Latest news with #MadaMasr
Mada
a day ago
- Health
- Mada
‘Either you get the flour or you get shot': Survivors recount Israel's ‘flour massacre' near Zikim crossing
Hamdy Abu Sidu and his two brothers were among the thousands of aid seekers who walked toward the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza on Sunday morning to try to collect flour from a few United Nations trucks. They hadn't eaten bread for four days. Abu Sidu described dense crowds moving toward the aid trucks while Israeli forces were stationed nearby. He, along with four other eyewitnesses speaking to Mada Masr, said that it wasn't until aid seekers converged around the convoy that Israeli troops opened fire on the desperate crowds. Eighty-six people were killed at the site on Sunday, Zaher al-Wahidi, director of the Health Ministry's Health Information Unit in Gaza, told Mada Masr. Footage released by the Israeli military, filmed around 200 meters from the scene. Source: IOF Spokesperson Avichay Adraee Israel's four-month siege has created mass-starvation conditions in the Gaza Strip, where most Palestinians now rely entirely on aid to access food, the World Food Program (WFP) said Sunday in a statement on the 'countless lives' lost to Israeli fire at Zikim. The few goods available on the market are sold at soaring prices, it added. The 'flour massacre' at Zikim marked yet another fatal attack on aid seekers at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution points across central and southern Gaza.. Thirteen aid seekers were killed on Sunday in the south near a GHF distribution center north of Rafah, Wahidi said, adding that, since the GHF began operating in May, the death toll among aid seekers has reached 1,021. Civilians have no choice, however, but to risk the journey to collect aid. 'I was overcome by my children's hunger,' Emad Eissa told Mada Masr, describing his decision to approach the Waha area, a dangerous zone where Israeli forces are stationed near Zikim. He found thousands already gathered at the spot, waiting for the flour trucks. Ismail Abu Dan, who also approached Waha, voiced the same need. 'I was just trying to find food for my children,' he said. When the trucks arrived, they eventually stopped about 200 meters from the soldiers' positions. According to the World Food Program, the convoy comprised 25 trucks carrying vital food aid. Eissa said Israeli soldiers allowed the crowds to approach the trucks in Waha. Ismail Massoud, who was also among the crowd, described hearing the soldiers order them over loudspeakers to come forward with their hands raised to collect flour. He raised his hands and moved with the others, but as soon as they reached the trucks, heavy fire broke out. Dozens were killed or wounded within moments, he told Mada Masr. Eissa described witnessing tanks and quadcopter fire that sent hundreds of the wounded and companions of the killed screaming and wailing. Israeli sniper fire also targeted the waiting aid seekers, according to the WFP. Abu Sidu, who was a little farther away at the Sudaniyya roundabout a few kilometers from the crossing, said Israeli fire also targeted that area, though it was more intense near the crossing. People still waited for the chance to access some of the aid. 'Every time we tried to move forward, they shot at us. When the gunfire let up, we'd try again,' Abu Sidu said. There were only two options: 'Either you take the flour or you get shot.' 'We never faced this level of direct fire before,' he continued, comparing Sunday's incident to previous times he had gone to collect aid from trucks. The soldiers continued to kill and injure civilians from the moment they arrived until their retreat. As people fled 'each in a different direction,' Abu Sidu lost sight of his two brothers, who had travelled with him from Sheikh Radwan that morning. The three had 'dragged their feet' over the five kilometers from their home, weak from hunger after four days without bread. 'People were dying, getting trampled. Children were falling and getting lost underfoot,' he said. Carts pulled by animals carried away piles of the wounded and dead. Abu Sidu began inspecting the shoes and clothes of the dead to see if his brothers were among them. 'You sift through bodies asking yourself, 'Is this him? No, it's not,'' he said. He eventually returned home around noon 'to save his own skin,' he said. Two hours later, his brothers made it back and confirmed that the shooting had continued after they left. Many of his neighbors spent those same hours in suspense, as their relatives had also gone to Zikim and hadn't returned, prompting searches that stretched into the night. 'One of our neighbors was thought to be dead until he came back at 10 pm, saying he'd been trapped and hiding behind a barrier,' Abu Sidu said. Abu Dan described hiding during the massacre behind a mound near Waha, before later fleeing back to Gaza City. The Israeli military's only comment on the incident was to claim its troops withheld fire, citing 45 seconds of video footage from the incident. Aid is now a matter of life or death for the hundreds of thousands in Gaza, around one in three of whom are currently eating only every few days, the WFP said in its Sunday statement. 'Only a massive scale-up in food aid distributions can stabilize this spiraling situation,' the WFP said. Twenty-nine nations issued a call Monday night for an immediate ceasefire, condemning 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,' and calling on Israel to uphold international humanitarian law.
