humanitarian crisis - The African Mirror

Aug

14

2024

Putin expresses support for Palestinian state, laments humanitarian crisis

WORLD

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin voiced strong support for Palestinian statehood and expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Palestine during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday. Reuters reports that Putin also emphasised Russia's commitment to the Palestinian cause despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. "We are watching with great pain and anxiety the humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Palestine," Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript. He noted the death toll of almost 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza war since October 7, 2023. According to Reuters, Putin reaffirmed Russia's backing for the Palestinian aspiration to…

Jul

14

2024

By DR PATRICIA GOSSMAN and FERESHTA ABBASI

How to engage with the Taliban, if you have to

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Dr Patricia Gossman and Fereshta Abbasi SINCE the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghanistan has once again come under scrutiny for consistent allegations of human rights violations perpetrated mainly by the group. At the same time, given that Afghanistan was completely dependent on foreign assistance before 2021, aid cutbacks, sanctions, and banking restrictions imposed by foreign governments – including the United States – have fuelled an economic and humanitarian crisis in the country since the Taliban’s return. While donors should continue to press Taliban leaders to end their violations…

Jul

13

2024

By The African Mirror

DRC: Escalation of conflict raises concerns over widespread infectious diseases, says WHO

NEWS

AT least 25 million people have been caught up in the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a neglected health crisis is unfolding at alarming speed, the UN health agency, WHO, said. For decades, conflict in the mineral-rich eastern DRC has triggered alarming levels of violence, mass displacement, widespread disease, gender-based violence and severe mental trauma said Dr Adelheid Marschang, Senior Emergency Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO). The vast central African nation has now the “highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the entire world, with 25.4 million affected”, she…

Jul

09

2024

By The African Mirror

Latest Israel attack threatens ceasefire process – Hamas

WORLD

THE situation in Gaza remains perilous as the latest Israeli attacks threaten to derail ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Hamas has issued stark warnings, stating that continued Israeli military operations in Rafah could undermine efforts to reach a temporary ceasefire. These operations have included intensive airstrikes and ground incursions targeting what Israel claims are tunnels and weapons caches used by Hamas. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened dramatically. The United Nations and other international organizations have called for an immediate ceasefire to address the catastrophic conditions faced by civilians. The UN General Assembly President highlighted the urgent need to halt hostilities…

May

13

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israel pushes back into northern Gaza, ups military pressure on Rafah

WORLD

ISRAEL sent tanks into eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments, killing 19 people and wounding dozens of others, Palestinian health officials said. The death toll in Israel's military operation in Gaza has now passed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The bombardment has laid waste to the coastal enclave and caused a deep humanitarian crisis. The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says…

May

06

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Hopes for Gaza ceasefire appear slim as Cairo talks continue

WORLD

PROSPECTS for a Gaza ceasefire appeared slim as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out. The two sides blamed each other for the impasse and the Hamas delegation said it would leave Cairo truce talks on Sunday night to consult with its leadership. In their second day of talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Hamas negotiators maintained their stance that any truce agreement must end the war, Palestinian officials said. Israeli officials have not travelled to Cairo to take part in indirect diplomacy, but…

Apr

18

2024

By DAWOUD ABU ALKAS and SALEH SALEM

After surviving airstrike Palestinian boy dies seeking aid

WORLD

WHEN an Israeli airstrike destroyed his family's home in November, Zein Oroq was pinned under rubble. He was wounded but survived, while 17 members of his extended family died. But Zein, 13, would later suffer a cruel fate in Gaza, where Palestinians face severe shortages of medicine, food and water in a deepening humanitarian crisis. The population of the tiny enclave, where Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have been fighting for more than six months, is at risk of famine. Last week, during an airdrop of aid, the teenager was struck by one of the packages as he…

Apr

16

2024

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s humanitarian crisis: The facts and figures

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A year of war between rival military factions in Sudan has pushed parts of the country to the brink of famine, and left 25 million people - about half the population - in need of assistance, according to aid agencies. Sudan was already burdened with rising hunger, a collapsing health system and widespread poverty before the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out. HUNGER *Some 17.7 million of Sudan's 49 million population were facing what experts term acute food insecurity, a sharp increase from last year, according to a projection covering the five months to…

Apr

05

2024

By NYASHA CHINGONO

Hunger grips southern Africa as Zimbabwe declares drought a disaster

NEWS

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa declared Zimbabwe's drought a national disaster and said the country needed more than $2 billion in aid to feed millions facing hunger. Mnangagwa's statement follows similar announcements by Zambia in late February and Malawi in March, as drought induced by the El Nino global weather pattern triggers a humanitarian crisis in southern Africa.d More than 2.7 million people in Zimbabwe will go hungry this year, Mnangagwa told journalists at the state house in Harare, adding that 80% of the country had received poor rains. "Preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe requires in excess of $2 billion towards various…

Mar

29

2024

By STEPHANIE VAN DEN BERG and NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

World Court orders Israel to halt Gaza famine; Hamas says ceasefire needed

WORLD

THERE was no immediate comment from Israel's Foreign Ministry on the World Court ruling. Israel has said it is making efforts to expand access for humanitarian groups to Gaza overland, through airdrops and by ship. Israeli leaders have said Hamas can end the war by surrendering, freeing all hostages it holds in Gaza and handing over for trial those involved in the October 7 attack. The Israeli army said it continued to operate around the Al Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City after storming it more than a week ago. Its forces had killed around 200 gunmen since the start…