Nearly two-and-a-half months after deadly fighting between rival factions erupted in Sudan, ending tenuous moves toward democracy and shattering the hopes of millions for a brighter future, Sudan has descended into violence and chaos that threaten to engulf the entire region.

“It is heartbreaking to see that hope decimated,” said Volker Türk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

“This is a human rights and humanitarian crisis that is unfolding at an alarming rate, on a devastating scale and with a complexity not seen before in the country,” he said. “This is a crisis reverberating across an entire region. It is a powder keg.”

The high commissioner presented a grim assessment of the human rights situation in Sudan to participants of an interactive dialogue held at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday.

In his oral update on conditions in Sudan, he painted a bleak picture of a country that “has been plunged into chaos” since conflict erupted April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“The people of Sudan are suffering immeasurably,” he said. “The streets of Khartoum and its surrounding cities, of El Geneina and of El Obeid are stained with the blood of civilians.

“And millions are still in need of vital humanitarian assistance, which, in many places, has been all but impossible to deliver,” he said.

Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health reports more than 958 civilians have been killed and 6,083 injured, though the actual casualty numbers are believed to be much higher. The U.N. refugee agency says 1.42 million people are internally displaced and more than half-a-million have taken refuge in neighboring countries.

Türk said children were bearing the harrowing consequences of the war, “with more than 13 million across the country in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support.”

He said he was appalled by allegations of sexual violence, including rape, noting that his office had received credible reports of 18 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence against at least 53 women and girls.

“In almost all cases, the RSF has been identified as the perpetrator,” he said.

He called on authorities to conduct prompt, impartial investigations into alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

He noted that “failure to pursue accountability for past grave violations has contributed to the current crisis.

“To break the cycle of violence, impunity must end,” he said.

Hassan Hamid Hassan, permanent representative of Sudan to the U.N. office in Geneva, blamed the rebel forces of breaching international human rights and humanitarian law.

He took umbrage at the United Nations, which he accused of holding the SAF and RSF equally responsible for the violence and widespread violations and abuse.

“After two months and five days, United Nations entities are still speaking the same grainy language, referring to two warring parties,” he said.

“The United Nations was still not calling a spade a spade,” he said. “The perpetrators were documenting their atrocities on social media,” he said, “while some United Nations entities were hiding behind gray language, instead of calling out the rebel forces to stop their behavior.”

Mohamed Belaiche, head of the African Union Liaison Office in Sudan, disagreed with the Sudanese ambassador’s criticism of the United Nations, maintaining that the ongoing dialogue “was a demonstration of support for Sudan.”

He said, “We are not here to judge; we are here to help.”

However, he warned that the “fratricidal clashes between two military entities,” resulting in a tragic humanitarian situation and destruction of civilian infrastructure posed “a real threat to peace and security throughout the Horn of Africa region.”

The Sudanese Armed Forces overthrew Sudan’s long-ruling president, Omar al-Bashir, from power April 11, 2019, following popular protests for his removal.

Belaiche reminded the Sudanese ambassador of the pivotal role played by the African Union as the architect of the transition to democracy in August 2019.

As such, he said the AU “firmly rejects the option of a military solution to this crisis, and advocates the search for a consensual political solution, through an inclusive and transparent political dialogue.”

Enass Muzamel is a human rights defender from Sudan and co-founder of Mandaniva, a group that supports the active participation of women and youth in their communities and in policymaking.

She said the war raging in Sudan was not a civil war but a war between two factions fighting to further their own interests.

“The war is a result of generals who put their interests over those of their citizens,” she said. “The Sudanese people have nothing to do with this war, except to pay the price. The Sudanese people have been standing up against the oppressive regime,” she said, “and now this bitter experience is what they have got.”

She called on the international community to apply the strongest pressure, including sanctions on the war generals and “to hold those accountable for their crimes against the Sudanese people.”
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Heavy clashes broke out between rival military factions in several parts of Sudan’s capital on Wednesday as a 72-hour cease-fire that saw several reports of violations expired, witnesses said.

Shortly before the truce ended at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) fighting was reported in all three of the cities that make up the wider capital around the confluence of the Nile: Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman.

Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been battling each other for more than two months, wreaking destruction on the capital, triggering widespread violence in the western region of Darfur and causing more than 2.5 million people to flee their homes.

Witnesses said army aircraft carried out air strikes in Bahri and the RSF responded with anti-aircraft fire. They reported artillery fire and heavy clashes in Omdurman and ground fighting in southern Khartoum.

Residents also reported clashes near an army camp in South Kordofan State, where a large rebel force that is not clearly aligned with either of the factions fighting in Khartoum has been mobilizing.

The ceasefire was the latest of several truce deals brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks in Jeddah.

As with previous ceasefires, there were reports of violations by both sides.

Late on Tuesday, both factions blamed the other for a large fire at the intelligence headquarters, which is housed in a defense compound in central Khartoum that has been fought over since the fighting erupted on April 15.

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said that if the warring factions failed to observe the cease-fire they would consider adjourning the Jeddah talks, which critics have questioned as ineffective.

The conflict in Sudan erupted amid disputes over internationally backed plans for a transition away from military rule following a coup in 2021 and four years after long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir was ousted during a popular uprising.
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Counterterrorism experts said Tuesday that Africa is now the world’s terrorism hot spot, with half of the victims killed last year in sub-Saharan Africa, though al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates remain widespread, persistent and active elsewhere around the globe. 

Interpol, the international criminal police agency, also reported during a panel discussion at the U.N. that terrorism linked to extreme right-wing ideology increased an estimated 50-fold over the past decade, particularly in Europe, North America and parts of the Asia-Pacific. 

The experts see other trends: Deteriorating global security is making the terrorism threat “more complex and decentralized.” Extremists are increasingly using sophisticated technology, and drones and artificial intelligence have opened new ways to plan and carry out attacks. 

The United Nations this week is hosting its third high-level conference of heads of counterterrorism agencies. Tuesday’s panel on assessing current and emerging terrorist trends and threats brought together experts from the U.N., Interpol, Russia, the United States and Qatar, and Google’s senior manager for strategic intelligence. 

The overall theme for the week is addressing terrorism through reinvigorated international cooperation. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during Monday’s opening session the key is to unite not only in foiling attacks but also critically to focus on preventing terrorism by tackling poverty, discrimination, poor infrastructure, gross human rights violations and other underlying drivers. 

Africa ‘key battleground’

At Tuesday’s session, it was Africa that took the spotlight. 

“Africa has emerged as the key battleground for terrorism, with a major increase in the number of active groups operating on the continent,” U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said, noting that local political, economic and social “fractures,” porous borders, and “identity-based mobilization” had fueled the emergence of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. 

