How conflict and mass displacement in Sudan are exacting a devastating toll on civilians

Special How conflict and mass displacement in Sudan are exacting a devastating toll on civilians
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Sudan is in the grips of the world’s largest internal-displacement crisis, with millions fleeing the fighting. (Corentin Fohlen/Divergence
Special How conflict and mass displacement in Sudan are exacting a devastating toll on civilians
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Ambelia transit camp in Chad was set up to temporarily host vulnerable Sudanese refugees, including war wounded. At the end of May, the people sheltered in Ambelia were able to be transferred to a more permanent site: the Farchana camp, which was one of the first camps to open in eastern Chad in January 2004 and was expanded to make room for the new refugees. (Corentin Fohlen/Divergence)
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Updated 05 August 2024
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How conflict and mass displacement in Sudan are exacting a devastating toll on civilians

How conflict and mass displacement in Sudan are exacting a devastating toll on civilians
  • Sudanese face ‘horrendous levels of violence, repeated attacks, abuse and exploitation,’ says MSF
  • Award-winning Sudanese photographer describes the torment of civilians whose lives he documents

DUBAI: Sudanese freelance photographer Faiz Abubakr has been documenting the crisis in his home country that began in April 2023, when violence broke out between rival military factions.

The Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Sudan’s de facto president, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, have been locked in battle with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, ever since.




In this combination photo, Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (left frame) attends a graduation ceremony in Gibet near Port Sudan on July 31, 2024, while paramilitary forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is shown in the other photo addressings his followers at an undisclosed location on July 28, 2023. (AFP photos)

Despite the immense danger, Abubakr felt compelled to go out into the streets with his camera to record the catastrophe unfolding in his home city of Khartoum and capture the impact of the generals’ bitter rivalry on its beleaguered citizens.

“Many questions ran through my mind about the lives of these residents who fled daily from the scourge of war, whose homes and belongings were consumed by fire, and who died in tragic ways,” Abubakr told Arab News. “These questions related to how they spent their days under the roar of planes and explosions, which forced them to abandon their homes and were haunted by the curses of displacement.”

According to the UN, Sudan is now in the grips of the world’s largest internal-displacement crisis, with millions forced to flee their homes, including Abubakr who initially sought refuge in Egypt with his family

After a few months, he returned to Sudan to work for several news agencies until he was wounded, he said, by an RSF gunman. While he recovered, he and his family moved to Kassala, located in the east of Sudan, close to the border with Eritrea.

Abubakr’s clients had included AFP, Le Monde, and The New York Times. Prior to the conflict, he was the recipient of the 2022 World Press Photo Award in the “Africa, singles” category. Now he is just trying to survive.

“The situation is much worse than before,” said Abubakr. “Life is very difficult due to lack of food and livelihood. There is the threat of famine in all parts of the country.




Even in displacement, freelance photographer Faiz Abubakr has continued to photograph the conflict unfolding around him in Sudan. (Instagram)

Even in displacement, Abubakr has continued to photograph the conflict unfolding around him, in particular its impact on civilians forced to leave their homes.

“I try to document their stories, but it is very difficult to photograph due to security reasons,” he said. “I lost everything during the war, including most of my photography equipment. My psychological state is becoming worse.”

INNUMBERS

10 million People internally displaced in Sudan, according to the UN.

25 million More than half of the population in need of humanitarian aid.

Abubakr is not alone. The conflict has taken a devastating toll on the health and wellbeing of Sudanese civilians, according to a new report by Medecins Sans Frontieres, whose staff operate in eight states across Sudan.

The population has faced “horrendous levels of violence, succumbing to widespread fighting and surviving repeated attacks, abuse, and exploitation” by the warring parties, the report states.

“The violence in Sudan shows no signs of abating,” Vickie Hawkins, executive director of MSF UK, writes in the report. “In fact, it is intensifying at a pace that outstrips our ability to process, document and respond to the daily events that our teams and patients experience in Sudan.”




