People Affected by Sudan’s Floods Complain of Poor State Assistance

Part of the damage caused by the torrential rains in the Managil area in central Sudan (AP)
Part of the damage caused by the torrential rains in the Managil area in central Sudan (AP)
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People Affected by Sudan’s Floods Complain of Poor State Assistance

Part of the damage caused by the torrential rains in the Managil area in central Sudan (AP)
Part of the damage caused by the torrential rains in the Managil area in central Sudan (AP)

People affected by Sudan’s floods complained of the State’s failure to help them and accused the authorities of not providing the necessary aid to confront the humanitarian catastrophe.

Floods and heavy rains in Sudan left 79 people dead and 30 injured, in addition to the partial or complete collapse of nearly 40,000 homes and the displacement of about 150,000 people.

The Early Warning Unit warned of the possibility of continuous moderate to heavy rain in a number of regions of the country in the coming days.

As of 12 August, torrential rains and floods have affected a number of provinces, destroying houses and facilities and damaging a number of agricultural projects and roads, especially in the River Nile and Gezira provinces.

On Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that more than 136,000 people have been affected by floods in the eastern Sudan and Kordofan states. The UN agency said it expected this figure to increase as the counting was still underway and heavy rains had been forecast.

Sudan’s rainy season usually lasts until September, with floods peaking just before then.

Last year, flooding and heavy rain killed more than 80 people and swamped tens of thousands of houses across the country. In 2020, authorities declared Sudan a natural disaster area and imposed a three-month state of emergency across the country after the deluge killed around 100 people and inundated over 100,000 houses.



Head of Pro-Iran Armed Faction Arrested in Syria, Says Monitor

Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)
Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)
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Head of Pro-Iran Armed Faction Arrested in Syria, Says Monitor

Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)
Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)

Security forces in Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor have arrested the head of an Iran-affiliated faction that fought alongside ousted President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a war monitor said Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday.

The Britain-based Observatory said Douaihy founded and led a faction known as the Sayyida Zeinab Brigade, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

That faction was active in the city of Al-Mayadeen, fighting alongside Assad's forces, said the Observatory which has a network of sources in Syria.

It added that Douaihy received Iranian citizenship after converting to the Shiite branch of Islam.

Douaihy was "involved in a long list of crimes including financial blackmail, drug smuggling, theft of civilians' properties and selling displaced people's land to naturalized Iranian and Afghan mercenaries", the Observatory said.

Security forces also arrested Major General Abdul Karim al-Muhaimid, the former political security chief in Deir Ezzor province under Assad, the monitor said.

Iran had mobilized about 20,000 fighters, mostly Syrians, in different factions to fight alongside Assad's forces.

Before Assad was toppled, much of Deir Ezzor province near the border with Iraq was a key stronghold of Iran-backed forces.

Some handed in their weapons after Assad's ouster in December, but others remain in hiding, according to the Observatory.

Since seizing power, Syria's new authorities have regularly announced the arrest of Assad-era security officials.