June 26, 2024: The conflict in Sudan has led to the displacement of over 600,000 refugees, predominantly women and children, who have fled to Chad, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday. This mass exodus has significantly strained resources and created a humanitarian crisis in eastern Chad, prompting urgent calls for international assistance. "The conflict in Sudan has forced over 600,000 refugees and 180,000 Chadian returnees, the vast majority of them women and children, to flee into Chad, with more than 115,000 arriving since the start of 2024," the agency said. Despite efforts to manage the influx, the situation shows no signs of abating, with approximately 630 people crossing the border daily in May. One-third of the new arrivals in Chad are currently living in precarious conditions at sites along the border, making the already critical humanitarian situation even worse. The UNHCR warned that the Chad-Sudan border situation was "deteriorating rapidly" due to ongoing fighting in Darfur, predicting further displacement. Earlier on Tuesday, the Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher, North Darfur, reported that at least four people were killed and 16 injured in clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group at the Abu Shouk camp. The UNHCR has made an urgent appeal for $80 million to construct three additional sites with essential services and infrastructure to accommodate an anticipated 150,000 new arrivals. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that over 10 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since April 15, 2023. The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 between army General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over disagreements about integrating the RSF into the military. The violence has killed nearly 16,000 people and caused a devastating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, according to UN figures. © 2024 The Express Tribune

Egypt's Coptic Christian community has long faced sectarian violence and attacks by ISIS and other groups. April 29 2024: Coptic Christians in Egypt have faced attacks in the past week, raising concerns about the minority group’s safety in the country. What happened: Several Coptic homes were burned in the village of Fawakher in Egypt’s northern Minya governorate Tuesday night while residents were still inside. Al-Arabiya and The New Arab reported that the attack came in response to purported plans to build a new church in the area. Bishop Anba Macarius, who leads the Minya diocese, blamed the attack on “extremists” in a post on X after midnight, adding that the Coptic community had informed authorities of expected trouble before the incident. Early Wednesday morning, he posted again to say that Egyptian security forces had deployed to Fawakher, arrested the alleged perpetrators and established control over the situation. “May God protect our beloved Egypt from all misfortune,” he said. Neither Macarius nor the news reports mentioned any casualties. On Friday, the website Copts United reported another attack against the community in the al-Kom al-Ahmar village in Minya after a church obtained building permits. Videos purportedly showing the incident were shared on social media. Egypt's Copts form one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Copts trace their origins to the arrival of Saint Mark in Egypt during the first century. The Coptic language is still used by the church for liturgical purposes, though Arabic became the lingua franca following the Arab conquest of Egypt in the seventh century. Many Copts converted to Islam following the conquest. Estimates of the current population vary. According to the London-based Minority Rights Group International, the Coptic population ranges from 4.7 to 7.1 million out of Egypt's more than 100 million inhabitants. The attacks occurred ahead of the Coptic Orthodox Church’s Holy Week, which began on Sunday. Why it matters: There is a long history of persecution and violence against Copts in Egypt, especially in Minya governorate. In 2018, a police officer was charged with murder over the shooting of two Copts in Minya. The following year, Al-Monitor reported from Minya that some Coptic places of worship were forced to close due to violence and intimidation. Copts have faced violence in the Sinai Peninsula as well. In 2021, an Islamic State affiliate executed a Coptic man there. Egypt claimed victory last year over a recent insurgency by ISIS, al-Qaeda and other groups in Sinai. The US State Department’s 2022 human rights report for Egypt noted sectarian violence against Coptic Christians, including the killing of two men by ISIS in Sinai that August. © 2023 Al-Monitor, LLC. All rights reserved.