Mada
5 days ago
- Politics
- Mada
Sudan Nashra: Hundreds killed in RSF onslaught on North Kordofan villages, military deploys reinforcements to Bara
In one of the deadliest waves of violence against civilians in the state, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed hundreds of people last week in villages surrounding the city of Bara in North Kordofan, amid a communications blackout that the Sudan Doctors Network described as deliberate. The scenes were 'horrific,' the network's spokesperson, Ahmed al-Nour Raqmallah, told Mada Masr, warning that the death toll could rise due to the collapse of medical services in the area. At the front lines, fierce fighting erupted in Um Samima, also in North Kordofan, where several senior military officers and commanders from military-allied groups were killed on Sunday. The RSF briefly captured parts of the town before the military retook control. The paramilitary group's advance had threatened to tighten its siege on Obeid, the state's capital, from three directions. A field source anticipated heavy fighting in the area over the coming days. On the political front, Prime Minister Kamel Idris continued to move forward with cabinet appointments, naming five new ministers this week — three of whom were nominated by armed groups signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement. Ahmed al-Mansoury was also appointed minister of livestock and fisheries resources. The newly appointed official is a businessman whose ties with the United Arab Emirates have raised concern about a potential conflict of interest in a critical sector as political tensions between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi grow over the UAE's backing of the RSF. The pro-military Democratic Bloc likewise rejected any Emirati involvement in peace efforts in their first meeting for a year, voicing support for mediation led by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The statement followed Washington's move to revive the initiative to bring the three countries together with the UAE to address the conflict in Sudan. A Saudi diplomatic delegation also held meetings with Sudanese officials in Port Sudan last week in a bid to restart peace talks, though a source in the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) downplayed the talks, describing them as routine. Meanwhile, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Revolutionary Democratic Current, led by Yasir Arman, submitted a reform memo to the anti-war Sumud alliance on Tuesday, urging it to prioritize civilian protection over political maneuvering. Civilians continued to bear the brunt of RSF violence in North Darfur, where indiscriminate shelling on Fasher and its nearby displacement camp killed more than a dozen people. The military repelled a major RSF ground assault on the city of Fasher on Wednesday following hours of clashes. *** Military holds ground in Um Samima after RSF attack, Sudan Shield Forces reinforcements deploy to Kordofan Fierce fighting broke out on Sunday in the town of Um Samima, west of North Kordofan's capital, Obeid, with control of the area briefly switching between the military and the RSF before the military regained full control and pushed RSF units back. The RSF has been battling to retain control of North Kordofan for weeks, fighting with foreign mercenaries in its ranks and seeking to stave off an offensive the military launched in early June. Several senior officers from the military and commanders from allied armed groups were killed in the clashes. RSF fighters infiltrated Um Samima in the early hours of Sunday and launched a surprise attack on military defenses, initially seizing parts of the town, an official in Obeid told Mada Masr. But the military regrouped for a counterattack, the official said. A military source also told Mada Masr that the military had deliberately drawn RSF fighters into Um Samima before the joint force of allied armed movements launched a flanking maneuver, laying a series of ambushes that led to the RSF's defeat. The military pursued the retreating fighters westward to the outskirts of Khawi in West Kordofan, the source added. Following its brief advance, the RSF issued a statement claiming full control over Um Samima. Spokesperson Fateh Gureishy described the operation as part of the group's broader military strategy to expand its presence in the area. The statement said RSF fighters killed more than 470 soldiers and seized a large cache of weapons and equipment. Several commanders in the military's camp were confirmed to have been killed. The military-allied Justice and Equality Movement announced the death of its Kordofan front commander Taher Arga, while the Baraa bin Malik Brigade confirmed the death of its field commander Hesham Beiram. According to the military source, other senior officers were killed, including a commander in the military's elite brigade and a colonel from the Fifth Infantry Division. But military troops recaptured the town within hours, as declared by Darfur Governor and Sudan Liberation Movement leader Minni Arko Minnawi, who is fighting in the joint force. The joint force later stated that they had killed over 300 RSF fighters, captured more than 25 others, and seized 102 RSF vehicles and 11 anti-aircraft guns. They also posted video footage showing close-range combat and RSF fighters fleeing on foot after abandoning their vehicles. Um Samima, which the military recaptured on May 11, has become a strategic stronghold in the western battleground. The town now serves as a key launchpad for military operations into West Kordofan and acts as a forward defensive line, protecting Obeid. According to the military source, the RSF sought to seize Um Samima to complete a three-pronged siege of Obeid. The group had already consolidated its presence in Bara to the north and last week expanded its control over the Kazgil area to the south. But following its latest defeat, the source said, the RSF may be forced to scale back its objectives and focus instead on defending Khawi