Several areas of the continent, from Burkina Faso and the Sahel and more broadly to Chad and Sudan, still face the consequences of the flow of weapons and foreign fighters from Libya, Khiari said. 

Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. After the Islamic State’s self-styled caliphate was defeated in Iraq in 2017, many of its foreign fighters fled to the North African nation. 

Colonel General Igor Sirotkin, deputy director of Russia’s Federal Security Service and head of its National Anti-Terrorism Committee, told the meeting that West Africa, especially the Maghreb and the Sahel, “are becoming the epicenter of the Islamist terrorist threat, with the armed terrorist groups expanding their influence, and we see the danger of ISIS being reincarnated as an African caliphate.” 

Qatar’s special envoy for counterterrorism, Mutiaq Al-Qahtani, who said half the victims of terrorist acts last year were in sub-Saharan Africa, called for counterterrorism efforts to focus on the continent. 

Justin Hustwitt, the coordinator of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against the Islamic State and al-Qaida, said the situation in West Africa continues to deteriorate and IS “seems to be trying to position itself as a political actor.” 

He said IS in the greater Sahara is taking advantage of the lack of counterterrorism operations, especially in the tri-border area of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and there are “growing concerns” about IS and al-Qaida taking advantage of any opportunity in Congo. 

‘Aftershocks’ from wars

Elsewhere, the U.N.’s Khiari said the Middle East also continues to suffer “aftershocks” from the wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. 

Interpol’s counterterrorism director, Gregory Hinds, said al-Qaida- and IS-related groups continue to inspire and carry out attacks in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, North America, Europe “and now across Africa and Asia at alarming pace.” 

Hinds said the 50-fold increase in terrorism linked to extreme right-wing ideology “is being influenced by global events and global agenda.” 

Secretary-General Guterres also said “neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements are fast becoming the primary internal security threats in a number of countries.” 

Number of conflicts growing

On the significant deterioration of global security in the last few years, the U.N.’s Khiari said the number of conflicts globally is on the rise again after two decades of consistent decline, and their nature has changed. 

“Civil wars that start off locally are more likely to become internationalized, and conflict parties are increasingly fragmented,” he said. “Civil wars aggravate grievances and foment regional international instabilities creating a fertile ground for non-state armed groups, including terrorist groups, to proliferate.” 

On a more positive note, Gregory LoGerfo, the U.S. State Department’s deputy coordinator for counterterrorism, said IS has not only been defeated in Iraq and Syria but its leadership has been “taken out or captured,” large-scale attacks have been prevented, and billions have been invested in stabilizing the region. 

“But for all of our progress, we’re not done yet,” he said, expressing concern at increasingly frequent attacks by al-Qaida affiliates and expanding IS branches that are “ravaging” West Africa. 

The U.N.’s Hustwitt echoed that Daesh’s leadership has suffered serious attrition, adding that “the group’s resources are depleting, and they are very focused on revenue generation.” 

Tobias Peyeri, Google’s senior manager for strategic intelligence who formerly worked for the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the company bans content produced by or supporting designated terrorist organizations, and is committed to fighting “the hatred and extremism that leads to terrorist violence.” 

But he said bad actors, such as extremist groups, “continue to become more savvy in evading detection,” citing as examples their use of coded communications, complex narratives and conspiracy theories, and their modifications of existing popular computer games. 

To counter these efforts, he said Google relies on expertise in local markets, “advanced AI-driven visual matching technologies,” special detection technologies, and other measures. 
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The top United Nations official in South Sudan on Tuesday urged leaders in that country to accelerate implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, including holding elections late next year.

“Now is not the time to take our eyes off the ball in South Sudan,” Nicholas Haysom, head of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan, told the U.N. Security Council. “What we can learn from Sudan is how quickly hard-won peace gains can unravel.”

This is a critical year for the world’s youngest country. A new constitution must be drafted and preparations completed for the first national elections scheduled for December 2024.

“In our estimation, the constitution-making process is 10 months behind schedule, election planning eight months behind, and several aspects of the transitional security arrangements are hanging,” Haysom reported.

He said it is possible for South Sudan to close the gap on election preparations. He urged legislators to pass the National Elections Act in parliament and establish the National Elections Commission.

After independence from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan slid into more than five years of civil war, with forces loyal to President Salva Kiir battling supporters of Vice President Riek Machar.

Thousands died in the war, and more than 2 million fled to neighboring countries, including Sudan. Since mid-April, when a rivalry between two Sudanese generals turned into open conflict, more than 117,000 people have crossed back into South Sudan seeking safety. Haysom told council members that 93% of them are South Sudanese returning home.

“I want to commend the government of South Sudan for its open border policy to all those who are fleeing the conflict, with or without travel documents,” Haysom said. “The absorption capacity of the government and humanitarians, however, is under strain, with limited local resources and bottlenecks of arrivals in South Sudan’s border towns, notably in Renk.”

Before the conflict erupted in Sudan, at least 9.4 million people in South Sudan needed humanitarian assistance. That number is likely to rise with the returnees.

Haysom noted that the fighting in Sudan is also impacting South Sudan’s economy, as many goods imported from its northern neighbor have been disrupted, driving up prices. South Sudan’s economy is dependent on its oil exports, which Haysom noted go out via Port Sudan. Their interruption could have devastating effects on the economy.
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An increasing number of Sudanese civilians fleeing El Geneina, a city in Darfur hit by repeated militia attacks, have been killed or shot at as they tried to escape by foot to Chad since last week, witnesses said. 

The violence in El Geneina over the past two months has been driven by militias from Arab nomadic tribes along with members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a military faction engaged in a power struggle with Sudan’s army in the capital, Khartoum, witnesses and activists said. 

A large number of people tried to seek protection near the army headquarters in El Geneina on June 14 but were blocked, said Ibrahim, a resident who made it to the Chadian town of Adre, about 27 kilometers (17 miles) from El Geneina. 

“All of a sudden, the militias came out and sprayed people with gunfire,” he said by phone, asking to use only his first name. “We got surprised by thousands of people running back. People were killed. They were trampled.” 

Reuters spoke to three witnesses who sustained gunshot wounds as they tried to flee El Geneina and to more than a dozen witnesses who said they had seen violence on the route from the city. It was not clear how many people had been killed in recent days. 

Medical charity MSF said on Monday that some 15,000 people had fled West Darfur over the previous four days, and it said many arrivals reported seeing people shot and killed as they tried to escape El Geneina. MSF also reported rapes. 

“It was a collective decision of the people of El Geneina to leave,” one resident told MSF from Chad. “Most of them fled on foot heading northeast of El Geneina, but many of them were killed on this route.” 

People decided to flee when the state governor of West Darfur was killed on June 14, hours after he accused the RSF and allied militias of “genocide” in a TV interview, said Ibrahim. 

