‘Like a scene out of a horror movie’: UN report warns of war crimes in Sudan’s El Fasher

A new United Nations report has documented widespread atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, accusing fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias of carrying out mass killings, sexual violence and other grave abuses during an assault on the city of El Fasher. The findings, released by the UN human rights office, highlight what […]

Sudan War: Cholera Vaccination Campaign Begins in Darfur

Sudan War: Cholera Vaccination Campaign Begins in Darfur

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Deputy Representative to the country Hala Khudari reported on Tuesday that the outbreak, which started in July 2024 in Kassala, has spread to all 18 states of the country. More than 113,600 cases have been registered so far and over 3,000 deaths – a “concerning case fatality rate” of 2.7 […]

World News in Brief: Afghan quake update, diplomacy continues to end Sudan war, UN honours victims of 9/11

World News in Brief: Afghan quake update, diplomacy continues to end Sudan war, UN honours victims of 9/11

Women and children face heightened risks, while operational challenges – including restrictions on female UN staff – threaten life-saving relief efforts. The twin quakes, measuring 6.0 and 6.2, struck on 31 August and 4 September, flattening entire villages in Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan provinces. Mountainous terrain and landslides blocked key roads, leaving air transport […]

‘A war of atrocities’ – UN human rights investigators warn Sudanese civilians are paying the highest price

‘A war of atrocities’ – UN human rights investigators warn Sudanese civilians are paying the highest price

“They burned everything,” said one witness of a shelling attack in the Zamzam displacement camp in war-torn Darfur. “They claimed they only wanted to fight soldiers, but they punished the whole community.” The war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict between the military government and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) […]

Sudan: A staggering 30 million are in need, as war grinds on

Sudan: A staggering 30 million are in need, as war grinds on

Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy for the humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, briefed journalists on her recent visit to Sudan and neighbouring Chad – a critical entry point for aid and a haven for some 850,000 people who have fled fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.  The war […]

Syria: Violence in Alawite areas may be war crimes, say rights investigators

Syria: Violence in Alawite areas may be war crimes, say rights investigators

Many of the victims were Alawite, a minority community in Syria, which the former ruling Assad family belonged to.   Some community members are believed to have been killed in March by forces or individuals loyal to the country’s new leadership, the National Transitional Authority, which is headed by interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. In response […]

First Person: Echoes of war as aid arrives in Syria’s historical city

First Person: Echoes of war as aid arrives in Syria’s historical city

Eleonora Servino was on the first UN aid convoy to Suweida, which saw a recent escalation of violence that left many dead and thousands displaced. As the International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief of mission to Syria, Ms. Servino said the difference on the road to Bosra is stark. “You know that feeling when you […]

Amid starvation in Gaza, Sudan, Guterres slams hunger ‘as a weapon of war’

Amid starvation in Gaza, Sudan, Guterres slams hunger ‘as a weapon of war’

The development comes as UN Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that conflict-driven hunger is spreading “from Gaza to Sudan and beyond”. “Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war,” he said in a video message to the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake in Addis Ababa.  Meanwhile, citing reports […]

Two ex-militia leaders in Central African Republic sentenced for war crimes, crimes against humanity

Two ex-militia leaders in Central African Republic sentenced for war crimes, crimes against humanity

Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona received prison sentences of 15 and 12 years for their roles in brutal attacks against civilians – primarily from the country’s mainly Muslim Seleka population – during the 2013-14 civil war. They were found guilty “beyond any reasonable doubt” of leading and facilitating attacks on civilians in the capital, Bangui, […]

World News in Brief: Violence in Haiti, rising insecurity in DR Congo, expert panel on nuclear war

World News in Brief: Violence in Haiti, rising insecurity in DR Congo, expert panel on nuclear war

Displaced Haitians are dispersed among the 250 active displacement sites across the country, most of which are informal. Just over a fifth of these sites are managed by humanitarian organizations, meaning that many are living in precarious conditions.   In June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites, over 80 per cent of […]

As war rages on in Ukraine, organised crime is taking new forms

As war rages on in Ukraine, organised crime is taking new forms

Since February 2022, both legal and illegal economies in Ukraine have been severely disrupted by the war.  The report examines the evolution of organised crime structures in the country and focuses on six distinct areas: drug trafficking and production, online scams and fraud, arms trafficking, economic crime, trafficking in persons, and the facilitation of illegal […]

Malnutrition crisis deepens for Sudan’s children as war rages on

Malnutrition crisis deepens for Sudan’s children as war rages on

Across the five states that make up Darfur, UNICEF data revealed a 46 per cent increase in the number of children treated for SAM in January to May 2025 compared to the same period last year. The rate of acute malnutrition has surpassed emergency levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 9 of […]

Iran-Israel war: IAEA chief stresses need for strong new nuclear deal

Iran-Israel war: IAEA chief stresses need for strong new nuclear deal

“I welcome announcements on Iran situation. Resuming cooperation with [the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)] is key to a successful agreement,” said Rafael Grossi, Director General of the (IAEA). In a short online post on X, Mr. Grossi added that he had offered to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on working together, “stressing this […]

Bearing the brunt of war: UNICEF chief meets some of Sudan’s 700,000 child refugees crossing into Chad

Bearing the brunt of war: UNICEF chief meets some of Sudan’s 700,000 child refugees crossing into Chad

In neighbouring Chad, children make up 61 per cent of the 860,000 Sudanese refugees and a staggering 68 per cent of the 274,000 Chadian returnees – that’s over 700,000 young lives uprooted by violence. Chad, already one of the world’s poorest countries, has the fourth-highest child mortality rate in the world, despite significant progress in […]

Israeli actions in Palestinian territories constitute war crimes, Human Rights Council hears

Israeli actions in Palestinian territories constitute war crimes, Human Rights Council hears

“The goal of the Israeli government is abundantly clear: the destruction of life in Gaza.” That’s how Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, opened her statement to the 59th session of the Council on Tuesday. Calling the war in Gaza “the most ruthless, prolonged and widespread attack against the […]