UNIFIL Says Families of its Personnel Must ‘Temporarily’ Leave Lebanon


A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
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UNIFIL Says Families of its Personnel Must ‘Temporarily’ Leave Lebanon


A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)

The families of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon personnel must leave the country, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Italian news agency ANSA on Wednesday.

The request, which the spokesman said is a “temporary measure,” coincided with a military escalation in the south while Hezbollah and Israel continue to exchange threats.

In Beirut, Prime Minister Najib Mikati held several meetings to follow up on the current situation and assess the readiness of Lebanese ministries and departments in the event of any emergency.

Meanwhile, Tenenti told ANSA that the families of UNIFIL personnel must leave Lebanon.

He said the request was made by the UN according to an order already issued in May when the mission has become a “non-family duty station” with tension escalating at the border between Lebanon and Israel.

“Many families have left, even though some remained in Beirut where the situation was calmer,” the spokesperson said.

“Now the new measure concerns them as well,” he noted, adding however that it is a “temporary measure.”

Tenenti added that the measure is expected to last “at least until the end of August” and it can't be described as “an evacuation but rather as a relocation.”

UNIFIL’s request came while regional tensions have escalated following last week's assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah senior commander Fouad Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Iran and Hezbollah threatened a “harsh and painful response” for the presumed Israeli assassinations.

Countries have issued urgent calls for their nationals to leave in recent days while several airlines have delayed or suspended flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv.

The US Embassy in Lebanon said it remains open and continues to process emergency passports, repatriation loans, and other emergency consular services.

“US citizens who need financial assistance returning to the United States may apply for a repatriation loan,” it said in a post on X.

Earlier, the Embassy warned that Americans who do not leave the country should be prepared to “shelter in place for an extended period of time.”

Also, the German defense and foreign ministries, after frequent calls to German citizens to leave Lebanon, warned those remaining not to rely only on the fact that the German state will evacuate them in the event of an escalation of the conflict.

“The evacuation operation is not a package deal with a guarantee of return. The evacuation operation is associated with dangers and uncertainties and is not at all without problems. And in this context, we again call on all Germans staying in Lebanon to leave immediately,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Also, the Defense Ministry said that the refusal to leave Lebanon while being called up is completely wrong and irresponsible, including towards German soldiers.

Since the beginning of this week, reporting on evacuation preparations and options has created a false impression, preventing German citizens in Lebanon from leaving the country, the country's authorities said in a statement.

In the Lebanese capital, Mikati held a series of meetings, including with caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin and Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, as well as the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makkieh, and Secretary-General of the Supreme Defense Council Major General Mohammad Mustafa.

They followed up on the current situation and assessed the readiness of Lebanese ministries and departments in the event of any escalation.

Yassin said the meetings discussed the issue of accommodating displaced persons, the emergency health plan, food security, and the available quantities of fuel.



RSF Declares Rival Government as Sudan War Hits Two-Year Mark 

People who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control, rest in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on April 13, 2025. (AFP)
People who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control, rest in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on April 13, 2025. (AFP)
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RSF Declares Rival Government as Sudan War Hits Two-Year Mark 

People who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control, rest in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on April 13, 2025. (AFP)
People who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control, rest in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on April 13, 2025. (AFP)

Two years into a war that has left tens of thousands dead, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday announced its own government to rival the army-backed administration it is battling.

The United Nations says the conflict that erupted on April 15, 2023 is the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 13 million people displaced -- including more than 3.5 million to other countries -- and no sign of peace on the horizon.

The RSF, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the former deputy to the regular army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, announced the rival government amid growing international fears that Sudan could become split between the two sides, who have both been accused of abuses.

"On this anniversary, we proudly declare the establishment of the Government of Peace and Unity, a broad coalition that reflects the true face of Sudan," Daglo said in a Telegram statement.

The RSF and its allies signed a charter in Kenya in February declaring a "government of peace and unity" in areas they control.

Daglo's latest statement said the paramilitaries, with "civil and political forces", had signed a transitional constitution, that was a "roadmap for a new Sudan".

That constitution provides for a 15-member presidential council "representing all regions, symbolizing our voluntary unity".

Analysts have warned that Africa's third-biggest nation could permanently splinter.

With the RSF emboldened in Darfur, "the territorial division that's occurring could mean a de facto separation," said Sharath Srinivasan, a professor at Cambridge University who studies Sudan.

Mass displacement

"In these two years, the lives of millions have been shattered. Families have been torn apart. Livelihoods have been lost. And for many, the future remains uncertain," said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.

The eruption of the war in 2023 left countless dead and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing Khartoum.

Those left behind struggled to survive under the control of the RSF, which has been accused of looting and sexual violence.

"I've lost half my bodyweight," said 52-year-old Abdel Rafi Hussein, who stayed in the capital, which was under RSF control until the army retook it last month.

"We're safe (now), but still, we suffer from a lack of water and electricity and most hospitals aren't working."

Now the RSF is seeking to cement its grip on Darfur, where it has laid siege to El-Fasher -- the last major city in the western region outside its control.

More than 400 people have been killed in recent days, the UN said, with the paramilitaries having claimed control of the nearby Zamzam displacement camp on Sunday.

An estimated 400,000 civilians fled the famine-hit camp as the RSF advanced, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.

"Zamzam camp is inaccessible, and a communication blackout continues to hinder independent verification," the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA said, adding: "Satellite images reveal widespread fire damage across the camp."

The army on Tuesday said it had carried out "successful air strikes" against RSF positions northeast of El-Fasher.

An international conference in London demanded a halt to fighting while the United States condemned the death toll in Darfur.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the RSF was carrying out an "escalation of attacks" on El-Fasher and nearby camps.

"We are deeply alarmed by reports the RSF has deliberately targeted civilians and humanitarian actors in Zamzam and Abu Shouk," Bruce said.

'End the suffering'

In London, ministers from several countries discussed ways to end the conflict but both warring parties were absent.

European nations led calls for "an immediate and permanent ceasefire" to end the devastating war. Nations also pledged more than 800 million euros ($900 million) in fresh humanitarian aid.

Countries, and organizations including the African Union, also "stressed the necessity of preventing any partition of Sudan".

Group of Seven foreign ministers, meeting in Canada, also called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

In a statement the G7 powers urged both sides to "engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations."

Precise death tolls are not available, but former US envoy Tom Perriello cited estimates last year of up to 150,000 dead.

On Tuesday, the UN said 2.1 million people are expected to return to Khartoum over the next six months following the army's recapture of the capital.

In central Sudan -- where the UN said nearly 400,000 people had returned to areas retaken by the army -- many have come back to find their homes in ruins.

Zainab Abdel Rahim, 38, returned to Khartoum North this month with her six children, to find their house looted beyond recognition.

"We're trying to pull together the essentials, but there's no water, no electricity, no medicine," she said.

Aid agencies say hunger is now a widespread menace.

The Zamzam camp, which had been sheltering up to one million people, was the first place in Sudan where famine was declared.

Other nearby camps have followed and famine is expected to take hold in El-Fasher by next month.