Sudan

Sudan has become violent place, single biggest humanitarian crisis: Trump

Trump said that Sudan, considered a "great civilisation", can be fixed with the "cooperation and coordination" of countries

Thousands flee to camps after Sudan's paramilitary captures el-Fasher

Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled to overcrowded camps to escape reported atrocities by a paramilitary force since it captured el-Fasher in the western Darfur region, an aid group said Saturday, and the UN human rights chief warned that many others are still trapped. Those who reach shelter in Tawila, about 70 kilometres from el-Fasher, find themselves stranded in a barren area with barely enough tents, many of them improvised from patched tarps and sheets, according to a video posted by the group Sudan's IDPs and Refugee Camps. It shows children running across the area as a few adults carry a large pot of food, hoping it will be enough to feed the growing crowds of displaced. Since the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, seized el-Fasher from the rival military October 26, more than 16,200 people have fled to the camps in Tawila, said Adam Rojal, spokesperson for the aid group. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that around 82,000 people had fled the city and ...

What's happening in Sudan? Inside the conflict that left over 150,000 dead

The fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces marks a turning point in Sudan's civil war, intensifying fears of genocide, partition, and regional destabilisation amid global neglect

ICC convicts Darfur militia leader over past atrocities in Sudanese region

The International Criminal Court on Monday convicted a leader of the feared Janjaweed militia of playing a leading role in a campaign of atrocities committed in the Sudanese region of Darfur more than 20 years ago. It was the first time the court has convicted a suspect of crimes in Darfur. The three-judge panel ruled that the atrocities, including mass murders and rapes, were part of a government plan to violently snuff out a rebellion in the western region of Sudan. Ali Muhammad Ali AbdAl-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, wearing a suit and tie and listening through a headset, showed no emotion as Presiding Judge Joanna Korner read out 27 guilty verdicts. He will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum life sentence. He was convicted of crimes for leading Janjaweed militia forces in Darfur that went on a campaign of killing in 2003-2004. He encouraged and gave instructions that resulted in the killings, the rapes and destruction committed by the Janjaweed, Korner said,

World leaders convene at UNGA amid global crises and mounting challenges

World leaders begin convening Monday at one of the most volatile moments in the United Nations' 80-year history, and the challenges they face are as dire as ever if not more so: unyielding wars in Gaza and Ukraine, escalating changes in the US approach to the world, hungry people everywhere and technologies that are advancing faster than the understanding of how to manage them. The United Nations itself, which emerged from World War II's rubble on the premise that nations would work together to tackle political, social and financial issues, is in crisis itself. As Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week: "International cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes. Yet the annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will bring presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from about 150 of the 193 UN member nations to UN headquarters. The secretary-general says it is an opportunity that can't be missed even in the most challenging of moments. We

Landslide in Sudan's Darfur wipes out village, killing more than 1,000

A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan's western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country's recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late Monday. The tragedy happened Sunday in the village of Tarasin in Central Darfur's Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall in late August, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement. Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived, the statement read. The village was completely levelled to the ground, the group said, appealing to the UN and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies. Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area. The tragedy came as a devastating civil war has engulfed Sudan after tensions between the country's military and th

Sudan civil war overwhelms border town in Chad as refugees find little help

Fatima Omas Abdullah wakes up every morning with aches and pains from sleeping on bare ground for almost two years. She did not expect Sudan's civil war to displace her for so long into neighbouring Chad. There is nothing here, she said, crying and shaking the straw door of her makeshift home. Since April 2023, she has been in the Adre transit camp a few hundred metres from the Sudanese border, along with almost a quarter-million others fleeing the fighting. Now the US- backed aid system that kept hundreds of thousands like Abdullah alive on the edge of one of the world's most devastating wars is fraying. Under the Trump administration, key foreign aid has been slashed and funding withdrawn from United Nations programmes that feed, treat and shelter refugees. In 2024, the US contributed USD 39.3 million to the emergency response in Chad. So far this year, it has contributed about USD 6.8 million, the UN says. Overall, only 13 per cent of the requested money to support refugees in Ch

1 crew member killed, 2 injured after UN helicopter attacked in South Sudan

A crew member was killed and two others were injured when a United Nations helicopter on an evacuation mission in a remote part of South Sudan was attacked on Friday, the UN mission in South Sudan said, as violence escalated in fighting that threatens a fragile peace deal between the country's top two leaders. The attack took place in the Nasir area of South Sudan's Upper Nile state, according to UNMISS, which said in a statement that the helicopter came under fire" as it attempted to evacuate government troops from the area. Several soldiers and their commanding officer in Nasir, Gen. Majur Dak, were among those killed in the attack, President Salva Kiir said in a statement late Friday. I am appealing to you to remain calm, his statement said. The government which I lead will handle this crisis and we will remain steadfast in the path of peace." Nasir has seen violence in recent days as government troops clashed with an armed group, known as the White Army, that some believe is ..

