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Amnesty Says RSF Committed Ethnic Cleansing in Sudan

Abubakr Alsawi, right, waits during the exhumation of his brother Mohammed Alsawi, 73, who was killed in 2023 by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP)
Abubakr Alsawi, right, waits during the exhumation of his brother Mohammed Alsawi, 73, who was killed in 2023 by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP)
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Amnesty Says RSF Committed Ethnic Cleansing in Sudan

Abubakr Alsawi, right, waits during the exhumation of his brother Mohammed Alsawi, 73, who was killed in 2023 by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP)
Abubakr Alsawi, right, waits during the exhumation of his brother Mohammed Alsawi, 73, who was killed in 2023 by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP)

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during their attack on el-Fashir city between 2024 and 2025, Amnesty International alleged Wednesday.

Sudan has been mired since April 2023 in a brutal war between the army and the RSF, which has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, according to the United Nations.

Both sides have been accused of atrocities, with a UN independent fact-finding mission in February concluding that the 2025 assault on el-Fashir bore the "hallmarks of genocide".

Amnesty's wide-ranging report found that the RSF "committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during its campaign to seize el-Fashir".

The NGO interviewed 247 victims or witnesses between early 2024 and October 2025 in North Darfur.

It said the RSF systematically attacked settlements around el-Fashir which housed the Zaghawa people, an ethnic group in western Darfur.

The report alleged widespread and deliberate violence against children including killing, abductions, forced recruitment, and rape.

"It is a stain on the conscience of humanity," said Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard in a statement.

RSF fighters burned homes long after residents had fled, the report said, "suggesting an intent to render the areas uninhabitable", consistent with "ethnic cleansing".

During the final RSF offensive on el-Fashir in October 2025, Amnesty said "hundreds were executed, and many others were tortured or detained" as they attempted to flee.

The report also noted violations happened "repeatedly and on a large scale", and suggested "those in positions of authority knew, or should have known, what was occurring, and failed to stop it or hold anyone accountable".

Amnesty International -- which stressed that its investigation into the incidents was ongoing -- also said such acts "may be relevant to the crime of genocide".

The international NGO urged an immediate ceasefire and deployment of an international force to protect civilians.

The report comes as the UN Human Rights Council held a debate over El-Obeid city in North Kordofan, where there are fears of an imminent RSF assault after weeks of intense attacks.

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Arab World

Aoun: Israeli Strikes Send 'Clear Message' on Negotiations with Lebanon

People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Aoun: Israeli Strikes Send 'Clear Message' on Negotiations with Lebanon

People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday were a "clear message" on negotiations between the two countries, ahead of the next round of US-sponsored talks early next month in Rome.

Aoun condemned the "ongoing Israeli attacks" on the south and "repeated violations of the framework agreement... and international law on protecting civilians, which led to the death of an entire family in the village of Ansar,” according to a statement from his office, adding that "these violations are a clear message on the negotiation process.”

At least nine people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, Lebanon's state news agency said.

Seven people were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a house in Ansar, while two others were killed in a strike on the village of Deir El Zahrani, the National News Agency said. Eleven people were injured in the attacks.

The strikes are among the deadliest ⁠in the weeks ⁠since Lebanon agreed to a US-mediated peace framework with Israel.

Arab World

Lebanon PM: Those Killed in Israeli Strike Were Not 'Military Infrastructure'

People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Lebanon PM: Those Killed in Israeli Strike Were Not 'Military Infrastructure'

People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon, 15 August 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday that seven people, including two women and three children, killed in an Israeli strike were not military targets, after Israel said it struck Hezbollah "infrastructure.”

"The seven martyrs of the Israeli strike on the village of Ansar are not 'military infrastructure' and the women and children who were killed are not military targets," Salam said, adding that "Israel must halt this escalation,” which he said was "extremely dangerous and undermines efforts to consolidate stability in the south.”

State-run National News Agency said the airstrike targeted a home on the edge of Ansar.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck “Hezbollah infrastructure” in the areas of Ali Taher and Ansar in response to an action against Israeli soldiers in the area.

The military added that it will not allow Hezbollah to harm Israeli civilians or soldiers “and will continue to operate to remove threats.”

Israel and the Lebanese government announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Hezbollah has refused direct talks and wasn’t party to the deal.

Arab World

Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon Kills 9 People

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge on August 14, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge on August 14, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon Kills 9 People

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge on August 14, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge on August 14, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed nine people early Saturday, the worst toll since deals in June saw a lull in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israel "escalated its attacks on the south,” reporting that "a strike launched by enemy warplanes on a home" on the outskirts of the village of Ansar "killed seven people and wounded three others.”

It said the strike destroyed the home and that emergency rescuers were removing rubble and transporting the casualties to hospital.

Another two people were killed and nine others wounded in Deir Zahrani, NNA said.

The death toll from the airstrike makes it the deadliest since Lebanon and Israel announced a framework agreement on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Violence has significantly decreased since the signing of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June on the broader Middle East war, and the US-sponsored framework deal between Lebanon and Israel.

But Lebanon still reports intermittent Israeli strikes occasionally causing casualties, and the broad demolitions of civilian buildings in southern villages and towns.

The NNA said "the valley between Ansar and Zarariyeh was also subjected to a strike, the first at this geographical depth since the ceasefire two months ago.”

It also said "Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes targeting the Ali al-Taher ridge,” a strategic hill overlooking the Nabatieh area, also reporting Israeli shelling there.

The news agency said Israeli forces detonated homes in the town of Bint Jbeil near the border.