Sudan’s rains spread wartime suffering across the country

A person sits on bags of aid on a makeshift raft while others wade through flood water, following devastating floods, in South Tokar, Red Sea State, Sudan, August 28, 2024. (REUTERS)
A person sits on bags of aid on a makeshift raft while others wade through flood water, following devastating floods, in South Tokar, Red Sea State, Sudan, August 28, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 30 August 2024
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Sudan’s rains spread wartime suffering across the country

Sudan’s rains spread wartime suffering across the country
  • Elsewhere in the eastern Red Sea State, the Arbaat Dam collapsed on Sunday, threatening the freshwater supply for Port Sudan, the country’s de facto capital

TOKAR: Since floods swept away their home in eastern Sudan, Ahmed Hadab and his family have survived by drinking water with milk from his last surviving goat.
“We don’t have any food,” he said after days of walking, trying to find something to eat, somewhere else to stay. “The torrent took the sorghum, flour, and two of my goats and my donkey.”
Floodwaters from heavy rains that started surging in earlier this month have brought devastation across a country already shattered by 500 days of fierce fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Now, the natural disaster has spread destruction further than the conflict.
Near Tokar, in the country’s eastern region, which has escaped the violence, a Reuters reporter saw people pulling each other out of the water onto the remnants of a bridge with ropes.
Elsewhere in the eastern Red Sea State, the Arbaat Dam collapsed on Sunday, threatening the freshwater supply for Port Sudan, the country’s de facto capital, up to now a relative refuge for the government and aid agencies and hundreds of thousands of displaced.
At least 64 people from the area are missing.
According to locals, others are stranded on higher ground with no food and little hope of rescue. Many hundreds of households are also displaced in Sudan’s Northern State, another region largely untouched by the fighting, according to the United Nations.
In Darfur, where millions are threatened with extreme hunger, the rain has damaged displacement camps and delayed the arrival of crucial aid, according to the World Food Programme.
The UN estimates that the flooding impacts more than 300,000 people. It has brought cholera for the second year running, with 1,351 cases reported as of Wednesday, likely an undercount as the army-aligned Health Ministry struggles to access the large portion of the country occupied by the RSF.
Abulgasim Musa, head of Sudan’s Early Warning meteorological unit, said that the extreme rains that have unusually hit desert areas were likely caused by climate change. His unit had warned about them in May, he said.
In the land around Tokar, Mohamed Tahir joined scores of others on the roads.
An underfunded and overstretched aid effort has meant that only a few construction vehicles are dotted around the region, helping carry people across the flood water and fixing routes so they can escape.
“Homes are collapsed. Some have been taken by the water and not been found,” Tahir said.
“There are some who have died and they haven’t been buried.”

 


WHO warns of possible Lebanon disease outbreaks 

WHO warns of possible Lebanon disease outbreaks 
Updated 20 sec ago
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WHO warns of possible Lebanon disease outbreaks 

WHO warns of possible Lebanon disease outbreaks 

GENEVA: A World Health Organization official warned on Tuesday of disease outbreaks in Lebanon due to crowded conditions in displacement shelters and hospital closures as medics have fled Israel’s assault.

Israeli forces have begun ground operations in the southwest of Lebanon, escalating a year-long conflict with Iran-backed group Hezbollah that has killed over 1,000 people in the past two weeks and triggered a mass flight.

“We are facing a situation where there is a much higher risk of disease outbreaks, such as acute watery diarrhea, hepatitis A, and a number of vaccine-preventable diseases,” the WHO’s Ian Clarke, deputy incident manager for Lebanon, told a Geneva press briefing by video link from Beirut.

The UN health agency has already warned that the system is overstretched and so far five hospitals in the country have closed and four are only partly functional, Clarke said. He added that hospitals had been shut because medics had either fled the fighting or been asked to evacuate by Lebanese authorities.


