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US Report: Ethiopia Army Base Used to Support Sudan’s RSF

Satellite imagery taken on January 22, 2026 shows a camp with hundreds of tents and an area to the north where trucks come and go in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Source: Vantor
Satellite imagery taken on January 22, 2026 shows a camp with hundreds of tents and an area to the north where trucks come and go in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Source: Vantor
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US Report: Ethiopia Army Base Used to Support Sudan’s RSF

Satellite imagery taken on January 22, 2026 shows a camp with hundreds of tents and an area to the north where trucks come and go in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Source: Vantor
Satellite imagery taken on January 22, 2026 shows a camp with hundreds of tents and an area to the north where trucks come and go in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Source: Vantor

An Ethiopian military base close to the Sudanese border is lending support to the Rapid Support Forces, according to a report by a research unit at Yale University released Wednesday.

The Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said analysis of satellite imagery and open-source data shows activity "consistent with military assistance to the RSF" at an Ethiopian base in Asosa, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, between late December 2025 and late March 2026.

The paramilitary group, which has been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023, was accused last month by the Sudanese military of launching drone attacks "from inside Ethiopian territory", the first public allegation of Ethiopian involvement in the conflict.

Ethiopia has denied the claim and has also rejected allegations that it is hosting RSF camps.
Yale's HRL has used remote sensing data and satellite imagery to monitor the war since it began.

Its researchers said their findings "represent clear visual evidence over a five-month period" that RSF attacks on Sudan's southeastern Blue Nile State were being launched from within Ethiopia.

The researchers identified repeated arrivals of commercial car carriers at the base unloading vehicles known as "technicals", light pickup trucks commonly used by armed groups.

HRL said these vehicles do not match those normally used by the Ethiopian military and have been observed supplying RSF units operating in Sudan's Blue Nile state.

According to the report, some of the vehicles were later fitted with gun mounts "capable of holding heavy machine guns".

Objects consistent with 50-calibre weapons were also observed nearby, the report said.

HRL added that similar vehicles later appeared in open-source images from fighting around Al-Kurmuk, a strategic Sudanese border town roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) by road from Asosa.

Recent fighting has intensified around Al-Kurmuk, a key army position.

This year, an estimated 28,000 people were displaced by fighting in Blue Nile, including more than 10,000 from Al-Kurmuk alone.

Control of the state is divided between Sudan's army and RSF allies from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

The paramilitaries have recently claimed victories in the area.

The Yale lab also documented increased logistical activity at the Asosa base, including the arrival of shipping containers, fuel tanks and tents capable of housing up to 150 people.

White armored vehicles inconsistent with Ethiopian military markings were also seen, alongside frequent movements of non-military transport trucks.

Separately, satellite imagery showed significant expansion at Asosa airport, including "a new hangar and concrete pad" and defensive fighting positions.

Imagery previously analyzed by AFP has shown significant development at the airport, which previously served as a drone base.

The RSF last year brought thousands of fighters into Ethiopia, an RSF source and an army source told AFP.

Separately, two UN agencies said on Thursday that more than a million Sudanese refugees face drastic cuts in life-saving aid such as food and water unless donors fill a funding shortfall of over $400 million.

Over 1.3 million Sudanese refugees are living in neighboring Chad, with most of them arriving since the start of the conflict in Sudan between the army and the RSF in April 2023. Among them are survivors of mass ⁠killings and famine from ⁠Darfur.

The World Food Programme and the UN refugee agency do not have enough funds to help them all and envisage further cuts in the coming months unless a $428 million shortfall can be met, they said in a joint statement.

"...With less than half the resources we require, we ⁠cannot deliver sufficient food to the people who need it most,” said WFP Chad Country Director Sarah Gordon-Gibson. "This will force them into devastating coping strategies and put lives at risk.”

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Arab World

‘Death Boats’: Clandestine Boatbuilding Thrives Along Migration Routes from Libya

A workshop making boats for irregular migration after a raid in Libya (Special Tasks Department of the Interior Ministry in western Libya)
A workshop making boats for irregular migration after a raid in Libya (Special Tasks Department of the Interior Ministry in western Libya)
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‘Death Boats’: Clandestine Boatbuilding Thrives Along Migration Routes from Libya

A workshop making boats for irregular migration after a raid in Libya (Special Tasks Department of the Interior Ministry in western Libya)
A workshop making boats for irregular migration after a raid in Libya (Special Tasks Department of the Interior Ministry in western Libya)

Boats used to carry irregular migrants from Libya to Europe have become part of a clandestine market growing alongside people smuggling.

