Syria: Prominent Figures Denounce Govt's Failure to Provide Heating

 Photo taken in the neighborhood of Damascus, December 13, 2013 (Reuters/Bassam Khabieh)
Photo taken in the neighborhood of Damascus, December 13, 2013 (Reuters/Bassam Khabieh)
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Syria: Prominent Figures Denounce Govt's Failure to Provide Heating

 Photo taken in the neighborhood of Damascus, December 13, 2013 (Reuters/Bassam Khabieh)
Photo taken in the neighborhood of Damascus, December 13, 2013 (Reuters/Bassam Khabieh)

Prominent figures in Damascus launched an attack against the Syrian government for to its “failure to provide means of heating.”

Amid a severe cold wave sweeping all Syrian regions and the lack of means of heating, prominent Syrian actor Firas Ibrahim wrote a post on his Facebook page, which read: “In Russia, for example, the temperature reaches -40 degrees Celsius, and no one complains about the cold.”

He continued: “So cold is not to blame… The guilty are me, you and all of us, who accept the lack of all means of heating and remain silent so as not to disturb with our innocent and sincere objections the people who have no sense of conscience!”

However, Ibrahim deleted his post shortly after, publishing another post, which read: “It’s not about what I and other people who care about this country write, because we express the opinion of most of the helpless people.”

The problem “lies in distorting these writings and interpreting them according to the whims of some geniuses… and taking our opinions to dangerous turns…,” the actor underlined.

Ibrahim was subjected to harassment and threats after his first post. He posted a third statement, in which he said: “In reference to my previous post, in which I promised not to discuss public affairs again, someone wrote to me: If you do not like the situation, I can give you the directions to the airport road” near Damascus so you can leave.

In response, Ibrahim wrote: “I know the way well, but I was hoping instead… that you would try with me to fix what was destroyed so that we would all stay here... Such a call and advice is a bad omen and excuse me if I do not take it.”

For his part, former MP Nabil Saleh, who is known for his sharp criticism of the government, wrote on Facebook: “The cold lessens the nation’s resolve... Rationing electricity and fuel weakens the body of the nation… Electronic courts silence the voices of the nation.”

He continued: “Queues for bread, sugar and rice humiliate the nation. A salary that is not enough for more than a day reduces the nation’s ability to work. Failure to secure the requirements of the soldiers’ families weakens the nation's front. Most of what the official authorities do helps diminish the spirit of the nation.”



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.