Ibrahim later found out that eight of his family members had been killed, including his grandmother, and that his mother had been beaten. 

The war that erupted in April has uprooted more than 2.5 million people, according to United Nations estimates, mainly from the capital and from Darfur, which was already suffering from two decades of conflict and mass displacement. Nearly 600,000 people have crossed into neighboring countries, including more than 155,000 who have fled Darfur for Chad. 

A 72-hour cease-fire, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States and due to expire early on Wednesday morning, has brought a lull in fighting in Khartoum, though residents report looting has spread, and the army said the RSF had caused a huge fire at the intelligence headquarters late on Tuesday. 

The United States will give about $172 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Sudan and neighboring countries, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. International donors have made total pledges of close to $1.5 billion for Sudan and the surrounding region. 

‘Systematic’ killing 

The violence in Darfur has increased and taken on a more overtly ethnic nature, with assailants targeting non-Arab residents by their skin color, witnesses said. 

There are warning signs of a repeat of the atrocities perpetrated in Darfur after 2003, when Janjaweed militias from which the RSF was formed helped the government crush a rebellion by mainly non-Arab groups in Darfur. 

More than 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced, according to U.N. estimates. 

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said on Tuesday his force would investigate events in El Geneina. He accused the army of fomenting violence by arming tribes, while the army has blamed the RSF for the governor’s death and other violence in the region.  

Sultan Saad Bahreldin, leader of the Masalit tribe, the largest bloc of El Geneina residents, said there had been “systematic” killing in recent days.  

“The road between El Geneina and Adre has a lot of bodies. No one can count them,” he told Al Hadath TV. 

One activist who left El Geneina on Sunday told Reuters that Arab militias and the RSF had reinforced their presence in the city since the governor’s killing, adding that Arab groups controlled the route to Chad. 

Eyewitnesses had reported cases of rape, murder and enforced disappearance along the route, said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears for his safety.  

Competition for land has long been a driver of conflict in Darfur. Villages on the road from El Geneina to Adre used to be Masalit, but had been settled by Arab tribes since 2003, Ibrahim said.  

Several witnesses from El Geneina, largely cut off from phone networks for weeks, said darker skinned non-Arabs were being targeted, especially the Masalit. 

One resident who arrived in Chad on June 15, Abdel Nasser Abdullah, said his house was one of many in his neighborhood that was stormed, and that his cousin was killed while he hid on the roof. 

“They are not only looking for the Masalit but anyone Black,” he said, adding that the streets of the city were strewn with bodies, including those of women and children. 
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Nasra Abdi Hassan, a public health officer for the World Health Organization, arrived in Mogadishu on the morning of June 9 to attend a training for women on security awareness.  

Later that day, she went to the beautiful Lido Pearl Beach hotel for an evening meal with a friend. At around 7:55 p.m., al-Shabab militants attacked the hotel. Hassan was one of six civilians shot and killed. 

The death of someone who moved to her ancestral homeland to provide health service symbolized the heartbreak and sadness felt by many Somali refugees. She dared to go to Somalia while hundreds of thousands of Somalis remain in Kenya still feeling unsafe and unsure about returning home. 

“I was not happy with her return,” says her father, Abdi Hassan. “She and her mother overwhelmed me. I told them, ‘Don’t risk her life for several hundred dollars. We’ll find something to eat.'” 

Hassan was born and raised in Dhagahley, one of the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Her family spent everything they could afford to send her to a school in Nairobi to help advance her education. She was a bright student. She obtained a diploma in nutrition and dietetics from Mount Kenya University. 

Two years ago, she traveled to Afmadow in Somalia’s Jubaland State to work for a local nongovernmental organization on women’s health. Last year, she was appointed as the public health officer of Afmadow district, helping with the drought support operations of WHO. 

After she was shot, the WHO posted a tweet in remembrance of Hassan, who was 27.

“She played a vital role in supporting the drought response operation in Jubaland and inspired many with her unwavering commitment,” the WHO Somalia office tweeted.

Fardawsa Sirad Gelle, who was born the same year as Hassan in Dadaab, says her death was a reminder of the dangers in Somalia. 

“Somalia is not a country we have ever seen,” she said. “Whenever you hear a slight optimism, that it’s improving, a disaster strikes. My heart doesn’t allow me to return, the family doesn’t want you to return.”  

Youth in Dadaab also remember what happened to Abbas Abdullahi Sheikh Siraji, a refugee who returned to Somalia to become minister for public works and reconstruction. Siraji was shot dead by the bodyguard of another government official in May 2017. He was 31.

Another prominent Dadaab youth leader who returned to Somalia, Weli Aden Mohamed, was killed in an al-Shabab raid on a hotel in Kismayo in July 2019. 

Dadaab youths say Somalia’s insecurity is a primary reason they continue live in the “open prison” of Dadaab, as they call it.  

“When you are in a refugee camp you are like in a prison,” Gelle said. “You walk within the prison, but you can’t exit.” 

In her entire life, Gelle, a humanitarian worker, spent only 15 days outside the camps, attending seminars in Nairobi and Garissa.

“You feel a lot of stress,” she said. “Every morning for nearly 30 years you see the same place you saw yesterday. You are not even growing mentally. Somalis say, ‘Nin aan dhul marin dhaayo ma le.’ ‘He who hasn’t traveled has no eyes.'” 

In April, Gelle’s life entered a new stage when she got married. Despite the uncertainty in the refugee camp, she is clear about what she wants for her children. 

“I don’t want my children to be in a homeless situation, to grow up in a refugee camp, someone with no identity,” she said. “I never want that for them.” 

When Gelle is not doing humanitarian work, she works as a news presenter at a radio station for the refugees called Gargaar or Help, delivering humanitarian news. She follows global news on her phone, checks on information posted by those she follows on social media, and watches reports by investigative journalists, an ambition for her in journalism.

Fellow journalist Mohamed Abdullahi Jimale, who was born in Dadaab, echoes similar hopelessness and anxiety about security concerns in returning to Somalia.

He said some of the youth in Dadaab refer to themselves as the “Lost Generation,” because they are suffering from an identity crisis.

“They were born here, their children were born here, some have their grandchildren born here, and they are still in refugee life,” he said. “Therefore, I would like to tell the world to get us out of this open prison, so that we can become free people.”

Since 2016, more than 90,000 have voluntarily returned to Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

“Some people want to go back but others don’t,” Jimale said. “There are not a lot of opportunities back home, you don’t know where to start, opportunities come very rarely. When Siraji died a lot of people were demoralized.” 

Mohamed Abdi Affey, special envoy of the Horn of Africa for UNHCR, says he hopes the Dadaab refugees will be able to leave their camps through an integration program that was launched Tuesday by the Kenyan government and UNHCR. 

He says the integration plan will allow the refugees to seek education, health services, and work outside the camps. 

