Headlines
UN Warns of ‘Catastrophe’ As Sudan War Rages On
Fierce fighting between rival generals raged on in Sudan Tuesday despite the latest truce, as warnings multiplied of the potential for a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Many more cannot afford the arduous journey to Sudan’s borders, and have been forced to hole up inside the city of five million people with dwindling supplies of food, water and electricity.
“We are hearing some sporadic gunfire, the roaring of a warplane and the anti-aircraft fire at it,” said one resident of south Khartoum.
In a Monday briefing, the top United Nations aid official in Sudan, Abdou Dieng, warned that the situation was turning into “a full-blown catastrophe”.
Kenyan President William Ruto said the conflict had reached “catastrophic levels” with the warring generals declining “to heed the calls by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union and the international community to cease fire.”
In a virtual meeting with senior UN officials, Ruto said it was imperative to find ways to provide humanitarian relief “with or without a ceasefire”.
Burhan and Daglo, who fell out after carrying out a 2021 military coup which derailed Sudan’s transition to elective civilian rule, have flouted multiple ceasefires, the latest a 72-hour extension agreed late on Sunday.
Foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens. Over the past 10 days, thousands of foreigners have been brought to safety by air or sea in operations that are now winding down.
Russia’s armed forces said on Tuesday they were evacuating more than 200 people from Sudan on four military transport planes.
Nearly 500 people arrived in the Saudi port of Jeddah on Monday aboard two vessels, one a US Navy ship, the other Saudi.
– Relief trickles in –
Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths arrived in Nairobi on Monday on a mission to find ways to bring relief to the millions of civilians trapped inside Sudan.
“The situation unfolding there (in Sudan) since April 15 is catastrophic,” he said on Twitter.
Sudan’s turmoil has seen hospitals shelled, humanitarian facilities looted and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.
At least 528 have been killed and some 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to the health ministry.
The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was bracing for “the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries”.
The World Health Organization warned that the fighting was pushing Sudan’s already ailing health sector toward “disaster” with only 16 percent of health facilities in Khartoum still functioning.
The WHO said that it had delivered six containers of medical equipment to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, including supplies for treating trauma injuries and severe acute malnutrition. It had also distributed scarce fuel to hospitals which rely on generators for power.
– Darfur chaos –
Beyond Khartoum, lawlessness has engulfed the West Darfur state capital, El Geneina, where at least 96 people have been reported killed since the start of the fighting, according to UN figures.
More than 330,000 people have been displaced, over 70 percent of them in West and South Darfur states, according to the International Organization for Migration.
“The health system has completely collapsed in Geneina,” the doctors’ union said, adding that looting of clinics and camps for the displaced had forced several agencies to carry out “emergency evacuations” for their teams.
On Friday, Doctors Without Borders said the fighting had forced it to halt “almost all activities in West Darfur”.
The Darfur region is still scarred by a war that erupted in 2003 when then hardline president Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militia, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, against ethnic-minority rebels.
The scorched-earth campaign left at least 300,000 people dead and close to 2.5 million displaced, according to UN figures.
The Janjaweed — which rights groups have accused of atrocities in Darfur — later evolved into the RSF, which was formally created in 2013.
AFP
FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.
Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.
“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.
“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.
There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.
“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.
AFP
Iran, on Wednesday, shut the Strait of Hormuz following fresh Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire with the United States could collapse less than a day after it was reached.
The closure comes amid renewed hostilities that have cast doubt over efforts to halt more than a month of fighting. While both Iran and the United States had earlier declared victory after brokering the truce, fresh missile and drone attacks were reported across Iran and parts of the Gulf, alongside intensified Israeli bombardments in Lebanon.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes hit residential and commercial areas without prior warning, leaving at least multiple people dead and many others injured in what has been described as one of the deadliest days of the conflict.
Iranian state media confirmed the closure, with IRNA reporting that the move was taken “in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.” The development has heightened concerns over the stability of the ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States.
Authorities in Iran also imposed strict controls on maritime movement in the strategic waterway. Ships near the strait were instructed to seek permission from Sepah, a special operations unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, before passage. A radio message cited by The Wall Street Journal warned that any vessel attempting to cross without approval “will be destroyed.”
Earlier in the day, Iran had indicated a willingness to reopen the strait during the proposed two-week ceasefire, noting this would be done with “coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” U.S. officials, meanwhile, said American forces could assist in managing ship traffic, although details remain unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump also told ABC News he was open to a “joint venture” arrangement with Iran that would involve charging tolls for vessels passing through the strait.
However, reports of ceasefire breaches soon emerged. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a role in negotiating the agreement, said on X that violations had already been recorded, further deepening uncertainty over whether the truce will hold.
The Presidency has come up with reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s absent at the commissioning of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s projects in Lagos, on Wednesday.
Tinubu was noticeably absent at the scheduled project commissioning in Lagos, sparking public curiosity.
However, Sunday Dare, his Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation, has clarified the reason behind the last-minute development.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dare revealed that the President had to prioritise urgent national security matters over the event.
According to him, although Tinubu is currently in Lagos, he has been deeply engaged in high-level State duties, particularly ongoing security briefings tied to recent developments across the country.
“The president has been busy taking constant briefs and has to prioritise when it comes to state matters, especially security,” Dare stated.
He referenced rising security concerns, including recent unrest linked to incidents in Jos, noting that the President has been closely monitoring the situation and working directly with intelligence agencies.
Dare emphasised that Tinubu remains fully engaged behind the scenes, actively coordinating with security operatives and receiving continuous updates to address emerging threats.
The absence, he stressed, should not be seen as neglect of official duties but rather a reflection of the President’s focus on safeguarding national stability at a critical time.
Tinubu skipped the Lagos commissioning not out of disregard, but to handle pressing security issues demanding immediate presidential attention.
