Region

SANAA — At least 85 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush at a Ramadan cash handout in Yemen early on Thursday, as the impoverished country suffered one of its worst tragedies just as optimism was growing over its bitter civil war.

Three people were detained over the stampede in Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, after large crowds gathered at a school to receive gifts of 5,000 rial (about $8) for the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

Harrowing footage screened by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels' Al Masirah TV showed a tightly packed crowd screaming and shoving, unable to move, while others attempted to haul stricken people out of the crush.

Other shots showed dead bodies on the ground as the panic continued. Afterwards, piles of abandoned sandals, clothing and a crutch littered the scene, while an investigator in white protective gear collected evidence.

"It was a huge crowd. They fell on me, and I got hurt," an injured child told Al Masirah from his hospital bed.

A Houthi security official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that at least 85 people were killed and "more than 322" injured, 50 of them seriously.

"Women and children were among the dead," the official said. A health official confirmed the toll.

The tragedy comes just ahead of Eid Al Fitr, a major Muslim festival, and punctures a buoyant mood over the war in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, following peace talks and an exchange of nearly 1,000 prisoners last week.

The Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014, are fighting a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia that intervened in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall the ousted government.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by the war's direct or indirect causes, and millions pushed to the brink of famine. But momentum is growing for a truce and peace process, with the Saudis and Houthis holding talks last week.

'People flocked 

in a huge way' 

Eyewitnesses said gunfire sparked a stampede after crowds gathered at the school, in Sanaa's historic Bab Al Yemen district, to receive the handouts from a businessman. AFP could not verify the reports of gunfire.

The head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohamed Ali Al Houthi, blamed “overcrowding”, saying people were packed in a narrow street leading to the school’s back entrance.

Once the gates opened, the crowd streamed into a tight staircase leading to the courtyard where the distribution was taking place.

“Citizens were informed a week ago that sums of money would be disbursed without ID verification,” said one witness.

“People flocked in a huge way, the gate opened, and with the large numbers, the stampede happened.”

The Houthis’ political chief Mahdi Al Mashat said a committee had been formed to investigate, and a Houthi security official said three people had been detained on suspicion of involvement.

After the stampede, families converged on hospitals but many were not allowed to enter as senior officials were also visiting the dead and wounded.

An AFP correspondent in Sanaa saw large crowds outside one hospital entrance.

At the school, heavily deployed security forces were seen blocking relatives from entering the facility to locate family members.

Footage from one hospital showed dazed and bandaged survivors recovering in a ward, some with visible wounds on their limbs and heads.

Yemen is no stranger to tragedy, most stemming from its brutal war.

In 2016, a coalition air strike killed more than 140 people attending a funeral, and dozens of children died in a strike on a bus in 2018.

At least 70 people died in an air strike on a prison in Saada, the Houthis’ home city, in January 2022, and in March 2021, 45 people were killed in a blaze at a Sanaa migrant centre caused by Houthi forces firing tear gas canisters.

KHARTOUM — Explosions and gunfire resounded in Sudan's capital Thursday as fighting between the forces of two rival generals showed no signs of abating ahead of festivities marking the end of Ramadan.

Over 300 people have been killed since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Some of the fiercest battles have taken place in the capital Khartoum, a city home to 5 million people, most of whom have been cloistered in their homes without electricity, food and water.

"We were awoken today at around 4:30 am to the roaring sound of fighter jets and air strikes," said Nazek Abdalla, a 38-year-old in southern Khartoum. "We locked our doors and windows hoping no stray bullets would hit our building."

The fighting entered a sixth day hours after another truce unravelled, with the crackle of gunfire heard and columns of thick black smoke seen rising from buildings around Khartoum International Airport and the army headquarters in the capital.

The RSF, a powerful force formed from members of the Janjaweed militia that led years of extreme violence in Darfur, had said its forces would "fully commit to a complete ceasefire" from Wednesday evening for 24 hours, as did the army.