People receive treatment at the Bashair hospital in Sudan's capital during the early weeks of the war last year. Many hospitals in Khartoum and other states have closed because of attacks against health workers. (AFP/File)

The report draws on medical and operational data collected by MSF from April 15, 2023, to May 15 this year. It notes the patterns of violence and abuse observed by MSF teams and the devastating impact of the fighting on public health.

In the report, an unnamed health worker at Al-Nao hospital in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, described the aftermath of recent shelling in a residential area of the city.

“About 20 people arrived and died straight after. Some arrived already dead,” the health worker said. “Most of them came with already hanging hands or legs, already amputated. Some only with a small part of skin keeping two limbs together.

“One patient came with an amputated leg, their caregiver followed behind, carrying their missing limb in their hand.”




The destruction that followed the storming and looting of an MSF-supported health facility in Sudan. (MSF)

According to MSF, Al-Nao hospital has treated 6,776 patients for injuries caused by armed violence between Aug. 15, 2023 and April 30 this year — an average of 26 people per day.

“After 15 months of conflict, the warring parties show a complete lack of regard for any civilian life,” Kyle McNally, a project coordinator for MSF who was recently stationed in Sudan’s southwestern city of Nyala, told Arab News.

“These are the people that they claim to be representing and fighting for. Instead, this is really a war on the people of Sudan in the way that they’re conducting their hostilities. We see very egregious violations of civilian protection and attacks against civilians as well as civilian infrastructure.




Kyle McNally, a project coordinator for Medicins Sans Frontieres. (MSF photo)

“Hospitals and medical staff have not been spared. We see numerous attacks against healthcare facilities. The hospital system and the healthcare system have been completely decimated by the fighting.”

According to the UN, Sudan faces a deepening food crisis, with around 25 million people — including more than 14 million children, of whom 3 million are under the age of five, suffering acute malnutrition — in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

At least 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the violence, according to newly released data from the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

“The conflict in Sudan has become one of the largest displacement crises in the world,” Alyona Synenko, spokesperson for the Africa region at the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Arab News from Nairobi.

“We’re talking about a quarter of the population of the country that has fled their homes. People have lost their homes and lost access to essential means for survival.”

The displacement of farmers, in particular, has led to the collapse of Sudan’s agricultural sector, exacerbating food insecurity. “Food production has suffered immensely, and we’re witnessing a worsening food crisis,” said Synenko. 

“We have hundreds of people who call us, desperate, because they don’t know what happened to their loved ones. We have more and more families who are separated and have lost any means to contact each other.”




Displaced children share a meal provided through a charity initiative at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (AFP)

During the first half of 2024, the ICRC worked in partnership with the Sudanese Red Crescent to provide emergency assistance and essential services. However, its efforts have been frustrated by the security situation, administrative challenges, and difficulties accessing communities.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, where allegations of ethnic cleansing and attacks on hospitals have emerged.

“We saw just utter devastation throughout the city of Nyala, which used to be the second most populous city in Sudan,” said McNally of MSF.

“The entire northern half of the city is almost completely destroyed. You see a complete lack of basic services anywhere. There has been virtually no international humanitarian response in this part of the country.

“You really see people struggling. You have the residents who remained, and then you also have IDP camps in the surrounding area with hundreds of thousands of people. You see a lot of people who are incredibly desperate and very little assistance currently reaching them.”




Volunteers in a charity provide meals at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (AFP)

According to Abubakr, Sudanese civilians suffer especially badly in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. The paramilitary group now controls most of Khartoum, Al-Jazirah, Kordofan, and the vast western region of Darfur.

Of particular concern are reports of sexual and gender-based violence emerging from across the country, but especially from Darfur.

An MSF survey of 135 survivors of sexual violence, treated in refugee camps in Chad by MSF teams between July and December 2023, found that 90 percent were abused by an armed perpetrator. Fifty percent were abused in their own home and 40 percent were raped by multiple attackers.