and preventing a renewed military offensive. On Thursday, the military called up large reinforcements from its allied Sudan Shield Forces to the Kordofan front lines, a field source in the group told Mada Masr, anticipating that the Bara axis and nearby areas will see heavy battles in the coming days. Another military source told Mada Masr that after reclaiming Omdurman and Khartoum, the military relocated its western operations command, led by Khaled al-Shami, to Obeid to manage the wider western front. *** Hundreds killed in spike in RSF attacks on North Kordofan's villages Hundreds of civilians have been killed over the past two weeks in a series of RSF raids on villages across Kordofan, marking one of the deadliest escalations in the central region that has seen weeks of clashes. Forty-six civilians were killed in the Hilla Hamid village alone in an RSF attack on the Um Gerfa locality on July 13, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. 'The scene was horrific,' the network's spokesperson, Ahmed al-Nour Raqmallah, told Mada Masr. With most health centers out of service, he warned that the death toll could rise further due to the lack of medical care. The doctors network said 37 people were injured in the same attack. North Kordofan's Bara area has seen the worst of the spike in violence, with at least 300 people killed in the locality between July 10 and 13, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday. The attacks came amid a communication blackout, which has made it difficult to verify the full extent of the casualties. Violence against civilians in the region has increased steadily over recent weeks. But a sharp escalation began on July 10, a former administrative officer from the area told Mada Masr. RSF fighters looted the Nabda area west of Bara, the officer said, while villagers attempted to fend off the assailants using light arms, inflicting losses on the RSF. However, the RSF fighters regrouped and retaliated over the following days with heavily armed combat vehicles, killing scores of civilians, the source said, and forcing widespread displacement in villages surrounding Bara. The RSF attacked more than 100 villages in North Kordofan over the past two weeks, according to a local source from the Shag al-Noum village — which the former officer said has been burned to the ground in the latest attack. The local source compared the wave of assaults to that the paramilitary group carried out late last year in Gezira State. The Sudan Doctors Network said that the continued RSF assaults in North Kordofan are taking place under a deliberate media blackout, exacerbating civilian suffering and triggering new waves of displacement toward Obeid, a city already overwhelmed by overcrowding and severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies. 'The steady influx of newly displaced families is putting additional strain on already overstretched resources,' OCHA said. While the doctors network urged human rights and humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately, document the violations and press for an end to the attacks, the UN agency renewed its appeal for urgent humanitarian funding, noting that only 23 percent of Sudan's response plan has been financed to date, receiving just $950 million out of the total required amount. North Kordofan has seen a steady escalation in violence in recent months as it became a major battleground between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces following the military's full capture of Khartoum. The violence has also spread to neighboring West Kordofan, where more than 20 people were killed last week in RSF raids on the villages of Fula and Abu Zabad, including victims of an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families, OCHA said. The build-up of RSF operations against civilians in Kordofan began weeks ago, on June 15, with a raid on the villages of Bereima Rashid and Shogeifat, north of Nuhud in West Kordofan. RSF fighters looted homes, stole money and phones, and abducted three people whose whereabouts remain unknown, a source in the Dar Hamid emergency room told Mada Masr. On the same day, another RSF unit stormed the village of Shuwal, west of Bara, killing four civilians, a source in the village said. The RSF resumed its raids on June 25, targeting the village of Sunut, northeast of Obeid. The fighters looted homes and terrorized residents, forcing them to flee, a security source in North Kordofan's emergency committee told Mada Masr. That same day, an RSF unit raided the villages of Alhaguna and Lameina in the Kazgil locality, killing 22 civilians and injuring five, two of whom later died of their wounds, according to the source. *** Sources note concerns around new Cabinet appointees: Mining minister's conflict of interest, livestock minister's UAE ties New faces were selected to head the ministries of mining and livestock and fisheries as Prime Minister Kamil Idris moved forward with Cabinet appointments this week, naming five new ministers, including three that were nominated by armed groups signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement. Idris has undertaken a series of appointments in recent weeks as his initial vision for a technocratic, non-partisan cabinet effectively unraveled last week in a meeting with TSC members, held after weeks of pressure to secure the armed groups' allocations under the Juba peace deal. The meeting concluded with a reaffirmation of their entitlements, thawing a stalemate that had been in place since Idris took office in late May. Following five days of consultations at his office in Port Sudan's ministerial complex, Idris issued the new appointments on Tuesday, a member of the selection committee told Mada Masr. The Minerals Ministry went to the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), led by Minni Arko Minawi, with the appointment of Nour Addaem Taha, the movement's assistant leader for media affairs. Minnawi personally backed Taha's nomination, the leader's office told Mada Masr, adding