Report says Ethiopia and allies had ‘intent to destroy Tigrayans as an ethnic group’ and calls for prosecution at ICJ. June 4 2024: There is compelling evidence that Ethiopian forces committed genocidal acts during the Tigray war, a new report has concluded. Issued on Tuesday by the United States-based New Lines Institute, the 120-page draft quotes multiple, widespread and credible independent reports that Ethiopian forces and their allies carried out “acts constituting the crime of genocide” during the conflict, which ran between 2020-22. The authors call for Ethiopia to be brought before the International Court of Justice. The Tigray war erupted in November 2020, as a bid by the regional government for autonomy saw the Ethiopian military move into the northern region of the country. Thousands died in the two-year conflict, which formally came to an end in November 2022. Both sides accused each other of atrocities, including massacres, rape and arbitrary detentions, but each strenuously denies responsibility for abuses. In a report issued last September, the United Nations said war crimes and crimes against humanity were still being committed nearly a year after government and Tigrayan regional forces agreed to end the fighting. The New Lines Institute report now states that there is sufficient evidence that Ethiopia engaged in actions violating the Genocide Convention including the targeting of civilians with mass killings and starvation tactics. It says the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), alongside the allied Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) and assorted regional militia “possessed the intent to destroy Tigrayans as an ethnic group”. At least four acts constituting the crime of genocide are noted in the report: killing Tigrayans, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life upon Tigrayans calculated to bring about their destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent births among Tigrayans. Additionally, the finger is pointed at social media posts made by “certain individuals” that constitute public incitement to genocide. Ethiopia, which has been accused of seeking to prevent international scrutiny, has repeatedly denied that its forces carried out war crimes during the conflict. Eritrea has claimed such accusations against it are defamatory. However, the new report, which took two years to compile and features the contribution of dozens of legal experts, backs up the findings of the UN by stating that there is “reasonable basis to believe” that the countries are responsible for war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. In conclusion, the authors call on the international community to put pressure on Ethiopia via bilateral relations, as well as bringing the country before the ICJ. © 2024 Al Jazeera Media Network

Abdalla Hamdok was in Oslo recently as part of discussions to mediate an end to the war in Sudan. EPA Jun 26, 2024: Abdalla Hamdok, former prime minister of Sudan, has called for urgent action in the country, where more than 25 million face famine and hunger, nearly 10 million are internally displaced and there is “suffering beyond imagination”. In an exclusive interview with The National, Mr Hamdok, chairman of the Co-ordination of Civilian Democratic Forces (Taqaddum), warned that “people could die from hunger and starvation more than from bullets”. He also spoke about “so many battles all over the country” as the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces wage war. He stressed that the fighting in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur that has been under siege for weeks, represents a “catastrophe beyond imagination”, but he added that El Fasher cannot be seen in isolation from the rest of the country. Mr Hamdok was in Oslo recently as part of discussions to mediate an end to the war in Sudan, where he spoke to The National about the need for a political solution in the country. He explained that “the Sudan crisis of today is not new; the first war in Sudan started in 1955, just before independence, and it continued in protracted wars”. “Two million people died in the civil war, the genocide in Darfur [killed] over 300,000, according to estimates of the UN, many [died] in the Nuba Mountains and South Kordofan, to the point where nobody knows even how many died in that war," he said. However, he believes the difference with the current conflict is that “it started in the centre and quickly engulfed the entire country”. Mr Hamdok served as prime minister between 2019 and the end of 2021, taking office shortly after long-time president Omar Al Bashir was removed by the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) amid protests, and had been keen to see a civilian leadership take hold. He is adamant the current government in Sudan, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan is not a legitimate one. On October 25, 2021, Gen Al Burhan, who leads the armed forces, broke with a civilian-military coalition charged with transitioning Sudan to full civilian rule. Mr Hamdok described the move as a “coup” and went on to say that “there is no military path to victory by either side, whether it is SAF or RSF. And it is extremely important for this to be concluded through political dialogue that will address the root causes of the war: issues of marginalisation, underdevelopment and fixing the ills of the country which lasted for close to 70 years”. The former prime minister spoke of the “paradox” of Sudan not having a permanent constitution since 1956. “We are ruled with temporary constitutions … close to 60 years of military rule messed up the country and we want to put an end to this ... we'd like to see this war as the last one.” However, with the armed forces and RSF waging war, with arms and external support fuelling the conflict, an end to the violence in incredibly difficult to get to. Mr Hamdok explained that “the only assured way of putting pressure [on the generals], besides the leverage that can be exercised on them by neighbours and by the international community, is by the Sudanese people themselves”. Mr Hamdok, with a coalition of civilian leaders, is calling for the “widest possible front against the war ... if [it] managed to unite the civilian landscape and political space, civil society, people in all walks of life and affiliations against the war, the moment both sides realise that there is no hiding place, and enough is enough, let us cut our losses and stop this war today”. Mr Hamdok says he is working to create this front under the banner of Taqaddum, a coalition formed in October 2023 to create pressure on the warring parties and develop civilian governance structure. The first meeting was held in Addis Ababa and was followed by an “establishment conference” last month involving 600 participants. “We were pleasantly surprised ... the majority came from grassroots organisations” and it led to the establishment of a “non-partisan taskforce” to continue working. He aims to galvanise internal Sudanese communities