UN Security Council hears of ‘unimaginable suffering’ in Sudan

Khadidja Issa Khamiss, 90, a Sudanese woman who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, looks around as she walks outside her makeshift shelter in Adre, Chad. (Reuters)
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Updated 10 August 2023
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UN Security Council hears of ‘unimaginable suffering’ in Sudan

  • Officials call for coordination of initiatives to end the conflict, and for humanitarian aid workers to be granted full access to help those in need
  • They also warned that developments in Darfur could engulf country in ethnic tensions that might spill into neighboring countries

NEW YORK CITY: The people of Sudan continue to face “unimaginable suffering” amid continuing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and rival militia the Rapid Support Forces in several parts of the country, “with neither side achieving victory nor making any significant gains,” UN officials said on Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary-General Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee told a Security Council meeting on the situation in the country that the ongoing violence has resulted in the widespread displacement of civilians. She also expressed concern about the escalation of the conflict in key areas, and the designation of civilian neighborhoods as “areas of operations” by both sides, which is exacerbating a desperate humanitarian crisis.

Indiscriminate and targeted attacks on civilians and infrastructure continue in Khartoum, Darfur and North Kordofan, Pobee added, and calls for the protection of civilians and to ensure that human rights and humanitarian law are not violated are being ignored.

Widespread sexual violence, victimization of children and the risk of forced recruitment into fighting forces continue, she said, along with the increased threat of abduction and the killings of human rights defenders in Darfur and Khartoum.

The effects of the conflict on the Darfur region is a particular concern, Pobee continued, as she highlighted the rekindling of simmering ethnic tensions and the “brutal violence” in areas such as El-Geneina and Sirba.

“The parties have exacted tremendous suffering on the people of the Darfur region (where) the fighting continues to reopen the old wounds of ethnic tensions of past conflicts in the region,” she said.

“This is deeply worrying and could quickly engulf the country in a prolonged ethnic conflict, with regional spillovers.”

Pobee welcomed a recent initiative by Chad to convene a meeting of stakeholders from Darfur, and stressed the need for broad participation, including by armed groups, tribal leaders, civil society organizations, and women’s groups.

She also welcomed efforts by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to help resolve the conflict, and applauded mediation initiatives by the US and Saudi Arabia, as well as Sudan’s neighbors. She stressed the “vital” importance of coordination between regional and international entities for effective mediation.

Edem Wosornu, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Operations and Advocacy Division, speaking on behalf of the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, also painted a grim picture of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sudan, including the displacement of millions, widespread sexual violence, lack of access to medical care, and severe food insecurity.

She stressed the urgent need to fully fund the $2.6 billion Humanitarian Response Plan, which has so far reached only 25 percent of its target, to ensure vital assistance reaches those in need.

Lamenting lack of coverage of Sudan in the global media, Wosornu said: “Nearly four months into this conflict, millions of people remain trapped in a humanitarian calamity that continues to grow.

“More than 4 million people have now fled from their homes — 3.2 million people displaced internally, and close to 900,000 people who have crossed the border into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and other countries.

“The alarming accounts of sexual violence that I heard from people who have fled to Port Sudan are just a fraction of those being reported at a sickening scale from conflict hot spots across the country. People are finding it more and more difficult to access urgent medical assistance, with 80 percent of hospitals across the country not functioning.”

Wosornu continued: “14 million children in Sudan, half of all children in the country, need humanitarian support. More than 20 million people, over 40 per cent of the population, are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. The conflict is disrupting livelihoods and physical access to markets. It is also fueling steep increases in the price of commodities.

“The banking system has been heavily disrupted, as have public and civil institutions. This is leading to severe disruption of public services and less and less money circulating within the economy. Electricity blackouts are extensive. Education services are interrupted. It is the story of a country and its people being driven to the point of collapse.”

Humanitarian access to those in need remains challenging in Khartoum, Wosornu said, with only limited local resources available to provide some small measure of assistance, and humanitarian convoys to replenish supplies have not been guaranteed since June.

Although aid organizations are eager to help, they require regular access facilitated by the parties involved in the conflict and the removal of bureaucratic obstacles, she added, and the current limited deliveries are a result of “intricate negotiations,” often supported by the Jeddah process.

Wosornu called for direct contact with the warring factions to be urgently reestablished to negotiate access for humanitarian workers and safeguard their operations, and said that swift and large-scale assistance “hinges on necessary permits and visas.” She urged Sudanese authorities to ease this process and accelerate approvals.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US permanent representative to the UN, expressed deep concern about the Sudanese government’s alleged threat to eject the UN Mission in Sudan from the country if Volker Perthes, the special representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres participated in Wednesday’s briefing.

Perthes has been declared a persona non grata by the Sudan’s government but the UN said that its officials must not be subjected to such a status.

“One of the worst chapters of recent history is repeating itself and it’s beyond horrifying,” Thomas-Greenfield said in reference to the situation in Darfur.