Smugglers are gradually moving from boats brought in from abroad to vessels built in Libya and outfitted specifically for sea crossings, security officials and rights advocates say.

Libyan authorities regularly announce the discovery of clandestine workshops or factories making boats for irregular migration, widely known as “death boats.”

The raids point to continued smuggling activity in coastal areas across both western and eastern Libya.

Photographs released over the years by security agencies on both sides of the country offer a glimpse of the workshops. Often abandoned or secluded sites, they contain wooden planks, engines and manufacturing equipment, as well as finished boats and others still under construction.

In some cases, security agencies have burned seized boats and components after raids to prevent their reuse in migrant smuggling.

The workshops are scattered across coastal cities near departure points for irregular migration, according to monitoring by the Benghazi Center for Migration Studies.

Some are carpentry shops or simple premises near the coast that have been converted to boatbuilding, the center’s head, Tarek Lamloum, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

In Zuwara, for example, authorities found a coastal property that had been turned into a workshop for wooden boats.

Earlier this September, authorities found two facilities making migration boats in Tobruk, in the east, and Sirte, along with boats and manufacturing equipment.

Similar sites had previously been raided in western Libya, including Tajoura in Tripoli, Khoms and al-Qawiya. Authorities found two facilities in Misrata last year.

Boats of every type

The discoveries, stretching from Misrata and greater Tripoli in the west to Sirte and Tobruk in the east, show that local boatbuilding continues across a wide area. They also come as migration routes and smuggling methods have changed in recent years.

Lamloum pointed to workshops concentrated in eastern Libya, particularly in Tobruk, Bir al-Ashhab and areas near the Egyptian border. Some wooden boats have historically been linked to Egypt, he said, whether through the boats themselves or the workers and expertise used to build them.

As the migration route from eastern Libya toward Crete and Greece expanded, local boatbuilding workshops also appeared in the region. Boats, including inflatable craft and locally made vessels, are smuggled from western to eastern Libya, reaching Tobruk and nearby departure points.

The market is therefore not a collection of separate local markets, Lamloum said. An internal supply network connects different parts of Libya and provides the boats and equipment needed for crossings.

He said his assessment draws on accounts from people who made the sea journey, as well as UN reports and published investigations into migration and smuggling routes.

Vessels used for the crossings include wooden and fiberglass boats, inflatable craft and old fishing boats bought for reuse. In recent years, boats built specifically for migration journeys have also appeared.

Their quality varies widely, and some are made cheaply without the standards required for fishing boats or ordinary seagoing vessels.

Their sizes and capacities vary too. Some carry dozens of people, while larger wooden boats can hold far more. “There is no single model that can be described as the Libyan migration boat,” Lamloum said.

Harsh crossings

Since the fall of former President Moammar al-Gaddafi’s government in 2011, Libya has remained both a destination and a transit country for migrants. Its role in Mediterranean migration routes to Europe subsequently grew.

About 936,000 migrants were in Libya in January and February, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.

As the smuggling of irregular migrants expanded, the boats themselves became a commodity in that economy.

A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that a well-made wooden boat costs about 50,000 Libyan dinars, or roughly $5,000, without an engine. Lamloum agreed with the estimate, taking exchange rates and the cost of materials and engines into account.

Migrants and refugees often describe harsh crossings. Boats are frequently unseaworthy or overcrowded, increasing the risks for those aboard.

Mohamed K., a 25-year-old Egyptian who later settled in Italy and regularized his legal status, still remembers a journey he made on one of the boats years ago.

“The wooden boat was falling apart. There were about 85 people aboard, packed together without room to stand, and everyone was waiting either to arrive or to die at any moment,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Departures from Tobruk and its surroundings toward Italy increased from mid-2022, sometimes using large vessels carrying 400 people or more, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

As controls on those journeys tightened, smugglers changed tactics in late 2023, turning to smaller boats that were harder to detect, the organization said.

Related businesses, including supplying and outfitting boats and transporting them to departure points, flourished alongside the smuggling trade.

“There are those who finance, those who build, those who import boats and engines, those who transport them between cities, those who provide the captain and those who secure the departure point,” Lamloum said.

“It is no longer simply a smuggler buying a boat from a fisherman,” he said. “We are now looking at a supply chain and an entire economy linked to migration journeys.”

Arab World

Morocco Votes for a New Parliament

A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Rabat, Morocco, 23 September 2026. (EPA)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Rabat, Morocco, 23 September 2026. (EPA)
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Morocco Votes for a New Parliament

A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Rabat, Morocco, 23 September 2026. (EPA)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Rabat, Morocco, 23 September 2026. (EPA)

Moroccans voted for a new parliament Wednesday in an election shaped by mounting frustration among young people, high unemployment despite a thriving economy and demands for better schools, hospitals and housing.