and those in the diaspora, in addition to mobilising regional and global public opinion, against the war. “When we fought the dictator of Al Bashir for 30 years, the diaspora played an important role … there was a huge and rich solidarity campaign across the globe and we want to rekindle and bring that spirit back”. He stressed that Taqaddum is born out of a belief that “if we are not united, we are not going to get anywhere”. While seeking to be the “largest alliance possible of political forces”, Mr Hamdok adds “we also do not claim that we are the only force in town, we are appealing to others and accepting them with open arms”. Some of those who attended the conference were armed groups such as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdelaziz Al Hilou, which led to criticism from some civilian groups. “It was the climax of the meeting, because SPLM-North is an armed group that has never worked directly on politics," Mr Hamdok said, in response to the criticism. "Their presence in the meeting actually gave them an opportunity to be able to link to other groups, to talk to people whom they would never have been able to even shake hands with ... that assisted in having an environment where a lot of ice melted because of just the meeting and shaking hands and ability also to engage and discuss differences and also discuss the different issues religion, state, citizenship issues of marginalisation because of whether it is ethnicity, race, culture, everything.” He said his door is open to anyone willing to work for a political solution in the country. “We don’t want to put conditions, but we are saying anyone who agrees to a democratic dispensation, to civilian rule, and is against the war, is welcome.” Mr Hamdok has also been criticised for meeting the head of the RSF, Gen Mohamed Dagalo, in Addis Ababa in January, especially as the RSF face allegations of war crimes, as are SAF. Mr Hamdok responded to the controversy around the meeting by explaining that he and Taqaddum leaders wrote to Gen Al Burhan and Gen Daglo last December to request a meeting. “Hemedti [Gen Dagalo] responded, we met him early this year and we signed with him the Addis Declaration, which is a fantastic document, on how to stop the war, on the protection of civilians, and it has very broad principles of preserving the unity of the country, one army and all issues”. But Gen Al Burhan did not respond to the invitation for talks. “In fact, when the meeting [with Gen Dagalo] concluded, Al Burhan contacted me saying, how can you meet with the rebels? I told him we wrote to you and we're happy to meet you any time soon," Mr Hamdok said. That meeting has not happened, in part because Gen Al Burhan has insisted on meeting in Port Sudan, but Mr Hamdok has refused, explaining: “Port Sudan is in a far corner of the country, if you were operating from the State House in Khartoum, I would come to see you tomorrow”. Mr Hamdok’s preference is to meet outside Sudan, on neutral ground. His message to Gen Al Burhan is: “Let us cut our losses. And let us stop the suffering of our people. You are a de facto government today, although not recognised by many people because of the coup, not only the war, and Sudan is still suspended by the African Union.” Mr Hamdok stressed that “the African Union suspends any country that has a government that has come to power in an unconstitutional takeover. And what Al Burhan did in 2021 was an unconstitutional takeover of power. And that's why they're suspended from the African Union … and from that time onwards, there is no legitimate government, with all its complications”. As for the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan, Mr Hamdok said the group “ruled the country for over 30 years; they were well entrenched in the state institutions, but more so in the security apparatus, the army, police and intelligence”. His criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood was clear as he said: “You cannot talk about a democratic dispensation when one party controls the [security] sector, it is the recipe for disaster.” In his eyes, a viable solution would be “to restructure this institution and dismantle the one-party state, in the interest of a nation-state”. Mr Hamdok is advocating a re-establishment of state institutions based on a national constitution. He explained that after the removal of Al Bashir, there was an effort to eliminate Islamist control of the state, in addition to recovering stolen assets “and that is probably one of the reasons why they fought and plotted the coup, because there was a check on their power whether in the military or economy”. Sudan has suffered from external interference by powers near and far. Mr Hamdok stressed that “our interests as Sudanese can only be served by the region and the international community working towards stopping any intervention in our internal affairs” and added that “we do not want to see our country as a ground for proxy wars … we have no interest in fighting wars of others”. Mr Hamdok called on regional and international powers “to help us create an environment for the civilian political process to address this, anything beyond this is counterproductive, it will not resolve the war”. He added that “no amount of weapons supplied by any side will help them win ... there is no victory. The biggest question is what is victory on the corpse of your own people; this is senseless”. Asked about foreign interference in Sudan, Mr Hamdok said “the new element in the Sudanese conflict is the Iranian factor, the Houthis are supported by them and the proximity from the Red Sea to Port Sudan” is playing a role. Iran had strong ties with Al Bashir. Mr Hamdok said Iran’s involvement in Sudan stopped “for a while” after Al Bashir was toppled, but “they have re-established that relationship with the war”. He went on to say that, with Iranian influence in the east of the Red Sea through the Houthi rebels in Yemen, “I guess they wanted to establish a base in the west. This is part of their strategy in the entire region. They have affiliates all over, from Iraq to Syria and Hezbollah, all this seems like a circle. So I guess that probably is the motive for them to be present in Sudan, and maybe an entry point to the continent”. Saudi Arabia and the US mediated talks in Jeddah in an effort to bring an end to the war in Sudan. "We were very hopeful, they started on the right track but very quickly they stopped and we are not getting anywhere," Mr Hamdok said. “One of the things probably which was not perceived right from the beginning was the issue of the structure of it. There were all good intentions by Saudi Arabia in the US, but it could have achieved better results if it was expanded a little bit by having, for instance, Egypt and the UAE present, which happened when they went to Manama.” He went on to say that “for Jeddah to succeed, we need to revisit the actors, you need to have people who could have leverage on both sides”. Mr Hamdok dismissed reports about the UAE having a nefarious role in