“The Security Council, and the entire international community, has a responsibility to demand the parties comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law regarding the protection of civilians.

“We have a responsibility to ensure humanitarian assistance can reach people in dire need. And we have a responsibility to urge the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to immediately put down their weapons.”

She called for coordinated diplomatic efforts by regional and international actors to help end the conflict, emphasized the commitment of the US to efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, and urged the international community to support the people of Sudan during this time of crisis.

“At this perilous moment, the Security Council and all member states must stand on the side of peace and on the right side of history,” she said.

“Let us do everything in our power to end the bloodshed. Sudan’s political future belongs to the Sudanese people, not to the men with guns who are prolonging human suffering.”


Gaza journalists win video award for ‘powerful’ war coverage

Updated 54 min 55 sec ago
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Gaza journalists win video award for ‘powerful’ war coverage

  • Belal Alsabbagh and Youssef assouna were presented the “News” award for their work on the devastating conflict set off by last year’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel
  • The prize has been awarded since 1995 in memory of video journalist Rory Peck, who was killed in Moscow in 1993, to highlight the work of freelance video journalists

LONDON: Gaza video correspondents Belal Alsabbagh and Youssef Hassouna on Thursday won a Rory Peck award for their “powerful” coverage of the brutal war in the Palestinian territory for Agence France-Presse.
The prize has been awarded since 1995 in memory of video journalist Rory Peck, who was killed in Moscow in 1993, to highlight the work of freelance video journalists.
Alsabbagh, 33, and Hassouna, 47, were presented the “News” award for their work on the devastating conflict set off by last year’s October 7 attack on Israel.
“Belal and Youssef’s work is remarkable for its range of emotions, we understood the dreadful scale of destruction in their drone shots and in the relentless attack,” the jury said in a tribute.
“This is visual reporting of the highest order. It’s not just a checklist of breaking news events, but powerful storytelling with empathy, courage and talent,” it added.
Among the heart-wrenching images entered in the contest were sequences of a man desperately searching for a relative in the debris after a strike, a woman howling in grief over a body in a hospital and Gaza residents queuing for food.
Alsabbagh, who left Gaza in April with his wife and daughter, was in London for the ceremony. In September, he was also awarded a prestigious Bayeux-Calvados prize for war correspondents.

This October 12, 2024 photo shows videographer Belal AlSabbagh (2nd left) and four other Palestinian media practitioners during the award ceremony as part of the 2024 edition of the “Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandie of the war correspondents” in Bayeux,  France. (AFP)

“Despite my overflowing joy tonight, I have a heavy heart because members of my family and friends are still in Gaza, facing hunger, fear and still facing bombs,” said Alsabbagh, who has worked for AFP since 2017.
Hassouna, who has contributed to AFP since 2014 and is still in Gaza, has had to move home 10 times since the start of the war.
He has been one of the key independent video journalists working for AFP during the conflict.
“Everybody at AFP is tremendously proud of Belal and the work of his colleagues in Gaza. This award is a deserved recompense for his excellent journalism under seemingly impossible conditions,” said AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd.
“This prize rewards the courage of Belal and Youssef whose images for AFP showed television stations around the world the reality of the conflict in Gaza and the consequences for its civilian population,” said Guillaume Meyer, deputy news director for video and audio.
“I am very happy that their commitment and the quality of their work in incredibly difficult conditions has been recognized,” Meyer added.
“The Rory Peck award gives a precious support to freelance journalists without whom we could not work in numerous countries,” he said.
This is the sixth time since 2014 that an AFP correspondent has won a Rory Peck prize.
Among this year’s three finalists was Luckenson Jean, a freelancer for AFP covering the crisis in Haiti, where armed gangs have run amok.


 


44,330 Gazans killed in more than 13 months of war

Updated 29 November 2024
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44,330 Gazans killed in more than 13 months of war

  • Medics said Israeli military strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday

GAZA CITY: The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 44,330 people have been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 48 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 104,933 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Medics said Israeli military strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday as forces stepped up bombardments on central areas and pushed tanks deeper in the north and south of the enclave.
Six people were killed in two separate airstrikes on a house and near the hospital of Kamal Adwan in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, while four others were killed when an Israeli strike hit a motorcycle in Khan Younis in the south.

In Nuseirat, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, Israeli planes carried out several airstrikes, destroying a multi-floor building and hitting roads outside mosques.
At least seven people were killed in some of those strikes, health officials said.
Medics said at least two people, a woman and a child, were killed in tank shelling that hit western areas of Nuseirat, while an air strike killed five others in a house nearby. In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, tanks pushed deeper into the northern-west area of the city, residents said.
Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress, and negotiations are now on hold.


