KHARTOUM: Five Sudanese security forces were killed in an ambush by an “outlawed” armed group in the restive Darfur region, police said in a statement Friday.
“A joint security force comprising the armed forces, police and the Rapid Support Forces came under treacherous attack yesterday evening by an outlawed group in Central Darfur state,” the statement said, without identifying the group.
The attack “left five security forces killed including a police lieutenant,” it said, adding that an unspecified number of others were wounded.
It was not immediately clear if there were casualties among the assailants.
Sudan has been reeling from deepening unrest since a military coup in October last year, led by army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
The move ousted key civilian groups from power and derailed a fragile transition that had been in place following the 2019 ouster of longtime president Omar Al-Bashir.
The power grab exacerbated political and economic turmoil in the country, and the security situation has also deteriorated, with a spike in ethnic clashes in Sudan’s far-flung regions.
Last month, Burhan pledged to step aside and make way for civilian groups to form a new government, but the main civilian bloc dismissed the move as a “ruse.”
Sudan’s westernmost Darfur region has seen deadly violence since the coup.
In June, more than 125 people were killed in clashes between Arab and non-Arab groups in West Darfur state, according to the United Nations.
Civil conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, pitting ethnic minority rebels who complained of discrimination against Bashir’s Arab-dominated government.
Khartoum then unleashed the Janjaweed, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, who were blamed for atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages.
The scorched-earth campaign left 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million, according to the United Nations.
Many Janjaweed have since been integrated into the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, now de facto deputy leader of Sudan, according to rights groups.
In 2020, Sudan signed a peace deal with key rebel groups including from Darfur.
The main conflict has subsided over the years, but the region remains awash with weapons and deadly clashes often erupt over access to pasture or water.
On Monday, Daglo said the October coup had failed to bring about change in Sudan.
“The whole thing failed and now we (Sudan) have become worse,” he said.
Five security forces killed in attack in Sudan’s Darfur: police
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Five security forces killed in attack in Sudan’s Darfur: police
- The attack left five security forces killed including a police lieutenant and injured others
- It was not immediately clear if there were casualties among the assailants
Activists plan new, bigger flotilla to try to bring aid to Gaza
- Activists previously detained by Israel plan new flotilla
- Israeli officials denounce such missions as stunts
JOHANNESBURG: Activists behind a flotilla intercepted at sea last year by Israel while trying to bring aid to Gaza will try again this year, expecting more than twice as many boats carrying up to 1,000 medics, they said on Thursday.
The Israeli military halted the roughly 40 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla last October as they attempted to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 other participants.
Organizers, who gathered on Wednesday at the foundation of late South African leader Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, said they hope to bring 100 boats for their next attempt.
“It is a cause ... for those that want to rise and stand for justice and dignity for all,” Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, who was among activists detained last time, told the gathering. “We want to mobilize the ... global community to join forces with us.”
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced last year’s mission, and previous smaller-scale attempts to reach Gaza by sea, as publicity stunts.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its more than 2 million residents. Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching the territory are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October which included guarantees of increased aid.
Following the ceasefire, Israeli forces now control more than 53 percent of the Gaza Strip where they have ordered residents out. Nearly the entire population is crowded into a narrow strip along the coast, mostly living in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.
If the flotilla is blocked again, the activists said it would still be worth it to highlight Gaza’s plight.
“We may not have reached Gaza physically (but) we have reached ... the people in Gaza,” said one of the activists, Susan Abdallah. “They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege.”