But witnesses said gunfire did not stop in Khartoum, as another ceasefire was breached within minutes of its supposed start for the second time in as many days.

Beyond Khartoum, witnesses reported loud explosions in the city of Obeid, in central state of North Kordofan.

'Reeks of death' 

"It reeks of death in some parts of town," said a witness who was leaving a hotspot in central Khartoum. 

Ahmed Al-Mandhari of the World Health Organization said Thursday that "almost 330 people have died and almost 3,200 more" had been wounded in Khartoum, the western Darfur region and other states.

The fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilians across Sudan.

"We wish the fighting would stop during Eid festivities" which is to begin Friday marking the end of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting, said Abdalla, the resident of southern Khartoum.

“We know it will not happen though,” he added.

Burhan and Daglo’s bitter dispute centred around the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition.

Around the capital and elsewhere, RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks mounted with machineguns have taken over the streets.

Many have put up checkpoints to search cars carrying civilians trying to escape Khartoum’s worst battle zones to safer areas in the capital and beyond.

Fighting has damaged residential and commercial buildings, and civilians sheltering in their homes are becoming increasingly desperate.

By Tuesday, thousands of Sudanese had fled the capital, with many saying they had seen corpses littering the streets as they made their way to safety.

Sudanese medics have warned of a catastrophic healthcare situation, especially in Khartoum where many hospitals were apparently caught in the crossfire.

As many as 70 perc ent of the hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states have been rendered “out of service” due to fighting, the doctors’ union said.

The union has warned the death toll was likely to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals.

Many countries have started to make plans to evacuate thousands of foreigners from the north African country, but their efforts have been put on hold by the ongoing violence.

The Sudanese army said 177 Egyptian soldiers were evacuated from the northern city of Meroe back to Egypt, which also confirmed their arrival. The RSF said later it handed over another 27 Egyptian soldiers to the Sudanese Red Cross and Cairo confirmed their arrival at the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum.

The United Arab Emirates said it had “led” the mediation for the Egyptians held by the RSF.

Burhan and Daglo toppled autocratic president Omar Al Bashir together in April 2019 following massive protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021, the two men worked together in the coup against the civilian government installed following Bashir’s ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition to democracy.

Burhan, whose career advanced under Bashir, has maintained his coup was “necessary” to bring more factions into politics.

But Daglo, who rose to prominence during the Bashir government’s scorched-earth policy against Darfuri rebels, has since called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashir’s remnants.

KHARTOUM — Thousands of residents fled Sudan's capital Wednesday as fighting between the army and paramilitaries, which has killed around 200 people, raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed.

The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan's democratic transition.

Deafening explosions rattled buildings and heavy gunfire were heard in Khartoum, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks laden with heavy weapons swarmed the streets, as the army's fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

Their hopes of being evacuated were dashed when a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire collapsed within minutes of its proposed start at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.

Thousands of people took matters into their own hands and, according to witnesses, began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

The fighting has killed at least 185 people and injured more than 1,800, according to the United Nations.

But the real figure is thought to be far higher with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors' union.

Governments have starting planning to evacuate thousands of foreigners stuck in the country, among them many UN staff.

Japan said its defence ministry had begun the “necessary preparations” to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens’ personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

“Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for [a] US government-coordinated evacuation,” it tweeted.

The violence has also seen a US diplomatic convoy fired upon, the European Union’s ambassador attacked at home and a Belgian humanitarian official with the EU hospitalised after reportedly being shot.

On Tuesday, United Nations emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said the UN had received “reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers”.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies. 

After the collapse of the truce, the army accused the “rebel militia” of failing to commit to it and of continuing “skirmishes around the army headquarters and the airport”.

The RSF pointed the finger at the army for “committing violations” and breaching the ceasefire by launching “sporadic attacks” on its forces and bases around the capital.

International 

actors ‘bide time’ 

The latest violence, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, came after more than 120 civilians had already been killed in a crackdown on regular pro-democracy demonstrations over the past 18 months.

