Latest news with #Masalit
Observer
03-07-2025
- Health
- Observer
MSF warns of violence atrocities in Sudan's Darfur
KHARTOUM: Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Thursday of "mass atrocities" and "ethnically targeted violence" in Sudan's Darfur, as fighting between the army and rival paramilitaries escalated in the war-scarred region. Since losing control of the capital Khartoum in March, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has sought to consolidate its power in Darfur, a vast region where the RSF's predecessor, the Janjaweed group, was accused of genocide two decades ago. In the war since April 2023, both the RSF and the army have been accused of mass atrocities, and the United States has said the paramilitaries "committed genocide" in Darfur, in Sudan's west. Doctors Without Borders issued a report based on dozens of interviews conducted between May 2024 and May 2025, raising fears of systematic violence against ethnic groups. "People are not only caught in indiscriminate heavy fighting... but also actively targeted by the RSF and its allies, notably on the basis of their ethnicity," said Michel-Olivier Lacharite, MSF's head of emergencies. The RSF has intensified attacks on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state which the paramilitaries have besieged since May 2024 in a bid to push the army out of its final stronghold in the region. MSF noted "threats of a full-blown assault" on El Fasher, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people largely cut off from food and water supplies and deprived of access to medical care. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed hope for a negotiated ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged city. The MSF report, based on 80 interviews with displaced people and patients between May 2024 and May 2025, described "systematic patterns of violence" including "looting, mass killings, violence, abductions, starvation" and attacks against civilian and health facilities. Witnesses said RSF fighters spoke of plans to "clean El Fasher" of its communities, particularly the Zaghawa ethnic group, raising fears of a massacre akin to 2023 atrocities against the Masalit people in West Darfur state. "We fear such a scenario will be repeated in El Fasher," Mathilde Simon, MSF's humanitarian affairs adviser, said in a statement. The medical charity was forced to halt its operations in El Fasher and the nearby famine-hit Zamzam displacement camp early this year due to repeated attacks. Across Sudan, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created what the UN describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crises. In North Darfur alone, more than a million people are on the brink of famine, according to the UN figures. — AFP
Globe and Mail
27-06-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Sudanese refugees brace for a new threat to life and limb
Arbab Sharif Ahmad, 33, survived a massacre during an ethnic cleansing campaign, but his five-year-old son was executed in front of him. As Mr. Ahmad fled from the Arab-led Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur in Sudan, a bullet shattered his knee. Over a year later, he lies in agony on the dirt floor of a makeshift hut in the remote Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad, unable to walk properly and still awaiting surgery. 'One of my daughters, when she sees my injured leg or the crutches, she becomes scared and doesn't want to come near me,' he explains, adding that he now spends most of his days hiding inside his hut to avoid frightening her. Mr. Ahmad's story is echoed throughout Sector P1 of the new Farchana camp – known locally as the 'wounded sector'– which houses around 250 households of injured Sudanese refugees, most from the Masalit ethnic group. These families represent only a fraction of the more than 17,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad living with disabilities or severe medical conditions, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. For those who barely escaped the RSF, survival in Chad presents a new ordeal. The country's fragile health care system is overwhelmed by what humanitarian agencies now call the world's largest humanitarian disaster. Refugees with serious injuries are going without treatment. But the crisis is expected to worsen as critical healthcare programs face discontinuation. To support Chadian hospitals, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have brought in foreign surgeons, mainly from other African nations, says Dr. Blanche Anya, the WHO's representative in Chad. 'WHO funded emergency medical teams to provide care for the people that were wounded. But this is very expensive, so we cannot sustain it,' she says, noting that funding for the surgical teams is only guaranteed through June. Dr. Anya cites broader geopolitical forces that have worsened the crisis. U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the WHO, suspension of foreign aid and dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have collectively drained critical resources. While U.S. contributions represent less than 10 per cent of WHO's Chad budget, according to Dr. Anya, she says they have a disproportionate impact on key programs such as maternal care and polio eradication, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also provided personnel. The cuts also affect NGOs working with WHO to deliver essential health services. '[If] those NGOs that were supported by the U.S. government do not have the capacity to continue providing health services, of course, this will have a big impact on lives and increase mortality,' she says, adding that a large part of the population will lose access to health services. 