that he has full confidence in him. In light of Taha's ties to the mining sector, however, his appointment stirred controversy within the movement. Taha holds a senior role at a mining company managed by his family, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest, a former official at the Minerals Ministry told Mada Masr. Other currents that support former minister Mohamed Bashir Abu Namo, also an SLM (Minnawi) member, also objected to Taha's nomination. Taha also faced public criticism from certain political groups over his views on Israel. Sudan formulated a deal with Tel Aviv to normalize relations in 2023, but its completion was postponed indefinitely by the outbreak of Sudan's war. The Sudanese Against Normalization group's general secretary, Muzafar al-Dageel, told Mada Masr that Taha's two-year residence in Tel Aviv casts doubt on his political orientation. The Human Resources and Social Development portfolio went to the political secretary of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Moatasem Ahmed, a prominent political figure within JEM who played a key role in the negotiations and implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement in 2020. The ministerial post is the second for JEM, following the reinstatement of its leader Gibril Ibrahim as Finance Minister, last week. The Infrastructure and Transportation Ministry went to Seif al-Nasr al-Tigany Haroun Gaber of the Sudanese Liberation Forces Alliance, led by TSC member Abdallah Yahya. Idris also appointed Ahmed al-Mansoury as livestock and fisheries minister. Mansoury maintains extensive business ties with Emirati firms, particularly in the food and livestock sectors, according to a source in Sudan's Chambers of Commerce. Mansoury established Al-Rawabi Dairy and Livestock Company in the UAE in 1989 and is regarded as an experienced figure in managing agricultural and livestock projects internationally. But his connections to the Emirati market have raised concerns in some political circles. Such affiliations, a former official at the Livestock Ministry told Mada Masr, could compromise the independence of decision-making in this vital sector. Tensions between Sudan and the UAE have mounted steadily during the war due to Emirati backing for the RSF. Yet despite the political strain, commercial ties between the two countries remain largely unaffected, a source in the Central Bank of Sudan said, with Sudanese imports from the UAE standing at around US$1.3 billion. Idris also reinstated former Information Minister Khaled al-Easar, a close associate of the prime minister. With these appointments, Idris's 'government of hope' now includes 15 ministers out of a total of 22 positions. The key Foreign Ministry portfolio remains unresolved. A senior official at the ministry told Mada Masr that the prime minister is still struggling to settle on a candidate. In the meantime, Ambassador Ali Omar Siddig is expected to continue to serve as acting minister until a consensus is reached on a replacement. *** Military repels RSF attack on Fasher, shelling kills over a dozen civilians Military forces celebrate after repelling RSF attack on Fasher. July 16. Source: X Military-allied armed groups celebrate victory over RSF in Fasher. July 16. Source: X In North Darfur's Fasher, the military and its allied forces repelled a new ground assault by the RSF on Wednesday amid ongoing shelling by the paramilitary group on the city and nearby displacement camps. The RSF attempted to advance on Fasher from the southwest before the assault was pushed back by the military, the joint force, resistance groups and mobilized civilian fighters, a field source in the joint force told Mada Masr. The fighting stretched from dawn until 6 pm and resulted in the death of RSF commander Adam Eissa al-Geneidy, according to Fasher's Sixth Infantry Division. Artillery exchanges between the two sides continued throughout the week, the joint force source added. Amid the shelling that accompanied the RSF's attempted advance, four members of the same family were killed and others were injured in strikes that hit the Wadi neighborhood, a medical source in Fasher told Mada Masr. On the same day, RSF artillery also struck the Abu Shouk displacement camp, killing eight people and injuring several, according to the camp's emergency room. The shelling also destroyed a number of homes in the camp. The UN has expressed alarm over the escalating fighting in Fasher following reports that a large RSF unit had entered the city last week — the first such incursion since the paramilitary group began its siege a year ago. Fasher is one of the military's last strongholds in the Darfur region. *** Arman's SPLM faction calls for reforms within Sumud alliance Urging a fundamental shift toward the needs of war victims and Sudan's deepening humanitarian catastrophe, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Revolutionary Democratic Current, led by Yasir Arman, submitted an internal reform memo to the Sumud alliance on Tuesday. The group announced that it had frozen its participation in Sumud's executive bodies. Sumud member Mohamed Abdel Hakam told Mada Masr that the alliance remains united despite internal debates, saying the discussions and the SPLM-RDC's memo — currently under review — includes constructive proposals aimed at improving performance. He dismissed reports that Arman's faction suspended its participation in the alliance, saying the group remains a core member. Sumud was formed after the February dissolution of the Civil Front for Democracy, headed by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, just days before key members aligned with the RSF and signed the Nairobi declaration — a deal that later evolved into the RSF-led Tasees coalition. Now, Sumud, which continues to be led by Hamdok, includes Arman's SPLM faction, a National Umma Party faction led by Fadlallah Burma Nasir, the Sudanese Congress Party, the Unionist Alliance, civil society organizations, youth groups and resistance committees. SPLM-RDC emphasized that