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy, in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

Since the start of fighting, each side has claimed the upper hand and that they have taken control of key sites or made advances on the other’s bases across Sudan.

None of the claims could be independently verified.

“Neither side seems to be winning at the moment, and given the intensity of the violence, things could get even worse before the two generals come to the negotiating table,” said Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Paris’s Sorbonne University.

But that would necessitate “regional allies exerting pressure, and right now their declarations aren’t heading in that direction, with international actors seemingly biding their time until the situation is clearer”.

Saturday’s outbreak of violence is the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar Al Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

They have since been allies with their relationship interspersed with brief periods of tensions.

In October 2021, the pair led a military coup against the civilian government, which was installed following Bashir’s ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose the through ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was “necessary” to include more factions into politics.

But Daglo, also known as Hemeti, has since called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashir’s remnants.

LALISH, Iraq — One by one, members of Iraq's minority Yazidi community light oil lamps to mark their New Year at a sacred shrine, but for Omar Sinan the celebration cannot erase the atrocities of terrorists’ rule.

In 2014, the Daesh group swept across swathes of Iraq, carrying out horrific violence against the Kurdish-speaking community whose non-Muslim faith the extremists considered heretical.

Daesh massacred thousands of men and abducted thousands of women and girls as sex slaves.

Tuesday night as the sun set over the Lalish stone shrine in northern Iraq, Yazidis began lighting oil lamps, 365 of them, one for each day of the year.

Hundreds came to mark the Yazidi New Year — which to the faithful commemorates the creation of the universe by angels and celebrates nature and fertility.

Six years after Iraq declared victory over Daesh, the Yazidis came to Lalish barefoot and dressed in white.

The men wore embroidered vests over their shirts while women donned traditional head coverings, featuring gold coins.

"Before, this was a time for celebration and our joy was immense. But today... we cannot forget what we have been through," said Sinan, attending the celebration with his children.

The Yazidis follow an ancient religion that emerged in Iran more than 4,000 years ago and is rooted in Zoroastrianism. Over time it incorporated elements of Islam and Christianity.

The community was persecuted for years, including under Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

'For eternity' 

When Daesh invaded Iraq in August 2014, one of their targets was Sinjar, the Yazidis' historic home on the Nineveh Plain, in a remote corner of the country's north.

"Ever since the genocide, there is sadness in our hearts. It won't go away," said Sinan, a 37-year-old mathematics teacher.

"This sadness will live in us for eternity."

During the New Year celebration, Yazidis pay their respects at the graves of relatives, and those who can afford it slaughter a sheep and offer some of the meat to the poor.

Iraq's federal government in Baghdad has dedicated the first Wednesday of April as a holiday for the Yazidi community.

Before Daesh marched into their villages in 2014, there were 550,000 Yazidis nationwide out of a worldwide total of 1.5 million, including in neighbouring countries and the diaspora.

But after the massacres and the abductions, nearly 100,000 fled abroad, according to the United Nations. Most went to Europe, Australia and Canada to try to build new lives.

Arabic-language teacher Faleh Jomaa, 60, was among those who decided to stay in Iraq with his wife and three children, unlike his four brothers and their families who emigrated to Germany.

"The Yazidi community has suffered 74 genocides over time but it rises again each time, like plants from the depth of the Earth," he said.

In January, Germany's parliament recognised the 2014 massacre of Yazidi by Daesh as a "genocide", following similar moves by parliaments in Australia, Belgium and The Netherlands.

Displaced 

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani said "political and security measures" have yet to be adopted to allow displaced Yazidis to return to Sinjar.

In March, his government allocated $38.5 million to rebuild Sinjar and villages in the Nineveh Plain.

According to the UN migration agency, IOM, more than 200,000 Yazidis who survived Daesh brutality are still displaced living in and outside camps across Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

"The needs of displaced persons and returnees in Sinjar remain high," the IOM said in a report in January, noting a "lack of adequate shelter and basic services... including running water, electricity, health care and education".