The conflict has left tens of thousands of people disabled. (Corentin Fohlen/Divergence 

Abubakr recalls feeling haunted by the sight of his neighbors in Khartoum abandoning their homes — leaving places and belongings that were integral to their identity, not knowing whether they would ever return. He never believed that he, too, would flee the city of his birth.

Now, only the memories and the photographs of a home he someday hopes to reclaim remain.

“I see that a person does not inhabit the place as much as the place inhabits them,” said Abubakr. “The images and scenes of my home never left my mind. I wish to return to it again.”
 

 

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Libya’s eastern-based government bars entry of EU migration commissioner, three ministers

Libya’s eastern-based government bars entry of EU migration commissioner, three ministers
Updated 33 sec ago
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Libya’s eastern-based government bars entry of EU migration commissioner, three ministers

Libya’s eastern-based government bars entry of EU migration commissioner, three ministers
  • The ministers represent Italy, Greece and Malta, in addition to a commissioner from the European Union
  • They were declared persona non grata and told to leave Libyan territory immediately

TRIPOLI: The European Union migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece were denied entry to the eastern part of divided Libya on Tuesday as they had disregarded “Libyan national sovereignty,” the Benghazi-based government said.
The delegation had arrived to attend a meeting with the parallel government of Osama Hamad, allied to military commander Khalifa Haftar who controls the east and large areas of southern Libya, shortly after a meeting with the rival, internationally recognized government that controls the west of Libya.
The delegation included EU Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, Greek Migration and Asylum minister Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri.
The Benghazi-based government said the visit was canceled upon the delegation’s arrival at Benghazi airport whereupon the ministers were declared persona non grata and told to leave Libyan territory immediately.
Members of the European delegation did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The Hamad government had said on Monday all foreign visitors and diplomatic missions should not come to Libya and move inside the country without its prior permission.
Earlier in the day, the EU delegation had met in Tripoli with the UN-recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbiebah to discuss the migration crisis before flying to Benghazi.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Qaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. Factional conflict has split the country since 2014.
Dbeibah said during the meeting he had tasked his interior ministry with developing a national plan to tackle migration “based on practical cooperation with partners and reflecting a clear political will to build sustainable solutions.”


Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement

Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement
Updated 08 July 2025
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Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement

Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement
  • 3,629 Palestinians detained under administrative detention, a practice allowing Israeli authorities to hold individuals in prison without trial
  • Since the 1967 occupation, over 800,000 Palestinians have spent time in Israeli jails

LONDON: More than 10,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, the highest prisoner count since the Second Intifada in 2000, Palestinian prisoners’ advocacy groups reported on Tuesday.

As of early July, some 10,800 prisoners are said to be held in Israeli detention centers and prisons, including 50 women — two of whom are from the Gaza Strip — and over 450 children. The figures do not include individuals detained in Israeli military camps such as Sde Teiman, where many people from Gaza are believed to be held and subjected to torture.

A total of 3,629 Palestinians are currently detained under administrative detention, a practice that allows Israeli authorities to hold individuals in prison without trial for six months, which is subject to indefinite renewals.

A further 2,454 detainees are designated as “unlawful combatants,” including Palestinians and Arabs from Lebanon and Syria.

Since the 1967 occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, over 800,000 Palestinians have spent time in Israeli jails, according to a UN report in 2023.


3 dead in north Lebanon strike that Israel says hit Hamas militant

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a “key” figure from Hamas.
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a “key” figure from Hamas.
Updated 29 min 11 sec ago
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3 dead in north Lebanon strike that Israel says hit Hamas militant

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a “key” figure from Hamas.
  • Israel has kept up strikes against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire
  • “A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck a key Hamas terrorist in the area of Tripoli in Lebanon,” Israeli military said

