Darfur Governor Warns of Sudan War Getting Out Control

The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minnawi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minnawi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Darfur Governor Warns of Sudan War Getting Out Control

The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minnawi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minnawi (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minnawi, said the war between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was the “largest explosion” in the country’s history, warning of the possibility of the situation getting out of the control of the two sides.

During a press conference in Addis Ababa, Minnawi stressed that he maintained contact with both the Army and the RSF, pointing to his phone call with RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) on Tuesday.

The head of the Darfur Regional Government expressed fears about the future of the conflict, saying: “We do not know whether Sudan will remain one country, or whether it will be divided into states, emirates, or cantons.”

He continued: “We are all seeking to reach a single future for Sudan, because the conflict can slide in directions that may get out the control of the warring parties.”

Minnawi urged the civil political parties and figures with influence to unify ranks for the sake of the country’s unity and sovereignty.

He also called for an inclusive national dialogue to establish permanent solutions to the country’s problems.

Describing the situation in the Darfur region as “dire,” the governor said: “There is no state. The four regions are in the grip of the Rapid Support Forces, and the army is absent, which made the camps for the displaced safer than the cities.”

He added: “There are about four million displaced people, and the capital, El Fasher, has turned into a large displacement camp.”

Minnawi held the RSF primarily responsible for the violations committed during the war, but stressed that the army was also blamed for bombing with artillery and planes.

He confirmed that the authorities were avoiding a clash in Darfur, and calling on both sides to implement a ceasefire. But he warned: “If citizens are attacked, we will not remain neutral, and we hope such attacks will not occur.”



WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.