“No one wants to live in a refugee camp forever,” Affey said. “What we have in Kenya is youth people who were born here, studied here. It would have been good for them to return to their country to serve and benefit themselves, but that is not being allowed by conditions in Somalia because young people have lots of fear to return.” 

Affey says support from the international community has been dwindling lately given all the situations in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia. 

“We are collaborating with the Kenya government and the international community to work to create hope for these young people,” he said.

Kenya and UNHCR believe the integration plan will benefit refugees as well as the host communities find more opportunities.

“We hope these integrated settlements will receive significant funds which will benefit the host communities,” Affey said. “It will require turning the plan into action, we see that will create new hope … but that in itself will take time to feel the change.”  
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Aden Abdulahi overcame many challenges growing up in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp, where he fled after declining a call to join the al-Shabab militant group in Somalia. Today he is a journalist, working with the UNHCR-supported refugee community radio station Radio Gargaar. As the world marks Refugee Day, Juma Majanga spoke with Abdulahi about his work and his dreams.
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According to UNICEF, over 4 million people in Kenya face severe food insecurity. VOA’s Omary Kaseko visited a family impacted by five seasons of severe drought in the north.
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World Refugee Day, which falls each year on June 20, celebrates the strength, perseverance, and courage of millions of people, who flee from their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

One young former refugee and entrepreneur has sought to turn the refugees’ stories into something inspiring that empowers others who have fled their homes.

Mohamed Malim, a 27-year-old former Somali refugee turned social entrepreneur, is the director of the fashion apparel brand Epimonia, a small Minnesota-based company that he founded in 2018.

The company collects life jackets that refugees have worn, and the remains of flimsy build-it-yourself rafts from Greek beaches, and turns these pieces of the refugee journey into something more tangible.

“We take life jackets that refugees have worn crossing the Mediterranean Sea and turn them into fashion pieces to bring awareness of the global refugee crisis, and to support refugees’ arts, and designers,” Malim told VOA Somali.

The signature of Epimonia’s products is a vibrant orange bracelet manufactured out of the scraps of discarded life jackets that refugees used on their trip.

Malim says bracelets have been finding their way onto the wrists of young people in the U.S, especially in Minnesota, generating profit that partially goes back to the refugees.

“We support refugees through providing employment, spreading awareness, and donating 50% of our profit to U.S. organizations that support refugees with opportunities for education and advancement,” said Malim.

Over the weekend, at a small space in Washington D.C., Malim used a pile of life jackets and boat materials to celebrate this year’s World Refugee Day.

“It is something that I am very passionate [about],” said Malim. “Something that I am very inspired [about]. “It is an ability that God gave me to use my talent to make an impact in the life lives of the refugees through a unique medium: fashion.”

A former refugee, Malim was born in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. He was 4 years old when his family immigrated to the U.S. in 1999.

“We first settled in Texas and then moved to Minnesota, where my personal journeys inspired me to make a difference in the world, especially for other refugees,” he said. “I am really very grateful to be in this position where I can help my fellow refugees achieve their dreams and materialize their hopes.”

During the Washington event where Malim showcased his latest art exhibit, a young Somali-American poet, Elias Yabarow, better known as ALAKKUU, gave a live performance of an original piece reflecting the Story of Deeja, a fictional young Somali girl who risked her life to migrate from Mogadishu to Europe.

“The idea behind the story of Deejah is basically about the migration of young people, and the message elaborates the factors that force these young people to venture out on hazardous journeys to escape unbearable situations in their countries of origin,” Yabarow told VOA.

“Even though, the story does not feature if Deeja survived or not, this is the story of how a young woman crossed the coast, this is a story of hundred million people who were all in a same boat,” said Yabarow.

Elias Yabarow is the son of VOA Somali chief Abdi Yabarow, who was not involved in reporting this story.
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The United Nations says around two-thirds of refugees around the world have lived in foreign countries for more than five years, because of protracted crises. The media tend to focus on the newly displaced, so to mark World Refugee Day, VOA takes a look at what hope there is for refugees who appear destined to live large portions of their lives without access to work and services because of their refugee status. Henry Wilkins reports from N’djamena, Chad.
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Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu made sweeping changes to the defense forces Monday, forcing out the security chiefs and the head of police less than a month after taking office.

Tinubu, who was sworn in May 29, has made security one of his major priorities and promised reforms to the sector, including recruitment of more soldiers and police officers, while paying and equipping them better.

Nigeria’s military is stretched — fighting a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast and banditry and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest as insecurity has spread to most parts of the country.

It is not unusual for a new Nigerian president to send security chiefs into early retirement upon taking office, as Tinubu did Monday.

He picked Nuhu Ribadu, a former senior police officer and ex-head of the country’s economic and financial crimes agency, as his National Security Adviser.

Major General Christopher Musa, who until last year was leading the army’s fight against the insurgency, takes over as the new Chief of Defense Staff from Lucky Irabor.

Tinubu also named new commanders for the army, navy and air force as well as a new head of the Nigeria Customs Service with immediate effect.
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Somalia’s government says 43 al-Shabab militants, including two senior commanders, were killed by Somali National Army forces during a weekend airstrike about 14 kilometers from the Jamame District in the Lower Juba region.

“The airstrike successfully eliminated key al-Shabab leaders Aden Abdirahman Aden and Idris Abdirahim Nur, who was of Kenyan national origin, and a total of 43 al-Shabab fighters,” the Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported on Monday.

SONNA said the attack, carried out by “Somalia’s international partners,” happened Friday as militants and their commanders gathered to plan attacks against government soldiers at the Barsanguni military base, which is home to the Somali National Army and local forces.

The statement did not specify the foreign partner that conducted the airstrike, but often, U.S Africa Command drones carry out attacks on Somali militant targets.

“The successful disruption of this planned attack demonstrates the effectiveness of the ongoing efforts to combat al-Shabaab and protect the people of Somalia,” the statement added.

The news comes as Somalia’s Council of Ministers nominated Brigadier General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhyadin Addow as the new commander of the Somali National Army.

A spokesman for the Somali Defense Ministry said the appointment follows a proposal to remove General Odawa Yusuf, who has held the position since March 2019.

“General Addow brings a wealth of experience to his new role. He has previously held various military positions, including Commander of the National Presidential Guard Brigade,” the nomination statement said.

These military developments come at a time when the army, with the help of forces from neighboring countries, is up for the second phase of an offensive against al-Shabab.
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The U.K. on Monday announced new sanctions against Syria’s defense minister and its head of the armed forces, as part of new curbs targeting conflict-related sexual violence.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Abdel Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim would be subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

Abbas has a “commanding role of the Syrian military and armed forces, who have systematically used rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence against civilians,” it said.

