Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war

Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war
Teenage Sudanese rapper Hanim Mohammed, also known as Nana, rehearses outside a tent at the Zaeem Al-Azhary School Shelter in Port Sudan. (AFP)
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Updated 30 January 2025
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Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war

Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war

PORT SUDAN: In a makeshift shelter carved out of a schoolyard in eastern Sudan, 14-year-old Hanim Mohammed uses her rap music to comfort families displaced by the country’s ongoing war.

For a few fleeting moments, the scars of 21 months of war seem to fade when families huddle together to hear Mohammed’s nostalgic rap lyrics about life before the war.

“When I play rap songs, everyone sings with me,” said Mohammed.

“This makes me so happy,” she said, lighting up with a radiant and captivating smile.

At a UN-sponsored space in the shelter, the young rapper, Nana, commanded the stage with electrifying energy.

Laughter and claps echoed through the air as women and children swayed and twirled to the beat — defying a war that has gripped the country since April 2023.

The conflict in Sudan has claimed the lives of tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million people, and pushed Sudanese to the brink of famine.

The war, which has pitted army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against his erstwhile ally Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, triggered the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded,” according to the International Rescue Committee.

Nana’s fans say her songs resonate deeply.

“The joy she brings is indescribable,” said Najwa Abdel Rahim, who attends Mohammed’s performances.

“I feel comfort and excitement when I listen to her music,” said Deir Fathi, another jubilant fan.

When the war erupted, Mohammed fled her hometown of Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum, with her family.

Now residing in a secondary school in Port Sudan, she uses rap to articulate her grief and preserve cherished memories of home, she said.

Her recollections of a once-vibrant city now fuel her creative expression, particularly in her poignant track “The Omdurman Tragedy.”

“You sit silently, and a fire breaks out. What do you do? Your brain itself is confused,” goes the song.

Mohammed’s love for rap took root for years, but the outbreak of war brought it home, pushing her to start writing her lyrics, she said. 

She has so far written nine songs.

“Most of the songs I composed were for the place I love the most and where I grew up — Omdurman,” she said.

“When the war erupted, this gave an even greater drive,” she added.

The teen rapper and her family share cramped quarters with dozens of displaced families at the shelter. Basic necessities are a daily struggle.

“The most difficult thing I faced was the water,” she said.

“Sometimes I found it salty, and other times it was bitter,” she added.

Conflict-ravaged Sudan, despite its many water sources, including the mighty Nile River, has long been parched and grappling with a water crisis.

Even before the war, a quarter of the population had to walk over 50 minutes to fetch water, according to the United Nations.

Now, from the arid western deserts of Darfur, through the lush Nile Valley, and to the shores of the Red Sea, a water crisis has hit 48 million war-weary Sudanese.

Yet Mohammed refuses to let such hardships keep her down.

Her music has become a lifeline for herself and the people who gather to watch her perform.

And Mohammed is not stopping there. In a small room at the shelter, she sat bent over her books — hoping to fulfill her dreams of becoming both a surgeon and a celebrated rapper.

But above all, she has one overriding wish: “The biggest wish I hope for is for the war to stop.”


Israel says struck military sites in east, south Lebanon

Updated 4 sec ago
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Israel says struck military sites in east, south Lebanon

Israel says struck military sites in east, south Lebanon
Lebanese state media on Thursday reported Israeli strikes on the country’s south and east
Four missiles were fired in the Nabatiyeh area of southern Lebanon

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said it struck military sites in east and south Lebanon on Thursday, in its latest attack despite a November ceasefire that ended a war against militant group Hezbollah.
“A short while ago, the IDF (military) struck a military site containing an underground terrorist infrastructure site in the Bekaa area in Lebanon, as well as a military site containing rocket launchers in southern Lebanon in which Hezbollah activity has been identified,” the military said in a statement.
Lebanese state media on Thursday reported Israeli strikes on the country’s south and east.
The state-run National News Agency said “enemy aircraft” struck “the eastern slopes of the mountain range within the town of Janta in the Bekaa,” as well as “the outskirts of the town of Taraya, west of Baalbek,” also in the east.
Four missiles were fired in the Nabatiyeh area of southern Lebanon, NNA said.
No casualties were immediately reported.
The November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of fighting between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of open war during which Israel sent in ground troops.
Hezbollah had said it was acting in support of Hamas militants fighting Israel in Gaza.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the truce agreement took effect.
Under the agreement, Israel had been expected to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems “strategic.”
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Fight against disinformation to continue, says Turkish official

Fight against disinformation to continue, says Turkish official
Updated 23 min 2 sec ago
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Fight against disinformation to continue, says Turkish official

Fight against disinformation to continue, says Turkish official

ANKARA: Following the decision to detain Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality officials and other suspects within the scope of a series of investigations conducted by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office, we note that some parties, especially leaders of the main opposition party, are making efforts to undermine the integrity of the investigations with political and ideological motives.

