Women, children trapped at church in Sudan’s capital endure hunger, bombardment

Priest Jacob, nuns and the refugees pose for a photos at “Dar Mariam” a Catholic church and school compound in Al-SHajjara district, where they took shelter, in Khartoum in this undated handout picture. (Reuters)
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Updated 03 July 2024
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Women, children trapped at church in Sudan’s capital endure hunger, bombardment

  • Around 80 people are taking refuge inside the Dar Mariam mission, a Catholic church and school compound in Khartoum’s Al-SHajjara district
  • The roof of the main building has been damaged by shells, and parts of the nuns’ quarters have been set ablaze

KHARTOUM: Trapped in a Catholic mission sheltering dozens of women and children from the war raging on the streets of Khartoum, Father Jacob Thelekkadan punched new holes in his belt as the supplies of food dwindled and he grew thinner.
Around 80 people are taking refuge inside the Dar Mariam mission, a Catholic church and school compound in Khartoum’s Al-SHajjara district, caught in the crossfire between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to accounts by the priest and seven other people at the mission.
The roof of the main building has been damaged by shells, and parts of the nuns’ quarters have been set ablaze. Holes caused by stray bullets mark the mission’s walls.
As food has grown scarce, the nuns have boiled tree leaves for the children to eat and many of the adults have skipped meals.
A Red Cross effort to rescue them in December ended with two dead and seven others wounded, including three of charity’s staff, after gunmen opened fire on the convoy, forcing it to turn back before it could reach the mission. The warring sides traded blame for the attack.
Thelekkadan said he and the nuns had refused offers from the army to ferry them out across the river permanently, leaving the families behind.
“When the road is safe, we will be the first to leave, but with the people,” said Thelekkadan, a 69-year-old Indian national.
Many of the inhabitants of Sudan’s capital fled after the conflict erupted in April last year, enveloping Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman along the Nile, and quickly spreading to other parts of the country.
At the start of the war, the RSF occupied strategic sites and residential neighborhoods in Khartoum, positioning snipers on high-rise buildings. The army, lacking effective ground forces, responded with heavy artillery and air strikes.
The Dar Mariam mission became a safe haven for those lacking the money to flee or without anywhere to go.
Photos shared with Reuters by Thelekkadan show parts of the mission’s buildings littered with debris, walls heavily damaged by bullets or shelling, and rooms and corridors blackened by smoke.
“Our food situation became very bad,” said Thelekkadan. “We’re all very weak.”
Extreme hunger has spread across Sudan in areas worst affected by the conflict, prompting famine warnings for areas including in Khartoum.

10 MILLION DISPLACED
Some families took shelter at the mission in June last year, hoping for protection from its concrete roof. But the area soon became cut off as the RSF pressed to capture the strategic Armored Corps camp about 2 km away, one of several military bases it was targeting, Thelekkadan said.
Al-SHajjara district has come under heavy attack by the RSF. Those living nearby with the money to do so have registered with the military to be taken across the Nile; some have been waiting for months.
But a nighttime evacuation by boat across the White Nile is considered too risky for the children at the mission, Thelekkadan said.
Sudan’s war has created the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis and has driven nearly 10 million people to seek shelter inside or outside the country, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Reuters has documented how the fighting has triggered ethnically-charged killings in the western region of Darfur and led to the spread of deadly hunger.
The war has also caused unprecedented destruction in the capital, which was sheltered from modern Sudan’s previous conflicts. Both warring factions have impeded the delivery of humanitarian relief, aid workers say, leaving civilians dependent on charity provided by groups of neighborhood volunteers, among others.
An RSF media official said the paramilitary had tried to allow for the evacuation of the families by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but the army had thwarted the effort and was using them as human shields.
An army spokesman said the families had been trapped by the war, and that troops from the Armored Corps had done their duty by protecting and helping them, in line with army practice in other conflict-hit areas.
Numbers have fluctuated, but since March about 30 women along with 50 children aged 2-15 have stayed at the mission, according to Thelekkadan. His account was confirmed by two of the nuns, an administrator and four women sheltering at the mission, two other priests who have kept in touch with Dar Mariam, and an army intelligence officer responsible for churches in Khartoum.
Those staying at the mission are mostly Christian refugees from South Sudan and Ethiopia, who set up tents made from plastic sheeting around the compound’s buildings, which include a church, a school and a residence.
When fighting starts nearby, they take cover inside the residence. Some poor Sudanese Muslim families have also sought temporary shelter at the mission.

