Darfur region - The African Mirror

Feb

29

2024

Army ban on cross-border aid endangers lives in Darfur, say activists

MILLIONS of people in Sudan's Darfur region are at risk of dying of hunger after a decision by the Sudanese government to prohibit aid deliveries through Chad, an advocacy group for internally displaced people said. The order, a digital copy of which Reuters has obtained, effectively shuts down a crucial route for supplies to the vast Darfur region, controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the army's rivals in a 10-month civil war. "The failure to receive urgent humanitarian aid puts millions of displaced people in Darfur at risk of death from hunger, which makes denying food and relief to…

Nov

18

2023

By The African Mirror

U.S., UK, Norway condemn escalating violence in Sudan’s Darfur

NEWS

THE United States, United Kingdom and Norway condemned escalating violence and human rights abuses in Sudan, especially in the Darfur region, the three countries said in a statement. The countries cited attacks by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force drawn largely from Arab groups and allied Arab militias known as Janjaweed, in Darfur. "These have included - according to credible reports - mass killings including ethnic targeting of non-Arab and other communities, killings of traditional leaders, unjust detentions, and obstruction of humanitarian aid," the statement said. There was also concern about reports of civilians being targeted in Jebel Aulia, on…

Jun

28

2023

By EMMA FARGE

Over 1 million may flee Sudan conflict, UN refugee agency says

NEWS

THE U.N. refugee agency warned that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed. So far, the conflict between warring military factions that began in mid-April has caused nearly 600,000 people to escape into neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Central African Republic. "Unfortunately, looking at the trends, looking at the situation in Darfur, we're likely to go beyond 1 million," Raouf Mazou, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said in response to a question about its estimate in April for the coming six…

May

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Sudan talks to resume in Saudi Arabia amid heavy fighting

NEWS

KHARTOUM residents described fierce battles on Saturday with fighters roving the streets and little sign Sudan's warring sides were respecting an agreement to protect civilians ahead of ceasefire talks due to resume in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Fighting has rocked Khartoum and adjoining areas as well as Geneina in the Darfur region since the warring army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force agreed on a "declaration of principles" on Thursday. "It was much worse this morning compared to the past two days. You could clearly hear the tanks and the RSF were patrolling the streets more than usual," said Hani Ahmed,…

May

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Sudan peace talks to resume in Saudi Arabia

NEWS

KHARTOUM residents described fierce battles on Saturday with fighters roving the streets and little sign Sudan's warring sides were respecting an agreement to protect civilians ahead of ceasefire talks due to resume in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Fighting has rocked Khartoum and adjoining areas as well as Geneina in the Darfur region since the warring army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force agreed on a "declaration of principles" on Thursday. "It was much worse this morning compared to the past two days. You could clearly hear the tanks and the RSF were patrolling the streets more than usual," said Hani Ahmed,…

Sep

11

2021

By The African Mirror

‘We have no choice’: migrants undeterred by UK threat to send boats back to France

WORLD

RICHARD LOUGH and FORREST CRELLIN MUSTAFA Suleiman, 21, is resolute in his determination to reach Britain and won't be deterred from London's threats to intercept boats illegally carrying migrants in the Channel and send them back to France. Suleiman, who fled Sudan's Darfur region in 2019, has tried to make the perilous journey through some of the world's busiest shipping lanes twice in the past year. Both times, he was thwarted by French police before making it off the beach. "We will try and try until the last day of our life," Suleiman told Reuters in a camp on wasteland…

May

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Ethiopian peacekeepers seek asylum in Sudan

NEWS

THIRTY-FIVE Ethiopian peacekeeping soldiers were flown from Darfur in western Sudan to a refugee camp near the border with their country after they sought asylum in Sudan, a source at the Sudanese refugees' commission and state media said. The troops are among a group of 120 Ethiopian peacekeepers from a joint African Union-United Nations mission that is withdrawing from Sudan's Darfur region, who sought international protection this month before they were due to be repatriated. A U.N. spokesman said most were from the Tigray region, where fighting erupted in November between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front…

Jan

14

2021

By The African Mirror

Darfur displaced fearful as UN peacekeepers hand over to local forces

NEWS

NAFISA ELTAHIR and KHALID ABDELAZIZ AHLAM Hamid fled from her home in Sudan's Darfur region 17 years ago when government troops and militiamen, some on horseback, raided her village and clashed with rebels. Now she worries she will be at the mercy of those forces once more, as an international peacekeeping mission deployed to contain the conflict abruptly pulls out. UNAMID, a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force established in 2007 to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian assistance in Darfur, stopped patrolling on Jan. 1, days after a vote by the U.N. Security Council to end its mandate. After signing…