Army bases fall to RSF in Sudan forcing thousands to flee – as harrowing details of sieges emerge

Published

2 years ago

November 8, 2023

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Three out of four army headquarters in each of Darfur’s state capitals have fallen to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan – pushing thousands of people further into peril.

Among the thousands crossing the border into Chad so far this month to flee the violence are many mothers and children with no possessions, according to charity groups.

The RSF gains are the latest harrowing developments in more than half a year of fighting between the Darfur-born “janjaweed” militia turned paramilitary group and their former security partners and the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Clashes erupted earlier this year between the RSF and the SAF in a fight for political power that has killed thousands of people.

As the RSF captured the 15th infantry division army headquarters in Ardamata – a suburb of the West Darfur capital Al Geneina, home to the city’s barracks and a camp for internally displaced people – a full-blown siege was under way.

There are videos of the RSF rounding up army soldiers – along with footage of them whipping men and young boys and beating them with rifles.

“Sons of b*****!” they yell, and the dust rises as they deliver more blows.

Various human rights monitors from Darfur confirmed that the victims of violence in this particular video were civilians held in the Ardamata area – and punished on the basis of their Masalit tribe and assumed affinity with the army.

‘No one could go in or out’

Voice notes exclusively shared with Sky News – recorded in Al Geneina on the day – detail the siege conditions imposed by the RSF and allied Arab militias on the civilian population as they rounded up army soldiers on 1 November.

“The army is surrendering and asking for guarantees so that they can leave,” says one Al Geneina resident.

They added: “But the Arabs said they won’t let the head of army intelligence go even if he surrenders and said he caused a lot of problems for them and many died.”

Another resident describes the lockdown.

“The people who could escape walked by foot from Ardamata to Al Geneina [city].

“But between afternoon and sunset prayer, they closed the road and whoever was in stayed in – and whoever was out stayed out – no one could go in or out.”

She goes on to list the roads that were closed off.

“Um Duweim Way was closed. The way to Durti was also closed and they beat people up and took their phones,” she says.

“The only way was through Tile’a but some people also said it is closed and they are looting people who try and take that way.”

Thousands forced to flee across border with nothing

Testimony shared by another Al Geneina resident at the time via text says “the 15th infantry division is now besieged from every direction”.

Some civilians and dozens of troops were eventually released and fled to Chad for safety where they laid down their arms.

The border authority told Sky News they were absorbed by the long-established Sudan-Chad joint border force.

Medecins Sans Frontieres has said that 7,000 people crossed the border from West Darfur to eastern Chad in the first three days of November alone.

Many of them are mothers and children who fled with nothing.

“The men are definitely not allowed to leave so they tried to get the women out,” says one of the residents via a voice note.

Multiple sources in Al Geneina say that hundreds were killed during the takeover, though the final number of deaths is unknown and difficult to measure.

‘They use sexual violence against women’

The siege of Ardamata by the RSF is almost a replica of their siege of Al Geneina on 15 June that led to a city-wide massacre.

Sky News was able to verify mass graves where bodies were dumped in the aftermath.

A human rights defender and researcher of gender-based violence from Al Geneina, who fled after the June massacre, says this pattern is a pathway to increased sexual assaults on women.

“After these men are executed, there are a lot of widowed women who are exposed,” she says on the condition of anonymity.

“What I saw from these militias is that they use sexual violence against women – young girls and even the elderly – who are also whipped by the RSF and displaced en masse.”

Several women and girls have shared horrifying experiences of sexual assault with her since the war started on 15 April.

“The women being harmed by the RSF cannot now be left to their protection,” she added.

Entire neighbourhoods surrounded by fighting despite peace talks

In Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, entire neighbourhoods in Omdurman and Bahri have been besieged and cut off from food, water and electricity.

They are surrounded by fighting and RSF positions, with no humanitarian corridors allowing for entry of aid or medical care.

Some concerned family members have not been able to reach loved ones there in two weeks.

Shelling by the RSF and army airstrikes have been killing innocent civilians in the capital since the early days of the war.

Peace talks in Jeddah have failed to produce a ceasefire agreement between the army and RSF that would provide much-needed safety and relief.

Both sides have announced a commitment to aid access, a UN-led humanitarian forum and a separate communication mechanism.

However, these outcomes carry little credence as fighting continues on the ground and after several false ceasefire declarations made early in the war.

On 11 October, Sudan’s UN representative, aligned with the army, voted no on a UN Human Rights Council vote on a fact-finding mission to investigate abuses committed during this conflict.

World

Israel attacks Houthi targets at three ports and power plant in Yemen

Published

5 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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Israel attacks Houthi targets at three ports and power plant in Yemen

Israel says its military has attacked Houthi targets at three ports and a power plant in Yemen.

Defence minister Israel Katz confirmed the strikes, saying they were carried out due to repeated attacks by the Iranian-backed rebel group on Israel.

Mr Katz said the Israeli military attacked the Galaxy Leader ship which he claimed was hijacked by the Houthis and was being used for “terrorist activities in the Red Sea”.

It came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation warning for people at Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Salif ports – as well as the Ras al Khatib power station, which it said is controlled by Houthi rebels.

The IDF said it would carry out airstrikes on those areas due to “military activities being carried out there”.

Afterwards, Mr Katz confirmed the strikes at the ports and power plant.

