France to Host Humanitarian Conference for Sudan

Sudanese military personnel are positioned near a bridge gate during a sit-in protest outside the Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 15, 2019. - AFP
Sudanese military personnel are positioned near a bridge gate during a sit-in protest outside the Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 15, 2019. - AFP
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France to Host Humanitarian Conference for Sudan

Sudanese military personnel are positioned near a bridge gate during a sit-in protest outside the Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 15, 2019. - AFP
Sudanese military personnel are positioned near a bridge gate during a sit-in protest outside the Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 15, 2019. - AFP

France is to host a humanitarian conference to provide aid to war-torn Sudan in April, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on Wednesday.

"We will host a humanitarian conference in Paris on April 15 for Sudan and neighbouring countries to help resolve this dramatic humanitarian crisis," he told the lower house of parliament, without providing more details.

"It should not become a forgotten crisis."

War that broke out in April last year between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, his former deputy and commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has killed thousands and sparked a humanitarian disaster.

Around 25 million people -- more than half the population -- need aid, including nearly 18 million who face acute food insecurity, according to UN numbers.

The fighting has caused 1.6 million people to flee abroad, many to neighbouring Chad and Egypt, and displaced 6.1 million from their homes within the country, the United Nations says.

The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the lean season during summer could trigger catastrophic levels of hunger.



Military: Missile Fired from Yemen Intercepted over Central Israel

Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, in Sanaa, Yemen January 17, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, in Sanaa, Yemen January 17, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Military: Missile Fired from Yemen Intercepted over Central Israel

Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, in Sanaa, Yemen January 17, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, in Sanaa, Yemen January 17, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The Israeli military said sirens sounded in central Israel on Saturday as it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

Yemen’s Houthi militias have launched missiles and drones towards Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north. Israel has responded by striking Houthi areas on several occasions. Last week Israeli warplanes bombed two ports and a power station.

The Iran-backed Houthis have also carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers. The intensity of the attacks has disrupted global shipping and prompted route changes.
The attacks have forced some ships to take the long route around southern Africa rather than the Suez Canal, leading to increases in insurance rates, delivery costs and time that stoked global inflation fears.