WAITING FOR EVACUATION
The bombardments in November shredded an image of the Virgin Mary at the compound’s entrance, ripped through the second floor of the main building, and set the roof on fire. Several people were lightly injured.
RSF snipers had the entrance to Dar Mariam in their sights. A boy from the neighborhood was killed when mortar shrapnel sliced into his head after he had helped carve out an exit at the back of the compound to avoid sniper fire, Thelekkadan said.
The mission’s residents had been trying to survive “a lot of shooting and bombing,” sister Miriam, one of the nuns, told Reuters in a video call.
“We got used to it and we are not afraid. God is protecting us, but we are waiting for evacuation,” she said.
Thelekkadan and the nuns turned their most secure room into a shelter to try to protect the children from the crossfire. They attempted to distract the children from the violence raging around them, creating a space to use bicycles in the yard and encouraging them to play video games.
“We tried to not make them feel like they are in a prison,” Thelekkadan said.
In early January, the mission was caught in the crossfire again and rooms in the nuns’ residence were set ablaze.
Food has been a challenge. By September, cash was running low, and collecting supplies from local markets became nearly impossible due to clashes.
The children have often received meagre servings of porridge, lentils and beans. But stocks dwindled.
Since February, troops stationed at the Armored Corps camp have delivered some airdropped provisions to Dar Mariam, including sugar and fuel for generators used to draw water from wells, Thelekkadan said.
The army also provided a Starlink connection, allowing those at the mission to use their phones again. They flew the priest and an administrator twice to Port Sudan, a Red Sea city to which army and government offices have relocated, to meet church officials and collect some cash and supplies.
Sister Celestine, another of the nuns, said she is still gripped by fear each time bombardments shake the area.
“I would like to be out of here,” she said. “I want to get out and write a book about everything that happened.”
The fighting has shown little sign of abating.
“These past four days have become very trying for all of us in Dar Mariam and people around as explosions, bombings, gunfire etc have become more intense and frequent!” Thelekkadan said in a message on June 19. “Please do continue to pray for us.”


Lebanon state media says Israel blows up houses in 3 border villages

Updated 4 sec ago
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Lebanon state media says Israel blows up houses in 3 border villages

  • ‘Since this morning, the Israeli enemy’s army has been carrying out bombing operations inside the villages of Yaroun, Aitaroun and Maroun Al-Ras in the Bint Jbeil area’
BEIRUT: Lebanon state media said the Israeli army on Friday detonated explosives planted inside houses in three border villages that have been battered by the Israel-Hezbollah war.
“Since this morning, the Israeli enemy’s army has been carrying out bombing operations inside the villages of Yaroun, Aitaroun and Maroun Al-Ras in the Bint Jbeil area, with the aim of destroying residential homes there,” the official National News Agency said, the latest in a string of similar incidents that have impacted the flashpoint border area.

Suffering in Gaza ‘almost unparalleled’: Humanitarian chief

Updated 13 min 37 sec ago
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Suffering in Gaza ‘almost unparalleled’: Humanitarian chief

  • Norwegian Refugee Council secretary-general: Palestinians pushed ‘beyond breaking point’
  • Jan Egeland: Gaza rendered ‘uninhabitable’ due Israel’s policies

LONDON: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are experiencing “almost unparalleled” suffering, one of the world’s foremost humanitarian officials has warned following a visit to the enclave, The Guardian reported on Friday.

Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, traveled to Gaza this week, reporting that families, widows and children have been pushed “beyond breaking point” by Israel’s year-long war.

He witnessed “scene after scene of absolute despair” as Palestinian families had been torn apart by attacks, with survivors unable to bury their dead relatives.

Gaza has been rendered “uninhabitable” as a result of Israel’s policies, supported by Western-supplied weaponry, Egeland said.

“This is in no way a lawful response, a targeted operation of ‘self-defence’ to dismantle armed groups, or warfare consistent with humanitarian law,” he added.

“The families, widows and children I have spoken to are enduring suffering almost unparalleled to anywhere in recent history. There is no possible justification for continued war and destruction.”

Since last year, families across the enclave have been repeatedly forced to move from one area to another as a result of Israeli evacuation orders, which now cover 80 percent of Gaza.

The situation is even more dire in northern Gaza, where a month-long Israeli offensive and siege have cut off an estimated 100,000 people from humanitarian aid.

An Israeli brigadier general said this week that there is no intention of allowing the return of Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza.

Such a policy of forcible transfer would amount to war crimes, humanitarian law experts have said.

As aid continues to be cut off from the Palestinian population, the UN has condemned “unlawful interference with humanitarian assistance and orders that are leading to forced displacement.”

Egeland warned of the “catastrophic impact of strangled aid flows” on the Palestinian population, with people left unable to access food or water for days at a time.

The former Norwegian foreign minister and diplomat said: “There has not been a single week since the start of this war when sufficient aid was delivered in Gaza.”

Despite the acute shortage of humanitarian aid, Israel’s parliament this week passed bills banning the UN Relief & Works Agency from operating in the Occupied Territories, designating it as a terrorist organization.

Egeland called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent the “deadly” situation from worsening, adding: “Those in power on all sides act with impunity, while millions across Gaza and the region pay a terrible price.