its latest memo was part of a longstanding tradition of pushing for reform within political alliances, especially in moments of social fragmentation, state collapse and the growing militarization of public life. It warned that the war has become a tool to erase the legacy of Sudan's revolution and the independence of its democratic civil movements. Focusing exclusively on the political process while neglecting the victims and failing to hold regional and international actors accountable for their role in the humanitarian crisis would likely lead to weak, power-sharing settlements, the statement said. The SPLM-RDC said it will continue engaging in dialogue within Sumud's leadership to push for necessary reforms, but made clear that it does not intend to take part in the current political process, including the proposed roundtable or Sumud's executive bodies. *** Rejecting UAE role in Sudan peace process, Democratic Bloc convenes for first time in a year Meeting in Port Sudan this week for the first time in over a year, the pro-military Democratic Bloc voiced support for mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to end Sudan's war, while firmly rejecting any role for the UAE. The meetings on Sunday and Monday coincided with a Saudi diplomatic delegation's visit to Port Sudan to explore the prospects of reviving peace talks, a source in the TSC and Sudan Liberation Movement (Minnawi) spokesperson Al-Sadig Al-Nour told Mada Masr. However, the TSC source downplayed the visit as routine and unlikely to have a significant impact at this stage. At the bloc's meeting, the political committee — headed by Minnawi — discussed the latest military and political developments and welcomed growing US engagement with Sudan. It praised US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks that Sudan will be a diplomatic priority, and his appointment of Senior Advisor for African Affairs Massad Boulos to lead the effort. While also expressing appreciation for Saudi Arabia's and Egypt's roles, the bloc said the UAE cannot be considered a neutral party due to its backing of the RSF, describing the Gulf country as a main actor in the war. Senior US officials had gathered in Washington in June with the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE to discuss the Sudan conflict. Formed in 2021, the Democratic Bloc includes armed movements aligned with the military and political factions opposed to the anti-war Sumud coalition. Though long seen as a key political player, it has not convened formally in over a year. In its Sunday statement, the bloc called for a Sudanese-led solution to the war and warned against 'negative international interventions' that, it said, had helped fuel the conflict. It insisted the war must be accurately framed as 'a rebellion by the RSF militia against the Sudanese state' and praised neighboring countries — especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea — for backing Sudan's sovereignty and unity.
Mada
7 days ago
- Mada
21 Palestinians killed in stampede after Israel opens fire on aid seekers
Twenty-one Palestinians were killed in a stampede on Wednesday as Israeli forces fired lived rounds and tear gas at aid seekers in a Khan Younis Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Six people were immediately killed due to gunshot wounds and 15 died of asphyxiation, Gaza officials said. The incident marks the first time that aid seekers have been killed in a stampede at a GHF center, according to the ministry, which described the foundation's sites as 'death traps.' At least 400 people have been killed by Israeli forces firing at crowds of aid seekers since the GHF centers opened, according to the United Nations. Thousands of aid seekers had waited for hours by the distribution center before being allowed into the barbed-wire enclosed corridor that leads to the GHF yard. Once inside, US security personnel closed the outer gate behind them while the yard door remained closed, leaving people trapped in a crush, according to testimonies received by Mada Masr from aid seekers. 'Many people were inside the corridor, and many others were trying to enter from outside so they couldn't turn back, causing many in the crowd to suffocate,' Mounir Gouda, a witness to today's fatal distribution operation, told Mada Masr. He estimated that thousands were crowded into the narrow corridor trying to reach the distribution center. Occupation soldiers and US security personnel ignored the crowd's pleas to open the doors to give them a chance to catch their breath, leaving many to fall in the crush and to asphyxiate. Mohammed al-Akhras, another witness to the stampede, indicated that both ends of the corridor were closed. GHF 'deliberately closed the iron gates after gathering thousands of starving people in narrow iron corridors deliberately designed to suffocate them,' the Gaza Government Media Office said on Wednesday. The office said that employees and Israeli soldiers then fired pepper spray and live rounds at aid seekers, leading to 15 people's asphyxiation and killing six from gunshot wounds immediately, adding that the closed space was 'designed to kill.' Akhras described seeing dozens of bodies lying on the ground after the stampede as Occupation soldiers opened fire on those of their fellow aid seekers who attempted to rescue them. The bodies of some of the deceased exhibited signs of suffocation such as blue discoloration of the skin, while survivors had severe bruising, a source at western Khan Younis's Nasser Medical Complex told Mada Masr. The nearest medical facility is located several kilometers away from the distribution center in southern Khan Younis, according to Akhras, who added that the closest was the Red Cross field hospital, which did not have an oxygen station to treat those suffering from suffocation. Transporting the injured to the hospital took approximately 40 minutes on foot, he said, adding that many had died before reaching the hospital. Most of of the deaths were among starving children and teenagers, he said.
