At Least 6 Killed in Flooding Triggered by Heavy Rain in Sudan

Flooding in Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Flooding in Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
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At Least 6 Killed in Flooding Triggered by Heavy Rain in Sudan

Flooding in Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Flooding in Sudan. (Reuters file photo)

At least six people were killed Tuesday in flooding triggered by heavy rain in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country, said state-run news agency SUNA.

SUNA news agency said at least five people, including two children, were killed when rains destroyed their house in the village of Rifaa in central Jazeera province.

Another two children were injured, the report added.

In the nearby village of Zarqa, at least 15 houses were destroyed, and at least one person died, the agency said.

Power outages have also hit several areas in Jazeera province, SUNA reported.

In Khartoum, the Sudanese Professionals' Association said rains over the weekend caused floods that destroyed or damaged more than 1,300 homes on the southern outskirts of the city, where the White and Blue Nile rivers meet.

The SPA said the flooding could lead to epidemic diseases and overwhelm sanitation services.

Footage circulated online showed flood waters cutting off roads and sweeping away houses and people's belongings. Large swathes of agricultural land in the area were also flooded.

The military deployed troops to help people deal with the flooding. The Health Ministry said at least 12 provinces have been affected by torrential rains since earlier this month.



Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday.

The Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Desperate people fleeing ISIS extremists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Jordan.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for years.

After an opposition offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return home.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was "officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes".

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that "with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close".

"Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert," he added.

At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. Around 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high prices.

Syrian minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents "the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people".

"We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety," he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or abroad.

The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home.