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Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says

Update Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says
Senior United Nations officials appealed to the Security Council on Tuesday for help in getting humanitarian aid access in Sudan "across borders, across battle lines, by air, by land" to fight famine that has taken hold in at least one site in North Darfur. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 07 August 2024

Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says

Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says
  • 26m people in war-torn country face acute hunger amid escalating conflict, obstruction and looting of trucks carrying life-saving food supplies
  • Security Council hears war-crime concerns, including ‘horrific levels’ of conflict-related sexual violence against victims as young as 9 years old

NEW YORK CITY: The UN on Tuesday described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as “an absolute catastrophe.”

It said famine conditions have been officially confirmed in the Zamzam camp for displaced persons close to El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where one child is dying every two hours from malnutrition. Famine is probably also present in several other camps for displaced people in and around the city.

“This announcement should stop all of us cold because when famine happens, it means we are too late,” Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said during a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

“It means we did not do enough. It means that we, the international community, have failed. This is an entirely man-made crisis and a shameful stain on our collective conscience.”

More than 26 million people in Sudan now face acute hunger, she said, adding: “That’s the equivalent of New York City times three, full of starving families and malnourished children.”

War has been raging in the country for more than a year between rival factions of its military government: the Sudanese Armed Forces, under Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti. More than 19,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023.

James Kariuki, the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, told fellow council members: “There is famine in Sudan and that famine is entirely man-made.”

He accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of obstructing the delivery of aid to Darfur through actions such as the closing the Adre crossing on the border between Chad and Sudan, which is the most direct route for delivering humanitarian assistance at scale. And he said attacks by the Rapid Support Forces in the region have created the conditions for starvation to spread.

Kariuki called on the warring factions to participate in peace talks in Geneva and engage “in good faith to agree steps to a durable ceasefire, full humanitarian access and the protection of civilians.”

Wosornu said that “hunger is not the only threat people are facing.” The war has displaced more than 10 million people inside Sudan, and more than 2 million have fled to neighboring countries as refugees, making it the largest displacement crisis in the world.

In the past six weeks alone, about 726,000 people have been displaced within and from Sennar State in the southeast of the country as the result of an advance by the Rapid Support Forces into the area.

Sudan’s healthcare system has collapsed, Wosornu added, with two-thirds of the population unable to get to a hospital or see a doctor.

In addition, heavy rains in recent weeks have caused flooding in residential neighbourhoods and camps for displaced people, including in Kassala and North Darfur, increasing the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases, OCHA said.

“Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, once the beating heart of the country, is in ruins,” Wosornu said, as she voiced grave concerns about war crimes being committed in the city.

She said Sudanese women, and girls as young as nine years old are exposed to “horrific levels” of sexual violence, with “suicide rates among survivors increasing” and “the number of children born out of rape surging.”

Aid workers in Sudan continue to face harassment, attacks and even death. Food, medicine and fuel convoys have been looted. Three trucks have been blocked by the Rapid Support Forces in Kabkabiya, west of El-Fasher, for more a month, OCHA said, depriving malnourished children in the Zamzam camp of the aid they so desperately need to survive. 

Humanitarian access continues to be obstructed, said Wosornu, with a recent escalation of fighting in Sennar causing further blocking of the southern route that used to be the UN’s main cross-lines option for the delivery of humanitarian aid from Port Sudan to Kordofan and Darfur.

“Life-saving supplies in Port Sudan are ready to be loaded and dispatched to Zamzam, including essential medicines, nutritional supplies, water-purification tablets and soap,” said Wosornu. “It is crucial that the approvals and security assurances needed are not delayed.”

She told council members that it is still possible “to stop this freight train of suffering that is charging through Sudan. But only if we respond with the urgency that this moment demands.”

She called for an immediate ceasefire and for the warring factions to allow the rapid, safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance across the country, using all possible routes.

In the absence of a ceasefire, Wosornu said all involved in the conflict must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, adding: “Those who commit serious violations, including sexual violence, must be held accountable.”

She also stressed that more resources are needed to tackle the humanitarian crisis “and we need them now. If we do not receive adequate funding for the aid operation, the response will grind to a halt.”


UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’

UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’
Updated 23 July 2025

UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’

UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’
  • In urging greater efforts to pursue global peace, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council: “Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law” as well as the UN Charter

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council urged the 193 United Nations member nations on Tuesday to use all possible means to settle disputes peacefully. The UN chief said that is needed now more than ever as he pointed to “the horror show in Gaza” and conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar.
The vote was unanimous on a Pakistan-drafted resolution in the 15-member council.
In urging greater efforts to pursue global peace, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council: “Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law” as well as the UN Charter.
It is happening at a time of widening geopolitical divides and numerous conflicts, starting with Gaza, where “starvation is knocking on every door” as Israel denies the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid and save Palestinian lives, Guterres said.
Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.
In conflicts worldwide, “hunger and displacement are at record levels” and security is pushed further out of reach by terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime, the secretary-general said.
“Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability,” Guterres said. “But it still holds the power to stop them.”
The resolution urges all countries to use the methods in the UN Charter to peacefully settle disputes, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, referral to regional arrangements or other peaceful means.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who chaired the meeting, cited “the ongoing tragedies” in Gaza and between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, one of the oldest disputes on the UN agenda, that need to be resolved peacefully.
“At the heart of almost all the conflicts across the globe is a crisis of multilateralism; a failure, not of principles but of will; a paralysis, not of institutions but of political courage,” he said.
The Pakistani diplomat called for revitalizing trust in the UN system and ensuring “equal treatment of all conflicts based on international law, not geopolitical expediency.”
Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the Trump administration supports the United Nations’ founding principles of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war and working with parties to resolve disputes peacefully.
Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, she said, the US has delivered “deescalation” between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Congo and Rwanda.
The US calls on countries involved in conflicts to follow these examples, Shea said, singling out the war in Ukraine and China’s “unlawful claims” in the South China Sea.
The war in Ukraine must end, she said, and Russia must stop attacking civilians and fulfill its obligations under the UN Charter, which requires all member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every other country.
“We call on other UN member states to stop providing Russia with the means to continue its aggression,” Shea said.