“Humanitarians can speak out on what we are seeing, but only those in power can end this nightmare.”


Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals

Updated 59 min 35 sec ago
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Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals

  • Both NATO members, Greece and Turkiye have been at loggerheads for decades over a long series of issues

ATHENS, Greece: Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived Friday in Athens for meetings with his Greek counterpart as part of efforts to ease tension between the two neighbors and regional rivals.
Both NATO members, Greece and Turkiye have been at loggerheads for decades over a long series of issues, including volatile maritime boundary disputes that have twice led them to the brink of war. The two have renewed a diplomatic push for over a year to improve ties.
“Step by step, we have achieved a level of trust so that we can discuss issues with sincerity and prevent crises,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said in an interview with Turkiye’s Hurriyet newspaper published Thursday.
The meeting between the two foreign ministers follows a series of high-profile talks between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of a relation-mending initiative launched in 2023.
Officials in Athens are expected to raise concerns about rising illegal migration, as Greece has seen an uptick in arrivals. And, despite deep disagreements on Israel and fighting in the Middle East, both foreign ministers are also expected to explore ways to improve regional stability.
The talks will help set the stage for a Greece-Turkiye high-level cooperation council planned for early 2025 in Ankara, Turkiye.


Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to ‘stop’ war

Updated 08 November 2024
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Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to ‘stop’ war

ANKARA: Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he hoped US President-elect Donald Trump will tell Israel to “stop” its war efforts, suggesting a good start would be halting US arms support to Israel.
“Trump has made promises to end conflicts... We want that promise to be fulfilled and for Israel to be told to ‘stop’,” Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Budapest, according to an official readout.
“Mr. Trump cutting off the arms support provided to Israel could be a good start in order to stop the Israeli aggression in Palestinian and Lebanese lands,” he was cited as saying.
Turkiye has fiercely criticized Israel’s offensives in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and in Lebanon, and has halted trade with Israel as well as applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court. Israel strongly denies the genocide accusations.
Trump’s presidency will seriously affect political and military balances in the Middle East region, Erdogan said, adding that pursuing current US policies would deepen deadlock in the region and spread the conflict.


Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

Updated 08 November 2024
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Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

  • UN Human Rights Office: Systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law
  • The youngest victim whose death was verified by UN monitors was a one-day-old boy, and the oldest was a 97-year-old woman

GENEVA:

The UN condemned on Friday the staggering number of civilians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza, with women and children comprising nearly 70 percent of the thousands of fatalities it had managed to verify.
In a fresh report, the United Nations human rights office detailed the “horrific reality” that has unfolded for civilians in both Gaza and Israel since Hamas’s attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
It detailed a vast array of violations of international law, warning that many could amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly even “genocide.”
“The report shows how civilians in Gaza have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial ‘complete siege’ of Gaza by Israeli forces,” the UN said.
It also pointed to “the Israeli government’s continuing unlawful failures to allow, facilitate and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and repeated mass displacement.”
“This conduct by Israeli forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness and disease,” it continued.
“Palestinian armed groups have also conducted hostilities in ways that have likely contributed to harm to civilians.”
The report took on the contentious issue of the proportion of civilians figuring among the now nearly 43,500 people killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory.
Due to a lack of access, UN agencies have since the beginning of the Gaza war relied on death tolls provided by the authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.
This has sparked accusations from Israel of “parroting... Hamas’s propaganda messages” but the UN has repeatedly said the figures are reliable.

Youngest victim aged one day
The rights office said it had now managed to verify 8,119 of the more than 34,500 people reportedly killed during the first six months of the war in Gaza, finding “close to 70 percent to be children and women.”
This, it said, indicated “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.”
Of the verified fatalities, 3,588 of them were children and 2,036 were women, the report said.
“We do believe this is representative of the breakdown of total fatalities — similar proportion to what Gaza authorities have,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told AFP.
“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
“Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war.”
His office found that about 80 percent of all the verified deaths in Gaza had occurred in Israeli attacks on residential buildings or similar housing, and that close to 90 percent had died in incidents that killed five or more people.
The main victims of Israeli strikes on residential buildings, it said, were children between the ages of five and nine, with the youngest victim a one-day-old boy and the oldest a 97-year-old woman.
The report said that the large proportion of verified deaths in residential buildings could be partially explained by the rights office’s “verification methodology, which requires at least three independent sources.”
It also pointed to continuing “challenges in collecting and verifying information of killings in other circumstances.”
Gaza authorities have long said that women and children made up a significant majority of those killed in the war, but with lacking access for full UN verification, the issue has remained highly contentious.
Israel has insisted that its operations in Gaza are targeting militants.
But Friday’s report stressed that the verified deaths largely mirrored the demographic makeup of the population at large in Gaza, rather than the known demographic of combatants.
This, it said, clearly “raises concerns regarding compliance with the principle of distinction and reflect an apparent failure to take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”