Ibrahim, who is chief of the general staff of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces, “has been involved in the repression of the Syrian population through commanding military forces where there has been systematic use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence.”

Alongside the Syrian pair, the FCDO slapped a similar ban on two rebel leaders from the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — Desire Londroma Ndjukpa and William Yakutumba.

Ndjukpa heads the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia while Yakutumba, an army deserter, is leader of the armed Mai-Mai Yakutumba rebel group.

Both groups have used rape and mass rape, breaking international humanitarian law, the FCDO said.

“Threats of sexual violence as a weapon in conflict must stop and survivors must be supported to come forward,” said junior foreign minister Tariq Ahmad.

“These sanctions send a clear signal to perpetrators that the UK will hold you accountable for your horrendous crimes.” 
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As the world mark Sickle Cell Day on Monday, Nigeria accounts for about 33% of the 300,000 children diagnosed every year with the disease.

The World Health Organization and Nigeria’s Health Ministry say 25% of the country’s total population are carriers of mutant genes that give rise to the genetic disorder. In 2011, Nigeria’s Health Ministry initiated mandatory screening for newborns to help detect the condition early, but many Nigerian hospitals have yet to comply with the directive.

Anna Ochigbo of Nigeria has lost two siblings to sickle cell anemia. In May 2022, Ochigbo launched the nonprofit Hoplites Sickle Cell Foundation in memory of her siblings. 

“We don’t just create awareness on the importance of genotype testing before marriage,” she said. “We go as far as conducting free genotype testing in certain communities, and we also try as much as possible to educate young people.”

About 50 million people are estimated to be living with sickle cell disease globally, but Nigeria has the highest burden. Every year, an estimated 100,000 kids are diagnosed with the condition in Nigeria, according to the Health Ministry, and up to 80% die before they turn five. 

Hoplites Foundation holds periodic hangouts for sickle cell warriors to meet and share their experiences.

“The participation has been really, really massive,” Ochigbo said. “A lot of sickle cell warriors are coming out now. They want to connect. They want to network. They want to go to a place where they feel loved and appreciated.”

Nigerian authorities in 2011 initiated universal screening for newborns at hospitals to help detect the condition early. However, the Health Ministry’s sickle cell program manager, Alayo Sopekan, said many health centers have yet to adopt the measure.

“Every single child born in Nigeria should be screened at birth. Now, we have a much more refined technology. We have started training health workers,” Sopekan said.

Experts say apart from screening newborns, authorities need to intensify community genotype testing to help create awareness about the disease, and to dispel myths and misinformation about the condition, including that the disease is a spiritual attack on the body.

Nigerian musician Excel Praiseworth has been living with sickle cell disease for 29 years. 

Last year, he started a nonprofit called The Sickle Sound, where he uses his music to debunk misinformation about the condition.

“We’ve been writing songs. We have the sickle sound, which has gone far and wide, and it’s beautiful to know that warriors can listen to these songs and have solace,” Praiseworth said. “Nigeria and the world at large should just get rid of unnecessary stereotypes.”

In 2021, Nigerian lawmakers introduced a bill to screen couples before they get married, but the bill was suspended due to rights issues.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark World Sickle Cell Day, advocates are urging authorities to take interventions about the condition more seriously in order for the negative trend to improve. 
…

Malawi is emerging victorious in its battle against the deadliest cholera outbreak in the country’s history, which has killed nearly 2,000 people since its onset in March of last year. Health authorities say the country has seen a steady decline in the death rate, with no new cases or hospitalizations for the past two weeks.

A cholera report, which Malawi’s health ministry released Sunday, shows that the outbreak has been fully controlled in 21 districts. These include Chitipa, Dowa, Kasungu, Likoma, Mzimba South, Mzimba North, Mwanza, Nkhata Bay, Ntchisi, Phalombe and Lilongwe, which reported most of the cases.

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said in a statement that a few areas are still reporting cases. These areas include Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Machinga, Nsanje, Ntcheu, Salima and Zomba.

George Mbotwa, spokesperson of the health office in Nsanje district, said the district is recording an average of one or two cases per day, but that number is lower than the average of about 30 daily cases during the peak of the outbreak.

“We have continued to record cases because about 50 percent of Nsanje is bordered by Mozambique. And these cases are coming from across the borders,” he said. “We still have some local transmission but very minimal. And this is coming in because the adoption of hygiene behavior has been very slow.”

Mbotwa said the cross-border cases largely happen because most Mozambican nationals stay away from their country’s health facilities and seek medical assistance at Malawian hospitals.

He said, however, that efforts are being made to contain the cross-border cholera infections.

“We have done coordination meetings with Mozambican officials recently. … That’s the only activity that we have done but we find it very important because we are able to share prevention measures that we are implementing as countries,” Mbotwa said.

Malawi registered the first cholera case in March of last year.

Statistics from the Public Health Institute of Malawi show that the country has recorded 58,870 cumulative confirmed cases and 1,761 deaths.

Malawi, however, has now seen a steady decline in the death rate, with no new cases or hospitalizations in most districts for the past two weeks.

Health authorities attribute the success story to various anti-cholera interventions, including the nationwide vaccination campaign the government and World Health Organization rolled out in May of last year.

Also this past February, President Lazarus Chakwera launched a national campaign against cholera which saw authorities ban the sale of already cooked foods in open places.

Health experts, however, have warned Malawians against relaxing the prevention measures.

“We should remember that we have had cholera cases throughout dry season. Which should be a reason that we can have cholera cases any time not only during the rainy season. Therefore, we encourage Malawians to continue observing prevention measures,” said George Jobe, executive director for the Malawi Health Equity Network.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with bacteria. The disease affects both children and adults and, if untreated, can kill within hours.

The health ministry has advised people with signs and symptoms of cholera to promptly go to the nearest treatment unit. 
…

Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, says that human rights around the world are in a perilous state as countries are failing to honor the fundamental rights and freedoms of all peoples as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The U.N. rights chief, who spoke Monday at the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s four-week session, told a packed chamber that human rights, the cornerstone of the United Nations, are now “at a critical juncture” due to what he said are the self-serving interests of repressive governments, which in his view are taking precedence over international cooperation to advance human rights.

In a sweeping global review of the human rights situation in dozens of countries, Türk highlighted the many atrocities and crimes being committed in all regions of the world.

In a report that spared few governments, he lambasted the human rights record of Honduras, expressing concern about land-related conflicts and “attacks against human rights and environmental defenders.” He castigated Nicaraguan authorities for undermining the human rights of its people “with extremely harsh repression of civil society and a drastically reduced civic space.”

Turning to the war in Ukraine, Türk called on Russia to grant his colleagues access to both Ukrainian territory occupied by the Russian Federation, and to the Russian Federation itself — “not least, to visit civilian detainees, prisoners of war and Ukrainian children and people with disabilities who have been taken to these areas.”