Israel army says dismantled Hezbollah tunnel that crossed into Israel

Israel army says dismantled Hezbollah tunnel that crossed into Israel
Updated 2 min 40 sec ago
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Israel army says dismantled Hezbollah tunnel that crossed into Israel

Israel army says dismantled Hezbollah tunnel that crossed into Israel
“Tonight, we reported that we located and dismantled a tunnel of about 25 meters long,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said
“We detected this a few months ago, we identified and investigated it using technological means”

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said its forces dismantled a Hezbollah tunnel that crossed into the country’s territory, as its troops continued to carry out ground operations in southern Lebanon.
“Tonight, we reported that we located and dismantled a tunnel of about 25 meters long, which crossed the border fence about 10 meters ... into Israeli territory,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing.
“We detected this a few months ago, we identified and investigated it using technological means, we did not let Hezbollah know that we knew about it and now we can confirm that we are also dismantling it.”
In a separate statement, the military said the tunnel crossed from the Marwahin area in Lebanon into Israeli territory near the Zarit community.
During the operation, the army located weapons, explosive devices and anti-tank missiles in the tunnel, it said.
Hagari said Israeli troops continue to search for other tunnels along the “entire” border and in villages in southern Lebanon.
“The tunnel was under full operational control until the arrival of the soldiers in the area to prevent its use for terrorist activities,” the army said.
“For years, Hezbollah’s southern front has built an extensive network of underground infrastructure and command centers in southern Lebanon, aimed at attacking IDF (army) soldiers during combat and executing attack plans against communities in northern Israel,” it said.
Israel has intensified its campaign against Hezbollah since late September, launching continuous air strikes against the group’s strongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon and in Beirut.
Its troops have meanwhile pressed a ground offensive in southern Lebanon.

Hamas ‘still recruiting’ young men, says Meshaal

Hamas ‘still recruiting’ young men, says Meshaal
Updated 5 min 36 sec ago
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Hamas ‘still recruiting’ young men, says Meshaal

Hamas ‘still recruiting’ young men, says Meshaal
  • Palestinian group is ‘alive and kicking and continues to manufacture weapons’

DOHA: Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal said the Palestinian group would rise “like a phoenix” from the ashes despite heavy losses during a year of war with Israel, and that it continues to recruit fighters and manufacture weapons.

One year after the Hamas attack that triggered the war, Meshaal framed the conflict with Israel as part of a broader narrative spanning 76 years, dating back to what Palestinians call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe,” when many were displaced during the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel.

“Palestinian history is made of cycles,” Meshaal, 68, a senior Hamas figure under overall leader Yahya Sinwar, told Reuters in an interview.

“We go through phases where we lose martyrs (victims) and we lose part of our military capabilities, but then the Palestinian spirit rises again, like the phoenix, thanks to God.”

Meshaal, who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 1997 after he was injected with poison and was overall Hamas leader from 1996-2017, said the Islamist militant group was still able to mount ambushes against Israeli troops.

Hamas also fired four missiles from Gaza on Monday morning, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered the war. All were intercepted.

“We lost part of our ammunition and weapons, but Hamas is still recruiting young men and continues to manufacture a significant portion of its ammunition and weapons,” said Meshaal, without providing details.

Meshaal remains influential in Hamas because he has played a crucial role in its leadership for almost three decades, and is widely seen now as its diplomatic face. His comments appear intended as a signal that the group will fight on whatever its losses, Middle East analysts said.

“Overall I would say (Hamas is) alive and kicking still and ... will probably come back at some point in Gaza,” said Joost R. Hiltermann, Middle East and North Africa Program Director of the International Crisis Group.

He said Israel had not spelled out a plan for Gaza when the war ends, and this could allow Hamas to re-establish itself although perhaps not with such strength or in the same form. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined comment on Meshaal’s remarks. Israel says Hamas no longer exists as an organized military structure and has been reduced to guerrilla tactics. At least a third of the Palestinian fatalities in Gaza, around 17,000 people, are Hamas fighters, according to Israeli officials. About 350 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza.