Daesh terrorists "destroyed around 80 per cent of public infrastructure and 70 per cent of civilian homes in Sinjar City and surrounding areas", it added.

Khawla Abdou, who fled with her husband and eight daughters to Germany, chose to return home this year to mark the New Year in Lalish.

"We came to pray to God on this sacred day so that he could free our daughters who are still held by the enemy," the 67-year-old said.

"May God hear our prayers and free our daughters. We cannot forget them and we will never forget what happened in Sinjar."

According to the IOM, more than 2,700 Yazidis are still missing, some held by militants.

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Saudi Arabia's top diplomat in Damascus on Tuesday, state media reported, ending more than a decade of diplomatic deep-freeze between the two countries.

"President Bashar Assad meets Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan," Syria's official news agency SANA reported.

The Saudi prince arrived in Damascus on Tuesday afternoon on the first visit to Syria's capital by a Saudi official since the start of the country's civil war in 2011.

Assad has been politically isolated in the region since the conflict began, but a flurry of diplomatic activity has been underway in the past week as regional relations shift following a decision by Saudi Arabia and Damascus's ally Iran to resume ties.

The trip comes less than a week after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Saudi Arabia, also on the first such visit since the conflict began.

Last week, diplomats from nine Arab countries met in the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness and its possible return to the 22-member Arab League after Damascus was suspended in 2011.

The diplomats stressed the "importance of having an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis" in Syria, according to a statement by the Saudi foreign ministry.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Assad's government in 2012 and Riyadh had long openly championed Assad's ouster, backing Syrian rebels in earlier stages of the war.

Several other Arab countries also cut ties with Syria as some powers bet on Assad's demise.

But regional capitals have gradually been warming to Assad as he has clawed back most of the territory lost to rivals, with crucial backing from Russia and Iran.

The United Arab Emirates, which re-established ties in late 2018, has been leading the charge to reintegrate Damascus into the Arab fold.

A February 6 earthquake that wreaked devastation in Turkey and Syria sparked Arab outreach to Assad's government, and the surprise rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran was announced the following month.

Assad himself has visited both Oman and the United Arab Emirates since the quake.

Syria’s foreign minister visited this month Algeria and Tunisia on the heels of trips to Saudi Arabia and Egypt in a diplomatic push.

Syria is to reopen its diplomatic mission in Tunisia and appoint an ambassador there, following a similar move announced by Tunis.

Prince Faisal had said in February that a consensus was building in the Arab world that a new approach to Syria requiring negotiations with Damascus would be needed to address humanitarian crises.

Riyadh sent aid to both rebel-held and government-controlled parts of Syria, but the effort did not involve direct contact with Assad’s government.

In March, Saudi state media had said that Riyadh and Damascus were in talks on resuming consular services.

Regional rivals Shiite Muslim Iran and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia have supported opposing sides in several regional conflict zones including Yemen, and also vie for influence in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

During a trip to Moscow last month, Assad told broadcaster Russia Today that “Syria is no longer a scene of Saudi-Iran conflict”.

Syria’s war has killed more than half-a-million people, while around half of the country’s pre-war population has been forced from their homes.

Assad is hoping normalisation with wealthy Gulf states could bring economic relief and money for reconstruction, as broader international funding remains elusive without a United Nations-backed political settlement to the conflict.

Analysts say sanctions on Syria will likely continue to deter investment.

NABLUS, Palestinian Territories — Israeli forces shot and wounded seven people in a raid on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said as the Israeli army confirmed an operation was underway.

The ministry reported "six minor injuries from live fire" reached Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West Bank city.

A statement from the Israeli military said "security forces are currently operating in the Jenin (refugee) camp", without giving further details.

There was no immediate confirmation of the identity of those wounded in Jenin, a hotbed for Palestinian armed groups.

Frequent incursions by Israeli forces have led to clashes with local youth or militants, with at least 25 Palestinians killed in the city this year and no Israeli fatalities.