Earlier in the day, a ship was reportedly set on fire after being attacked in the Red Sea.

A private security company said the assault, off the southwest coast of Yemen, resembled that of the Houthi militant group.

It was the first such incident reported in the vital shipping corridor since mid-April.

The vessel, identified as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas, had taken on water after being hit by sea drones, maritime security sources said. The crew later abandoned the ship.

The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership called an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors.

The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched an assault against the rebels in mid-March.

That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.

A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in US and Western forces to the area.

The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East.

A possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance and Iran is weighing up whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear programme.

It follows American airstrikes last month, which targeted its most-sensitive atomic sites amid an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic that ended after 12 days.

How did the Houthis come to control much of Yemen?

A civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa.

Worried by the growing influence of Shia Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition in March 2015, which intervened in support of the Saudi-backed government.

The Houthis established control over much of the north and other large population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in the port city of Aden.

World

‘We’ll never yield’: Millions of Iranians unite in mourning

Published

5 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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'We'll never yield': Millions of Iranians unite in mourning

Under the red flag of martyrdom, they beat their chests in memory of a fallen religious leader as the cleric recounts his fate outside one of Tehran’s oldest mosques.

Imam Hussein was tricked and martyred by his enemies in the seventh-century battle of Karbala. The crowd of grown men and women wept with grief as Hussein’s story was retold on Sunday.

Ashura is always deeply moving for the Shia faithful but this year even more so. It comes after the trauma of Israel’s surprise attacks on Iran.

There was a sense of emotional release and a chance for Iranians to come together in solidarity.

Ashura is also a reminder that Iran’s revolutionary leaders draw much of their power from the strength of religion in this country after a conflict its enemies hoped would see those same leaders toppled.

The festival has come at just the right time for its embattled government.

Iran’s supreme leader has appeared in public for the first time since Israel attacked his country. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was greeted with ecstatic cheers by his followers at Ashura prayers.

His supporters told us they welcomed his return. “I was so happy that I didn’t know what to do,” said one woman. “This caused our big enemies the United States and Israel to receive a great slap in the mouth.”

“His appearance on TV for Ashura,” a young man told us, “showed that all the talk about him hiding and taking the path of peace with the United States is not true and it shows that he is holding his position strongly and steadfastly”.

We had been given rare access to Iran among a handful of journalists who were let in after the 12-day war.

Its scars aren’t hard to find – buildings left with gaping holes where Israeli airstrikes took out members of Iran’s elite, one after another.

And Abbas Aslani, an analyst with close ties to the government, says there is a fear it may not be over.

“The Iranian government and the army are prepared for a new round of conflict, because they think that the other party, specifically Israel, is not to be trusted in terms of any ceasefire,” he said.

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At the Ashura ceremony, the crowd chants, “we’ll never yield to humiliation” – an age-old message for Iran’s enemies today as they brace for the possibility of more conflict.

World

What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal – and what challenges could lie ahead?

Published

11 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal - and what challenges could lie ahead?

An Israeli delegation is heading to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas on a possible hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The development comes ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on Monday aimed at pushing forward peace efforts.

The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to secure a permanent ceasefire and an end to the 21-month-long war in Gaza.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday on social media that Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalise” a deal on a truce.

And Hamas, which runs the coastal Palestinian territory, said on Friday it has responded to the US-backed proposal in a “positive spirit”.

So what is in the plan?

The plan is for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by the militant group in exchange for more humanitarian supplies being allowed into Gaza.

The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the war altogether.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Dozens of hostages have since been released or rescued by Israeli forces, while 50 remain in captivity, including about 30 who Israel believes are dead.

The proposal would reportedly see about half of the living hostages and about half of the dead hostages returned to Israel over 60 days, in five separate releases.

Eight living hostages would be freed on the first day and two released on the 50th day, according to an Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries, it is reported.

Five dead hostages would be returned on the seventh day, five more on the 30th day and eight more on the 60th day.

That would leave 22 hostages still held in Gaza, 10 of them believed to be alive. It is not clear whether Israel or Hamas would determine who is to be released.

Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

A Hamas official has said Mr Trump has guaranteed that the ceasefire will extend beyond 60 days if necessary to reach a peace deal, but there is no confirmation from the US of such a guarantee.

Possible challenges ahead

And in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained.

The concerns were over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.

Hamas’s “positive” response to the proposal had slightly different wording on three issues around humanitarian aid, the status of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) inside Gaza and the language around guarantees beyond the 60-day ceasefire, a source with knowledge of the negotiations revealed.

But the source told Sky News: “Things are looking good.”

The Times of Israel reported Hamas has proposed three amendments to the proposed framework.

According to a source, Hamas wants the agreement to say that talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached; that aid will fully resume through mechanisms backed by the United Nations and other international aid organisations; and that the IDF withdraws to positions it maintained before the collapse of the previous ceasefire in March.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that changes sought by Hamas to the ceasefire proposal were “not acceptable to Israel”.

However, his office said the delegation would still fly to Qatar to “continue efforts to secure the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel agreed to”.

Another potential challenge is that Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, which is a demand the militant group has so far refused to discuss.

Hamas has said it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war in Gaza.

Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile – something that the group refuses.

Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war’s end, while Mr Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the group’s destruction.