Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says

Update Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says
Senior United Nations officials appealed to the Security Council on Tuesday for help in getting humanitarian aid access in Sudan "across borders, across battle lines, by air, by land" to fight famine that has taken hold in at least one site in North Darfur. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 07 August 2024
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Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says

Famine in Sudan amid rising violence, blocking of aid and world’s silence, UN says
  • 26m people in war-torn country face acute hunger amid escalating conflict, obstruction and looting of trucks carrying life-saving food supplies
  • Security Council hears war-crime concerns, including ‘horrific levels’ of conflict-related sexual violence against victims as young as 9 years old

NEW YORK CITY: The UN on Tuesday described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as “an absolute catastrophe.”

It said famine conditions have been officially confirmed in the Zamzam camp for displaced persons close to El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where one child is dying every two hours from malnutrition. Famine is probably also present in several other camps for displaced people in and around the city.

“This announcement should stop all of us cold because when famine happens, it means we are too late,” Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said during a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

“It means we did not do enough. It means that we, the international community, have failed. This is an entirely man-made crisis and a shameful stain on our collective conscience.”

More than 26 million people in Sudan now face acute hunger, she said, adding: “That’s the equivalent of New York City times three, full of starving families and malnourished children.”

War has been raging in the country for more than a year between rival factions of its military government: the Sudanese Armed Forces, under Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti. More than 19,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023.

James Kariuki, the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, told fellow council members: “There is famine in Sudan and that famine is entirely man-made.”

He accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of obstructing the delivery of aid to Darfur through actions such as the closing the Adre crossing on the border between Chad and Sudan, which is the most direct route for delivering humanitarian assistance at scale. And he said attacks by the Rapid Support Forces in the region have created the conditions for starvation to spread.

Kariuki called on the warring factions to participate in peace talks in Geneva and engage “in good faith to agree steps to a durable ceasefire, full humanitarian access and the protection of civilians.”

Wosornu said that “hunger is not the only threat people are facing.” The war has displaced more than 10 million people inside Sudan, and more than 2 million have fled to neighboring countries as refugees, making it the largest displacement crisis in the world.

In the past six weeks alone, about 726,000 people have been displaced within and from Sennar State in the southeast of the country as the result of an advance by the Rapid Support Forces into the area.

Sudan’s healthcare system has collapsed, Wosornu added, with two-thirds of the population unable to get to a hospital or see a doctor.

In addition, heavy rains in recent weeks have caused flooding in residential neighbourhoods and camps for displaced people, including in Kassala and North Darfur, increasing the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases, OCHA said.

“Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, once the beating heart of the country, is in ruins,” Wosornu said, as she voiced grave concerns about war crimes being committed in the city.

She said Sudanese women, and girls as young as nine years old are exposed to “horrific levels” of sexual violence, with “suicide rates among survivors increasing” and “the number of children born out of rape surging.”

Aid workers in Sudan continue to face harassment, attacks and even death. Food, medicine and fuel convoys have been looted. Three trucks have been blocked by the Rapid Support Forces in Kabkabiya, west of El-Fasher, for more a month, OCHA said, depriving malnourished children in the Zamzam camp of the aid they so desperately need to survive. 

Humanitarian access continues to be obstructed, said Wosornu, with a recent escalation of fighting in Sennar causing further blocking of the southern route that used to be the UN’s main cross-lines option for the delivery of humanitarian aid from Port Sudan to Kordofan and Darfur.

“Life-saving supplies in Port Sudan are ready to be loaded and dispatched to Zamzam, including essential medicines, nutritional supplies, water-purification tablets and soap,” said Wosornu. “It is crucial that the approvals and security assurances needed are not delayed.”

She told council members that it is still possible “to stop this freight train of suffering that is charging through Sudan. But only if we respond with the urgency that this moment demands.”

She called for an immediate ceasefire and for the warring factions to allow the rapid, safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance across the country, using all possible routes.

In the absence of a ceasefire, Wosornu said all involved in the conflict must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, adding: “Those who commit serious violations, including sexual violence, must be held accountable.”

She also stressed that more resources are needed to tackle the humanitarian crisis “and we need them now. If we do not receive adequate funding for the aid operation, the response will grind to a halt.”


Syrian president to visit Jordan on Wednesday, say Jordanian sources

Syrian president to visit Jordan on Wednesday, say Jordanian sources
Updated 6 sec ago
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Syrian president to visit Jordan on Wednesday, say Jordanian sources

Syrian president to visit Jordan on Wednesday, say Jordanian sources

AMMAN: Syrian transitional leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa will visit Jordan on Wednesday and meet King Abdullah to discuss boosting ties between the two neighbors, two Jordanian officials said. 

On Sunday, Al-Sharaa received an invitation on Sunday to attend an Egyptian-hosted Arab League meeting on Gaza, the Syrian presidency said.
“The president of the Syrian Arab Republic, Mr.Ahmed Al-Sharaa, received an official invitation from the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt... to participate in the extraordinary Arab League summit” on March 4 in Cairo, the presidency statement said.