The High Commissioner singled out what he considers egregious cases of abuse and discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa, such as in Uganda, which recently adopted legislation criminalizing homosexuality.

He criticized Mali’s request for the withdrawal of MINUSMA, the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission, saying “human rights must always be above the fray of politics.”

He deplored worsening conditions in South Sudan where violent incidents affecting civilians rose by 12 percent in the first three months of this year. “There has been little action by the authorities to hold perpetrators to account,” he said, “while senior government officials allegedly implicated in serious crimes remain in office.”

Türk slammed Eritrea for its ongoing refusal to engage with the full spectrum of human rights bodies, noting that Burundi also has not granted access to or cooperated with the Council’s Commission of Inquiry or other investigative bodies since 2016.

On the other hand, he said Ethiopia has cooperated with his office, enabling him to send international human rights monitors to the north, where a war in the Tigray region ended last November. The Commission report on Ethiopia is due to be presented to the Council in September.

Türk said he was deeply worried about the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan where “the Taliban de facto authorities have dismantled the most fundamental principles of human rights, particularly for women and girls.”

At a comprehensive examination of the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan that took place later in the day, human rights experts accused the Taliban of practicing a form of “gender apartheid.”

Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, chair of the working group on discrimination against women and girls, said that they were being “erased” in Afghanistan. She said, “women and girls are systematically discriminated against in every aspect of their lives…Women are wholly excluded from participation in political and public life.”

Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, she said the de facto authorities have relentlessly issued edict after edict, “of which the vast majority restrict the rights of women and girls, including their rights to education, work, health, access to justice and freedom of movement, attire, and behavior.”

In his presentation to the Council, Türk expressed concern about widespread human rights violations in Iran including “the massive recent increase in executions, as well as continuing discrimination against women.”

He said he was extremely worried by the deteriorating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory where he said, “excessive use of force and unlawful killings of Palestinians by the Israeli Security Forces have increased, including apparent extrajudicial executions.”

There were no immediate responses from any of the countries Türk mentioned.

Ending on a more positive note after an otherwise withering look at the worsening human rights situation around the world, Türk said his office’s support of Mauritania’s efforts to end discrimination, notably the persistent issue of slavery, was bearing fruit.

He said, “at least 38 cases of slavery have been brought to court, with 10 judgements made in the first two months of this year.” He commended the authorities’ cooperation “with the special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery during his visit last year.”
…

On Sunday, Uganda began burying the victims of a brutal attack on a school.

The assailants are suspected of belonging to the Allied Democratic Forces – militants with ties to the Islamic State group.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement that their attack was “criminal, desperate, terrorist and futile.”

Most of the victims were students at Lhubiriha Secondar School, close to Uganda’s border with Congo. Forty-two people were killed.  Eight people were wounded, but one of them has now died. Officials say they believe at least six students were abducted by the militants and taken into Congo.

Some villagers in the surrounding areas have moved away from their homes following the attack on the school.
…

Mali started counting votes on Sunday from a constitutional referendum that the ruling military junta and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule.

The junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, promised to hold the plebiscite as part of a transition to democracy, under pressure from West African regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States. Provisional results are expected by Tuesday.

Some of the proposed clauses in the new constitution drafted by the transitional council are contentious, with proponents saying they would strengthen fragile political institutions and opponents saying they would give too much power to the president.

But regional bodies and the United Nations see the referendum itself as an important test of the junta’s willingness to stick to the transition and hold a nationwide democratic process, particularly at a time when Islamist militants are stepping up attacks.

“With this project, we are betting on the future of our state, the restoration of its authority, and the regained trust between institutions and citizens,” interim president Colonel Assimi Goita said in a televised speech on Friday.

The draft includes updates that have been proposed in past failed efforts to revise the constitution, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber to boost representation from across Mali.

The proposed establishment of a separate court of auditors for state spending will bring Mali in line with a directive from the West African Economic and Monetary Union from 2000.

But some opposition parties, pro-democracy groups and campaigners for the ‘No’ vote say non-elected authorities such as the junta have no right to oversee such a substantial constitutional overhaul.

“I am for a revision of the constitution but not this referendum. The legitimacy of the actors, the process …I think we could have done better,” lawyer Fousseini Ag Yehia said in the capital Bamako on Saturday.

Northern Mali armed groups that signed a 2015 peace deal, which has been shaky since the junta took power, had called for a boycott of the referendum saying the process was “not sufficiently inclusive.”

Ahmoudane Ag Ikmasse a former member of parliament for the northern town of Kidal, told Reuters that no voting took place there on Sunday.

Ould Mohamed Ramadane, a spokesman for the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), the northern Tuareg-led rebel alliance, said voting only took place in a few places with a high concentration of Malian armed forces, such as Timbuktu, Gao and Menaka.

Large areas of northern Mali are controlled by militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State as the Sahel nation struggles to find stability since a 2012 Tuareg rebellion.  

Mali on Friday demanded the departure of U.N. peacekeepers who have been in the country since 2013, saying the mission was fueling tensions between communities.
…

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday ordered more troops to western Uganda where attackers from a group with links to Islamic State killed at least 37 secondary school students.

Members of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed the students late on Friday at Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Military and police said the attackers had also abducted six students and fled towards the Virunga National Park across the border. Their fate is unknown.

Museveni said more soldiers had joined the pursuit in the area, which includes Rwenzori Mountain, from where the ADF launched their insurgency against Museveni in the 1990s.

“We are now sending more troops into the area south of Rwenzori Mountain,” he said in a statement.

“Their action, the desperate, cowardly, terrorist action, therefore, will not save them. We are bringing new forces to the Uganda side as we continue the hunting on the Congo side.”

On Saturday, privately owned NTV Uganda television said the death toll stood at 41, while the state-run New Vision newspaper said it was 42. New Vision said 39 of the dead were students, and some were killed when the attackers set off a bomb as they fled.

The attack drew widespread international condemnation including from the United Nations, the African Union and East African’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development. Ugandans were shocked by the attack.

“Parents across the country, please do not panic, our children are safe, and they will remain safe. They are evil people and they are trying to harm our children, but they will not manage,” Janet Museveni, the First Lady and Education Minister, said late on Saturday.

Museveni said the government would also investigate if there were any lapses that enabled the attack to happen.

“Was an alarm sounded and by whom? How did the nearby security people respond? Why didn’t our people on the Congo side have intelligence on this splinter group etc?” Museveni said.

The ADF was largely defeated by the Ugandan military but remnants fled into the vast jungles of eastern Congo from where they have since maintained their insurgency – attacking civilian and military targets in Congo and Uganda.

