Horrific reports of rape, sexual violence persist as Sudan war goes on: UN humanitarian chief

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Sudanese refugees move past trucks in Shendi, 190 kilometers from Khartoum, on September 21, 2023, as fighting between the armed forces and paramilitary RSF continues. (AFP)
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Updated 16 October 2023
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Horrific reports of rape, sexual violence persist as Sudan war goes on: UN humanitarian chief

  • Fighting has killed up to 9,000 and forced millions of people out of their homes, either to safer areas inside Sudan or in neighboring countries, says UN humanitarian chief
  • The war has displaced more than 4.5 million people were displaced inside Sudan, while over 1.2 million others sought refuge in neighboring countries

CAIRO: Six months of war between Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary group has killed up to 9,000 people and created “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history,” the United Nations humanitarian chief said Sunday.
Sudan has been engulfed in chaos since mid-April, when simmering tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open warfare.
“For six months, civilians ... have known no respite from bloodshed and terror,” UN Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths said in a statement marking the six-month anniversary of the war. “Horrific reports of rape and sexual violence continue to emerge.”
The fighting initially centered in Khartoum, but quickly spread to other areas across the east African nation, including the already conflict-wrecked western Darfur region.
Griffiths said the fighting reportedly killed up to 9,000 and forced millions of people out of their homes, either to safer areas inside Sudan or in neighboring countries.

He said the conflict led to “communities torn apart. Vulnerable people with no access to life-saving aid. Mounting humanitarian needs in the neighboring countries where millions have fled.”
According to the UN migration agency IOM, more than 4.5 million people were displaced inside Sudan, while over 1.2 million others sought refuge in neighboring countries. The fighting also left 25 million people — more than half of the country’s population — in need of humanitarian aid, Griffiths said.
Adding to the calamity, a cholera outbreak was reported in the capital and other areas in the country, with more than 1,000 suspected cases detected in Khartoum and the provinces of Kordofan and Qadarif, he said.
Since the breakout of the war, the Greater Khartoum area — the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North — has become a battleground, with airstrikes and shelling taking place in densely populated areas.
There were reports of rape and gang rape in Khartoum and Darfur, mostly blamed on the Rapid Support Forces. The RSF and its allied Arab militias were also accused by the UN and international rights groups of atrocities in Darfur, which was the scene of a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s.
The recent atrocities in Darfur prompted the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor to declare in July that he was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the latest fighting in the region.


Iran president says will not halt nuclear activity ‘under any circumstances’

Updated 3 sec ago
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Iran president says will not halt nuclear activity ‘under any circumstances’

“We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities,” said Pezeshkian

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country will not halt nuclear activity “under any circumstances” amid ongoing fighting with Israel which hit nuclear sites.

“We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities, however, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” said Pezeshkian during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Cyprus police arrest man on spying, terror charges

Updated 35 min 25 sec ago
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Cyprus police arrest man on spying, terror charges

  • Police declined to provide extensive details, citing “national security,“
  • Local media said the suspect was seen acting suspiciously near a British air force base at Akrotiri

NICOSIA: Cyprus police said they arrested an individual on espionage and terror charges on Saturday, with local media reporting the suspect had ties to Iran.

Police declined to provide extensive details, citing “national security,” but local media said the suspect was seen acting suspiciously near a British air force base at Akrotiri, outside the southern coastal city of Limassol.

Cypriot news outlet Philenews reported the man had links to “Iranian operatives” and had arrived on the Mediterranean island last month posing as a British tourist.

It said the arrest in Limassol on Saturday was based on information from a foreign intelligence service.

“Following a coordinated operation today, an individual suspected of involvement in terrorism-related offenses was arrested,” said a brief police announcement.

The suspect appeared before a district court and was issued an eight-day remand order for “offenses related, among others, to terrorism and espionage,” the police statement added.

Philenews said high-resolution cameras, telephoto lenses, notes, computers and three mobile phones were discovered at the suspect’s apartment.

It described the suspect as being of Azeri descent, referring to an ethnic group present in Azerbaijan and northwest Iran.

The outlet also reported that two people believed to be linked to the case were arrested in Britain.

The British foreign and defense ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thanks to its location in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus has become a key transit hub for third-country nationals fleeing the region since the recent outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran.

It has also become a staging post for Israelis seeking to return home by air or sea after being stranded abroad by the start of the fighting.


IAEA says centrifuge workshop at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site hit

Updated 21 June 2025
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IAEA says centrifuge workshop at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site hit

  • “There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” Grossi said

VIENNA: The UN nuclear agency confirmed on Saturday that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site had been hit, in the latest strike amid Israel’s bombing campaign.


“A centrifuge manufacturing workshop has been hit in Esfahan, the third such facility that has been targeted in Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear-related sites over the past week,” the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement quoting its chief Rafael Grossi.

“We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” Grossi was quoted as saying.


Turkiye says Israel leading Middle East to ‘total disaster’

Updated 21 June 2025
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Turkiye says Israel leading Middle East to ‘total disaster’

  • “Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster,” Fidan said
  • He called for an end to the “unlimited aggression” against Iran

ISATANBUL: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday accused Israel of leading the Middle East toward “total disaster” by attacking Iran on June 13.

“Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster by attacking Iran, our neighbor,” he told a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

“There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem,” Fidan said.

He called for an end to the “unlimited aggression” against Iran.

“We must prevent the situation from deteriorating into a spiral of violence that would further jeopardize regional and global security,” he added.

Speaking after Fidan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Western leaders of providing “unconditional support” to Israel.

He said Turkiye would not allow borders in the Middle East to be redrawn “in blood.”

“It is vital for us to show more solidarity to end Israel’s banditry — not only in Palestine but also in Syria, in Lebanon and in Iran,” he told the OIC’s 57 member countries.

The OIC, founded in 1969, says its mission is to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony.”


Iran says more than 400 killed since start of war with Israel

Updated 21 June 2025
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Iran says more than 400 killed since start of war with Israel

  • Attacks have claimed the lives of over 400 defenseless Iranians and left 3,056 others wounded

TEHRAN: Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people since they began last week, Iran’s health ministry said in an updated toll on Saturday, as fighting raged between the two foes.

“As of this morning, Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of over 400 defenseless Iranians and left 3,056 others wounded by missiles and drones,” health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said in a post on X.