 


Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin

Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin
Updated 22 July 2025

Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin

Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin
  • Ibrahim Majed Ali Nasr was shot by Israeli live ammunition when forces entered the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin city
  • His killing raises the Palestinian death toll in Jenin governorate to 43 since the Israeli military assault began on Jan. 21

LONDON: A 16-year-old Palestinian died from injuries sustained earlier on Tuesday evening after being shot by Israeli forces during a raid in the northern occupied West Bank.

Ibrahim Majed Ali Nasr was shot by Israeli live ammunition when forces entered the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin city.

The teenager was shot in the chest, suffering a life-threatening injury, while another young man was injured in the leg, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Nasr was later declared dead at the hospital in Jenin.

Israeli forces raided a house, with no detentions reported, in Qabatiya on Tuesday evening.

Nasr’s killing raises the Palestinian death toll in Jenin governorate to 43 since the Israeli military assault began on Jan. 21. Dozens more have been injured or detained, the Palestine News Agency reported.


Iran: 27 inmates are still at large following Israeli airstrike

One of the buildings (C-L) in Iran's Evin prison complex in Tehran before it was heavily damaged by a fire. (AFP file photo)
One of the buildings (C-L) in Iran's Evin prison complex in Tehran before it was heavily damaged by a fire. (AFP file photo)
Updated 22 July 2025

Iran: 27 inmates are still at large following Israeli airstrike

One of the buildings (C-L) in Iran's Evin prison complex in Tehran before it was heavily damaged by a fire. (AFP file photo)
  • The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets

TEHRAN, PARIS: Iran said on Tuesday 27 inmates were still at large after an Israeli airstrike last month targeted Evin prison in the north of the capital, Tehran, local media reported.
The airstrikes were part of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of Iran that killed about 1,100 people, while 28 were left dead in Israel in Iranian retaliatory strikes.
Judiciary’s news website, Mizanonline, quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying 75 prisoners had escaped following the strike, of which 48 were either recaptured or voluntarily returned. He said authorities will detain the others if they don’t hand themselves over.
Jahangir said the escapees were prisoners doing time for minor offenses.

FASTFACT

Between 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners were being held at the time in the prison.

Iranian officials said the Israeli strike killed 71 people, but local media reported earlier in July that 80 were left dead at the time, including prison staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members. Authorities also said five inmates died.
It’s unclear why Israel targeted the prison. 
The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.
Amnesty International, an international nongovernmental organization that campaigns to protect human rights, called the Israeli attack “deliberate” and “a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
The air strikes should therefore be “criminally investigated as war crimes,” it said.
“The Israeli military carried out multiple air strikes on Evin prison, killing and injuring scores of civilians and causing extensive damage and destruction in at least six locations across the prison complex,” Amnesty said, basing its assessment on what it said were verified video footage, satellite images and witness statements.
There was nothing to suggest that Evin prison could justifiably be seen as a “legal military objective,” it said.

 


Heat wave hits water, electricity supplies across much of Iran

Heat wave hits water, electricity supplies across much of Iran
Updated 22 July 2025

Heat wave hits water, electricity supplies across much of Iran

Heat wave hits water, electricity supplies across much of Iran
  • The heat wave has been accompanied by drought, with the capital experiencing its lowest rainfall in 60 years

TEHRAN: A severe heat wave sweeping Iran has disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country, with reservoir levels falling to their lowest in a century, state media said on Tuesday.
Extreme temperatures, which began on Friday, are expected to ease gradually by Thursday.
Government offices in at least 15 of Iran’s 31 provinces, including the capital Tehran, have been ordered to close on Wednesday in a bid to conserve water and electricity.
The measure comes as temperatures in parts of southern and southwestern Iran topped 50 degrees Celsius.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh MoHajjerani said authorities would extend office closures “if it deems necessary,” while warning of the “critical situation” in Tehran regarding water supplies.
The heat wave has been accompanied by drought, with the capital experiencing its lowest rainfall in 60 years. Water levels in the reservoirs which supply Tehran have fallen to “their lowest level in a century,” said the Tehran Provincial Water Supply Company, advising people to use a tank and pump to cope with mains disruption. Tehran provincial governor, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian said the dams are only filled to 14 percent, adding that the capital is going through its fifth year of drought.
Many residents reported water supply cuts lasting several hours.
“It’s not just the heat — there’s also no electricity and no water,” said Moini, a 52-year-old housewife from Tehran. “Our whole lives have basically fallen apart.”
Many Iranian newspapers carried photographs of the low reservoir levels on their front pages on Tuesday.

 


US targets Houthis with fresh sanctions

Houthi security personnel stand guard in Sanaa, Yemen July 20, 2025. (REUTERS)
Houthi security personnel stand guard in Sanaa, Yemen July 20, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 22 July 2025

US targets Houthis with fresh sanctions

Houthi security personnel stand guard in Sanaa, Yemen July 20, 2025. (REUTERS)
  • Among those targeted was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen

WASHINGTON: The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen in fresh action targeting the militant group.
The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.
“The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.
“These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes.”
Among those targeted was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.
Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of $12 million worth of petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis. 
Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
In January, the US re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on ships.