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Russia Prevents Extending Mandate of Investigation into Syria’s Chemical Attack

Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting following a vote on a resolution to ban the supply of helicopters to the Syrian government and to blacklist Syrian military commanders over accusations of toxic gas attacks at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting following a vote on a resolution to ban the supply of helicopters to the Syrian government and to blacklist Syrian military commanders over accusations of toxic gas attacks at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Russia Prevents Extending Mandate of Investigation into Syria’s Chemical Attack

Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting following a vote on a resolution to ban the supply of helicopters to the Syrian government and to blacklist Syrian military commanders over accusations of toxic gas attacks at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting following a vote on a resolution to ban the supply of helicopters to the Syrian government and to blacklist Syrian military commanders over accusations of toxic gas attacks at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Russia used its veto power on the United Nations Security Council Tuesday, preventing the renewal of the mandate for a mission that investigates the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

It was the ninth time that Russia has used its veto to stop international action on Syria.

The investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism – was established by the 15-member UN Security Council in 2015. Its mandate was renewed in 2016 for another year and is due to expire in mid-November.

The JIM is expected to issue its report by Oct. 26 on the party responsible for an attack on April 4 on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, where 87 people, including 30 children, were killed due to Sarin gaz.

In a separate report, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that Sarin gas, or a similar material, was used in Khan Sheikhoun, but without specifying the party responsible for the attack, since this issues falls within the authority of the JIM.

Russia says the Sarin gas found in Khan Sheikhoun was not caused by a raid by the Syrian air force, but probably by terrorists exploding a bomb.

However, western countries stress that the Syrian regime was responsible for using Sarin in Idlib.

The United States, Britain and other countries condemned Moscow’s veto decision, describing it as an attempt to protect the perpetrators of the Khan Sheikhoun massacre.

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RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
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RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, killing eight civilians and injuring others, a local rescue group said.

The bombardment hit Abu Shouk camp, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people on the outskirts of El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur.

El-Fasher remains the last major stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region not under the control of the RSF, who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, AFP reported.

"The Abu Shouk camp witnessed heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF... killing eight people," the camp's Emergency Response Room said in a statement.

In recent weeks, El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since last year, has been locked in intense fighting between warring sides in a region also gripped by famine.

Thursday's offensive comes just days after a series of attacks by the RSF targeted another battleground region of Sudan.

More than 450 people, including 35 children, were killed in several villages of North Kordofan, southwest of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement released this week by the UN's children agency.

"No child should ever experience such horrors," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now."

On Sunday, the RSF claimed to have killed more than 470 army personnel near the town of El-Obeid, also in North Kordofan, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.

Independent verification of casualties in Sudan remains difficult due to restricted access to its conflict zones.

Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement crisis.

In December last year, famine was officially declared in three displacement camps near El-Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam, according to the UN.

Since the Sudanese army regained control of the capital Khartoum in March, the RSF has shifted its operations westward, focusing on Darfur and Kordofan in a bid to consolidate territorial gains.

In April, RSF fighters seized the Zamzam displacement camp, located near Abu Shouk.

The assault forced nearly 400,000 people to flee, according to UN figures, effectively emptying one of the country's largest camps for the displaced.

Sudanese analyst Mohaned el-Nour told AFP the RSF aims to redefine its role in the conflict.

"Their goal is no longer to be seen as a militia, but as an alternative government in western Sudan, undermining the legitimacy of the authorities in Port Sudan."

He added that the recent surge in violence in North Kordofan was likely intended to divert the army's attention from El Fasher, where the military is trying "at all costs" to maintain.