'The type of population that will be most affected will be the vulnerable population, children, women.' According to Dr. Anya, WHO Chad is now seeking alternative funding while also drafting a list that ranks programs by priority to determine which can be maintained and which may need to be cut. The RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been at war since April 2023. It's a conflict that has displaced millions of people, killed thousands and seen famines declared in parts of the country. In January, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken classified the RSF's actions in Sudan as genocide. Survivors describe targeted killings of Masalit and non-Arab civilians by the RSF during their ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing in West Darfur. Those who remained behind have reportedly been forced to renounce their ethnic identity and identify as Arab. 'They are targeting people based on race. If you are Black, they will just kill you,' says Ayub Abdallah, 25, who was shot and stabbed seven times while fleeing the city of El Geneina in West Darfur. Khalil Ahmad Khalil, 30, was shot in the leg by RSF militants inside his home. One and a half years after fleeing to Chad, his leg remains fractured in the shin, essentially split into two pieces. Doctors told Mr. Khalil he needs surgery, but they lack the capacity to perform it. 'You can see it's not fixed. It just moves,' he says, pointing to the exposed bone beneath tattered dressings. 'I am suffering from a lot of pain . . . I stopped going to the doctors because, unfortunately, I've lost hope.' Jumah Bakhit, 31, the chief of the camp's P1 sector, warns that if more time passes, many cases will become untreatable, noting that some refugees have already died due to lack of care. In Farchana camp, the only health care facility is a small primary care clinic run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). According to a USAID Chad report, the NGO received US$5.3-million in 2024 from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration for its operations in Chad. But even that hasn't been enough. In a statement to The Globe and Mail, IRC confirmed that the clinic had experienced staff shortages in the past. Meanwhile, the organization in Sudan continues to face challenges related to qualified human resources, adequate infrastructure and the supply of drugs, consumables and other medical supplies. Patients with serious conditions are supposed to be referred to hospitals in nearby Adré or the city of Abéché. But in practice, many wait months without transfer, and even then, appropriate care is often unavailable. Kaltouma Khamis Arbab, 56, still has metal rods in her leg from a bullet wound that shattered the bones. The surgical hardware should have been removed months ago. She was told that the only facility capable of performing the procedure is in N'Djamena, Chad's capital 865 kilometres away by road – a trip she cannot afford physically or financially. 'This iron has been in my body for 13 months. It should have been removed last August,' she says. 'If nothing happens, we will try to remove it ourselves.' The risks in the camps extend far beyond lack of surgical care. According to Dr. Anya, the camps face continuous outbreaks of diseases such as measles, hepatitis E, malaria and yellow fever – driven by a combination of overcrowding, poor sanitation, malnutrition, limited access to clean water and the constant arrival of new refugees. Dr. Anya noted that the U.S. aid suspension would lead to a reduction in services and medical supplies, increasing the risk of disease transmission and higher mortality rates. 'The crisis is continuing, and resources are becoming very rare,' she says. For now, the wounded and sick are left waiting.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Marco Rubio Makes Wild Claim About Trump's Shady Business Deals
Two years after they led an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on allegations that the forty-sixth president benefited from his son's business dealings in Ukraine and China, MAGA Republicans have decided that conflicts of interest are no longer worth mentioning—at least with regard to Donald Trump. Testifying before Congress Wednesday, state secretary turned joint national security adviser Marco Rubio claimed that the Trump family's business in the Middle East wasn't anything out of the ordinary for a sitting president, despite the fact that Trump and his relatives appear to be making money hand over fist, thanks to Trump's power over the White House. 'I don't think this is a complicated question. President Trump is personally profiting from a deal with a foreign government while selling weapons to that same government who's enabling a genocide,' said California Representative Sara Jacobs, referring to the United Arab Emirates' 'complicity' in the genocide of the Masalit community in West Darfur. 'Policy aside, do you really think this isn't a conflict of interest?' 'No you're making claims—the president's family owns a business, and they can conduct business anywhere in the world they want,' Rubio said. 'The president never once raised business deals in UAE when talking about—any president would have to have a relationship with the UAE.' But Jacobs pointed out that Trump's business dealings in the Middle East are not passive, as the forty-seventh president has 'retained his ownership' of the companies. He has also continued to intertwine his image with his brands: On his cryptocurrency World Liberty Financial's website, Trump's image is plastered alongside text urging investors to 'shape a new era of finance.' 'It literally says on the website that Mr. Trump and his family members own a 60 percent stake in this company. That's silly,' Jacobs said. 