Iranian Military Adviser Dies Following Injuries in Syria

Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)
Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)
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Iranian Military Adviser Dies Following Injuries in Syria

Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)
Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)

A military adviser from Iran's Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force has died following injuries sustained in Syria over recent weeks, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

"Colonel Ahmadreza Afshari was martyred due to injuries sustained from aerial bombardment from the coalition violating Syria," top Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami said.

Iranian media did not give a precise date for the strike but said Afshari sustained his injuries between late July and early August.

The US and Israel have both carried out strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned factions, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.

In April, Iran launched explosive drones and fired missiles in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, a retaliatory strike for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus diplomatic compound on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Revolutionary Guard.



US Aid Cut Threatens Thousands of Sudanese with Starvation and Death

Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
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US Aid Cut Threatens Thousands of Sudanese with Starvation and Death

Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)

The freezing of US humanitarian assistance has forced the closure of almost 80% of the emergency food kitchens set up to help people left destitute by Sudan's civil war, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

Last month, the administration of US President Donald Trump administration abruptly suspended all US aid to determine whether it was “serving US interests,” and moved to begin dismantling the US government's development organization (USAID).

Aid volunteers said the impact of Trump's executive order halting contributions from USAID for 90 days meant more than 1,100 communal kitchens had shut.

The kitchens are run by groups known as emergency response rooms, a grassroots network of activists who stayed on the frontlines to respond to the crises in their neighborhoods.

“People are knocking on the volunteers' doors,” says Duaa Tariq, one of the emergency room organizers. “People are screaming from hunger in the streets.”

Most of the kitchens had closed, she said. Some are trying to get food on credit from local fishermen and farmers, but very soon “we expect to see a lot of people starving.”

It is estimated that nearly two million people struggling to survive have been affected by the US decision.

It is a “huge setback” says Andrea Tracy, a former USAID official who has set up a fund, the Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition, for private donations to the emergency rooms.

The Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition fund will do what it can to plug the gap left by USAID, Tracy said.

The conflict between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and left many facing famine since it erupted in April 2023.

More than 25 million Sudanese are facing high levels of acute food insecurity across the country, according to UN estimates.