In April, the ADF attacked a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 20 people.
…

The start of a 72-hour ceasefire aimed at calming more than two months of conflict between rival Sudanese military factions brought a lull in clashes in Khartoum early on Sunday following battles and air strikes overnight, residents said.

Sudan’s army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to refrain from attacks and from seeking military advantage during the ceasefire period, which started at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT), as well as allowing for delivery of aid, Saudi and U.S. mediators said. Several previous truces have failed to stop the fighting.

The power struggle between the two sides has turned the capital into a war zone plagued by looting, led to outbursts of fighting in other regions, and triggered a sharp escalation of violence in Darfur in western Sudan.

In the hours before the truce period began witnesses reported clashes and air strikes in several areas of Khartoum and Omdurman, one of two adjoining cities that make up the wider capital at the confluence of the River Nile.

“The situation in Khartoum is calm, especially because last night there were air strikes and it was terrifying,” 49-year-old resident Salaheldin Ahmed told Reuters by phone on Sunday morning, expressing hope that the truce could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.

“We are tired,” he said. “Enough of war, death and looting.”

Previous ceasefires brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks in Jeddah have allowed for the delivery of some humanitarian aid as fighting has subsided, but both sides have repeatedly violated the agreements.

The conflict, which erupted over disputes about a plan for a transition to elections under a civilian government four years after long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir was overthrown during a popular uprising, has intensified since early June.

On Monday, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Nations are hosting a donors conference in Geneva that aims to attract pledges of funding for humanitarian relief in Sudan.

The U.N. says more than half the population of 49 million now needs humanitarian assistance within Sudan, requiring some $3 billion in funding until the end of the year.

It has also appealed for nearly $500 million for the refugee crisis caused by the conflict. More than 500,000 people have fled into countries neighboring Sudan, in addition to nearly 1.7 million who have been internally displaced.
…

Malians voted on Sunday in a referendum on changing the constitution that the ruling military junta and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule.

The junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, promised to hold the plebiscite as part of a transition to democracy, under pressure from West African regional bloc the Economic Community Of West Africa States.

Around 8.4 million voters are expected at the polls. Kollet Sangare, a 35 year-old medical assistant was one of the first to cast a ballot at a polling station in the capital where few had lined up early on Sunday.

“I hope the side I voted for will win,” he said.

Some of the changes in the committee-drafted constitution are contentious, with proponents saying they would strengthen fragile political institutions and opponents saying they would give too much power to the president.

But regional bodies and the United Nations see the referendum itself as an important test of the junta’s willingness to stick to the transition and hold a nationwide democratic process, particularly at a time when Islamist militants are stepping up attacks.

“With this project, we are betting on the future of our state, the restoration of its authority, and the regained trust between institutions and citizens,” interim president Assimi Goita said in televised speech on Friday.

The draft includes updates that have been proposed in past failed efforts to revise the constitution that supporters hope will reinforce democracy and address divisions, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber to boost representation from across Mali.

The proposed establishment of a separate court of auditors for state spending will bring Mali in line with a directive from the West African Economic and Monetary Union from 2000.

But some opposition parties, pro-democracy groups and campaigners for the ‘No’ vote say the non-democratically elected authorities such as the junta have no right to oversee such a substantial constitutional overhaul.

They also say the proposed constitution hands excessive authority to the president including over the legislative process.

“I am for a revision of the constitution but not this referendum. The legitimacy of the actors, the process …I think we could have done better,” lawyer Fousseini Ag Yehia said in the capital Bamako on Saturday.

Northern Mali armed groups that signed a 2015 Algiers peace deal, which has been shaky since the junta took power, have also called for the boycott of the referendum saying the process was “not sufficiently inclusive.”

Ahmoudane Ag Ikmasse a former member of parliament for the northern town of Kidal, said no voting was taking place on Sunday.

“I’ve just driven across the city, no vote, nothing at all and that’s how it is in the localities around Kidal,” he told Reuters by telephone.

Provisional results are expected within 72 hours of the vote. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 2024.

 
…

Malians will vote Sunday in a referendum on changing the constitution that the ruling military junta and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule.

The junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, promised to hold the plebiscite as part of a transition to democracy under pressure from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.

Some of the changes in the committee-drafted constitution are contentious, with proponents saying they would strengthen fragile political institutions and opponents saying they would give too much power to the president.

But regional bodies and the United Nations see the referendum itself as an important test of the junta’s willingness to stick to the transition and hold a nationwide democratic process, particularly at a time when Islamist militants are stepping up attacks.

“With this project, we are betting on the future of our state, the restoration of its authority, and the regained trust between institutions and citizens,” interim President Assimi Goita said in televised speech Friday.

“Now is the time to confirm our commitment to the new Mali,” he added, wearing his trademark beret and military fatigues.

The draft includes updates that have been proposed in earlier failed efforts to revise the constitution that supporters hope will reinforce democracy and address divisions, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber to boost representation from across Mali.

The proposed establishment of a separate court of auditors for state spending will bring Mali in line with a directive from the West African Economic and Monetary Union from 2000.

But some opposition parties, pro-democracy groups and campaigners for the ‘No’ vote say the non-democratically elected authorities such as the junta have no right to oversee such a substantial constitutional overhaul.

They also say the proposed constitution hands excessive authority to the president including over the legislative process.

“I am for a revision of the constitution but not this referendum. The legitimacy of the actors, the process. … I think we could have done better,” lawyer Fousseini Ag Yehia said in the capital, Bamako, on Saturday.

Provisional results are expected within 72 hours of the vote. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 2024. 
…

Airstrikes killed civilians and pummeled multiple parts of the Sudanese capital on Saturday, residents said, as warring military factions agreed to another cease-fire in a series that have failed to stop the violence.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is entering its third month with neither side gaining a clear advantage.

The war has displaced 2.2 million Sudanese and sent the war-weary Darfur region into a “humanitarian calamity,” the United Nations has said. It has killed more than 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000, Sudan’s health minister said.

Late on Saturday, the United States and Saudi Arabia said the two factions had agreed to a new 72-hour cease-fire that would begin on Sunday morning. Previous truces have not managed to bring fighting to a complete halt.

Airstrikes kill 17

The army has the advantage of air power in Khartoum and its neighboring cities Omdurman and Bahri, while the RSF has embedded itself in residential neighborhoods. On Friday and Saturday, the army appeared to ramp up airstrikes, hitting several residential neighborhoods.

In a speech posted by the army on Friday, General Yassir Al-Atta warned people to stay away from homes the RSF had occupied.

“Because at this point, we will attack them anywhere,” he said to cheers. “Between us and these rebels are bullets,” he said, appearing to dismiss mediation attempts.

The Khartoum health ministry confirmed a report by local volunteers on Saturday that 17 people including five children were killed in airstrikes in the Mayo area of southern Khartoum and 25 homes destroyed.