Sudan, amid allegations of its support for the RSF. Responding to a question about the UAE’s role, he said “the UAE has always been supportive of Sudan, and there is a lot of links and ties in the history”. Mr Hamdok spoke at length of how the Sudanese community has grown in the UAE and sees the country as a “force for good in Sudan”. He added: “We look forward to not only the UAE but Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, to help us rebuild Sudan when this war stops”. He remarked that “the world has changed” and the only way to develop in the future will be for “productive investment, which creates a win-win situation for both sides”. Mr Hamdok stressed the importance of countries paying attention to Sudan and working to end the war. He lauded the International Humanitarian meeting that took place in Paris last April organised by France, Germany and the EU. He said the meeting “came at the right time, as we Sudanese felt that our cause was neglected by the world ... it was an excellent meeting”. A number of states and organisations, including the African Union, League of Arab States, IGAD, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, US, Kenya, Norway and others committed to a ‘declaration of principles’ calling for an end to the war and urging “all foreign actors to cease providing armed support or materiel to the warring parties and to refrain from undertaking any action which would heighten tensions and fuel the conflict”. ©The National FZ LLC

A displacement camp near the city of El Fasher in Darfur. Mohamed Zakaria/Reuters June 19, 2024: Overshadowed by the fighting in Ukraine and Gaza, Sudan’s brutal civil war has been spreading for months across the western Darfur region, where atrocities were seared into international consciousness 20 years ago. Now global attention is starting to focus on the siege of a city in Darfur, where chaotic violence has stoked fears of another ethnic slaughter, and even genocide. Here is what we know. A Risk of Ethnic Slaughter The battle for the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, may have made the war too big to ignore. The U.N. Security Council, in a near-unanimous vote, has demanded an end to the siege there. As hostile forces close in on the city, one of the biggest in Darfur, an analysis of satellite and video imagery by The New York Times has found that thousands of homes have been razed and tens of thousands of people forced to flee. The fighters are part of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Given their history — they are successors to the janjaweed militias that once brutalized civilians — and accounts of a massacre in another city last fall, many fear the worst. If the city falls, what had largely been a military clash could descend into ethnic slaughter like the violence Darfur endured in the early 2000s, when the janjaweed, who are Arab, set upon ethnic Africans. The United Nations estimated that 300,000 people were killed in the genocide. “The situation today bears all the marks of risk of genocide,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the top United Nations official on genocide prevention. Food Is Running Out The fighters, waging a pitched civil war with Sudanese government soldiers, have seized control of the main highway. That has largely cut off food — and not just to El Fasher, a supply hub for a region already grappling with famine. At one displacement camp recently, a child died of malnutrition every two hours, doctors said. Medical care, too, is in short supply, with hospitals forced to close in the face of marauding fighters. Havens Are Scarce Fearing the violence, many residents have walked up to 180 miles in search of safety. But the road is filled with danger. The temperatures reach more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit, or 49 Celsius. Many women report having been sexually assaulted en route. And even when people make it to their destinations, they often find that food and medicine are in short supply there, too. Watching the arrivals is “truly heart-wrenching,” said one doctor in East Darfur. The I.C.C. Is Watching The International Criminal Court, which brought charges against Sudanese officials after the genocide two decades ago, says it is looking closely to determine what is happening now. The Hague-based court has issued an appeal for evidence of atrocities. Some of the fighters of the Rapid Support Forces are making that job easier. Instead of trying to conceal the razing of homes and mistreatment of civilians, they record it. Then they post the videos on social media. © 2024 The New York Times Company

This combination of photos shows Iranian June 28, presidential candidates Masoud Pezeshkian, lawmaker and a former Health Minister, top left, Saeed Jalili, former senior nuclear negotiator, top center, Alireza Zakani, Tehran Mayor, top right, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Parliament Speaker, bottom left, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the late President Raisi's Vice-President, bottom center, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former Minister of Justice. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)" Six candidates have been approved by Iran’s theocracy to run in Friday’s presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash with several other officials in May. Among them, Iran’s parliament speaker stands out as the most recognizable figure. A little-known politician and heart surgeon is also on the ballot. He is the only reformist while the others are more skewed toward hard-liners who back Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei without question and challenge the West. And if previous elections are a guide to Iranian politics, several candidates could drop out in the final days before the vote to coalesce around a unity candidate. Meanwhile, authorities are not urging the public to vote as vocally as they have in the past, particularly after a parliamentary election earlier in the year that saw the lowest turnout since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Here’s a look at the candidates: Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, served as one of Raisi’s vice presidents and as the head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. He ran in the 2021 presidential election and received just under 1 million votes, coming in last place. In debates so far, he’s urged the country to continue to follow the policies of Raisi and insisted that Iran does not need foreign investment to succeed, despite the widespread economic challenges the nation now faces. Saeed Jalili The 58-year-old Jaili is a hard-line politician and former senior nuclear negotiator. He ran in Iran’s 2013 presidential election and registered in 2021 before withdrawing to support Raisi. Current CIA director Bill Burns, who dealt with Jalili in negotiations in the past, has described him as “stupefyingly opaque” in talks. He got the nickname “The Living Martyr” after losing a leg in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. He