Latest news with #elFasher
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Losing a baby, rescuing a child and dodging air strikes in Sudan's civil war
Aged just 19, Alawia Babiker Ahmed miscarried as she was fleeing on foot the devastating war that has ravaged Sudan's western region of Darfur. "I was bleeding on the way," she told the BBC, before hastening to add that she saw people who were "worse off" during her traumatic three-day walk of about 70km (45 miles) from the besieged city of el-Fasher to the small town of Tawila. Dodging air strikes and militiamen after her miscarriage, Alawia said she and her family came across an infant crying for his mother, who lay dead by the roadside. Alawia said she picked up the child and took him with her: "We covered the mother and kept going." Sudan has been wracked by a civil war since fighting broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, causing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with more than 12 million people forced to flee their homes. Darfur has been a major flashpoint, with the RSF controlling most of the region - except for the city of el-Fasher that has remained in the hands of the army and its allies. El-Fasher has come under intense bombardment as the RSF tries to seize it. In April it announced plans to form a government to rival the one established by the army, raising fears that it could lead to Sudan's partition. Alawia said that as the bombing intensified last month, she and her family were forced to flee and walk to Tawila, west of el-Fasher. Her brother, Marwan Mohamed Adam, 21, told the BBC that he was assaulted along the way by RSF-allied gangs - including being "beaten on my neck, arm and leg" and robbed of the few belongings that he was carrying. Marwan added that his life was spared only because he lied to the gangs about where he had come from. He said the attackers took away and "executed" young men who revealed they were from el-Fasher, so when he was interrogated he claimed that he was from Shaqra, a stopover on the way to Tawila. "You feel fear, you feel like you are already dead," the 21-year-old told the BBC, adding that he saw three bodies on the way. Another woman, Khadija Ismail Ali, told the BBC that "bodies were scattered all over the streets". She said 11 members of her family were killed during the shelling of el-Fasher, and three children died during their four-day journey from the city to Tawila. "The children died from thirst along the way," Khadija said. Her family's village, el-Tarkuniya, was attacked last September by RSF-allied militias, who stole their harvest. They fled to the famine-stricken Zamzam camp, and then to el-Fasher and now to Tawila. Medical charity Alima said the gunmen took the land and farms of most families when attacking villages. Severe malnutrition, especially among children arriving in Tawila, had reached an alarming level, it added. Alawia said her sister dropped the little food they were carrying while fleeing the air strikes and shelling that they encountered after passing Shaqra. "It was leftover beans with a little salt we had carried in our hands to feed the children," she said. Without food or water, they trudged on and met a woman who told them they could find water in a nearby village. The family set off after midnight for the village, but little did they know that they were walking into an area controlled by RSF fighters. "We greeted them, but they did not answer. They told us to sit on the ground and they searched our belongings," Alawia recalled. The fighters took the 20,000 Sudanese pounds ($33; £24) that was all the family still had, along with the clothes and shoes that they were carrying. "My shoes weren't good, but they still took them," Alawia said. She added that the RSF gunmen refused to give them water, so they all pressed on until they reached el-Koweim village. There, they spotted a well guarded by RSF fighters. "We asked for water for at least the orphaned child, but they refused," Alawia said, adding that she tried to push her way to the well, but the men assaulted her and beat her back. Thirsty and exhausted, the family kept walking until reaching Tawila, where Alawia said she collapsed and was rushed to hospital. She was discharged after being treated. Marwan was also treated for the injuries he had sustained during the beating. Alawia said they then searched for relatives of the infant they had rescued, and after finding some of them, handed over the child. Alawia and her family are now living in Tawila, where a family has welcomed them into its home. "Life is OK, thank God, but we worry about the future," Alawia told the BBC. Marwan said he wanted to go abroad so that he could continue with his education and start a new life. This is something that millions of Sudanese have done, as their lives have been shattered by a war that shows no sign of ending. Sudan in danger of self-destructing Fear, loss and hope in Sudan's ruined capital From prized artworks to bullet shells: how war devastated Sudan's museums Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Sudan civil war: Losing a baby, rescuing a child and dodging air strikes in Darfur
