US Condemns Conflict-related Sexual Violence in Sudan

The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
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US Condemns Conflict-related Sexual Violence in Sudan

The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

The United States condemned pervasive conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, which the State Department said that credible sources including victims have attributed to Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias.

"The numerous reports of rape, gang rape and other forms of gender-based violence against women and girls in West Darfur and other areas are deeply disturbing. These acts of brutality contribute to an emerging pattern of targeted ethnic violence," the department said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"In particular, we are gravely concerned about the situation in and around Nyala, South Darfur where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped as fighting escalates between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)," it added.

The United States called on the RSF and SAF to immediately halt the fighting and allow safe passage for all civilians out of the city, the department said.



Israel Conducts Military Operation in Jenin, 5 Palestinians Killed

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta
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Israel Conducts Military Operation in Jenin, 5 Palestinians Killed

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta

The Israeli military said Friday it was conducting a raid that included an airstrike in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin. Palestinian authorities said five people were killed.

The military said Israeli soldiers had “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had “struck several armed terrorists” in the area.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said five people died but did not provide any information on their identities. No further details were immediately available from either side.

The clashes in Jenin came a day after an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group said the government plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The construction plans revealed by the Peace Now group are part of the hard-line government’s efforts to beef up settlements as part of a strategy of cementing Israel’s control over the West Bank to prevent a future Palestinian state. 

Violence has spiraled in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza. The war has so far killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.