maintains that Iran doesn’t need to negotiate over its nuclear program with the West. Though he is seen as maintaining close ties to Khamenei, he’s not considered to be a front-runner. His campaign largely has focused on rural voters. Masoud Pezeshkian A 69-year-old heart surgeon, Pezeshkian is the only reformist candidate among the hard-line figures seeking the presidency. He’s said he’d want to renegotiate with the West to try and restart some version of the 2015 nuclear deal. He’s put the need for the deal in economic terms, saying Iran needs to communicate with the world. Iran’s former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who served under the relative-moderate President Hassan Rouhani and helped strike the nuclear deal, has backed him. However, analysts believe Pezeshkian would need a heavy turnout to win — which is unlikely, given the current apathy gripping the nation. His campaign has so far focused on the youth vote, women and Iran’s ethnic minorities. Mostafa Pourmohammadi Pourmohammadi, 64, is the only Shiite cleric running in the election. He served as interior minister under hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later as justice minister under Rouhani. In 2006, the United States State Department referred to Pourmohammadi as a “notorious human rights violator” for a leading role in the 1988 mass execution of several thousand political prisoners at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. The State Department also linked him to the so-called “chain murders” of activists and others in the 1990s. He’s insisted the next president must deal with the world and criticized Iran’s arming of Russia in the war in Ukraine — not because of the killing of civilians, but because he felt Tehran wasn’t getting enough back from Moscow for its support. His campaign likely is counting on the backing of clerics and traditionalists. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf The Iranian parliament speaker, Qalibaf, 62, is the highest-ranking official within the theocracy to be seeking the presidency. Analysts suggest he’s the front-runner in the campaign, with Jalili as a second. Qalibaf is a former Tehran mayor with close ties to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Many remember that Qalibaf — as a former Guard general — was part of a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999. He also reportedly ordered live gunfire to be used against students in 2003 while serving as the country’s police chief. Qalibaf maintains that he, as a strong manager, can save Iran from the crisis, borrowing from recent comments made by Khamenei. Qalibaf has focused on the middle class, as well as promising more cash handouts for the poor. Alireza Zakani The current mayor of Tehran, Zakani, 58, withdrew from the 2021 presidential election to back Raisi. Zakani has said he believes Iran can neutralize the effects of international sanctions but should pursue a diplomatic solution. He is a hard-liner who has repeatedly criticized reformists and moderates within Iran’s political system, wants to see Iran stop using the dollar as a benchmark currency, and has called for Iran to create more value-added products from its oil to boost revenue. He has promised free health care for women and old people, as well as cash payments to poor people and reviving Iran’s currency, the rial. However, he’s offered no details on how he plans to accomplish these goals. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

European Court of Human Rights 25 June 2024 Credit: ECtHR In the case of Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea) the Court has found multiple violations of the European Convention. The case concerned the Ukrainian Government’s allegations of human-rights violations that had been part of a campaign of repression since early 2014 in Crimea, which included in particular disappearances; ill-treatment; unlawful detention; impossibility to opt out of Russian citizenship; suppression of Ukrainian media and of the Ukrainian language in schools; pre-trial detention in overcrowded conditions; prosecution and conviction on fabricated charges in reprisal for any pro-Ukrainian stance; discrimination against Crimean Tatars; and, transfers from Crimea to prisons in Russia. The Court considered that it had enough evidence to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the incidents had been sufficiently numerous and interconnected to amount to a pattern or system of violations. Moreover, the apparent lack of an effective investigation into the incidents and/or the general application of the measures to all people concerned, among other things, proved that such practices had been officially tolerated by the Russian authorities. Press release Delivery of the judgment Questions and Answers on inter-State cases Inter-State applications

International Criminal Court Press Release 21 June 2024 Permanent premises of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands. © 2018 Marina Riera/Human Rights Watch Today, 21 June 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), at the request of the Prosecutor, made public an arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in northern Mali between January 2012 and January 2013. The arrest warrant was initially issued under seal on 18 July 2017. Mr Ghaly is not detained by the ICC. Mr Ghaly, also known as "Abou Fadl”, was born in the Kidal region, is of Malian nationality, of Tuareg ethnicity, and a member of the Ifoghas tribe. There are reasonable grounds to believe that he would be the undisputed leader of Ansar Eddine, which at the time had control of Timbuktu, Mali, jointly with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ("AQIM"). Mr Ghaly is suspected of being responsible for the following crimes: war crimes: murder of soldiers placed hors de combat in Aguelhoc; rape, sexual slavery and any other form of sexual violence; violence to person (mutilation, cruel treatment and torture) and outrages upon personal dignity (humiliating and degrading treatment); intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion and historic monuments; and crimes against humanity: imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty; rape, sexual slavery and any other form of sexual violence; torture; other inhumane acts causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health; persecution on religious grounds; and persecution of women and girls on gender grounds. These crimes were allegedly committed in Mali, in Timbuktu between January 2012 and January 2013, and for the crime of murder of soldiers, in Aguelhoc on 24 January 2012. Mr Ghaly is suspected of having committed these crimes jointly with others and/or through others; ordering, soliciting or inducing their commission or aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting in the commission of these crimes; or in any other way contributing to the commission or these crimes; and/or as a military commander. The Chamber ordered the Registrar of the Court to prepare a request for cooperation in the arrest and surrender of the suspect, and to address it to the competent authorities of any relevant State and/or any other relevant authority. Decision issuing a public redacted version of the warrant of arrest against Mr Iyad Ag Ghaly Arrest warrant For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at  fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int

