GENEVA: The Red Cross raised alarm on Thursday at the growing use of drone attacks by warring parties on hospitals, electricity and water infrastructure in Sudan, which it said was contributing to widespread human rights violations.
Some 70 percent to 80 percent of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge due to damage caused by the war to water infrastructure, the International Committee of the Red Cross told reporters in Geneva.
“A recent drone attack stopped all the electricity provision in an area close to Khartoum, which means critical infrastructure is being damaged,” said Patrick Youssef, the Red Cross’s Regional Director for Africa, in a new report.
“There is a clear increased use of these technologies, drones – to be in the hands of everyone – which increases the impact on the local population and the intensity of attacks,” Youssef said.
After two years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, some people are returning to Khartoum after they were forced to flee when war broke out on April 15, 2023 amidst an ongoing power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a transition to civilian rule.
Some 12 million people have been displaced by the conflict since 2023.
“We have seen violations of the law left, right and center,” Youssef said, urging the warring parties to allow the Red Cross access so it can offer humanitarian support and document atrocities.
In March, aid groups said that the RSF had placed new constraints on aid deliveries to territories where it was seeking to cement its control. Aid groups have also accused the army of denying or hindering access to RSF-controlled areas.
Both sides in the conflict deny impeding aid.
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Red Cross concerned by drone attacks on critical infrastructure in Sudan
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Red Cross concerned by drone attacks on critical infrastructure in Sudan
- Some 70 percent to 80 percent of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge
Children dying from cold as storm batters Gaza, killing 13
- Three children die from exposure as winter rains flood displacement camps
- Wet weather causes war-damaged buildings and walls to collapse, killing 10
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Friday said at least 13 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory.
Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.
With most of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged, thousands of tents and homemade shelters now line areas cleared of rubble.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said six people died when a house collapsed in the Bir Al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
Four others died when walls collapsed in multiple separate incidents, he said.
In a statement, the civil defense said its teams had responded to calls from “13 houses that collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds, mostly in Gaza City and the north.”
No dry clothes
Under gloomy skies in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians used bowls, buckets and hoes to try and remove the water that had pooled around their tents made of plastic sheeting.
Young children, some barefoot and others wearing open sandals, trudged and hopped through ponds of muddy water as the rain continued to fall.
“The mattress has been soaked since this morning, and the children slept in wet bedding last night,” Umm Muhammad Joudah told AFP.
“We don’t have any dry clothes to change into.”
Saif Ayman, a 17-year-old who was on crutches due to a leg injury, said his tent had also been submerged.
“In this tent we have no blankets. There are six of us sleeping on one mattress, and we cover ourselves with our clothes,” he said.
The Hamas-run interior and national security ministry gave a preliminary toll of 14 dead due to the effects of the winter rains since Wednesday.
A ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid entering into the Gaza Strip.
But supplies have entered in insufficient quantities, according to the United Nations, and the humanitarian needs are still immense.
The UN’s World Health Organization warned on Friday that thousands of families were “sheltering in low-lying or debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers.”
“Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, are expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections,” it added.
Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.
With most of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged, thousands of tents and homemade shelters now line areas cleared of rubble.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said six people died when a house collapsed in the Bir Al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
Four others died when walls collapsed in multiple separate incidents, he said.
In a statement, the civil defense said its teams had responded to calls from “13 houses that collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds, mostly in Gaza City and the north.”
No dry clothes
Under gloomy skies in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians used bowls, buckets and hoes to try and remove the water that had pooled around their tents made of plastic sheeting.
Young children, some barefoot and others wearing open sandals, trudged and hopped through ponds of muddy water as the rain continued to fall.
“The mattress has been soaked since this morning, and the children slept in wet bedding last night,” Umm Muhammad Joudah told AFP.
“We don’t have any dry clothes to change into.”
Saif Ayman, a 17-year-old who was on crutches due to a leg injury, said his tent had also been submerged.
“In this tent we have no blankets. There are six of us sleeping on one mattress, and we cover ourselves with our clothes,” he said.
The Hamas-run interior and national security ministry gave a preliminary toll of 14 dead due to the effects of the winter rains since Wednesday.
A ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid entering into the Gaza Strip.
But supplies have entered in insufficient quantities, according to the United Nations, and the humanitarian needs are still immense.
The UN’s World Health Organization warned on Friday that thousands of families were “sheltering in low-lying or debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers.”
“Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, are expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections,” it added.
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