Aged just 19, Alawia Babiker Ahmed miscarried as she was fleeing on foot the devastating war that has ravaged Sudan's western region of Darfur."I was bleeding on the way," she told the BBC, before hastening to add that she saw people who were "worse off" during her traumatic three-day walk of about 70km (45 miles) from the besieged city of el-Fasher to the small town of Tawila. Dodging air strikes and militiamen after her miscarriage, Alawia said she and her family came across an infant crying for his mother, who lay dead by the roadside. Alawia said she picked up the child and took him with her: "We covered the mother and kept going." Sudan has been wracked by a civil war since fighting broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, causing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with more than 12 million people forced to flee their homes. Darfur has been a major flashpoint, with the RSF controlling most of the region - except for the city of el-Fasher that has remained in the hands of the army and its has come under intense bombardment as the RSF tries to seize it. In April it announced plans to form a government to rival the one established by the army, raising fears that it could lead to Sudan's partition. Alawia said that as the bombing intensified last month, she and her family were forced to flee and walk to Tawila, west of el-Fasher. Her brother, Marwan Mohamed Adam, 21, told the BBC that he was assaulted along the way by RSF-allied gangs - including being "beaten on my neck, arm and leg" and robbed of the few belongings that he was added that his life was spared only because he lied to the gangs about where he had come from. He said the attackers took away and "executed" young men who revealed they were from el-Fasher, so when he was interrogated he claimed that he was from Shaqra, a stopover on the way to Tawila. "You feel fear, you feel like you are already dead," the 21-year-old told the BBC, adding that he saw three bodies on the woman, Khadija Ismail Ali, told the BBC that "bodies were scattered all over the streets". She said 11 members of her family were killed during the shelling of el-Fasher, and three children died during their four-day journey from the city to Tawila. "The children died from thirst along the way," Khadija said. Her family's village, el-Tarkuniya, was attacked last September by RSF-allied militias, who stole their harvest. They fled to the famine-stricken Zamzam camp, and then to el-Fasher and now to charity Alima said the gunmen took the land and farms of most families when attacking villages. Severe malnutrition, especially among children arriving in Tawila, had reached an alarming level, it said her sister dropped the little food they were carrying while fleeing the air strikes and shelling that they encountered after passing Shaqra."It was leftover beans with a little salt we had carried in our hands to feed the children," she said. Without food or water, they trudged on and met a woman who told them they could find water in a nearby village. The family set off after midnight for the village, but little did they know that they were walking into an area controlled by RSF fighters."We greeted them, but they did not answer. They told us to sit on the ground and they searched our belongings," Alawia fighters took the 20,000 Sudanese pounds ($33; £24) that was all the family still had, along with the clothes and shoes that they were carrying."My shoes weren't good, but they still took them," Alawia added that the RSF gunmen refused to give them water, so they all pressed on until they reached el-Koweim village. There, they spotted a well guarded by RSF fighters. "We asked for water for at least the orphaned child, but they refused," Alawia said, adding that she tried to push her way to the well, but the men assaulted her and beat her and exhausted, the family kept walking until reaching Tawila, where Alawia said she collapsed and was rushed to was discharged after being treated. Marwan was also treated for the injuries he had sustained during the beating. Alawia said they then searched for relatives of the infant they had rescued, and after finding some of them, handed over the child. Alawia and her family are now living in Tawila, where a family has welcomed them into its home."Life is OK, thank God, but we worry about the future," Alawia told the BBC. Marwan said he wanted to go abroad so that he could continue with his education and start a new is something that millions of Sudanese have done, as their lives have been shattered by a war that shows no sign of ending. More BBC stories on Sudan war: Sudan in danger of self-destructingFear, loss and hope in Sudan's ruined capitalFrom prized artworks to bullet shells: how war devastated Sudan's museums Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Al Jazeera
03-06-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Five UN food aid workers killed in Sudan ambush as hunger crisis deepens