"Bandits". Credit: VOA How Fulani terrorists killed over 50 residents, policemen in Katsina coordinated attacks Five villages were attacked in a coordinated attack by terrorists in Katsina State. By Premium Times June 12, 2024 Residents and government officials have provided details of how terrorists, locally called bandits, killed over 50 people in coordinated attacks on Katsina communities on Sunday. Those killed included four policemen and two members of the state-owned security outfit, Community Watch Corps (CWC). President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday condemned the attacks but provided no details. PREMIUM TIMES has now learnt that five communities, all in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, witnessed what residents called “unforgettable moments” when terrorists launched simultaneous attacks on the villages. A total of 11 people were killed in Yargoje, 5 in Dan Nakwabo, 15 in Gidan Boka, 7 in Katsalle and 15 in Dan Maidaki, this newspaper learnt. Eight other residents were seriously wounded and are receiving medical attention in Kankara General Hospital. “Most of them were killed in the farm,” a resident of Mabai community, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone. “It was a heartless coordinated attack that security agents couldn’t contain.” Though residents said 53 people were killed, the police pegged the number of slain victims at 25 including the four policemen. The Katsina attacks add to the regular attacks in north-west and north-central Nigeria by various armed groups. The attacks over the past decade have led to thousands of deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Coordinated attacks Residents said the Sunday attacks began in Yargoje around 3 p.m. when the Fulani terrorists invaded the community shooting sporadically. The terrorists, according to one resident, drove on their motorcycles to Gidan Boka not far from Yargoje where they killed 15 residents mostly men and wounded two others. That was when the policemen and members of the Community Watch Corp were alerted by fleeing residents. “Immediately, the nearest armoured personnel carrier (APC) patrol team was dispatched to the scene. While en route to Gidan Baki village, the team discovered that the attack was actually on Gidan Boka village via Yar Goje village, Kankara LGA, where they quickly redirected towards the scene. Upon reaching Kurmeji village via Yar goje, the team fell into an ambush, where a firefight ensued between the team and the bandits,” Abubakar-Sadik Aliyu, the police spokesperson in Katsina State, said. Mr Aliyu said police investigation revealed that the terrorists killed 15 people and injured two others, “They also ambushed our patrol team and killed four (4) police officers (three (3) inspectors and one (1) corporal) and two (2) members of the Katsina State Community Watch Corps (KSCWC).” From Gidan Boka, the Fulani terrorists proceeded to Dan Nakwabo and killed five farmers working on their farms. Residents said the coordinated attack ended in Dan Mai Daki community where 15 residents were killed and eight wounded. “We counted 15 people killed by the bandits including women and children who were working on a farm. Eight people were quickly taken to the General Hospital in Kankara. These people were working for a living,” Usman Mabai, a resident, said. “We’re in a serious situation in this axis. From Sheme to Kankara down to Marabar Kankara, there is no community that is not being attacked.” While the attacks were ongoing, another group of terrorists attacked residents working on their farms in Katsalle village. “Around 4 p.m., the bandits, riding on their motorcycles, circled the community. When we saw them, we thought they would not attack us,” a Katsalle farmer now seeking refuge in Kankara town, told PREMIUM TIMES. “Seven people were on their farm about to go home for the day when the bandits opened fire on them. They (bandits) were shouting at other farmers who were running, asking them “Why did you come to the farm? We’ve told you no farming this year.” Tinubu condemns attacks According to a statement by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu “strongly condemns the recent spate of attacks against citizens in Dutsin-Ma and Kankara Local Government Areas of Katsina State.” While describing the latest attacks as grisly and sinister, the president emphasizes that more will be done to secure citizens and completely degrade terrorists and other harbingers of death and sorrow in any part of the country, Mr Ngelale wrote. “President Tinubu directs security agencies to go after the assailants and ensure that they are brought to justice. “The President condoles with the families of the deceased, as well as the Government and people of Katsina State, and prays for the repose of the souls of the departed.” Copyright 2024 Premium Times

The Daily Mail By ROB CRILLY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN WASHINGTON, D.C. 23 June 2024 Why is the White House silent on Sudan? 150,000 people dead, famine looms but Biden's spokesman can't cope with questions and the president hasn't issued a statement in a year. Civil war has taken Sudan to the brink of genocide and a man-made famine. The death toll is growing and both sides are accused of horrendous war crimes. Yet Biden has not made a statement on the crisis in more than a year. More than 150,000 people dead, another nine million forced from their homes by a year of fighting, and millions more living in the shadow of famine. The African nation of Sudan is once again on the brink of genocide as rival generals battle for power. Yet when John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, was asked what the Biden administration was doing to help ease a deepening humanitarian crisis he had nothing to offer. 'I'm going to take your question on Darfur... and get back to you, rather than try to explain something that may just make me sound stupid,' he told a reporter during a telephone briefing on Thursday. 'So I don’t want to do that. I want to do that right and take the question for you.' It was an unusual moment for Kirby, who has impressed journalists with his ability to flit from world crisis to world crisis dispensing talking points at will. Fighters ride in a vehicle moving in a military convoy accompanying the governor of Sudan's Darfur State during a stopover in the eastern city of Gedaref while on the way to Port Sudan. Credit AFP via Getty Images But for Sudan watchers, desperate for the Biden administration to act, it was telling. 