Heavy fighting in Khartoum; Sudan’s children caught in conflict, UN says
Khartoum, SudanReuters Fierce fighting persisted in Sudan on Thursday despite a truce agreement as US intelligence said rival forces were trying to gain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiations and the UN warned of the violence’s devastating toll on children. Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the two sides appeared to be battling for control of […]
UN pressures Sudan’s warring generals after aid looted
Khartoum, Sudan Reuters The United Nations pressed Sudan’s warring factions on Wednesday to guarantee safe passage of humanitarian aid after six trucks were looted and air strikes in the capital Khartoum undermined a supposed truce. “We will need to have agreement at the highest level and very publicly…to allow for movement of staff and supplies,” […]
Sudan battles risk exodus of 800,000 people – UN
Khartoum, SudanReuters The United Nations warned on Monday that 800,000 people may flee Sudan as rival military factions battled in the capital despite a supposed ceasefire and foreign states wound down evacuations. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over 16 days of battles since disputes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary […]
Turkey finds more survivors as anger grows a week after earthquake
Kahramanmaras/Antakya, Turkey Reuters Rescuers in Turkey pulled several children alive from collapsed buildings on Monday, a week after the country’s worst earthquake in modern history, but hopes of many more survivors were fading and criticism of the authorities grew. In one city, rescuers were digging a tunnel to reach a grandmother, mother and daughter, all […]
Death toll in Turkey, Syria quake tops 33,000; Turkey starts legal action against builders
Antakya, Turkey Reuters Rescuers pulled more survivors from the rubble on Sunday, nearly a week after one of the worst earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria, as Turkish authorities sought to maintain order across the disaster zone and began legal action over building collapses. With chances of finding more survivors growing more remote, the toll […]
Rescuers toil on in rubble of Turkey and Syria; survivors harder to find
Antakya, Turkey/Jandaris, Syria Reuters Rescuers pulled some survivors from rubble on Saturday, five days after Turkey’s most devastating earthquake since 1939 that also killed thousands of people in Syria, but hopes were fading for many more to be found. In Kahramanmaras, close to the epicentre in south Turkey, there were fewer visible rescue operations amid […]
Some UN Afghan aid delivered by men only, donors voice alarm
United NationsReuters Under pressure from Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, the United Nations is delivering some food aid using men only, prompting warnings from donors and humanitarian groups that it could be seen as giving in to an internationally condemned ban on most female aid workers. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths acknowledged to reporters this week that […]
Aid workers in Syria fear cholera spread if cross-border support halted
Beirut, Lebanon/Istanbul, Turkey Reuters Humanitarian workers operating in the last opposition-held part of Syria fear a cholera outbreak sweeping the region will deepen further if the United Nations is forced to stop aid deliveries across the border from Turkey. The area’s four million people live in dire conditions and rely heavily on the food and […]
UN aid chief to visit Afghanistan over female aid worker ban
United NationsReuters UN aid chief Martin Griffiths will visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks and will seek to meet the highest possible officials within the Taliban-led administration after it banned female aid workers, a senior UN official said on Thursday. “We regret to see that there is already an impact of this decision on our […]
UN halts some programs in Afghanistan after ban on women aid workers
United NationsReuters The United Nations said on Wednesday that some “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups […]