DUBAI: A thousand new drones were delivered to Iran’s army on Monday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, as the country braces for more friction with arch-enemy Israel and the United States under incoming US president Donald Trump.
The drones were delivered to various locations throughout Iran and are said to have high stealth and anti-fortification abilities, according to Tasnim.
“The drones’ unique features, including a range of over 2,000 kilometers, high destructive power, the ability to pass through defense layers with low Radar Cross Section, and autonomous flight, not only increase the depth of reconnaissance and border monitoring but also boost the combat capability of the army’s drone fleet in confronting distant targets,” the news agency added.
Earlier this month, Iran started two-months-long military exercises which have already included war games in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.
Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones
https://arab.news/9yg44
Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones
Dozens killed, 8,000 displaced as fighting escalates in Sudan’s North Darfur, UN says
- At least 19 civilians killed during ground assault in Jirjir area of North Darfur; 10 civilians killed and 9 injured in a drone attack on Sinja, capital of Sennar State
- UN calls on all involved in conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law, and enable humanitarian access
NEW YORK CITY: Dozens of civilians, at least, have been killed and thousands displaced as fighting intensifies across Sudan, including North Darfur, the UN said on Tuesday as it warned of worsening humanitarian and nutritional crises.
Local reports suggested at least 19 civilians were killed during a ground assault on Monday in the Jirjir area of North Darfur, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
In a separate incident, 10 civilians were killed and nine injured in a drone attack on Sinja, the capital of Sennar State, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
The UN is alarmed by the continuing harm to civilians and the growing numbers of displaced people as fighting spreads to several parts of the country, Dujarric said.
“The violence continues to drive people from their homes, and it must stop,” he added.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 8,000 people were displaced on Friday from villages near Kernoi in North Darfur. Some fled to other parts of the state, others crossed the border into Chad seeking refuge, further straining already fragile humanitarian conditions, Dujarric said.
The displacements are unfolding alongside a worsening nutritional emergency in North Darfur, he added. A survey carried out last month by UNICEF and its partners in areas around Tina, Um Baru and Kernoi revealed acute levels of malnutrition far exceeding the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold of 15 percent. It found the highest rate of acute malnutrition, 53 percent, was in Um Baru.
Dujarric again called on all parties involved in the conflict to take immediate action to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law, and enable rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
He urged donors to urgently scale up funding to help provide deliveries of life-saving aid, and warned that the continuing fighting and displacement risks worsening what is already one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, will visit Sudan from Jan. 14 to 18. He will hold talks with authorities in Port Sudan, as well as representatives of civil society groups and the UN Country Team.
He will also visit Northern State, including Al-Afad gathering site to meet people displaced by the conflict from Darfur and Kordofan, as well as humanitarian partners working there.