An ambush on a United Nations food aid convoy in Sudan has killed at least five people, blocking urgently needed supplies from reaching civilians facing starvation in the war-torn Darfur city of el-Fasher. Aid agencies confirmed on Tuesday that the 15-truck convoy was transporting critical humanitarian supplies from Port Sudan to North Darfur when it was attacked overnight. 'Five members of the convoy were killed and several more people were injured. Multiple trucks were burned, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged,' the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a joint statement. The agencies did not identify the perpetrators and called for an urgent investigation, describing the incident as a violation of international humanitarian law. The route had been shared in advance with both warring parties. The convoy was nearing al-Koma, a town under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), when it came under fire. The area had witnessed a drone attack earlier in the week that killed civilians, according to local activists. Fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese army has raged for over two years, displacing millions and plunging more than half of Sudan's population into acute hunger. El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, remains one of the most vulnerable regions. 'Hundreds of thousands of people in el-Fasher are at high risk of malnutrition and starvation,' the UN statement warned. Both sides blamed each other for the attack. The RSF accused the army of launching an air attack on the convoy, while the army claimed RSF fighters torched the trucks. Neither account could be independently verified. The attack is the latest in a string of assaults on humanitarian operations. In recent weeks, RSF shelling targeted WFP facilities in el-Fasher, and an attack on El Obeid Hospital in North Kordofan killed several medical staff. Aid delivery has become increasingly perilous as access routes are blocked or come under fire.
Washington Post
03-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
An attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region kills 5, UN says
CAIRO — An attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region left five people dead, the United Nations said Tuesday, and the warring parties in the northeast African nation traded blame for the attack. The attack on the 15-truck convoy came Monday night near the Rapid Support Forces-controlled town of Koma in North Darfur province. It was trying to reach el-Fasher city, according to a joint statement from the World Food Program and UNICEF. Both agencies called for an investigation into the attack.
Associated Press
03-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
An attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region kills 5, UN says
CAIRO (AP) — An attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region left five people dead, the United Nations said Tuesday, and the warring parties in the northeast African nation traded blame for the attack. The attack on the 15-truck convoy came Monday night near the Rapid Support Forces-controlled town of Koma in North Darfur province. It was trying to reach el-Fasher city, according to a joint statement from the World Food Program and UNICEF. Both agencies called for an investigation into the attack. Sudan was plunged into a war more than two years ago, when tensions between Sudan's army and its rival paramilitary RSF exploded with street battles in the capital of Khartoum that quickly spread across the country. Monday night's attack, in which many trucks were burned and aid was damaged, also wounded members of the convoy, the statement said. It didn't say who was responsible for the attack. 'It is devastating that the supplies have not reached the vulnerable children and families they were intended to,' the statement said. The WFP and UNICEF said they were negotiating to complete the trip to el-Fasher, which is besieged by RSF, after traveling more than 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) from the eastern city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which serves as an interim seat for the country's military-allied government. The RSF said in a statement the convoy was hit by a military aircraft in a 'preplanned attack.' Footage shared by the RSF showed burned vehicles carrying what appeared to be flour bags. The military-led government, however, rejected the accusation and said in a statement that aid trucks were 'treacherously attacked by assault drones operated by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.' The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher tracked the fighting in and around the city and blamed the paramilitaries for the attack, saying the RSF statement aimed to 'mislead public opinion and evade accountability.' El-Fasher, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum, is one of the last strongholds of the Sudanese military in Darfur. The region has been under RSF siege since May 2024. Monday's attack was the latest on aid operations in the past two years. Last week, WFP's premises in el-Fasher were bombed, damaging a workshop, office building and clinic, according to the statement. The war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. It has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including over 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. Parts of Sudan have been pushed into famine. The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.