The latest raid comes amid a spike in violence in Israel and the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources.

These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors and three members of the Arab minority.

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday as fighting that has claimed nearly 200 lives entered a fourth day, despite growing international calls for an end to hostilities.

A weeks-long power struggle erupted into deadly violence on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Battles have taken place throughout the vast east African country and there are fears of regional spillover of the conflict that has seen air strikes, artillery and heavy gunfire.

In a statement, G-7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan called for the warring parties to "end hostilities immediately", as loud explosions were heard on Tuesday morning in Khartoum, where militiamen in turbans and fatigues roamed the streets.

Terrified residents of the capital are spending the last and holiest days of Ramadan watching from their windows as tanks roll through the streets, buildings shake and smoke from fires triggered by the fighting hangs in the air.

According to witnesses, pick-up trucks with anti-aircraft missiles — stationed in residential areas of Khartoum — were loaded with additional ammunition supplies Tuesday morning.

"Bombardments usually start around 4:00 am and they continue for a few hours, but today they haven't stopped," said Khartoum resident Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem.

"We haven't slept in the past four days," she said, adding her family had been staying indoors "trying to keep our sanity intact".

Families waited on Tuesday, heavy suitcases in hand, for the few buses heading south of the capital, according to AFP reporters, as more people use rare lulls in the fighting to flee Khartoum. 

But as many have lost power and internet connection after four days of sporadic supply, residents are finding it increasingly difficult to get reliable information.

Misinformation has proliferated on social media, confusing civilians who are anxious for news about attacks and reported looting, how safe it is to move and what pharmacies are still open.

The current toll stands at over 185 people killed and 1,800 injured, according to the UN.

The number of casualties is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, themselves under shelling, according to the official doctors’ union.

Four hospitals in the greater Khartoum area have been “shelled and evacuated”.

Across the country, 16 hospitals are “out of service”, according to the union, while those that can still operate are facing “severe shortages”, including of medical staff, water and food supplies. 

Civilians have also seen their food supplies run out, as the violence has prevented the few grocery stores that remain open to replenish dwindling stocks. The fighting has also damaged aircraft and brought a halt to flights to and from Khartoum airport.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken with the two generals and “underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire”.

Daglo said on Twitter after his call with Blinken that the RSF “reaffirms its approval” of a 24-hour “armistice to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of the wounded”.

The army bluntly dismissed his statement, however.

“We are not aware of any coordination with the mediators and the international community about a truce, and the rebellion’s declaration of a 24-hour truce aims to cover up the crushing defeat it will receive within hours,” it warned on Facebook.

Blinken said a US diplomatic convoy had been fired upon on Monday, as the European Union said its ambassador to Sudan was attacked in his home in Khartoum.

The fighting broke out on Saturday after bitter disagreements between Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a final deal aimed at ending a crisis since the 2021 coup, which derailed a transition to democracy.

Both claim to be in control of key sites, including the airport and the presidential palace, none of which could be independently verified.

Analysts say the fighting in the capital is unprecedented and could be prolonged.

In the western region of Darfur, international medical aid organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported receiving 183 wounded patients at the only hospital in El Fasher still operating in North Darfur state, 25 of whom it said had died.

“The majority of the wounded are civilians who were caught in the crossfire — among them are many children,” MSF’s Cyrus Paye said.

Three UN World Food Programme staff were also among those killed on Saturday in Darfur, where humanitarian missions have had medical and other supplies looted, according to Save the Children and MSF.

A number of organisations have temporarily suspended operations in the country, where one-third of the population needs aid.

Influential northern neighbour Egypt said it had discussed with Saudi Arabia, South Sudan and Djibouti, all close allies of Sudan, “the need to make every effort to preserve stability and safety”.

President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi called on the two sides to “return to the negotiating table” and said he was working on the return of Egyptian military “trainers” captured Saturday at an air base by RSF forces.