Sudan war at critical juncture as military advances in key regions

The war in Sudan appears to be reaching a critical juncture after nearly two years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands, driven millions from their homes and seen bloody atrocities. For the first time, the military has been making steady advances against its rival, the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and it could soon wrest back control of the capital, Khartoum. The RSF responded by announcing at a gathering in Kenya that it and its allies will establish a parallel government. What's happening on the ground? The war erupted in April 2023 between the military and the RSF with battles in Khartoum and around the country. The leaders of the two forces had been allies who were meant to have overseen the democratic transition after a popular uprising in 2019, but instead worked together to thwart a return to civilian rule. However, tensions exploded into a bloody fight for power. Since then, at least 20,000 people have been killed, though the number is likely far

At least 54 killed as paramilitary group attacks open market in Sudan

Sudan's health authorities say a notorious paramilitary group fighting against the country's military has attacked an open market in the city of Omdurman, killing 54 people. Saturday's attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Sabrein Market also wounded at least 158 others, the Health Ministry said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the RSF. Khalid al-Aleisir, minister of culture and government spokesperson, condemned the attack, saying that the casualties included many women and children. He also said the attack caused widespread destruction to private and public properties".

Fighting in Sudan's civil war ignites flames at largest oil refinery

Fighting around Sudan 's largest oil refinery set the sprawling complex ablaze, satellite data analysed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows, sending thick, black smoke over the country's capital. Forces loyal to Sudan's military under army chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan later claimed they captured the refinery, owned by Sudan's government and the state-run China National Petroleum Corp. The facility represents a long-sought prize for the military in its civil war with the rebel Rapid Support Force. International mediation attempts and pressure tactics, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide, have not halted the fighting. The al-Jaili refinery sits some 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023 and their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of

Sudan's largest oil refinery set ablaze in civil war, satellite photos show

Fighting around Sudan's largest oil refinery set the sprawling complex ablaze, satellite data analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows, sending thick, black polluted smoke over the country's capital. The attacks around the refinery, owned by Sudan's government and the state-run China National Petroleum Corp., represent the latest woe in a war between the rebel Rapid Support Force and Sudan's military, who blamed each other for the blaze. International mediation attempts and pressure tactics, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide, have not halted the fighting. The al-Jaili refinery sits some 60 kilometers north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023, as their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of landmines to slow any advance. But the facility, capable of handli

Year ender 2024: Devastating tragedies that sent shock waves across world

From earthquakes to mass shootings: Here are the most devastating global tragedies of 2024

UN chief Guterres 'alarmed' about worsening food security in Sudan

Guterres renewed his call for the parties to facilitate rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained access so that humanitarian assistance

Sudan halts participation in hunger-monitor system on eve of famine report

In a letter dated Dec. 23, the government's agriculture minister said the government is halting its participation in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system

New UN aid chief admits to challenges in fundraising amid numerous crises

The new head of the UN humanitarian aid agency says it will be ruthless when prioritising how to spend money, a nod to challenges in fundraising for civilians in war zones like Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine. Tom Fletcher, a longtime British diplomat who took up the UN post last month, said his agency is asking for less money in 2025 than this year. He said it wants to show "we will focus and target the resources we have, even as crises grow more numerous, intense and long-lasting. His agency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on Wednesday issued its global appeal for 2025, seeking USD 47 billion to help 190 million people in 32 countries though it estimates 305 million worldwide need help. The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out, he told reporters on Tuesday. The office and many other aid groups, including the international Red Cross, have seen donations shrink in recent years for longtime trouble spots like Syria, South Sudan, the Middle Eas

Sudan's forces escalating attacks, outsiders fuelling fire: UN chief

Sudan's warring military and paramilitary forces are escalating attacks with outside powers fuelling the fire, which is intensifying the nightmare of hunger and disease for millions, the United Nations chief said on Monday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the UN Security Council that the 18-month war faces the serious possibility of igniting regional instability from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa to the Red Sea. In a grim report, Guterres said the Sudanese people are living through numerous nightmares from killings and unspeakable atrocities including widespread rapes to fast-spreading diseases, mass ethnic violence, and 750,000 people facing catastrophic food insecurity and famine conditions in North Darfur displacement sites. He singled out shocking reports of mass killings and sexual violence in villages in east-central Gezira province in recent days. The UN and a doctors' group said paramilitary fighters ran riot in the region in a multi-day attack that killed more

Sudan accuses UAE of arming rival paramilitary, UAE refutes allegations

The Sudanese government accused the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday of providing weapons to its rival paramilitary force and prolonging the 17-month war. The UAE called the allegations utterly false and baseless and accused the government of refusing to negotiate peace with its enemy. Their latest clash came during a U.N. Security Council meeting where its 15 members voted unanimously to extend an arms embargo in Sudan's vast western Darfur region a key battleground of the rival forces until Sept. 12, 2025. Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to Darfur and other regions. More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes, the country is engulfed in a humanitarian crisis, and the head of the U.N. World Health Organization said Sunday that over 20,000 people have been killed. Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed accused the UAE of ...

Sudan's war has killed at least 20,000 people, says WHO chief Ghebreyesus

More than 16 months of war in Sudan has killed more than 20,000 people, a senior United Nations official said on Sunday, a grim figure amid a devastating conflict that has wrecked the northeastern African country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, gave the tally at a news conference in Sudan's Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which serves as the seat of the internationally recognised, military-backed government. He said the death toll could be much higher. Sudan is suffering through a perfect storm of crisis, Tedros said as he wrapped up his two-day visit to Sudan. The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict. Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare across the country. The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into ..