Royal Jordanian, Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights to Lebanon, Gulf carriers delay decisions

Updated 28 November 2024
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Royal Jordanian, Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights to Lebanon, Gulf carriers delay decisions

  • Both airlines announce service resumption in coming days, but most foreign airlines remain wary as they monitor stability of truce
  • Lebanon’s ATTAL president says ‘7-8 companies expected to return in coming days’

LONDON: Royal Jordanian, and Ethiopian Airlines have announced the resumption of flights to Beirut following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that took effect on Wednesday.

However, most Gulf and European airlines are delaying any immediate return to Lebanese airspace as they monitor the stability of the truce.

Jordan’s flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, will restart flights to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Sunday after halting operations in late August amid escalating hostilities. CEO Samer Majali confirmed on Thursday that services would resume following the ceasefire.

Ethiopian Airlines has also reopened bookings for flights to Beirut, with services scheduled to resume on Dec. 10.

But despite these developments, most international airlines remain cautious.

Fadi Al-Hassan, director of Beirut Airport, told LBCI that Arab and foreign carriers were expected to gradually resume operations in the coming weeks, especially as the holiday season approaches.

However, Jean Abboud, president of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon, predicted a slower return.

Abboud said in a statement that he expects “the return of some companies within a few days, which do not exceed seven to eight companies out of about 60 companies,” adding that many carriers were eyeing early 2025 to resume operations.

Airline updates

  • Emirates: Flights to and from Beirut remain canceled until Dec. 31.
  • Etihad Airways, Saudia, Air Arabia, Oman Air, Qatar Airways: Suspensions extend until early January 2025.
  • Lufthansa Group (including Eurowings): Flights to Beirut suspended until Feb. 28, 2025.
  • Air France-KLM: Services to Beirut suspended until Jan. 5, 2025, and Tel Aviv until Dec. 31, 2024.
  • Aegean Air: Flights to Beirut from Athens, London, and Milan are suspended until April 1, 2025.

At present, Middle East Airlines remains the sole carrier operating flights to and from Beirut, having maintained operations despite intense Israeli airstrikes near the airport.

The airline serves all major Gulf and European hubs, but flights are fully booked in the coming days as Lebanese expatriates rush to return home following the ceasefire announcement.

The upcoming Christmas season has also driven a surge in demand, offering a glimmer of hope for a country reeling from widespread destruction and an escalating economic crisis.

With the conflict having severely impacted Lebanon’s tourism sector, the holiday season could provide a much-needed lifeline for the struggling economy.

The resumption of additional services is expected to depend on whether the ceasefire holds and the overall security situation stabilizes.


UK signs deals with Iraq aimed at curbing irregular immigration

Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Iraq’s Minister of Interior Abdul Amir Al-Shimmari.
Updated 28 November 2024
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UK signs deals with Iraq aimed at curbing irregular immigration

  • “Organized criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too,” Cooper said
  • Pacts include a joint UK-Iraq “statement on border security” committing both countries to work more closely in tackling people smuggling and border security

LONDON: The UK government said Thursday it had struck a “world-first security agreement” and other cooperation deals with Iraq to target people-smuggling gangs and strengthen its border security.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said the pacts sent “a clear signal to the criminal smuggling gangs that we are determined to work across the globe to go after them.”
They follow a visit this week by Cooper to Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan region, when she met federal and regional government officials.
“Organized criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too,” she said in a statement.
Cooper noted people-smuggling gangs’ operations “stretch back through Northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond.”
“The increasingly global nature of organized immigration crime means that even countries that are thousands of miles apart must work more closely together,” she added.
The pacts include a joint UK-Iraq “statement on border security” committing both countries to work more closely in tackling people smuggling and border security.
The two countries signed another statement on migration to speed up the returns of people who have no right to be in the UK and help reintegration programs to support returnees.
As part of the agreements, London will also provide up to £300,000 ($380,000) for Iraqi law enforcement training in border security.
It will be focused on countering organized immigration crime and narcotics, and increasing the capacity and capability of Iraq’s border enforcement.
The UK has pledged another £200,000 to support projects in the Kurdistan region, “which will enhance capabilities concerning irregular migration and border security, including a new taskforce.”
Other measures within the agreements include a communications campaign “to counter the misinformation and myths that people-smugglers post online.”
Cooper’s interior ministry said collectively they were “the biggest operational package to tackle serious organized crime and people smuggling between the two countries ever.”


Some Lebanon hospitals look set to restart quickly after ceasefire, WHO says

Updated 28 November 2024
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Some Lebanon hospitals look set to restart quickly after ceasefire, WHO says

  • “Probably some of our hospitals will take some time,” Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO representative in Lebanon said

GENEVA: A World Health Organization official voiced optimism on Thursday that some of the health facilities in Lebanon shuttered during more than a year of conflict would soon be operational again, if the ceasefire holds.
“Probably some of our hospitals will take some time, but some hospitals probably will be able to restart very quickly,” Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO representative in Lebanon, told an online press conference after a damage assessment this week.
“So we are very hopeful,” he added, saying four hospitals in and around Beirut were among those that could restart quickly.