Mada
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Mada
Israeli forces destroy Mawasi's shelters, cemeteries after expelling thousands from ‘safe zone'
Israel's latest attack on the displaced saw its forces tear down tents and damage cemeteries, leaving widespread destruction in the wake of an incursion into Khan Younis on Thursday that forced thousands to flee again, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. Tanks advanced into the coastal strip of Mawasi, an area designated by the Israeli military as a 'safe zone,' and opened fire on tents pitched in the area, two eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. People were struck by shrapnel and bullets and others suffocated from the tear gas, Ahmed Abu Shehab, who was sheltering in the area, said to Mada Masr. Another eyewitness, Omar Abu Taha, confirmed that some people were killed while trying to escape. Civil defense and ambulance crews were initially unable to retrieve bodies from the area, Abu Taha added. The advancing forces stormed one of the largest displacement camps in the Nemsawy neighborhood, setting fire to several tents and razing others, he said. They tore through the camp, destroying tents and shelters, Abu Shehab told Mada Masr. 'Death was creeping in on us from every direction.' People in the area said that the invading forces later withdrew. Images from the area the following day showed widespread damage and charred belongings strewn across the site. People fled carrying what little they could. Abu Shehab, who had pitched his tent with his family in Mawasi earlier in the war, was forced to leave all his belongings behind to escape the camp before the oncoming vehicles arrived. Those displaced from the camp have nothing to eat as Gaza's starvation crisis deepens, he said. His children went without food for over a day after the advance. As well as tent shelters, Israeli forces also desecrated nearby burial grounds and destroyed a cemetery in Nemsawy, Abu Taha said. About 400 meters away, tanks and bulldozers stormed the Turkish cemetery, where, according to Gaza's Endowments Ministry, they 'dug up graves and stole the bodies of the dead.' Around 40 out of Gaza's 60 cemeteries have been fully or partially destroyed by Israel's genocidal war, according to the ministry.
Mada
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Mada
Sudan Nashra: High-level security talks in Cairo between Sudan, Egypt, Libya over border triangle PM names five ministers, armed groups retain ministerial portfolios
Still trying to contain the fallout from the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) takeover of the border triangle between Egypt, Sudan and Libya, and amid what one Sudanese intelligence source described as an 'expanding presence of smuggling networks and armed groups in the border region,' Cairo hosted high-level security delegations from the other two countries on Wednesday. The meeting follows an earlier round of Egyptian-mediated indirect talks this month between Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) Chair and Sudanese Armed Froces (SAF) Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. Sudan has accused forces aligned with Haftar of supporting the RSF's advance into the border triangle — a claim Haftar denied during the talks earlier in July. On the political front, Prime Minister Kamel Idris has failed to hold onto his vision of a purely technocratic cabinet in the face of mounting pressure from the armed movements signatory to the Juba Peace Agreement. This week, he appointed five ministers, three of whom represent the armed movements, including the long-serving Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim. On the norwestern battlefront, the RSF renewed its military buildup around Fasher while continuing to shell civilian areas where the humanitarian crisis is deepening. Continuing the siege it began on Fasher over a year ago, the RSF has also turned down a week-long humanitarian truce proposed by the United Nations. In the capital, Khartoum, returnees described to Mada Masr dire shortages of water, electricity and health services, despite attempts by both national and state-level authorities to resume operations in the city, which has been devastated by two years of war. *** High-level security talks in Cairo address pressing concerns at Egypt-Sudan-Libya border after RSF takeover Senior security officials from Sudan, Egypt and Libya convened in Cairo on Wednesday for a high-level meeting to address the crisis along their shared border triangle, according to a Sudanese intelligence source who spoke to Mada Masr. The talks focused on the fallout from the RSF's takeover of the strategic area in June. Potential security concerns topped the agenda, according to the intelligence source and a senior TSC official. In a detailed briefing on the situation in the area, the Sudanese side warned of the security implications if the RSF forms a parallel government in the areas of Sudan it holds. The scenario, the official said, would threaten both Sudanese and Egyptian national security and could open southern Libya to the rise of militant groups and transnational terrorist networks. The RSF took another step last week toward the establishment of such a parallel government, announcing the formation of a leadership body for its Tasees coalition. The RSF-led coalition emerged after the paramilitary first unveiled its ambition to establish parallel governance in its strongholds across Sudan during the Nairobi conference in February. RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemedti' Dagalo has been named as the Tasees leadership body's head. Also on the agenda in Cairo were efforts to build a shared framework to address cross-border challenges, the intelligence source said. According to the source, irregular migration, arms trafficking and human smuggling all represent concerns, alongside broader national security issues — particularly the expanding presence of smuggling networks and armed groups in the border region. Sudan, the source added, directly warned both Cairo and the Benghazi government of the growing presence of terrorist factions and militias in the triangle area, and called for the formation of joint security committees to address the destabilizing effects of RSF control over desert routes that could serve as corridors for cross-border insecurity. A Sudanese Foreign Ministry source described the Cairo meeting as a culmination of Egypt's ongoing mediation between Sudan and Libya, and said the aim