al Fula and Abu Zabad in West Kordofan State. OCHA is also alarmed by reports of renewed shelling in Al Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, 'deepening fears and insecurity among civilians,' the humanitarian coordination agency reported. Tragic civilian toll With thousands of people reportedly killed since the beginning of the conflict between former military allies-turned rivals over two years ago, the crisis in Sudan continues to take a devastating toll on civilians. 'These incidents are yet another tragic reminder of the relentless toll the conflict is taking on civilians across Sudan,' OCHA reported. The office emphasises that civilians and civilian infrastructures – including schools, homes, shelters and humanitarian assets – must never be targeted, and called on all parties to the conflict to 'fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.' Toll from displacement Described as 'the largest as well as the fastest growing displacement crisis globally,' by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in February 2025, displacement continues amid the fighting. People fleeing North Kordofan, as well as El Fasher in North Darfur State, continue to seek shelter in the rest of Sudan, including Northern State, with humanitarian partners on the ground reporting more than 3,000 displaced people arriving in the locality of Ad-Dabbah since June. Although some have received food assistance, the steady influx of newly displaced families is putting additional strain on already stretched resources. With the rainy season approaching, OCHA warned that further hardship is likely, particularly as heavy rain and strong winds destroyed shelters and food supplies for about 2,700 displaced people in eastern Sudan this past Sunday. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Gaza's largest functioning hospital facing disaster, medics warn, as Israel widens offensive
Doctors have warned of an imminent disaster at Gaza's largest functioning hospital because of critical shortage of fuel and a widening Israeli ground offensive in the southern city of Khan Medical Complex was forced to stop admitting patients on Thursday, when witnesses said Israeli troops and tanks advanced into a cemetery 200m (660ft) away and fired towards nearby camps for displaced families. The forces reportedly withdrew on Friday after digging up several staff and dozens of patients in intensive care remain inside the hospital, where the fuel shortage threatens to shut down life-saving was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. However, it said on Friday morning that an armoured brigade was operating in Khan Younis to dismantle "terrorist infrastructure sites" and confiscate weapons> It has previously issued evacuation orders for the areas around the hospital. A witness told the BBC that Israeli tanks accompanied by excavators and bulldozers advanced from the south of the cemetery near Nasser hospital on tanks fired shells and bullets as they moved into an area, which was previously farmland, and several tents belonging to displaced families were set on fire, the witness said. Video footage shared online showed a plume of dark smoke rising from the witness added that Israeli quadcopter drones also fired towards tents in the Namsawi Towers and al-Mawasi areas to force residents to evacuate. Another video showed dozens of people running for cover amid as gunfire rang or two civilians standing near the hospital's gates were reportedly injured by stray staff inside Nasser hospital meanwhile sent messages to local journalists expressing their fear. "We are still working in the hospital. The tanks are just metres away. We are closer to death than to life," they Friday morning, locals said the Israeli tanks and troops pulled out of the cemetery and other areas close to the hospital. Pictures shared online later in the day appeared to show deep trenches dug into the sandy ground, flattened buildings, burnt tents, and crushed vehicles piled on top of each other. Staff at Nasser hospital said they were assessing if they could resume admitting patients. On Wednesday, they warned that the hospital was very close to a complete shutdown due to a critical fuel said electricity generators were expected to function for one additional day despite significant efforts to reduce power consumption and restrict electricity to only the most critical departments, including the intensive care and neonatal the power went out completely, dozens of patients, particularly those dependent of ventilators, would "be in immediate danger and face certain death", the hospital Israeli military official told Reuters news agency on Thursday that around 160,000 litres of fuel destined for hospitals and other humanitarian facilities had entered Gaza since Wednesday, but that the fuel's distribution around the territory was not the responsibility of the is a shortage of critical medical supplies, especially those related to trauma a visit to Nasser hospital last week, the Gaza representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) described it as "one massive trauma ward". Dr Rik Peeperkorn said in a video that the facility, which normally has a 350-bed capacity, was treating about 700 patients, and that exhausted staff were working 24 hours a director and doctors reported receiving hundreds of trauma cases over the past four weeks, the majority of them linked to incidents around aid distribution sites, he added."There's many boys, young adolescents who are dying or getting the most serious injuries because they try to get some food for their families," he them were a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the head and is now tetraplegic, and a 21-year-old man who has a bullet lodged in his neck and is also Friday, 10 people seeking aid were reportedly killed by Israeli military fire near an aid distribution site in the nearby southern city of Rafah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented. Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, a senior Hamas commander was among eight people who were killed in an Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Jabalia, a local source told the Nasr, who led the Jabalia al-Nazla battalion, died alongside his family, including several children, and an aide when two missiles hit a classroom at Halima al-Saadia school, according to the Hamas commander, Hassan Marii, and his aide were reportedly killed in a separate air strike on an apartment in al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal could be just days away, after concluding his four-day trip to the flying back from Washington on Thursday night, he told Newsmax that the proposal would supposedly see Hamas release half of the 20 living hostages it is still holding and just over half of the 30 dead hostages during a 60-day truce."So, we'll have 10 living left and about 12 deceased hostages [remaining], but I'll get them out, too. I hope we can complete it in a few days," he a Palestinian official told the BBC that the indirect negotiations in Qatar were stalled, with sticking points including aid distribution and Israeli troop Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken least 57,762 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Zawya
11-07-2025
- General
- Zawya
North Kivu: Living conditions worsen in Bambo – a fragile sanctuary for tens of thousands fleeing violence
Bambo, North Kivu, is facing a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis as ongoing conflict has forced tens of thousands to flee to the town. Overcrowded shelters, food shortages, and strained health services are pushing displaced families to the brink. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing essential care to around 3,700 people each week – an increase of more than 40% since before current wave of mass displacement began. Local needs far exceed current capacity. When fighting erupted in Rushashi, Kinoko* fled with her husband and six children, traveling for weeks through the forest. Armed groups had seized their harvest, forcing them to leave everything behind and lose contact with relatives – whose fate is uncertain. Arriving in Bambo in late June, the family joined tens of thousands of newly displaced people—most of them women and children. Kinoko and her family are currently sheltering in a school, one of 24 collective sites across Bambo, which also include churches and empty buildings. Between May and July, the number of displaced people in the town nearly doubled, surpassing 51,000 and now making up more than 80% of Bambo's population. 'It is difficult to sleep because it is so crowded here. To survive, we go to the fields and ask local residents for manioc leaves and rotten bananas, but even then, we struggle. The kids are so hungry,' she said. Ongoing instability continues to drive mass displacement across Rutshuru territory. Since MSF's last call for urgent action in June, Bambo—one of the region's largest towns—has fallen to the M23 armed group, which remains locked in conflict with Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda [FDLR] and Collective of Movements for Change [CMC] militias. 'I left my home after gunfire broke out between the M23 and CMC,' explained Nsaku*, a 49-year-old man who fled Birambizo with four family members. 'Several houses were set on fire on the pretext that they belonged to the CMC. Given the growing insecurity, I decided it was best to leave after spending a few days hiding in the bush. I had to leave my livestock behind.' Bambo has become a fragile sanctuary for people escaping violence, as conflict continues to devastate the surrounding areas and makes it unlikely that displaced families will be able to return home soon. Armed groups frequently steal harvests, leaving people with few means of survival—even if they were to go back. Many new arrivals are deeply traumatized, and numerous testimonies describe violence allegedly committed by armed groups. A recent arrival to Bambo explained that he fled to the town after hearing bombs explode near the fields where he was living and working. "We were warned that anyone who stayed behind would be killed,' he said. 'One soldier picked up a chicken and cut off its head in front of me, suggesting that I would be next,' said another, who managed to escape. 'Two members of my family were killed.' The humanitarian needs of the town's ever-growing population are immense. Many are living in overcrowded conditions with limited access to clean water and sanitation or basic household items such as cooking equipment; some are unable to find shelter at all; and hunger is rising – the price of beans at the local market has doubled and those displaced people lucky enough to find work typically eke out a living of less than $1 per day working in fields. MSF has operated in Bambo since 2017 and is among the few international medical organizations supporting displaced people in the area, providing care for around 3,700 people each week at the general hospital and health centers in and around the town – up from 2,400 per week prior to the mass displacement. Malnutrition wards have had occupancy rates over 100 percent for close to a month; dozens of sexual violence victims are seen every week; and significant numbers of patients continue to seek treatment for diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Malaria cases have surged since July, with a single clinic where MSF operates reporting an average of 341 cases each week over the past month – a figure that continues to grow. This sharp increase is partly due to cuts in international humanitarian funding, including from USAID, which forced the national malaria programme to halt its activities in the area. These funding cuts have also left local health authorities with fewer resources to treat malnutrition, provide post-exposure prophylaxis [PEP] kits, and support Tuberculosis and HIV services. 'Urgent interventions are required not only in the medical sector, but also in critical related areas such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), food distribution, and shelter provision. Without comprehensive action in these fields, the risk of disease outbreaks will continue to rise,' said François Calas, MSF's Head of Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 'MSF teams will continue to provide lifesaving medical care in Bambo, but we cannot meet alone the growing humanitarian needs of this community. It is vital that other partners step up to avoid disaster.' *Name has been changed Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).
