Escalating Sudan conflict likely to worsen humanitarian crisis

Children play on a street in Tokar in the Read Sea State on Thursday following recent heavy flooding in eastern Sudan. (AFP)
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Updated 04 October 2024
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Escalating Sudan conflict likely to worsen humanitarian crisis

  • Army has advanced across bridges in capital
  • RSF expected to benefit from the dry season

DUBAI: After almost 18 months of war, fighting in Sudan is escalating as seasonal rains end with the army using intensified airstrikes and allied fighters to shore up its position ahead of a likely surge by the rival Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.

An uptick in fighting will aggravate an already dire humanitarian crisis in which famine has been confirmed and over 10 million people — one-fifth of the population — are displaced, more than anywhere else in the world.
UN agencies have often been unable to deliver aid.
“There won’t be a decisive breakthrough,” said a senior Western diplomat in the region.
“What we expect to come into the fall more and more is much more fragmentation, to see more armed groups getting involved ... And this will make the situation in general much more difficult.”

BACKGROUND

The RSF has had the upper hand during much of the conflict but last week the army launched its biggest offensive yet in Khartoum, advancing across a key bridge over the Nile.

The RSF has had the upper hand during much of the conflict but last week the army, after shunning US-led talks in Switzerland, launched its biggest offensive yet in Khartoum, advancing across a key bridge over the Nile.
In Darfur, former rebel groups and volunteers from displacement camps have rallied to defend the densely populated city of Al-Fasher, the army’s last holdout in the western region, against waves of RSF attacks.
Two army sources said the army had worked for months to replenish weaponry, including drones and warplanes, and train new volunteers to strengthen its position on the ground before any negotiations.
Three residents in the capital, which is made up of Khartoum and its adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri, said that in recent days, the army had been carrying out more air bombardments with more drones and fighter jets than before.
While the army has used its superior air power at the end of the rainy season to pound RSF-held territory in the capital, Darfur and El Gezira state, the RSF’s more effective ground troops are expected to regain an edge as the dry season starts and roads become more passable.
On Monday, the RSF released a video with its fighters promising a “hot winter” for its rivals in Sennar, where the rains had slowed its progress earlier.
Witnesses there and in the capital reported heavy fighting on Thursday.
Both sides have reinforced militarily as the conflict in Africa’s third largest country by land area has deepened, drawing on material support from foreign backers, diplomats and analysts say.
The war began in April 2023 as the army and the RSF jostled to protect their power and wealth ahead of a planned political transition toward civilian rule and free elections.
The RSF, which has its roots in the so-called Janjaweed militias that helped the government crush a rebellion in Darfur in the early 2000s, quickly occupied much of the capital before consolidating its grip on Darfur and seizing El Gezira state, south of Khartoum.
Earlier this year, the army gained ground in Omdurman after acquiring Iranian drones.
But it showed little sign of building on the advance before the surprise offensive it began last week on the day that its commander, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, told the UN that the RSF had to withdraw and lay down its arms for there to be peace.
The army now has control of the capital’s Halfaya bridge, allowing it to build a foothold in Bahri from its bases in Omdurman.
It has also weathered heavy clashes and sniper fire to advance across another Nile bridge that leads to the heart of the capital, military sources and witnesses said.
For months, the RSF has besieged Al-Fasher, which is crammed with some 1.8 million residents and displaced people. Activists and diplomats have warned of ethnically charged bloodletting if the city falls after similar violence that was blamed on the RSF and its allies elsewhere in Darfur.
Two witnesses in Al-Fasher said that the RSF had been shelling large areas of the city as the army responded with air strikes.
The battle has dragged on as non-Arab former rebel groups and volunteers from displacement camps who are better equipped for ground combat than the army fight to protect themselves and their families, the witnesses said.
A local group representing displaced people in Darfur said this week that the fighting had exacerbated the humanitarian situation in two dozen camps across the Darfur region, “all of which suffer from a lack of the most basic daily necessities,” and that disease and starvation were spreading.
Aid workers and human rights activists say there has been little increase in humanitarian relief despite pledges by both sides to improve access to aid.
Sudan, often overlooked amid armed conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere, received some diplomatic attention at the UN General Assembly last week.
But USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman said there had been little progress getting outside players to stop fueling the war.
“Both of the actors in this conflict, both sides of this, have outside support which they believe is going to tip the scales to their advantage,” she said.

 


Iraq’s parliament elects a new speaker to end a nearly yearlong vacuum

Updated 01 November 2024
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Iraq’s parliament elects a new speaker to end a nearly yearlong vacuum

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament has elected a new speaker after a nearly yearlong vacuum.
Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, who served a previous stint as speaker from 2006 to 2009, was elected by 182 of the 269 legislators who attended the session, a surprise move after months of deadlock between political factions.
Former Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi was dismissed by a Federal Supreme Court last November against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed by then-lawmaker Laith Al-Dulaimi.
Al-Dulaim claimed that the speaker had forged Al-Dulaimi’s signature on a resignation letter, an allegation Al-Halbousi denied.
The court ruled to terminate both Al-Halbousi and Al-Dulaimi from their parliamentary posts.
It did not elaborate on why it was issuing the decision.
The speaker is an intermediary between the various political blocs and will be critical to the government’s efforts to achieve economic reforms and reduce internal tensions.
The election of a new parliament speaker comes at a time when Iraq is facing significant challenges — chief among them attempting to navigate the repercussions of the wars in the Middle East.
Iraq’s government has sought to avoid alienating the US, upon which it has relied for economic and military support, including in the fight against Daesh.
The country also faces rampant corruption and internal divisions.
The new speaker will have to deal with some controversial legislation, notably a proposed amendment to Iraq’s personal status law governing family matters, which critics say would effectively legalize child marriage.