'It is the public expression of a private policy, that they're not prioritizing this crisis,' said Nicole Widdersheim, deputy Washington director of Human Rights Watch and former director for African affairs at the White House National Security Council. She added that she was astonished his briefing notes did not include a boilerplate expression of concern and call for peace. She said: 'You don't have a go-to a talking point on the biggest humanitarian crisis facing Africa, Northern Africa and frankly threatening Europe, in decades?' White House officials push back on any idea that they do not have the bandwidth to deal with Sudan at the same time fighting rages in Gaza and Ukraine. And they point to the three statements made by President Joe Biden since fighting broke out. Yet the most recent of those was more than a year ago. And in that time he has tweeted about Sudan precisely four times—the exact same number as he has posted about the Kansas City Chiefs. The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee demanded that the White House step up to prevent a repeat of the genocide that engulfed the western region of Darfur two decades ago. 'The evidence strongly suggests that genocide is occurring in Darfur. The fact that the president’s spokesperson cannot articulate that is indicative they are not paying nearly enough attention to Africa,' said Rep. Michael McCaul. 'As the conflict escalates throughout Sudan, I once again call on the administration to present a clear strategy on how it will achieve a lasting ceasefire and set the country back on the path to civilian-led rule.' Sudanese Children suffering from malnutrition are treated at an MSF clinic in Metche Camp, Chad, near the Sudanese border, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Many people here fled the fighting in Sudan's vast western region of Darfur. Credit: AP A burned-out vehicle in the city of Omdurman. War has raged for more than a year in Sudan between the regular military under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Credit: AFP via Getty Images Yunis Ali Ishag, 60 from Geneina in West Sudan whose leg was amputated after he was shot by RSF soldiers, poses for a portrait on April 20, 2024. Credit: Getty images Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023, when tensions between rival military leaders erupted into violence. It pits Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudan Armed Forces, against the the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Gen, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known universally as 'Hemedti.' The result is an already fragile nation pushed to breaking point. Aid workers will tell you it has the potential to rank alongside the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s in terms of misery. Last month Biden's own envoy told the Senate as many as 150,000 people had already died. The UN's World Food Programme says 18 million people face acute hunger across the country, but aid agencies cannot reach those in need because of fighting. Both sides are accused of using hunger as a weapon of war. And the State Department has determined that both sides have committed war crimes. In particular, members of the RSF and its allied militias stand accused of crimes against humanity and "ethnic cleansing." [Genocide Watch comment: "Etthnic cleansing is a euphemism invented by Slobodan Milosevic to deny genocide.] The fighting carries echoes of the genocide that gripped the country's western Darfur region 20 years ago. A man stands by as a fire rages in a livestock market area in al-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, on September 1, 2023, in the aftermath of bombardment by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Credit: AFP via Getty Images Fighting has spread from the capital Khartoum to engulf most of the country in the past year. Credit: Daily Mail The fighting pitches army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who has allied himself with the country's Islamists, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (better known as Hemedti) who heads the Rapid Support Forces. Credit: AP The RSF, derived from the Janjaweed fighters that burned and looted villages then, is now encircling El Fasher, where the UN says 800,000 civilians are trapped. Add to the mix the fact that Egypt and Qatar are backing the SAF with Saudi backing, the United Arab Emirates is accused of funneling weapons to the RSF, and Moscow has a foot in each camp and the result is recipe for regional conflagration. Against that backdrop, human rights groups and aid agencies have become increasingly outspoken at what they see as White House inaction. An alliance of campaigners delivered a 15,000-signature petition in April, the anniversary of the outbreak of war, demanding that Biden speak up. 'Despite this, President Biden has been nearly silent on Sudan for over a year,' said Amnesty International. His last statement, apart from asides in an Eid greeting or broader messages about aid bills, was on June 20, 2023. Widdersheim said Washington must pressure outside powers to end their support for warring parties, help implement a weapons embargo, and begin the process of designing a mission t protect civilians. 'The US has enormous amount of pressure that they are not leveraging on the Gulf actors who are basically the funders and supporters and the guardians of these general,' she said. That was the case, she added, before the Oct 7 Hamas attack shifted the focus to Middle East. The United Nations says more than nine million people have been forced from their homes, like this woman and infant at Metche Camp in neighboring Chad. Credit: AP A damaged army tank is seen on the street in Omdurman, almost one year into the war. Credit: Reuters The war shows no sign of ending after more than a year and as the country heads for famine. Credit: AFP via Getty Images President Joe Biden has not issued a statement on Sudan in more than a year while his spokesman John Kirby couldn’t even comment. Credit: Biden- Shutterstock; Kirby: Reuters 'I can't help but feel that this is still the same old classic case of African mega crises just not rising to the level of prioritisation for Western governments,' she said. At previous briefings Kirby has rebutted any suggestion that the administration is prioritizing other areas and neglecting Sudan. 'I would push back on the notion that we’re somehow so fixated on what’s going on in the Middle East that we can’t focus on other places around the world, including Africa,' he said in January. 'We continue to be engaged diplomatically to make sure to — to do what we can to see that the aspirations of the Sudanese people are met and that the — and that the violence between these two sides stops.' Cameron Hudson, senior fellow at the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there was no excuse for not being able to comment on Sudan, just a day after The New York Times had published huge multimedia appeal for action on an unfolding catastrophe. But he said this administration did not feel the weight of history that, for example, George W. Bush felt in 2003 when the last Sudanese genocide was under way. 'Jake Sullivan [national security adviser] and Joe Biden are not worried about the historical record or their legacy in responding to genocide,' he said. 'And I think the reason for that is the lesson that they're drawing on is the lesson of American overreach in not just places like Iraq and Afghanistan but very specifically in Libya.' An intervention to halt a genocide in 2011 ended up as a regime-change operation, he added, that triggered the collapse of a country and a crisis across Central Africa. Like generals fighting the last war, he said, 'We're always trying to correct that record with the current case.' Copyright 2024 The Daily Mail

