Estimates of Hunger, Disease Claiming 990 Lives in Sudan’s Darfur

Sudanese displaced arrive in El Gedaref city in the east on Sunday, fleeing from Sennar state to the south (AFP)
Sudanese displaced arrive in El Gedaref city in the east on Sunday, fleeing from Sennar state to the south (AFP)
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Estimates of Hunger, Disease Claiming 990 Lives in Sudan’s Darfur

Sudanese displaced arrive in El Gedaref city in the east on Sunday, fleeing from Sennar state to the south (AFP)
Sudanese displaced arrive in El Gedaref city in the east on Sunday, fleeing from Sennar state to the south (AFP)

Over 50,000 people fled by foot from intense fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Sudanese city of El Fashir, North Darfur. They walked more than 60 kilometers to Tawila town in scorching temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Some died from hunger and thirst, as reported by local media.

Displaced individuals in Tawila and other Darfur towns endure dire conditions, with 991 deaths recorded between April 15 and May 15 due to famine and disease outbreaks, according to Adam Rijal, spokesperson for Darfur’s Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees.

“The displaced in Tawila are starving, with children crying from hunger,” Rijal told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The little milk they receive isn’t enough for their small stomachs,” he added, underscoring Tawila’s critical lack of basic essentials.

Eyewitnesses described dire conditions faced by refugees fleeing war on their long journey to Tawila, where scorching temperatures worsened their plight.

Asylum seekers in Tawila affirm that the displacement journeys are unsafe, with vulnerable refugees at risk of being robbed by armed gangs. Those reaching Tawila considered themselves lucky to have avoided such attacks.

Sudanese human rights activist Adam Idris told Asharq Al-Awsat that indiscriminate shelling in El Fashir claimed hundreds of lives, forcing many to flee to Tawila and areas controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement.

Idris noted that some displaced persons died en route due to hunger and thirst, urging humanitarian organizations to swiftly provide aid in the town.

In a related development, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday that over 402,000 Sudanese refugees are now registered in Egypt, with more expected in the coming months.

In a statement, UNHCR noted that over 38,000 Sudanese refugees arrived in Egypt in May alone. Libya and Uganda have recently joined the Regional Refugee Response Plan, along with the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

UNHCR emphasized that only 19% of the needed funds for refugee assistance have been received so far, insufficient to meet the urgent needs of displaced people.

In Libya, more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived since April, with many settling in the eastern regions.

Uganda, hosting the largest number of refugees in Africa, has received over 39,000 Sudanese refugees since the conflict began, including 27,000 this year. This number is nearly three times higher than anticipated.

After 14 months of conflict, thousands continue to flee Sudan due to violence, violations, death, disrupted services, and limited humanitarian aid access, with the threat of famine looming.



Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.