JERUSALEM: Lebanon said three people were killed Tuesday in a strike near Tripoli that the Israeli military said targeted a Hamas militant, the first on the north since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The strike came amid ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar and as five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.
Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite the November truce, mainly hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets but also occasionally targeting Hamas.
“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck a key Hamas terrorist in the area of Tripoli in Lebanon,” the Israeli army said in a statement, without providing further details.
In an updated toll, Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike on a vehicle “killed three people and wounded 13” in an area that is close to a Palestinian refugee camp.
An AFP photographer saw a burnt out car surrounded by the emergency services and onlookers.
Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of cross-border hostilities launched by Hezbollah in October 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally.
Israel has struck Hamas operatives in Lebanon, including since the ceasefire.
In May, Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in a strike on the southern city of Sidon as Israel said it targeted “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon.”
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon remain common, but raids on the north have been rare.
In October, Hamas said one of its operatives was killed along with his wife and two daughters in a strike on their home in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. Israel’s military said it targeted “a senior member of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon.”
In May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Beirut for talks on disarming militants in refugee camps across Lebanon as the Beirut government seeks to impose its authority across all its territory.
The Israeli military said earlier that it had killed two militants of the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah in two separate attacks on southern Lebanon Monday.
It identified one of them as Ali Haidar, a local Hezbollah commander whom it said was involved in restoring militant infrastructure sites in the area.
Hezbollah’s clout has diminished after it emerged bruised from a conflict with Israel last year, fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel, however, has kept up strikes against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire.
Israel said last week that it was “interested” in striking peace agreements with Lebanon and neighboring Syria.
The ceasefire aimed to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after the Lebanese group launched a wave of cross-border attacks on northern Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.


Four dead in fire at major Cairo telecoms hub, Internet disrupted

Fire fighters battle flames for the second day after a fire engulfed the main telecom company building in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday.
Fire fighters battle flames for the second day after a fire engulfed the main telecom company building in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday.
Updated 08 July 2025
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Four dead in fire at major Cairo telecoms hub, Internet disrupted

Fire fighters battle flames for the second day after a fire engulfed the main telecom company building in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday.
  • Internet and phone connections were still heavily disrupted in Cairo on Tuesday, with the Egyptian stock exchange suspending operations

CAIRO: At least four people were killed and 27 injured in a fire at a major telecomms center in Egypt’s capital that caused widespread disruptions, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Internet and phone connections were still heavily disrupted in Cairo on Tuesday, with the Egyptian stock exchange suspending operations.
Flights into and out of the capital had also been affected by the fire, which began on Monday evening, although by the following morning the civil aviation ministry said all flights had resumed following delays caused by the blaze.
Gas and electricity outages were also reported on Monday by Cairo governor Ibrahim Saber.
“Civil defense forces recovered four bodies from the scene of the incident,” the healthy ministry said in a statement.
The authorities are yet to announce a cause for the fire, nor has any information been given about the 27 injured.
Local media reported that the fire at the Ramses Exchange, the former communications ministry headquarters, was extinguished on Monday night.


Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day

Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day
Updated 08 July 2025
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Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day

Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day
  • Wildfires in Latakia’s rugged Jabal Turkman region were sparked by combination of unexploded ordnance, drought
  • Damascus sought support from the EU to combat wildfires on Tuesday

LONDON: Jordanian air forces continue to assist authorities in Syria’s coastal region to combat wildfires, which have damaged more than 10,000 hectares of land over six days.

Jordan was one of the first countries to dispatch help to the Syrian Arab Republic, alongside Lebanon and Turkiye, all neighboring countries. The UN also deployed teams to assist Syria, while on Tuesday, Damascus sought support from the EU to combat the fires.

The wildfires in Latakia’s Jabal Turkman region were sparked by a combination of unexploded ordnance from the country’s civil war as well as high temperatures and drought.

Jordan sent two Black Hawk helicopters with firefighting crews and equipment. The Jordanian mission is working to prevent the further expansion of fires and mitigate the impact on local communities and ecosystems, Petra reported.

The wildfires have been difficult to contain due to rugged terrain, dense vegetation, landmines, unexploded ordnance and high winds, which have further complicated response efforts, authorities said.

The decision to help Syria demonstrates Jordan’s commitment to providing humanitarian support and responding to regional crises, Petra added.