WATCH: Rebuilding of Mosul’s famous leaning minaret nears completion

Updated 01 November 2024
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WATCH: Rebuilding of Mosul’s famous leaning minaret nears completion

  • The 12th-century Al-Nuri Mosque and its distinctive tower were destroyed by Daesh in June 2017
  • Restoration work on the mosque, part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, is expected to be completed next month

LONDON: UNESCO has shared dramatic footage of a historic mosque minaret that has been rebuilt in Iraq, seven years after it was destroyed by Daesh.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the leaning 12th-Century minaret at Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul was one of the city’s most famous landmarks. But it was destroyed when the extremist group blew up the mosque in June 2017.

The video from the UN’s cultural agency features drone footage that shows the minaret nearing completion. Though the rebuilt tower is still covered in scaffolding, the footage clearly shows that its famous lean has been retained.

“Watch as the iconic Al-Hadba minaret in Mosul rises once again,” UNESCO said in a message posted with the video on social media platform X.

“Soon, this historic landmark will reclaim its rightful place in the city’s skyline — standing tall, leaning, and proud.”

UNESCO said the restoration of the mosque and its 51-meter-tall minaret is expected to be completed by December.

The mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century and the minaret began to lean several centuries ago. After Daesh seized control of parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, it was destroyed by the militants as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which also includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites.


Delayed Gaza polio vaccinations to resume on Saturday, agencies say

Updated 01 November 2024
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Delayed Gaza polio vaccinations to resume on Saturday, agencies say

  • The final phase of the campaign had aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children under 10 years old

GAZA: The third phase of a delayed polio vaccination campaign in Gaza will begin on Saturday, aid organizations said on Friday, after the rollout was derailed by Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access.
The polio campaign began on Sept. 1 after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
The humanitarian pause to conduct the campaign had been agreed but WHO and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said the area covered by the agreement had been substantially reduced from the previous pause in September, and would now cover only Gaza City.
The final phase of the campaign had aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children under 10 years old in northern Gaza with a second dose of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). However, achieving this target is now unlikely due to access constraints, the statement said.
COGAT, the Israeli army’s Palestinian civilian affairs agency, said it was helping to coordinate the three-day campaign and once it was complete, there would be an assessment to decide whether the schedule would be extended.
“This coordination will ensure that the population can safely reach medical centers where the vaccines will be administered,” it said in a statement.


Macron recognizes French soldiers killed Algerian independence hero in 1957

Updated 01 November 2024
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Macron recognizes French soldiers killed Algerian independence hero in 1957

  • France’s century-long colonization of Algeria and viciously fought 1954-62 war of independence left deep scars on both sides

PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron on Friday acknowledged that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a key figure in Algeria’s War of Independence against France, had been killed by French soldiers after his arrest in 1957, the French presidency said.
“He recognized today that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a national hero for Algeria... was killed by French soldiers,” the presidency said on the 70th anniversary of the revolt that sparked the war, in a new gesture of reconciliation by Macron toward the former colony.
France’s more than a century-long colonization of Algeria and the viciously fought 1954-62 war of independence have left deep scars on both sides.
In recent years, Macron has made several gestures toward reconciliation while stopping short of issuing any apology for French imperialism.
Since coming to power in 2017, Macron has sought “to look at the history of colonization and the Algerian War in the face, with the aim of creating a peaceful and shared memory,” the presidency said.
Ben M’hidi was one of six founding members of the National Liberation Front (FLN) that launched the armed revolt against French rule that led to the war.
The presidency said that according to the official version, Ben M’hidi after his arrest in February 1957 attempted to commit suicide and died during his transfer to the hospital.
But it said he had in fact been killed by soldiers under the command of General Paul Aussaresses, who admitted to this at the beginning of the 2000s.
In 2017, then-presidential candidate Macron dubbed the French occupation a “crime against humanity.”
A report he commissioned from historian Benjamin Stora recommended in 2020 further moves to reconcile the two countries, while ruling out “repentance” and “apologies.”
But Macron, who has sought to build a strong relationship with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in 2022 questioned whether Algeria existed as a nation before being colonized by France, drawing an angry response from Algiers.


Israel cabinet approves 2025 wartime budget

Updated 01 November 2024
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Israel cabinet approves 2025 wartime budget

  • Israel has been locked in a war with Hamas in Gaza, and since September it has been fighting the Lebanese group Hezbollah

JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet on Friday approved a 2025 national budget, a wartime financial package that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said supported the country’s ongoing wars and encouraged economic growth.
For more than a year, Israel has been locked in a war with Hamas in Gaza, and since September it has been fighting the Lebanese group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“The main objective of the 2025 budget is to maintain the security of the state and achieve victory on all fronts, while safeguarding the resilience of the Israeli economy,” Smotrich said.
The budget, totalling about 607.4 billion shekels ($162 billion), includes a nine billion shekel package to support reserve soldiers.
It will now move to the Knesset, or parliament, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition holds a majority, making approval likely.
Netanyahu welcomed the cabinet’s approval of the budget, saying Smotrich had put together “an important, difficult but necessary budget in a year of war.”
Additional allocations would be made for the defense ministry, as the military fights the two wars, as well as Iran and the groups it backs.
“This budget will help and support the needs of the war so that it will lead to a victory that will allow the strong Israeli economy to grow and prosper for many years,” Smotrich said.
The budget projects a fiscal deficit of about 4.3 percent.
But former prime minister and key opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the budget, saying it would “increase the expenditure of every family in Israel by 20,000 shekels per year.”