will be to create a joint platform to address urgent security and border issues. A prior round of indirect talks, mediated by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, were held in Cairo on July 3 between TSC Chair and SAF Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. The Sudanese delegation included top officials from the General Intelligence Service, military intelligence and the Foreign Ministry, the intelligence source said. *** Kamel Idris appoints 5 ministers, armed movements retain posts Following weeks of friction with the armed movements signatory to the Juba Peace Agreement, Prime Minister Kamel Idris finally appointed five new ministers on Thursday. The step was the latest in Idris's efforts to complete the formation of what he called the ' government of hope ' and brings the total number of appointed Cabinet ministers to 10 out of 22 posts. Though Idris had pledged to form a nonpartisan technocratic government, the military-allied armed movements ultimately secured their share of cabinet positions as per the terms of the Juba agreement. After the power struggle over key ministries, a breakthrough was reached during a high-level meeting between Idris and TSC members Shams Eddin al-Kabbashi and Yasser al-Atta, a source within the TSC told Mada Masr. The source inidcated that the consensus established during the meeting cleared the way for Thursday's appointments. These included the reappointment of Mohamed Kortkila Salih to lead the Federal Governance and Rural Development Ministry. Kortkila, a senior member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) faction led by TSC Deputy Chair Malik Agar, has held the post since February 2021. He first assumed the office under Abdalla Hamdok's second government. Gibril Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), was reappointed as finance minister. Having held the position since early 2021 under the Juba Peace Agreement, he is now the longest-serving official to lead the Finance Ministry in Sudan's history. Abdallah Mohamed Darf, from eastern Sudan, was named justice minister. A prominent pro-military figure, he heads the Popular Resistance Forces in Kassala State and is widely seen as a loyalist of the National Congress Party, which dominated national politics under ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Also among the appointees are Mahasen Ali Yaaqoub, who was named minister of industry and trade — a post she has held since 2021 as acting minister through the onset of the war — and Bashir Haroun Abdel Karim Abdallah as minister of religious affairs and endowments. Abdallah leads the Sudanese Alliance armed movement, previously headed by former West Darfur Governor Khamis Abakar, who was killed by the RSF in June 2023. As per the meeting between Idris and the TSC, the JEM retains the ministries of finance and social welfare and development. The Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minaawi, will hold onto the Minerals Ministry, with strong indications it will also regain control of the Humanitarian Aid Commission — which has been temporarily assigned to the SPLM-N faction led by Agar, the source said. *** Hours after military declares control, RSF recaptures Kazgil in North Kordofan The RSF announced on Tuesday that it had retaken the Kazgil area in North Kordofan, just hours after the military claimed it had control of the region. Military spokesperson Nabil Abdallah had said on Monday that the military-allied Sayyad mobile unit had defeated RSF fighters in Kazgil and Rayyash, taking control of both areas after inflicting heavy losses on the paramilitary. The RSF later said it seized Kazgil and captured 45 fully equipped combat vehicles, drones, various weapons and a large amount of ammunition, claiming 330 military soldiers were killed in the operation. The paramilitary's fighters circulated video footage showing their entry into and deployment across the area. An RSF field source told Mada Masr that the group had reinforced its ranks after the military advanced to Kazgil and Rayyash, and forced SAF units to withdraw toward the Um Arda and Ban Gadeed areas. The joint force of military-allied movements has dismissed claims that it has withdrawn from the front entirely as baseless, confirming that its fighters remain active across all battlefronts. Located on the southern edge of North Kordofan, Kazgil has been the site of repeated clashes and changes in control between the RSF and the military amid escalating fighting in recent months across the wider Kordofan region. A former military officer told Mada Masr that SAF's pullback, despite earlier gains, was in line with a broader strategy to draw RSF fighters in, weaken their forces and strike key positions before fully reclaiming the territory. The southern axis — stretching from Obeid toward Hammadi and Debeibat, then onto Foula, Babanusa, Adila and Daein — remains one of the most difficult fronts for the military, according to the former officer, due to the heavy presence of local groups loyal to the RSF along the route. On Wednesday, military drones targeted RSF positions and gatherings in Bara, Um Gerfa and Kazgil, killing one RSF officer and several fighters, a SAF source told Mada Masr. The drone strikes, the source said, are part of preparations for a ground offensive being planned across several towns and cities in North Kordofan. *** Fasher reels as thousands flee under escalating RSF attacks on military's Darfur foothold The humanitarian situation in Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, continues to deteriorate amid escalating shelling and drone strikes by the RSF, which has stepped up efforts to seize control of the strategic city. Fasher, under RSF siege since May 2024, is the military's last major foothold in Darfur. On Wednesday, the Fasher Resistance Committees reported widespread shelling by the RSF across several neighborhoods in the city. Shelling also struck the Abu Shouk displacement camp's market area on Tuesday, killing three civilians and injuring many more, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Drone strikes added to the toll on Thursday, when a medical source told Mada Masr that eight people had been killed in an RSF drone strike on a shelter where dozens of civilians were taking refuge. RSF artillery fire killed at least 45 people in the Abu Shouk displacement camp north of Fasher in June alone, the camp's emergency committee stated on Sunday. The camp, home to around 190,000 people, now faces acute shortages of