Unable to flee

The strike was the latest in a series of air and artillery attacks on the poor and densely populated district of the city where most residents are unable to afford the cost of leaving.

Late on Friday, the local resistance committee said 13 people had been killed by shelling in al-Lammab in western Khartoum, calling the neighborhood an “operations zone.” Residents reported airstrikes elsewhere in southern and western Khartoum into the afternoon.

The RSF on Saturday said it brought down an army warplane in the Nile, west of Khartoum.

Plumes of smoke could be seen rising near fuel depots in Southern Khartoum, a resident said and video shared with Reuters showed.

Airstrikes in central and southern Omdurman continued from Friday into Saturday, impacting homes and killing one person, according to the local committee in the Beit al-Mal neighborhood.

Residents said three members of a family were killed in the Sharq el-Nil district after an airstrike on Friday.

In El Geneina, in West Darfur, more than 270,000 people have fled across the border to Chad, after more than 1,000 people were killed by attacks that residents and the United States have blamed on the RSF and allied militias.

A Chadian military source and a local official in Adre, Chad, where many of those fleeing have sought refuge, denied reports that Chadian soldiers had clashed with the RSF.

Chadian president General Mahamat Idriss Deby visited the area to witness the unfolding humanitarian crisis there and ensure the closure of the border, the presidency said.

Within Khartoum, the war has cut off the millions who remain from electricity, water, and access to health care. Residents have had to ration food. They report widespread looting.
…

A rapid collapse of state institutions may await Somalia when the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, or ATMIS, ends at the end of 2024, unless the United Nations’ weapons embargo on the country is lifted, security experts warn.  

Somali authorities and African Union officials said this week that ATMIS will draw down 2,000 soldiers by June 30 of this year to pave the way for the complete withdrawal of the African Union Mission in Somalia that started in 2007 with the African Union Mission to Somalia, or AMISOM, and it was replaced by ATMIS, which became operational on April 1, 2022.  

Abdisalam Yusuf Guled, the founder of Eagle Range Services, a security company in Mogadishu, and former Somalia’s deputy chief of the National Security Agency, is among those who voiced concern.  

“I have a great concern that Somalia could be another Afghanistan if the African Union troops leave the country, without Somalia getting strong and well-armed security forces that have international funding and backing similar to that for ATMIS,” Guled said.  

Last week, the Somali government said it is ready to take over security responsibilities from ATMIS, as 2,000 troops will withdraw from the country in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions 2628 and 2670.  

This week, a technical team was appointed with ATMIS and the U.N. Support Office in Somalia that will oversee the implementation of the ATMIS drawback.  

But security experts warn that a swift pullout of African Union troops in Somalia could lead to a swift collapse of the Somali government, similar to what happened in Afghanistan when U.S. troops left in August 2021.  

“The Somali Army has been emboldened by anti-al-Shabab clan militias backing, as well as foreign military support. And now, it is clear that ATMIS withdrawal will encourage al-Shabab to remobilize and launch more brazen attacks on the Somali government,” Col. Abdullahi Ali Maow, a former Somali intelligence official, told VOA.  

Former deputy chief of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, Ismail Dahir Osman, said he thinks the militants are on a downward spiral and that they cannot endanger Somalia’s government once African troops leave the country.  

“I think the Somali government and the world community cannot agree on sending the ATMIS personnel back to their countries without a strategic contingency plan in place. I believe the donor countries and the United Nations will direct the ATMIS funding to Somalia’s National Army, and if that is the case, there is no chance for al-Shabab to position itself to a level where it can threaten the existence of Somalia’s institutions,” said Osman.  

Omar Abdi Jimale is a Mogadishu-based political science lecturer and commentator on Somalia’s security and politics. He says with genuine international support for Somalia, the country’s National Army can shoulder the burden and responsibility of security.  

“We remember how the Taliban’s swift takeover of power in Afghanistan took the world by surprise. I see that the case in Somalia is different. If sanctions are lifted and the Somali Army is equipped with better military hardware, I believe they are in a much better position than any other foreign force to deal with al-Shabab and the country’s security in general,” said Jimale.  

“I cannot rule out that the unexpected could happen in Somalia without the international community fully supporting the Somali Army in terms of salary and weapons.”  

Colonel Abdullahi Ali Ma’ow says African Union troops in Somalia have been filling in as a de facto army in Somalia, and their withdrawal could compromise Somalia’s security gains. “AU troops have been providing protection for Somalia’s leaders and its economic sources, like ports and airports, until the Somali National Army is strong enough to counter the jihadi group on its own. I think any withdrawal of ATMIS without making sure that Somalia is ready could give an opportunity to al-Shabab, and it will make the decades of efforts, sacrifices, and the human and material cost of the war against terrorism wasted.” 

Second phase 

With the help of anti-al-Shabab clan militias, ATMIS, and international partners including the United States and Turkey, the Somali national army dislodged the Islamist insurgency al-Shabab from swathes of central Somalia in 2022, during the first phase of military operations announced by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.  

Somalia said it killed more than 3,000 militants and that the operation was successful. The militant group called it “a failed operation.”  

But for much of this year, the counteroffensive against al-Shabab has stalled, giving the militants a space to remobilize and carry out attacks, including a May 26 storm on an AU base in the Lower Shabelle region that killed 54 Ugandan soldiers, and a brazen siege of a beachside hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, last week, which left nine people dead, including an employee with the World Health Organization, and another 10 wounded.  

A Somali Defense Ministry statement said regional forces supporting Somalia in the next phase of the offensive against al-Shabab are ready to be deployed anytime soon.  

“Troops from the three neighboring countries of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, are ready to be deployed in any minutes to Somalia, in addition to the soldiers they already have serving as part of the African Transitional Mission in Somalia , or ATMIS,” top Somali military commanders told VOA on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the military preparations.  

The deployment of the troops follows an agreement between the leaders of the three countries and Somalia during a summit hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on February 1, 2023, in Mogadishu.  

The new phase reportedly aims to flush out al-Shabab from the remaining parts of the country under its control, focusing on the southern regions of the Middle Shabelle and Jubba Valleys.  

As a part of the ongoing military preparations to defeat or at least weaken al-Shabab before ATMIS’ full withdrawal from Somalia, senior ATMIS commanders held talks with top U.S. military officials on Friday.  

“The U.S. is one of our international partners. They have also injected a lot of resources into this mission, and we have discussed salient issues,” said Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding after the meeting. “We are in the transition process, so as ATM exits, we should be proud of our brothers and sisters who remain behind to take charge of their country’s security. That is our hope and prayer.”  

Over the years, the United States has provided security assistance, including logistical and financial support, to the African Union peacekeeping operation in Somalia. 

 This report originated from the VOA Somali Torch Program.   
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