Voter turnout in the election for the 395-seat House of Representatives was 38%.

The vote was the first since youth-led protests nearly a year ago and a mass attempt by migrants to cross Morocco’s northern border into the Spanish territory of Ceuta that left dozens dead. It will determine the next prime minister and the makeup of the government, which will serve alongside a powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs.

Results are expected Thursday.

The next government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, prompting some to describe it as the “World Cup government.” The new political leadership will also face pressure to address everyday concerns, including jobs, wages and the cost of living.

Othmane Mouden, a Casablanca businessman in his late 30s, believes elections are the only way Moroccans can make their voices heard.

“Protesting like the Gen Z youth will not bring any change,” he said on his way to the polling station. “You can only claim your rights through the polls.”

Voters chose among 7,288 candidates from 27 political parties. Since no single party is expected to obtain an absolute majority, the winner will need to negotiate with others to form a governing coalition.

The Moroccan Constitution requires the king to appoint the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in legislative elections.

One possibility for prime minister is Faouzi Lakjaa, president of Morocco’s soccer federation, who recently joined the PAM party and has been buoyed by Morocco’s recent soccer achievements.

Another is Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, 50, mayor of Marrakech and minister of urban planning, who would be Morocco’s first female prime minister.

As ballot stations opened in Casablanca and Rabat, voters of various ages formed small but continuous lines to cast their ballots.

Jamal Aamar, a 63-year-old retired banker, came to vote for the Federation of the Democratic Left, a left-wing coalition. Aamar said participating in the election allows his voice to be heard.

“If you boycott, you will leave others an empty seat,” he said.

Caterer Bader Eabram, 24, said Morocco's strong performance in recent World Cups and other soccer championships is driving some voters' choices, and providing hope.

“We’re all really eager to host the World Cup. It’s a great country,'' he said. ‘’We can do anything.''

Arab World

Son of Israel’s Ambassador to US Critically Injured in Ramming Attack in the Occupied West Bank

23 September 2026, Beit Horon: Israeli security forces inspect the scene, where a Palestinian man was shot and killed after ramming his car into Maccabim checkpoint and seriously wounding an officer, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit Horon. (dpa)
23 September 2026, Beit Horon: Israeli security forces inspect the scene, where a Palestinian man was shot and killed after ramming his car into Maccabim checkpoint and seriously wounding an officer, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit Horon. (dpa)
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Son of Israel’s Ambassador to US Critically Injured in Ramming Attack in the Occupied West Bank

23 September 2026, Beit Horon: Israeli security forces inspect the scene, where a Palestinian man was shot and killed after ramming his car into Maccabim checkpoint and seriously wounding an officer, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit Horon. (dpa)
23 September 2026, Beit Horon: Israeli security forces inspect the scene, where a Palestinian man was shot and killed after ramming his car into Maccabim checkpoint and seriously wounding an officer, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit Horon. (dpa)

The son of Israel's ambassador to the United States was gravely injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

Neria Leiter, a reservist in Israel's military, “needs a miracle," Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said in a social media post. Leiter's older son, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who also served in Israel's military, was killed in Gaza just days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

According to the military and law enforcement, a Palestinian man rammed his car into a security checkpoint Wednesday afternoon near the settlement of Beit Horon, seriously wounding the officer.

Israeli forces at the scene then “opened fire at the terrorist as he attempted to flee” and killed him. More military forces were deployed in the aftermath in the area, which is crossed by a major highway connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

A paramedic with the Magen David Adom emergency service said the injured officer was unconscious when crews arrived at the scene and was evacuated to a hospital in Jerusalem.

The suspect was identified as Mahmoud Suleiman, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog both sent wishes for Leiter's recovery. A social media post by Herzog described Leiter as “fighting for his life."

Netanyahu visited Leiter's family at the hospital Wednesday night before departing for the UN General Assembly in New York. The Iran war, which Israel launched together with the United States on Feb. 28, is a major focus of the gathering of world leaders.

Earlier this week, an Israeli man was killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank, which has experienced a surge in deadly violence since the war in Gaza began. Recent months have seen marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

The latest violence is happening in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days, just after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is widely considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

In mid-April, Ambassador Leiter was a central figure in the first direct diplomatic talks in decades between Israel and Lebanon in Washington. In late June, Leiter, Lebanon’s ambassador to the US, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that was described as a first step toward peace following months of renewed conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah group.