Meshaal said he saw no prospects for peace while Netanyahu’s government is in power. Israel blames Hamas, whose founding charter calls for Israel’s destruction, for the failure to secure peace. 

“As long as the (Israeli) occupation exists, the region remains a ticking time bomb,” Meshaal said.


More airlines suspend flights as Middle East tensions rise

More airlines suspend flights as Middle East tensions rise
Updated 4 min 36 sec ago
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More airlines suspend flights as Middle East tensions rise

More airlines suspend flights as Middle East tensions rise
  • Concerns over wider conflict prompt major carriers to avoid affected airspace

BEIRUT: Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region or to avoid affected air space.

Greece’s Aegean Airlines canceled flights to and from Beirut until Oct. 31 and to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 13.

Algeria’s Air Algerie suspended flights to and from Lebanon until further notice.

Latvia’s airBaltic canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 31.

The Spanish airline Air Europa canceled flights to Tel Aviv until Oct. 14.

Air France extended its suspension of Paris-Tel Aviv flights until Oct. 15 and Paris-Beirut flights until Oct. 26. 

KLM extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until the end of this year at least. 

The Franco-Dutch group’s low-cost unit Transavia canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 31, 2025, and flights to Amman and Beirut until Nov. 3.

Air India, the Indian flag carrier, suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

Bulgaria Air canceled flights to and from Israel until Oct. 31.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific canceled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 27, 2025.

The US carrier Delta Air Lines paused flights between New York and Tel Aviv through Dec. 31.

The UK budget airline Easy Jet stopped flying to and from Tel Aviv in April and will resume flights on March 30, 2025.

Emirates canceled flights to Beirut through Oct. 15 and flights to and from Iran on Oct. 8. It resumed flights to Amman from Oct. 6 and to Iraq from Oct. 8.

flydubai suspended flights between Dubai and Beirut until Oct. 31.

British Airways canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv through Oct. 26.

Iberia Express canceled flights to Tel Aviv until Oct. 31.

Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling canceled operations to Tel Aviv until Jan. 12, 2025, while flights to Amman were canceled until further notice.

Iran Air canceled all flights to and from Beirut until further notice.

Iraqi Airways suspended flights to Beirut until further notice.

Italy’s ITA Airways extended the suspension of Tel Aviv flights through Oct. 31.

The Polish flag carrier LOT canceled flights to Tel Aviv until Oct. 26, while its first scheduled flight to Beirut is planned for April 1, 2025.

Germany’s Lufthansa suspended flights to Tel Aviv until Oct. 31 while flights to Tehran were suspended through Oct. 26. Flights to Beirut were suspended until Nov. 30.

It will not use Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice, aside from a corridor used for flights to and from Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. Israeli airspace will not be used until Oct. 31.

SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, suspended flights to Beirut through Dec. 17.

The Turkish airline Pegasus canceled flights to Beirut until Oct. 28.

Europe’s biggest budget airline Ryanair canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 26.

Qatar Airways temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon.

The German airline Sundair canceled Berlin-Beirut and Bremen-Beirut flights until Oct. 31.

The Chicago-based United Airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv for the foreseeable future.

The UK carrier Virgin Atlantic extended its suspension of Tel Aviv flights until the end of March 2025.

The Hungary-based airline Wizz Air suspended flights to and from Israel through Oct. 8.


War monitor says four dead in Israel strike on Damascus

War monitor says four dead in Israel strike on Damascus
Updated 08 October 2024
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War monitor says four dead in Israel strike on Damascus

War monitor says four dead in Israel strike on Damascus
  • “Israel targeted a building frequented by senior Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah operatives,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said

BEIRUT: A war monitor said four people were killed in an Israeli air strike Tuesday targeting a building in the Syrian capital used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards for meetings with Hezbollah.
“Israel targeted a building frequented by senior Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah operatives, as well as a car parked in front of the building... killing four people,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Earlier, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported an Israeli strike on a residential building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, which is home to security headquarters and embassies.