Burning town in Darfur, Sudan. credit: Amnesty International The Council of the European Union has sanctioned six RSF and SAF military leaders for undermining stability and political transition in Sudan. The Council adopted restrictive measures today against six individuals responsible for activities undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan, where fighting is still ongoing between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their respective affiliated militias. On the RSF side, the new listings include Abdulrahman Juma Barakallah, a General commanding the RSF in West Darfur who is responsible for committing atrocities and other abuses, instigating ethnically motivated killings, targeted attacks on human rights activists and defenders, conflict-related sexual violence, and the looting and burning of communities. They also include the RSF’ financial adviser, as well as a prominent tribal leader of the Mahamid clan affiliated with the RSF in West Darfur. On the SAF side, sanctions target the Director General of Defense Industry System (DIS), a company already sanctioned by the EU, and the Commander of the Sudanese Air Force, El Tahir Mohamed El Awad El Amin, for their responsibility in the indiscriminate aerial bombing of densely populated residential areas since the beginning of the conflict. Ali Ahmed Karti Mohamed, a former Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Government of Omar al-Bashir is also listed. Those targeted are subject to an asset freeze and a prohibition on the provision of funds or economic resources to them, directly or indirectly. Additionally, they are subject to travel bans in the European Union. Restrictive measures under the Sudan sanctions regime now apply to a total of six individuals and six entities. The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Background On 22 January 2024, the Council adopted a first set of restrictive measures against six entities of the SAF and the RSF responsible for supporting activities undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan. On 12 April 2024, the High Representative issued a statement on behalf of the EU on the one-year mark of the war between the SAF and the RSF, appealing to the warring parties for an immediate and durable ceasefire, and reminding them of their obligation under international humanitarian law to protect civilians. The EU stated that it was ready to continue to use its tools in order to contribute to ending the armed conflict, discouraging the obstruction of humanitarian assistance and halting the culture of impunity. Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/1784 of 24 June 2024 amending Decision (CFSP) 2023/2135 concerning restrictive measures in view of activities undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan (including a list of sanctioned individuals) Sudan: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union one year into the conflict (press release, 12 April 2024) Sudan: Council adds six entities to EU sanctions list (press release, 22 January 2024) Sudan: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the latest situation (press release, 27 November 2023)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press conference in New York, on June 21, 2024. (Screenshot of UN Web TV) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on Friday that "there is no military solution" to the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on the southern border of Lebanon, urging the parties to resort to the "diplomatic and political avenues available to them." In a press conference held at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres warned of a potential "reckless act" and "miscalculation" by either side, which he said "could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination.” "The people of the region and the world cannot afford for Lebanon to become a new Gaza," he added. The clashes in southern Lebanon, which began when Hezbollah opened a "front in support of the resistance in Gaza" on Oct. 8, 2023, have resulted in 468 deaths. Most of the victims are fighters or members of Hezbollah, but according to L'Orient Today’s count, there are also 73 civilians, three journalists, and about twenty medics among the dead. “I felt compelled today to voice my profound concerns about the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Blue Line," Guterres said at the beginning of his address. He then condemned "an escalation in continuous exchanges of fire" and "an escalation in bellicose rhetoric from both sides as if an all-out war was imminent." In his latest speech on Wednesday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah ramped up his rhetoric against Israel following a sharp increase in border tensions after the Israeli assassination of Taleb Abdallah, a senior Hezbollah commander. His threats even extended to Cyprus, declaring, "We warn the government of Nicosia: opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to attack Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is a party to the war.” Reason and rationality "On both sides of the Blue Line, many lives have already been lost, tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and homes and livelihoods have been destroyed," Guterres added, reminding that "unexploded ordnance (...) poses an additional threat to the inhabitants of Israel and Lebanon, as well as to UN and humanitarian personnel." The UN Secretary-General once again urged the parties to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah by establishing a presence of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) in southern Lebanon. "And displaced communities must be able to return to their homes. The world must say loudly and clearly: immediate de-escalation is not only possible — it is essential," Guterres insisted. Finally, the UN chief called on the parties to "show reason and rationality," emphasizing that "it is time for the parties to practically and pragmatically engage in the diplomatic and political avenues available to them." "UN peacekeepers are on the ground working to de-escalate tensions and help prevent miscalculation," he assured. He concluded by saying that the United Nations continues to push "for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, and a real pathway to a two-state solution.” © 2022 L’Orient-Le Jour