food and basic supplies after charity kitchens and aid distribution were suspended in April. OCHA warned that conditions in North Darfur remain alarming as the ongoing violence is forcing families to flee. Over 3,200 people fled Abu Shouk and parts of Fasher between June 26 and July 6, the International Organization for Migration said. International efforts to secure humanitarian access to Fasher have so far failed. Last week, the RSF rejected a UN-proposed humanitarian ceasefire in Fasher and has since escalated its offensive on the city. A senior official in the military's General Staff told Mada Masr that SAF is determined to hold the city, describing it as a strategic junction between west and east Sudan, bordering key routes into Chad, Libya and Egypt. Control of Fasher, the official said, means control over military supply lines, humanitarian corridors and population movement across Darfur. The RSF continues to amass forces on the city's outskirts, while the military — backed by the joint force of the allied armed movements — maintains defensive positions inside the city. An RSF source told Mada Masr that capturing Fasher would cement the group's control over Darfur and allow it to establish a regional command center. It would also pave the way for advances into Kordofan, Gezira and possibly eastern Sudan, the source said. On Thursday, the RSF announced it had downed a Turkish-made Akinci drone operated by the military over Fasher. The group claimed the drone had carried out a series of indiscriminate strikes on civilian areas in Zamzam, Kuma and Malit. *** Ethiopian militias cross into eastern Sudan, sparking fears among farmers Ethiopian militias crossed into Sudanese territory this week, raising alarm among residents and farmers in the eastern state of Gadarif. Armed groups breached the disputed Fashaga border triangle on Sunday and blocked several farmers from accessing their lands, a source on Gadarif State's security committee told Mada Masr. The incursion comes at a critical time, just as the farming season is set to begin. The Sudanese military had taken over 95 percent of the Fashaga border triangle from Ethiopian forces in a military operation launched in November 2020, ending nearly 25 years of control by Ethiopian militias, backed by the federal military, over the fertile region. One resident from the border area said that one of the armed groups raided and looted a local market, attacking traders and civilians before retreating across the border into Ethiopian territory without being intercepted. Several farmers who spoke to Mada Masr attributed the incursion to the Sudanese military's preoccupation with security developments elsewhere in the country. Residents in the affected areas fear that repeated incursions could further destabilize the region, particularly given their frequency in recent years. Many have called on the Sudanese government to take urgent measures to reinforce border security and protect the farming season — a vital source of livelihood for the area's population. *** Returnees to Khartoum face service shortages, war's aftermath Displaced residents returning to the tri-city capital of Khartoum are grappling with severe shortages in essential services, including clean water, electricity and healthcare, several returnees told Mada Masr. Tens of thousands have returned to the capital this year as the military re-established control over Khartoum after two years of war. In East Dayoum, a central Khartoum neighborhood, Mohamed Salah described a dire water crisis, with residents waiting up to two days to access a nearby clean water well. He added that despite announcements about efforts to restore the Mogran water station in northern Khartoum, the facility has yet to supply the neighborhood with water. On Sunday, Khartoum's Water Authority announced that the Mogran and Bayt al-Mal stations entered a test run as part of efforts to stabilize water services disrupted since the onset of the war. The authority added that two more stations — Gereif and Shagara — are also set to resume operations in the coming period. Power outages continue to compound the crisis. Widespread damage to substations and transmission lines has left entire neighborhoods in the dark. 'We've had no electricity for more than two years,' Mugahed Azhary, a resident of Gabra in southern Khartoum, said. 'The grid needs extensive repairs and specialized companies to handle the maintenance. This can't be left to community efforts — the state must take responsibility.' According to Azhary, electricity has returned to parts of the city, including Abu Adam, Kalakla and areas further south toward Jebel Awliya, but supply remains weak due to issues with transformers. When the military regained control of Khartoum in March, authorities started urging displaced residents to return. On Tuesday, Khartoum Governor Ahmed Othman Hamza called on citizens to come back and contribute to the city's reconstruction, saying, 'the government alone cannot rebuild Khartoum.' In the Ashara neighborhood in southern Khartoum, Mohsen Bashir said the emergency aid they were promised by authorities and humanitarian organizations has yet to arrive, despite residents' urgent need. Elsewhere in the capital, residents are still dealing with the remnants of war. In Khartoum 2, Amin Sayed told Mada Masr, unexploded ordnance and abandoned military equipment remain scattered in areas previously held by the RSF, with no specialized teams deployed to clear them. Some government institutions have resumed operations from their headquarters in Khartoum, including the foreign and education ministries, as well as the Central Bank of Sudan. Several hospitals and health centers that had suspended operations during RSF control have also reopened, such as the outpatient clinics at the Ibrahim Malek Teaching Hospital and the emergency units at the Bahri and Hajj al-Safi teaching hospitals in Bahri, the capital's eastern city. On the public health front, Khartoum's Forensic Medicine Authority said on Saturday that it has relocated 3,800 bodies from various locations across the capital. The authority emphasized that it is the sole entity authorized to remove and relocate corpses and unmarked graves from homes, streets, neighborhoods and public areas. It also noted that all related services — including transportation, exhumation and burial — are provided free of charge by a dedicated committee, and called on the public to report any unburied or improperly buried remains directly to its offices.