EU must condemn Israeli atrocities at top-level meeting: Human Rights Watch

EU must condemn Israeli atrocities at top-level meeting: Human Rights Watch
Updated 24 February 2025
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EU must condemn Israeli atrocities at top-level meeting: Human Rights Watch

EU must condemn Israeli atrocities at top-level meeting: Human Rights Watch
  • ‘There can be no business as usual with a government responsible for crimes against humanity and acts of genocide’
  • ‘Unless the EU drastically changes course, it will provide a blank check for further abuses’

LONDON: EU officials must condemn Israeli atrocities and violations of international law at the EU-Israel Association Council meeting on Monday, Human Rights Watch has urged.

The meeting will be led by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

Kallas will be joined by EU foreign ministers. Together, they should “signal an end to the bloc’s reluctance to acknowledge and address Israel’s war crimes, crimes against humanity — including apartheid — and acts of genocide,” HRW said.

Last February, Spain and Ireland requested a suspension to the EU-Israel Association Agreement due to Israel’s grave abuses of its human rights obligations. The request has yet to be answered by the EU.

The Association Council is the EU’s top-level bilateral meeting with Israel, held as part of the agreement.

The last meeting took place in October 2022 following a 10-year pause initiated by Israel over discontent with the EU’s condemnation of settlement-building in the Occupied Territories.

Claudio Francavilla, associate EU director at HRW, said: “There can be no business as usual with a government responsible for crimes against humanity, including apartheid, and acts of genocide, and whose sitting prime minister is wanted for atrocity crimes by the International Criminal Court.

“The only purpose of this Association Council meeting should be to call out those crimes and to announce long overdue measures in response.”

More than 100 civil society organizations, including HRW, urged the EU in a letter to center discussions with Saar on the potential suspension of the agreement.

Article 2 names human rights and democratic principles as “essential elements” which, if violated, can lead to the suspension of the treaty.

HRW has documented extensive abuses by Israel during the conflict in Gaza, including war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.  

The EU has yet to adopt any “concrete measure to press Israeli authorities” to halt these abuses, HRW warned. Any move by the bloc requires unanimous approval by its 27 members.

Several EU foreign ministers have criticized the International Criminal Court’s issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The EU approved two rounds of sanctions against Israeli settlers who had committed abuses in the West Bank, but fell short of punishing the authorities who have enabled them, HRW said.

EU states also continue to export weapons to Israel despite the risk of complicity in war crimes.

A smear campaign led by Israel also saw the EU and its member states pause, and in some cases fully end, support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides vital services to Palestinian refugees.

Francavilla said: “Europe’s reluctance to condemn and address Israel’s atrocity crimes has fueled them and given rise to well-grounded accusations of EU double standards.

“Unless the EU drastically changes course, it will provide a blank check for further abuses and continue to undermine the EU’s stated commitment to human rights and the rules-based international order.”


Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says

Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says
Updated 24 February 2025
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Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says

Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says
  • Iraqi Kurdistan authorities have agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes
  • A speedy resumption of exports from semi-autonomous Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports

BAGHDAD: Iraq is waiting for Turkiye’s approval to restart the oil flows from the Iraqi Kurdistan region, the Iraqi oil minister said on Monday, adding that Kurdish oil exports will hopefully be ready in two days.
Asked if resuming Kurdish oil exports will affect Iraq’s OPEC compliance, Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters that Baghdad is committed to the OPEC+ decisions and exported volumes under the control of the Iraqi oil ministry.
Iraqi Kurdistan authorities have agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, Kurdistan’s regional government said on Sunday.
The pipeline was halted by Turkiye in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, sources have told Reuters. An Iraqi official later denied pressure or the threat of sanctions.
A speedy resumption of exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports, which Washington has pledged to cut to zero as part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Asked if the northern oil exports through neighboring Turkiye’s Ceyhan port will include crude oil produced from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields, Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters: “Production from Kirkuk fields will be for local use.”


EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors

EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors
Updated 24 February 2025
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EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors

EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors
  • Sanctions relief in bid to help the country’s reconstruction after the fall of Bashar Assad

BRUSSELS: European Union countries on Monday suspended a range of sanctions against Syria with immediate effect, including restrictions related to energy, banking, transport and reconstruction.

The EU has a range of sanctions in place targeting both individuals and economic sectors in Syria.

European leaders began rethinking their approach after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) ousted former President Bashar Assad as president in December.

Meeting in Brussels on Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend restrictions on the energy sector that covered oil, gas and electricity, and sanctions on the transport sector.

They have also lifted asset freezes for five banks, eased restrictions on the Syrian central bank and indefinitely extended an exemption to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid.

EU states maintained a range of other sanctions related to the Assad authorities, including those on arms trading, dual-use goods with both military and civilian uses, software for surveillance and the international trade of Syrian cultural heritage goods.

They said they would continue to monitor the situation in Syria to ensure that the suspensions remained appropriate.


UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank

UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank
Updated 24 February 2025
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UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank

UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank
  • Israel earlier announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory

GENEVA: The UN chief voiced alarm Monday at rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and calls for annexation after Israel announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation,” Antonio Guterres told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.