logo
33 killed in Sudan strikes blamed on paramilitary RSF

33 killed in Sudan strikes blamed on paramilitary RSF

The Hindu10-05-2025

At least 33 people have been killed in Sudan in attacks blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the Army since April 2023, first responders said Saturday.
The attacks came after six straight days of RSF drone strikes on the Army-led government's wartime capital Port Sudan damaged key infrastructure including the power grid and the country's last operational civilian airport.
On Friday evening, at least 14 members of the same family were killed in an air strike on a displacement camp in the vast western region of Darfur, a rescue group said, blaming the paramilitaries.
The Abu Shouk camp "was the target of intense bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces on Friday evening", said the group of volunteer aid workers, which also reported wounded.
"Fourteen Sudanese, members of the same family, were killed" and several people wounded, it said in a statement.
The camp near El-Fasher, the last state capital in Darfur still out of the RSF's control, is plagued by famine, according to the United Nations.
It is home to tens of thousands of people who fled the violence of successive conflicts in Darfur and the conflict that has been tearing Africa's third largest country apart since 2023.
The RSF has shelled the camp several times in recent weeks.
Abu Shouk is located near the Zamzam camp, which the RSF seized in April after a devastating offensive that virtually emptied it.
Drone attacks
The United Nations says nearly one million people had been sheltering at the site.
On Saturday, an RSF strike on a prison in the army-controlled southern city of El-Obeid killed at least 19 people and wounded 45, a medical source said.
The source told AFP that the jail in the North Kordofan state capital was hit by an RSF drone.
Elsewhere on Saturday, army warplanes struck RSF positions in the Darfur cities of Nyala and El-Geneina, destroying arms depots and military equipment, a military source said.
This week, the RSF said it had taken the strategic town of En Nahud in West Kordofan, a key army supply line to Darfur.
Sudan's army-aligned authorities accuse the United Arab Emirates of supplying drones to the RSF, which has no air force of its own.
The war -- which began as a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- has killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 13 million people and triggered what the United Nations calls one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.
It has effectively divided the country in two with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nitish is tired; retired, corrupt officers running Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav
Nitish is tired; retired, corrupt officers running Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav

Business Standard

timean hour ago

  • Business Standard

Nitish is tired; retired, corrupt officers running Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav

Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav came down heavily on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while reiterating his charge that the CM remains "tired" and the "retired, corrupt officials" were running the government in the state. Yadav's response came after he was asked about his "mentally unfit or unhealthy" remarks against Nitish Kumar. "Have you noticed that Nitish Kumar doesn't say anything to the media? When there are government officials or the Deputy Chief Minister on stage, why do they hold his hand? When the national anthem is playing, he talks with the officials. What does it tell you? When respect was being paid to Mahatma Gandhi, he was busy applauding, and everyone was telling him to put down his hands," Yadav said in an exclusive interview with ANI. Recalling various incidents where the officials had to give directions to Nitish Kumar in public, the RJD leader said that Kumar only goes out to public events for a photoshoot when the Opposition comments on his "tiredness", but remains within a few kilometres' radius of his official residence. "This is a stage in life, and I don't like to comment on it. However, he is tired. When we say this, he goes for a photoshoot but stays within a 2-3 kilometre radius of his residence in Patna. Why doesn't he go and meet the rape victim? Why does he not visit the incident sites? Why doesn't he hold press conferences?" Yadav asked. When asked who is running the government if the CM is "tired", Yadav said that it was the retired and corrupt officials who were running the Bihar government. "Retired, corrupt officials. Those who are corrupt officials. The Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) Superintendent had retired, but he was given an extension after my government fell. The Chief Engineer, who was caught with crores of rupees, was retired only," he added. Moreover, Yadav claimed that if the law and order situation in Bihar is compared to the one under the previous RJD-led Mahagathbandhan government based on crime data, it would reveal that criminal activities are "out of control "under the Nitish Kumar government. "Our term in Bihar is often labelled as 'Maha jungle raj'. Compare it with the data whether the law and order situation was good during our term or is good this term. If you go through the data, it is clear that the crime is out of control under Nitish Kumar (government)," the RJD leader said. Yadav questioned the silence of the media over the actions of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha during his visit to the rape victim's family in Muzzafarpur, where he asked them to swear to prove whether they were speaking the truth that they had to wait to avail treatment for the minor Dalit girl at PMCH. "The rape case that happened, the Deputy Chief Minister asked the family members (of the victim) to swear on their mother and sister that treatment was refused at PMCH. The family had alleged that they were kept outside (waiting) for nearly four to five hours, which was the truth; that's why you removed the Deputy Superintendent. Are you visiting there to give sympathy or ask them to swear on their mother that they are speaking the truth? This is not a matter of debate in the news," he added.

