70 NGOs Demand UN Measures to Protect Civilians in Sudan

A war-torn neighborhood of Omdurman seem on November 2 (AFP)
A war-torn neighborhood of Omdurman seem on November 2 (AFP)
TT

70 NGOs Demand UN Measures to Protect Civilians in Sudan

A war-torn neighborhood of Omdurman seem on November 2 (AFP)
A war-torn neighborhood of Omdurman seem on November 2 (AFP)

A wave of violence and armed attacks by the Rapid Support Forces on over 30 villages and towns in parts of Al-Jazira State since on 20 October, have led to the displacement of more than 135,000 people (27,000 families) to various locations in Sudan, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The report came as ten civilians were killed Tuesday in the central Sudanese state of Al-Jazira, in an attack blamed on the RSF, according to the Madani Resistance Committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid across the country.

On Tuesday, the Sudan INGO Forum, a group of 70 international NGOs working in Sudan, said the escalation of hostilities in Al-Jazira was marked by some of the most extreme violence in the past 18 months.

The Forum urged the international community to act on the UN Secretary-General’s call for decisive action to protect civilians and ensure safe and unfettered aid delivery across Sudan.

Injured children and sexual violence

OCHA said INGO received reports of missing, unaccompanied or separated children among displaced people, children with multiple gunshot injuries and arbitrary arrests and detention of children in parts of Al-Jazira.

In addition, alarming reports of sexual violence against young girls and adolescents continue to be reported, with some yet to be verified cases of women and girls subjected to sexual assault and violence committing suicide.

“Insecurity and lack of sustained communication channels is impacting the ability of humanitarian organizations to collect information and data on the situation in parts of Al-Jazira that have been subjected to violence and attacks,” the OCHA report said.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) reported in its Flash Alert on Al-Jazira State that thousands of people have arrived in 16 localities in Gedaref, Kassala and River Nile states.

DTM field teams reported that some affected people cannot relocate to safe areas due to movement restrictions.

They said the displaced people may continue to relocate depending on the capacity of shelter sites, the establishment of new gathering sites or reception centers, and the availability of humanitarian assistance.

In Gedaref, IOM said humanitarian partners report that more than 50% of the new arrivals are women and children. It added that many individuals were moving on foot, and the majority of the IDPs were reportedly women and children.

The report also mentioned that some areas are not accessible for humanitarians, making it challenging to deliver essential services and support to the displaced people.

Difficulty to Shelter IDPs

OCHA said its humanitarian partners face challenges in tracking some of the displaced population due to high mobility and the wide geographical areas.

This is complicating efforts to map and deliver assistance effectively, leading to potential duplication of efforts and gaps, the agency noted.

According to the Gedaref Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the displaced people need immediate food among other assistance, with many of them relying on the host communities to meet their basic needs.

Also, IDPs arrive in dire health conditions due to long distances travelled (up to seven days on foot) and limited or lack of access to humanitarian assistance on the way.

OCHA also showed that the majority of IDPs fled abruptly, leaving behind personal belongings and assets. As a result, over 70-95% of them have lost their identification documents. Displaced people need medicines for diabetes, hypertension, and mental health condition, it said.

Meanwhile, the agency said that humanitarian partners in Kassala and Gedaref are scaling up response and mobilizing resources to meet the immediate needs of the newly arrived displaced people from Al-Jazira.



Israel Strikes on Lebanon Kill 38 People around Baalbek, Governor Says

People and rescuers try to put out a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a densely populated neighborhood in Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
People and rescuers try to put out a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a densely populated neighborhood in Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Israel Strikes on Lebanon Kill 38 People around Baalbek, Governor Says

People and rescuers try to put out a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a densely populated neighborhood in Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
People and rescuers try to put out a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a densely populated neighborhood in Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek on November 6, 2024. (AFP)

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed at least 38 people around the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, according to the regional governor, and at dusk more strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs.

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have exchanged fire for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war but fighting has escalated since late September, with Israeli troops intensifying bombing on swathes of Lebanon's south and east and making ground incursions into border villages.

Around 40 Israeli strikes on the Baalbek-Hermel governorate killed 38 people and wounded 54, governor Bachir Khodr said on X. The Israeli military did not comment.

Israeli strikes have also battered Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut. At least four strikes targeted the area on Wednesday after the Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate from several locations.

There was no immediate report on casualties or details on what was hit. The attack happened shortly after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said he did not believe that "political action" would bring about an end to hostilities.

He said there could be a road to indirect negotiations if Israel stopped its attacks.

"When the enemy decides to stop the aggression, there is a path for negotiations that we have clearly defined - indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state and Speaker (of parliament Nabih) Berri," Qassem said.

US diplomatic efforts to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which included a 60-day ceasefire proposal, faltered last week ahead of the US election on Tuesday in which former President Donald Trump recaptured the White House.

RESCUERS DIG FOR SURVIVORS

Israeli attacks in Lebanon killed at least 37 people and wounded 105 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 3,050 deaths and 13,658 injuries since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday.

Lebanese rescuers scoured a destroyed apartment building in the town of Barja south of Beirut for bodies or any survivors after an Israeli strike on Tuesday evening that killed 20 people there, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Moussa Zahran, who lived on one of the upper floors of the building, returned to sift through the ruins of his home. His burned feet were wrapped in gauze and his son and wife were in hospital after being wounded in the strike.

"These rocks that you see here weigh 100 kilos, they fell on a 13-kilo kid," he said, referring to his son and the apartment wall that had collapsed onto him during the strike.

It was not clear if the strike targeted a member of Hezbollah. There was no evacuation warning ahead of the air raid.

Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had fired missiles at an Israeli military base near Ben Gurion Airport. Israeli media reported a rocket had landed near the airport.

Later, the Israeli military said dozens of "projectiles" had crossed into Israel from Lebanon, some of which were intercepted.

Efforts to bring a diplomatic end to the conflict have stalled. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday appointed Israel Katz as his new defense minister, who vowed to defeat Hezbollah so that people displaced from northern Israel could return home.

Berri - a Hezbollah ally and diplomatic interlocutor - met the US and Saudi ambassadors to Lebanon on Wednesday to discuss political developments, his office said, without providing further details.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister meanwhile congratulated the "president elect" in the US, without naming Donald Trump.

Netanyahu hailed Trump's election, while senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump would be tested on his statements that he can stop the Gaza war in hours as president.