'I'm asking you a very simple question: Do you believe it's a conflict of interest to have a president personally profiting from a deal with a foreign government while selling weapons to that same government who's enabling a genocide?' 'I don't accept the premise of your question,' Rubio replied. 'I think this has nothing to do with personally benefiting from anything. This has to do with the fact that in order to conduct foreign policy in the Middle East, you have to deal with the UAE.' Trump and his businesses have a huge financial stake in the Middle East, especially the UAE. Some of his real estate plans include a Trump-branded golf course in Qatar (as part of a $5.5 billion development project) and a $1 billion Trump hotel and residence in Dubai. Other investments include a $2 billion cryptocurrency stake by an Abu Dhabi firm in World Liberty Financial Coin. The family also revealed in December that it would be expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia, announcing Trump Tower Jeddah. The price tag for the building has not been made public, but one of the developers on the project, Dar Global, compared it to another $530 million Trump Tower in the city, reported Reuters. The president has also come under intense recent scrutiny for accepting a super luxury jumbo jet from Qatari leadership, in an act that was widely interpreted as a foreign bribe, including by longtime supporters of the president's agenda, such as far-right influencers Ben Shapiro and Laura Loomer. It was one of the most lavish gifts ever bestowed on a U.S. president. Accepting gifts from foreign governments is a blatant violation of the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause, so in an effort to circumvent that, Trump has claimed that the plane is instead a donation to the Department of Defense. But his reported plans to shift ownership of the aircraft to his presidential library shortly before exiting office would effectively make that excuse null and void.
L'Orient-Le Jour
08-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
How the Sudanese army reached a breaking point with the Emirates
Entering the third year of a brutal civil war involving numerous foreign actors, Sudan reached a breaking point with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accused of arming and financing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This week, Khartoum took its most decisive action in this regard, having already expelled 15 Emirati diplomats in December 2023, a few months after the war began. On Tuesday, May 6, the Sudanese Sovereignty Council announced it was breaking diplomatic relations with Abu Dhabi, citing the Emiratis' "direct support" to paramilitary forces and labeling the country as an "aggressor state." This decision came just one day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared itself incompetent to hear Sudan's complaint against the United Arab Emirates for complicity in genocide against the Masalit...
Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
World court says lacks jurisidiction to rule on Sudan's genocide case against UAE
Delegates attend a hearing at the International Court of Justice for a case brought by Sudan to the World Court demanding emergency measures against the UAE and accusing the Gulf state of violating obligations under the Genocide Convention by arming paramilitary forces, in The Hague, Netherlands, April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo THE HAGUE - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday said it can not rule on Sudan's case accusing the United Arab Emirates of fueling genocide in Darfur by supplying weapons to paramilitary forces, saying it lacked jurisdiction. Sudan had argued before the U.N.'s top court last month that the UAE was violating the Genocide Convention by supporting paramilitary forces in Darfur, but the UAE said the case should be thrown out. The court on Monday said it could not judge the case against the UAE, rejected Sudan's request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket. Due to the lack of jurisdiction "the court is precluded by its statute from taking any position on the merits of the claims made by Sudan," a summary of the ruling said. Sudan said on Tuesday that the ruling of a lack of jurisdiction does not absolve the UAE of genocide allegations and pledged to pursue all legal avenues to protect its people and state. The UAE hailed the ruling as a legal victory. "This decision is a clear and decisive affirmation of the fact that this case was utterly baseless. The court's finding that it is without jurisdiction confirms that this case should never have been brought," Reem Ketait, deputy assistant minister for political affairs at the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "The facts speak for themselves: the UAE bears no responsibility for the conflict in Sudan. On the contrary, the atrocities committed by the warring parties are well-documented." By a vote of 14-to-two, the court threw out Sudan's request for emergency measures to prevent genocidal acts against the Masalit tribe, which has been the focus of intense ethnic-based attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militias. Sudan accuses the UAE of arming the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army in a two-year-old civil war. The UAE denies the charge but some U.N. experts and U.S. lawmakers have found it credible, citing evidence in reports by human rights organisations on the supply of weapons. The latest report by a U.N. panel of experts published in April did not mention the UAE except to refer to its involvement in peace talks in Sudan. The ICJ is the U.N.'s highest court that deals with disputes between states and violations of international treaties. Sudan and the UAE are both signatories of the 1948 Genocide Convention. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
