WASHINGTON: The UN Security Council expressed “alarm” at growing violence in war-torn Sudan on Friday, a day after it reported that seven million people have been displaced by the conflict.
In a joint statement, the Council “strongly condemned” attacks on civilians and the spread of the conflict “into areas hosting large populations of internally displaced persons, refugees, and asylum seekers.”
“The members of the Security Council expressed alarm at the spreading violence and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan,” the statement said, reflecting the worsening situation in the country.
In addition to the seven million internally displaced people, the UN said Thursday another 1.5 million had fled into neighboring countries.
Since fighting broke out on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the city of Wad Madani, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Khartoum, had become a haven for thousands of displaced people during the conflict.
But the Security Council said fighting had spread there too, causing refugees to flee once again.
“According to the International Organization for Migration, up to 300,000 people have fled Wad Madani in Al-Jazira state in a new wave of large-scale displacement,” UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.
As the rival security forces battle for the city’s strongpoints, shopkeepers boarded up their stores this week to ward off looters while women disappeared from the streets for fear of sexual violence.
The Council called on the warring parties to allow for “rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan.”
It condemned a December 10 attack on a convoy belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross and called for “the scaling up of humanitarian assistance to Sudan.”
The war between the army and the RSF has killed 12,190 people, according to conservative estimates by the Armed Conflict Locations and Events Data project.
UN Security Council voices ‘alarm’ at spreading violence in Sudan
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UN Security Council voices ‘alarm’ at spreading violence in Sudan
- The Council “strongly condemned” attacks on civilians and the spread of the conflict
Trump plans to announce Gaza funding plan, troops at first Board of Peace meeting, US officials say
- Deployment of the International Stabilization Force is a key part of the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, announced in September
- Delegations from at least 20 countries, including many heads of state, are expected to attend the meeting in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the first formal meeting of his Board of Peace next week, two senior US officials said on Thursday.
Delegations from at least 20 countries, including many heads of state, are expected to attend the meeting in Washington, D.C., which Trump will chair on February 19, the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The details on Trump’s plans for the first meeting of his Board of Peace for Gaza have not been previously reported.
Trump signed documents in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23 establishing the Board of Peace. The board’s creation was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution as part of Trump’s Gaza plan.
While regional Middle East powers, including Turkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as major emerging nations such as Indonesia, have joined the board, global powers and traditional Western US allies have been more cautious. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during his visit to Washington that Israel has joined the board. Trump has stirred concerns that the Board of Peace might try to resolve other conflicts around the world and compete with the United Nations. The US officials said the meeting next week will focus solely on Gaza. They said a central part of the meeting will be Trump’s announcement of a multi-billion-dollar fund for Gaza, which will include monetary contributions from participating board members. One official called the offers “generous” and said that the United States had not made any explicit requests for donations. “People have come to us offering,” the official said. “The president will make announcements vis a vis the money raised.”
Stabilization force
Deployment of the International Stabilization Force is a key part of the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, announced in September. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war began on October 10 and Hamas has released hostages while Israel has freed detained Palestinians.
Trump will announce that several countries plan to provide several thousand troops to the stabilization force that is expected to deploy in Gaza in the months ahead, the officials said.
A primary concern for now is disarming Hamas fighters who have been reluctant to give up their weapons. Under Trump’s Gaza plan, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries, under the plan.
The Board of Peace meetings will also include detailed reports on the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which was established to take over the day-to-day civil administration of Gaza Strip from Hamas. The committee announced its members and held its first meeting in January.
Other updates will cover humanitarian aid for Gaza as well as the Gaza police, the officials said.
