ADDIS ABABA: The African Union strongly criticized on Sunday paramilitary drone strikes killing dozens including children in southern Sudan, condemning the “repeated and escalating atrocities committed against civilians.”
The attack on Thursday in the army-held town of Kalogi involved three strikes, “first a kindergarten, then a hospital and a third time as people tried to rescue the children,” Essam Al-Din Al-Sayed, head of the Kalogi administrative unit, told AFP.
He blamed the assault on the Rapid Support Forces and their ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, which controls much of South Kordofan and parts of Blue Nile state.
Since April 2023, the army and the paramilitary RSF have been locked in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million.
Independent verification in Kordofan remains difficult due to spotty communications, restricted access and ongoing insecurity.
In a statement shared on X, the African Union’s chairperson, Mahmoud Youssouf, said he was “appalled by the repeated and escalating atrocities committed against civilians in the region.”
It said he “condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific reported attacks” in Kalogi, which reportedly killed “more than 100 civilians, including dozens of women and children in a pre-school.”
The statement added he was “deeply concerned by reports of continued aerial bombardment, drone attacks, and assaults on vital civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools.”
Youssouf also called for an immediate ceasefire, and urged “unhindered” humanitarian access.
AU condemns Sudan drone strikes killing civilians
https://arab.news/yn6rb
AU condemns Sudan drone strikes killing civilians
- A paramilitary drone attack on the army-held town of Kalogi in Sudan’s South Kordofan state hit a kindergarten and a hospital, killing dozens of civilians, a local official told AFP on Sunday
Thousands of refugees return home to Syria from Lebanon after Israeli strikes
- Jousieh border crossing in Homs province becomes a busy point of entry as growing numbers of Syrians return amid escalating regional conflict
- Authorities report that traffic between Syria and Lebanon is flowing without any disruptions
LONDON: Thousands of refugees living in Lebanon have returned to their native Syria since Saturday, as Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon intensify amid tensions over the US-Israeli conflict against Iran, and Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel.
Raed Al-Saleh, Syria’s disaster management and emergency response minister, said the Jousieh border crossing between Qaa in Lebanon and Qusair in Syria’s Homs province has become a busy entry point as growing numbers of Syrians return.
Elsewhere, Syrian Civil Defense teams, working under the Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry, implemented a humanitarian-response plan at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing between rural Damascus and Masnaa as large numbers of people arrived from Lebanon.
Authorities said that traffic between Syria and Lebanon was flowing without disruptions, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Israel has attacked several targets in Lebanon, including Beirut, after a missile fired from southern Lebanon hit northern Israel on Monday.
Currently, 532,357 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN Human Rights Council. However, the Lebanese government estimates the true number who fled the civil war in Syria, which began in 2011 and ended with the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, is about 1.12 million.
