Headline

Sudan: Death Toll Passes 100, Aid Suspended

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2023

Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Khartoum Monday as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals raged for a third day with the death toll surpassing 100.

The violence erupted Saturday after weeks of power struggles between the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict has seen air strikes, tanks on the streets, artillery fire and heavy gunfire in crowded neighbourhoods both in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan.

It has triggered international demands for an immediate ceasefire.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called on Sudan’s warring parties to “immediately cease hostilities”. He warned that further escalation “could be devastating for the country and the region.”

As the fighting showed no sign of abating, Daglo took to Twitter to call for the international community to intervene against Burhan, branding him a “radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air”.

“We will continue to pursue Al-Burhan and bring him to justice,” said Daglo, whose RSF and its predecessor the Janjaweed in Darfur have previously been accused of atrocities.

“The fight that we are waging now is the price of democracy,” he said.

In his only statement since the fighting flared, Burhan told Al Jazeera on Saturday that he was “surprised by Rapid Support Forces attacking his home” and that what was happening “should prevent the formation of forces outside the army”.

The conflict has claimed the lives of at least 97 civilians and “dozens” of fighters from both sides, medics said, adding about 942 people have been injured.

But the number of casualties is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals due to the danger of movement during fighting.

The doctors’ union warned the fighting had “heavily damaged” multiple hospitals in Khartoum and other cities, with some rendered completely “out of service”.

The World Health Organization had already warned that several of Khartoum’s nine hospitals receiving injured civilians “have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other vital supplies”.

UN Special Representative Volker Perthes, who is in Khartoum, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the failure of both sides to abide by an agreed humanitarian pause on Sunday to evacuate the wounded.

The violence has forced terrified people to shelter in their homes with fears of a prolonged conflict that could plunge Sudan into deeper chaos, dashing hopes for return to civilian rule disrupted by the 2021 coup which Burhan and Daglo orchestrated.

Vital aid suspended

The RSF was created under former autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2013. It emerged from the Janjaweed militia that his government unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minorities in Darfur a decade earlier, drawing accusations of war crimes.

The fighting broke out after bitter disagreements between Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a final deal aimed at ending a crisis since the 2021 coup.

The two sides accuse each other of starting the fighting, and both claim to be in control of key sites, including the airport and the presidential palace — none of which could be independently verified.

On Monday, the army said it was in control of the state broadcaster in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.

After being cut for hours, state television went on the air again, showing footage of soldiers filming themselves on military bases claiming they control them.

Three UN staff from the World Food Programme were among those killed in the western region of Darfur, which WFP said forced a “temporary halt” to all its operations in a country where one-third of the population needs aid.

On Monday morning, loud gunfire and deafening explosions again shook buildings and echoed across the streets of Khartoum as street fighting continued, AFP journalists said.

Power has been off across swathes of the city, and the few grocery stores remaining open warn they will only last a few days if no supplies can enter the city.

Appeals to end the fighting have come from across the region and the globe, including the African Union, Arab League and East African bloc IGAD.

‘Unprecedented’ violence
Despite the wide calls for a ceasefire, the two generals have appeared in no mood for talks with each one calling the other “criminal”.

While Sudan has endured decades of multiple bitter civil wars, coups and rebellions since independence, Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair said the level of fighting inside the capital was “unprecedented”.

“This is the first time in Sudan’s history — certainly in its independence history — that there has been this level of violence in the centre, in Khartoum,” she said.

Fighting also raged in other parts of Sudan including Darfur and in the eastern border state of Kassala.

The generals’ coup derailed a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of Bashir, triggering international aid cuts and sparked near-weekly protests met by a deadly crackdown.

Burhan, who rose through the ranks under the three-decade rule of now-jailed Bashir, has said the coup “necessary” to include more factions in politics.

Daglo, a former Darfur militia chief, later called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring about change and reinvigorated remnants of Bashir’s regime ousted by the army in 2019 following mass protests.

AFP

Headline

Australian Actor Julian McMahon Is Dead

Published

49 minutes ago

July 5, 2025

Editor

Australian actor Julian McMahon, best known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed, and Fantastic Four, has died at the age of 56.

McMahon passed away in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday following a private battle with cancer.

His death was confirmed in a statement released on Friday by his wife, Kelly.

The statement read,”With an open heart, I share with the world that Julian McMahon, my beloved husband, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer.

“His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible.

“We wish all of those to whom Julian brought joy to continue to find joy in life.

“We are grateful for the memories.”

Born into a prominent political family, McMahon was the son of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon.

In a nod to his family’s legacy, he portrayed an Australian prime minister in the Netflix drama ‘The Residence.’

McMahon’s career spanned decades, earning him international recognition for his roles as Dr. Christian Troy in ‘Nip/Tuck’, Cole Turner in ‘Charmed’, and Victor Von Doom in ‘Fantastic Four’.

He was married three times, including a high-profile marriage to Australian singer and actress Dannii Minogue, sister of pop icon Kylie Minogue.

Headline

Thai Police Rescue Eight-year-old Boy Living With Dogs, Unable To Speak

Published

54 minutes ago

July 5, 2025

Editor

An eight-year-old boy has been rescued in Thailand after authorities discovered him living among dogs and only able to communicate by barking.

According to Dailymail on Friday, the boy, whose name has been withheld, was found on Monday during a welfare check at a ramshackle, drug-infested house in Lap Lae District, Uttaradit Province.

Local reports say the child had been living with his mother, 46, and his 23-year-old brother, both of whom tested positive for drug use after a police raid.

Neighbours revealed that the family had long been isolated from the community, and the boy had no contact with other children. Instead, he spent his days with the family’s six dogs, which he reportedly mimicked.

“He didn’t speak, he just barked. It was pitiful to see,” said Paveena Hongsakul, president of the activist foundation which worked with police on the rescue.

Authorities said the boy had only attended school once, despite his mother receiving government stipends of around 400 baht (£9) meant to support his education.

“His mother hasn’t allowed him to go to school since he received a subsidy for free education,” Hongsakul explained. “After getting the money, she simply kept him at home.”

Neighbours were said to have forbidden their children from playing with the young boy due to the family’s behaviour.

The mother was reportedly known in the area for begging at temples and has now been charged with drug use.

Headline

‘He Wants To Keep Killing People,’ Trump ‘Very Unhappy’ After Phone Discussion With Putin On Ukraine

Published

1 hour ago

July 5, 2025

Editor

… Threatens Sanction

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was “very unhappy” about his telephone call with Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, saying the Russian leader just wanted to “keep killing people.”

“It’s a very tough situation. I told you I was very unhappy with my call with President Putin. He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump also hinted that he may finally be ready to toughen sanctions against Russia, having held off for the past six months while he tried to persuade Putin to end the war.

“We talk about sanctions a lot,” Trump said. “He understands that it may be coming.”

Trump added that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, had a “very strategic call” on Friday, as concerns mounted in Kyiv over US military aid deliveries.

Zelensky said earlier that the two leaders had agreed to work to “strengthen” Ukraine’s air defenses, following Russia’s largest drone and missile barrage of the invasion so far.

Trump said he had also discussed sending Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine in a separate call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday, although he had not yet agreed to do so.

Merz “feels they have to be protected,” Trump said.
AFP