Among the political and ideological assessments made without familiarity with the content and details of the investigations that have begun, we are also witnessing irrational slanders against our president.

We will continue to stand firmly against such endeavors aimed at undermining the independence of our judiciary, which exercises its authority on behalf of the Turkish nation, as well as putting our president under suspicion, and will continue to protect the rights of our president against these ideological slander campaigns.

We emphasize our belief that all decisions of an impartial judiciary should be respected by all groups, and we would like to state that we will continue our fight against disinformation as the Communication Directorate in this process.

We ask our valued citizens to support this fight by dealing cautiously with unconfirmed and suspicious content and, as always, please rely on the statements of official institutions and authorities.

  • Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Altun is Head of the Communications Directorate of the Republic of Turkiye.

Houthi militant media reports fresh US strikes on Yemen

Houthi militant media reports fresh US strikes on Yemen
Updated 56 min 44 sec ago
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Houthi militant media reports fresh US strikes on Yemen

Houthi militant media reports fresh US strikes on Yemen
  • Four strikes hit Hodeida governorate on the Red Sea
  • The Houthis have reported several rounds of US attacks since Saturday

SANAA: Fresh attacks hit two areas of militant-held Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV station reported on Thursday, blaming “US aggression.”
Four strikes hit Hodeida governorate on the Red Sea, and a further attack hit Saada in the north, the birthplace of the Houthi movement, Al-Masirah said.
The attacks came around the same time that Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen for the second time in a day.
The Houthis have reported several rounds of US attacks since Saturday, when a heavy bombardment targeting senior figures killed 53 people, according to the militant group.
In return, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked a US aircraft carrier battle group and twice announced missile launches at Israeli targets.
The US attacks are aimed at stamping out months of strikes by the Houthis on Red Sea shipping during the Gaza war that have crippled the vital trade route.


Israel says it intercepts two missiles launched from Yemen

Israel says it intercepts two missiles launched from Yemen
Updated 20 March 2025
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Israel says it intercepts two missiles launched from Yemen

Israel says it intercepts two missiles launched from Yemen
  • There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the launch, but it comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis had threatened to escalate attacks in support of Palestinians

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said it intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen on Thursday after US President Donald Trump threatened to punish Iran over its perceived support for Yemeni Houthi militants.
Warning sirens sounded in Jerusalem and the nearby Israeli-occupied West Bank after the second missile was fired later in the day, the military said, adding that it was intercepted before it entered Israeli territory.
The military said it also downed a missile launched from Yemen earlier in the day after sirens blared in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Israel’s national ambulance service Magen David Adom said it received no reports of casualties following both launches.
The Houthis, undeterred by waves of US strikes since Saturday, fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson said in a televised statement earlier on Thursday.
The group has recently vowed to escalate attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.
US strikes that began on Saturday over Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping amount to the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 50 people.
Yemen’s Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported at least four US strikes on the Al Mina district of the Red Sea city of Hodeidah on Thursday, an area which houses a major port and the headquarters of Houthi naval forces.
Al Masirah TV reported another strike on Al-Safra district of Saada which, according to Yemeni sources, houses weapons storage and training sites, and is considered one of the group’s most important and heavily fortified military strongholds.
Trump threatened on Monday to hold Iran accountable for any future Houthi attacks, warning of severe consequences. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Houthis were independent and took their own strategic and operational decisions.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile toward Israel and would expand their range of targets in that country in coming days in retaliation for renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after weeks of relative calm.
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been dubbed the “Axis of Resistance” — an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.


EU leaders deplore breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza

EU leaders deplore breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza
Updated 20 March 2025
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EU leaders deplore breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza

EU leaders deplore breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza
  • The European Council deplores the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza

BRUSSELS: EU leaders said on Thursday that they deplore the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza and Hamas’ refusal to hand over remaining hostages.
“The European Council deplores the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza, which has caused a large number of civilian casualties in recent air strikes. It deplores the refusal of Hamas to hand over the remaining hostages,” it said in a statement.