World
Sudan conflict could prompt 800,000 people to flee, UN says
The United Nations warned on Monday that the conflict in Sudan could force 800,000 people to flee the country as battles between rival military factions persisted in the capital despite a supposed ceasefire, Reuters reported.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over 16 days of battles since disputes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15.
The crisis has unleashed a humanitarian disaster, damaged swathes of Khartoum, risked drawing in regional powers and reignited conflict in the Darfur region.
Many fear for their lives in the power struggle between the army chief and RSF head, who shared control of the government after a 2021 coup but fell out over a planned transition to civilian rule, Reuters reported.
Both sides agreed on Sunday to extend a much-violated truce by 72 hours, and the U.N. told Reuters the rival forces may hold ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia. But air strikes and artillery rang out on Monday as smoke hung over Khartoum and neighbouring cities.
U.N. official Raouf Mazou said the body’s refugee agency was planning for an exodus of 815,000 people including 580,000 Sudanese as well as foreign refugees now living in the country. The country’s population numbers 46 million.
Some 73,000 have already left Sudan, he said.
Egypt reported 40,000 Sudanese had crossed its border, and those who made the journey said conditions were arduous. Others have gone to Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia, or sailed across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia on evacuation boats, read the report.
At least 528 people have been killed and 4,599 wounded, the health ministry said. The United Nations has reported a similar number of dead but believes the real toll is much higher.
Foreign governments pulled out their citizens over the past week in air, sea and land operations, though several countries ended efforts. The U.S. government said on Monday that its convoys from Khartoum to the Red Sea harbour of Port Sudan evacuated more than 700 people over the weekend.
Britain said it was exploring ways to provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan along with its international allies, the United Nations and aid organisations after evacuating nearly 2,200 people.
Meanwhile, those Sudanese who stayed behind faced hardship and danger, Reuters reported.
“I show up to work for two or three hours then I close up because it’s not safe,” said Abdelbagi, a barber in Khartoum who said he had to keep working because prices were rising.
People who ventured onto the streets on Monday were shocked by the transformation.
“We saw dead bodies. The industrial area that was all looted. We saw people carrying TVs on their backs and big sacks looted from factories,” said resident Mohamed Ezzeldin.
Power and water supplies are uncertain, there is little food or fuel, most hospitals and clinics are out of service and soaring transport costs are making it ever harder to leave, read the report.
The U.N. and other aid organisations have cut services, though the World Food Programme said it was resuming operations in more secure areas on Monday after staff were killed early in the war.
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented,” said Martin Griffiths, a senior U.N. official for humanitarian and emergency relief who will visit Sudan on Tuesday.
Victoria, one of the tea sellers who used to dot Khartoum’s streets before the fighting began, said her children are struggling to understand what is happening.
“So I risk my life to try to work and if God helps me, I’ll get them some food, and if he doesn’t I’ll keep trying. But just sitting useless doesn’t help and being scared doesn’t help,” she said.
Jamila, a woman still in Khartoum with her family, is only eating one meal a day because so little food is available. RSF troops are stationed in front of their house and refuse to leave. “The sound of fighting is in our ears all day,” she said.
Both sides said on Monday they were making progress without commenting directly on the ceasefire violations, Reuters reported.
The army said it had cut RSF’s combat effectiveness by half and stopped it trying to reinforce its positions in the capital. The RSF said it still controls main locations of Khartoum and was itself beating back army reinforcements.
World
Saudi Aramco helicopter crash kills 14 nationals, state news agency says
A helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco crashed on Sunday in Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast on the Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz, killing 14 nationals, the state news agency reported, adding that the cause was unknown.
Aramco had resumed crude oil loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after they were halted for nearly four months, Reuters reported.
“The relevant authorities have launched a full investigation to determine the cause of the crash,” the state news agency added.
Aramco did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.
The incident took place at 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT), the state agency said, without providing further details.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has joined a rush to move cargoes after Middle East producers ramped up oil and gas output and exports ahead of an interim deal to halt the war between the United States and Iran.
World
Israel, Lebanon sign initial agreement after US-mediated talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement allows Israeli forces to continue to occupy southern Lebanon if Hezbollah does not disarm.
Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement in Washington on Friday following several days of talks to secure an end to fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollahmilitants, though both sides framed the deal as an initial step, Reuters reported.
Lebanese Ambassador Nada Moawad and her Israeli counterpart Yechiel Leiter signed the trilateral document with the U.S. at the State Department in Washington, providing few details.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement allows Israeli forces to continue to occupy southern Lebanon if Hezbollah does not disarm.
“Today we’ve taken the first step in what will be a difficult journey, without a doubt, but an important and an essential and a necessary one,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said before the agreement was inked.
In a later statement he said that the U.S. would facilitate the implementation of the deal through a trilateral “Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” and that Washington would commit significant resources, including an immediate $100 million in humanitarian assistance in coordination with the U.N.
Rubio added that the U.S. reaffirmed its intent to improve the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces “to more effectively establish sovereignty throughout Lebanese territory” with more than $30 million in funds under existing U.S. authorities and appropriations.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah broke out when the armed group fired at Israel on March 2, days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. The Hezbollah attacks triggered Israeli air and ground attacks that have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million.
Lebanon’s Moawad also called it a “first step” on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty.
“Iran is out, Hezbollah is out, and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in,” Leiter said.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the deal would also allow the Lebanese army “to begin organizing to take control of territory,” starting with what he described as two “pilot zones” from which Israeli troops would withdraw from land they occupied during the war.
Israel describes that territory as a “security zone” or “buffer zone” where its troops can thwart Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the agreement should allow Lebanese to return to “fully liberated” land and rebuilt homes with “no partner” in its sovereignty.
Israel’s death toll from this round of hostilities with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians. Hezbollah does not release figures on its war dead. Reuters reported on May 4 that several thousand Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the war.
A State Department official told Reuters on Thursday that Israel had agreed to pull back from some of the territory it has occupied, something Israeli and Lebanese officials denied.
Before the talks resumed this week, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fire even as Israel kept troops in southern Lebanon.
Violence has persisted since the ceasefire, with Israel saying on Friday its troops had struck and killed what the military described as seven Hezbollah members who were operating near the territory it is occupying. Reuters could not confirm this.
“To the degree that the Lebanese army performs in dismantling and disarming Hezbollah, we will proceed with additional pilot zones and the ultimate determination of an internationally recognized, secure, and agreed upon border,” Leiter told reporters after the signing.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Lebanese authorities would not be able to enforce the agreement unless, with U.S. support, “they go to civil war,” pro-Iranian broadcaster Al Mayadeen reported, read the report.
Hezbollah would confront any measure taken by Lebanese authorities and would hold on to its weapons even more, adding that the group’s opposition was “serious” and would not allow authorities to implement their commitments on the ground, Fadlallah said.
Israeli forces dropped leaflets over the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, the first such order issued since the latest ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
A senior Lebanese military official said Israel had recently added Mansouri to its occupation zone. The official said Lebanese farmers had continued to enter and leave the town, but had not been living there.
An Israeli military spokesperson said the military issued what it described as a “reminder” to the civilian population that “the area is within the security zone in which (Israeli) soldiers operate. It’s a reminder not to be in the area so they won’t be harmed.”
World
Venezuela earthquake death toll rises to 188 as rescue efforts continue
According to officials, 138 aftershocks have been recorded since the twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck late Wednesday, causing widespread destruction.
The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela’s northern Caribbean coast has risen to 188, authorities confirmed on Thursday, as emergency crews continue search and rescue operations.
Jorge Rodriguez, President of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said 1,520 people have been hospitalized with injuries, while 157 people remain missing. Rescue teams are still searching for more than 200 people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
According to officials, 138 aftershocks have been recorded since the twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck late Wednesday, causing widespread destruction.
Rodriguez said 346 infrastructure sites sustained damage, including 250 buildings, 20 shopping centers, and eight hospitals, forcing authorities to transfer patients to other medical facilities.
The Venezuelan government has announced the establishment of a $200 million emergency reconstruction fund to support the rebuilding of damaged homes, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure.
Following the disaster, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a national state of emergency, while tsunami warnings were issued across parts of the Caribbean region after the powerful earthquakes.
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