‘Is This Why Munir Met Trump?' Owaisi Slams Pakistan's ‘Nobel' Agenda After US Strikes Iran
‘Is This Why Munir Met Trump?' Owaisi Slams Pakistan's ‘Nobel' Agenda After US Strikes Iran

News18

time2 hours ago

  • News18

‘Is This Why Munir Met Trump?' Owaisi Slams Pakistan's ‘Nobel' Agenda After US Strikes Iran

Last Updated: Mocking Pakistan's leadership, Owaisi wondered if Pakistan's General (Army chief Asim Munir) had a lunch with US President Donald Trump for the same reason. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday launched a scathing attack at Pakistan for pitching a Nobel Prize for Donald Trump. Owaisi asked if Islamabad batted for the American president only so the latter could drop bombs on a sovereign nation. He was referring to the US-launched strikes at Iran's Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear sites to destroy the country's nuclear program. 'We should ask Pakistanis if for this they want Trump to get a Nobel Peace Prize…", Owaisi said in Hyderabad. The AIMIM leader further mocked Pakistan's military leadership, saying, '…Did Pakistan's General (Army chief Asim Munir) have lunch with the US president for this? They all have been exposed today." Owaisi also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Owaisi said, 'This attack by the US has helped Netanyahu, who is a butcher of Palestinians… A genocide is happening in Gaza, and the US is not worried about it." He said, 'This man (Netanyahu), he has butchered Palestinians… He is doing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank and in Gaza. History will remember him as the butcher of Palestinians." Raising concerns over the Indians in the Gulf and Middle East, he stated, 'We must also remember that more than 16 million Indians live in the Gulf and Middle East, and if that area erupts in a war, which unfortunately is very likely, then it will have a grave impact on the Indians living there."

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way
Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

NDTV

time2 hours ago

  • NDTV

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

Jerusalem: A little over a month ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to have been shunted to the shadows by US President Donald Trump, who hopscotched the Middle East without visiting Israel, traditionally Washington's closest regional ally. Worse still, from Netanyahu's perspective, Trump lifted sanctions on neighbouring Syria - something Israel opposed - and talked up the prospects of securing a nuclear deal with Iran, something the prime minister has always cautioned against. Fast forward five weeks and the United States has bombed Iran's main nuclear installations, fulfilling a decades-old dream of Netanyahu to convince Washington to bring its full military might to thwart Tehran's atomic ambitions. The US attack underscores a broader truth that has defined Netanyahu's career: no matter how fraught his relationships with successive presidents, he normally ends up getting what he wants. For over three decades, Netanyahu has clashed - often spectacularly - with American leaders. He has lectured them, defied them, embarrassed them publicly and privately. And yet, across Democratic and Republican administrations, US military aid has flowed largely uninterrupted to Israel. Washington remains Israel's chief arms supplier and diplomatic shield. "He probably has concluded that he always gets away with it," said a senior United Nations official in Jerusalem who declined to be named. "It's hard to argue otherwise." Just one month ago, opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of destroying Israel's relations with the United States. This weekend's action represents the closest US-Israeli military alignment yet against a common adversary. Withstanding Pressure Netanyahu's belief in his ability to advance his agenda, and withstand American pressure when needed, has deep roots. Barely a month after becoming prime minister for the first time in 1996, he met President Bill Clinton in Washington and immediately rubbed him up the wrong way. "Who the f--- does he think he is? Who's the f---ing superpower here?" Clinton asked his aides afterwards, according to US diplomat Aaron David Miller, who was present. But vital US aid to Israel continued to flow - something that would remain a constant over the years. Netanyahu was voted out of office in a 1999 election and did not return to power until a decade later, by which time Barack Obama, a Democrat like Clinton, was in the White House. Relations between the two turned openly hostile, initially over Israeli settlement building in occupied territory that Palestinians claim for a future stake - a constant thorn in US-Israeli relations. Matters deteriorated further as Obama entered negotiations with Iran to curb its nuclear drive - a project that Israel said is aimed at creating atomic bombs and that Tehran has said is for purely civilian purposes. Netanyahu spoke to Congress in 2015 at the invitation of Republicans to denounce the prospective deal, without informing the White House. "(The accord) doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb; it paves Iran's path to the bomb," he said. Obama was widely reported to have been furious, but still, the following year Washington delivered the largest military aid package to Israel in US history - $38 billion over 10 years. Political analysts say Netanyahu takes US support as a given, confident that backing from evangelical Christians and the small Jewish-American community will guarantee that Israel remains well-armed, however much he antagonises the White House. Convincing Trump When Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, then-President Joe Biden flew to Israel to show his support, authorising a huge flow of weapons to help with the conflict unleashed in Gaza. But relations between Netanyahu, a right-winger, and Biden, a Democrat, deteriorated rapidly, as Washington grew alarmed by the spiralling number of civilian deaths and the burgeoning humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. Biden held back on some heavy munitions deliveries and imposed sanctions on a number of violent Israeli settlers, so his defeat at the hands of Trump in last November's presidential election was celebrated by Netanyahu. Finally, he had a Republican in office at a crucial moment for Israel. However, things did not go smoothly, at least to start with. Like Biden before him, Trump was unhappy at the protracted conflict in Gaza and then he blindsided Netanyahu during a meeting on April 7, when he revealed that he was launching direct talks with Tehran aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the protracted nuclear stand-off with Iran. But while Trump publicly positioned himself as a peacemaker, Netanyahu consistently pushed for military intervention. Although it is unclear if Netanyahu ever got him to say "yes" to Israel's war plans, it was at least not a "no", according to two senior US officials and a senior Israeli source. As soon as Israel launched its aerial war on Iran in the early hours of June 13, Israel pushed the United States to join in, urging Trump to be on the winning side of history, two Israeli officials said last week. "Mr President, Finish the job!" read large billboards that have popped up in Tel Aviv. The sense of relief when the US bombers struck Iran's most protected nuclear sites on Sunday was palpable. "Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history," Netanyahu said in a brief video address. "May God bless our unshakeable alliance, our unbreakable faith," he concluded.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store