UNICEF condemns mass killings in Sudan’s North Kordofan
Further details of mass killings over the weekend in Sudan’s North Kordofan have emerged, with reports indicating that dozens of girls and boys were among the hundreds of victims.
It’s just the latest atrocity in the northeast African nation, where government troops have been fighting the Rapid Support Forces rival militia since April 2023.
More than 450 civilians were reportedly killed in attacks around the city of Bara, including the villages of Shag Alnom and Hilat Hamid over the weekend. Many potential victims are still missing.
The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, condemned the escalating violence which it said represents a “complete disregard for human life, international humanitarian law, and the most basic principles of humanity”.
The UN agency also warned that humanitarian access continues to be restricted in the central Sudanese state, even though needs are increasing, as more people flee the fighting.
Tens of thousands affected by latest displacement order in Gaza
To Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been uprooted by new displacement orders, amid ongoing bombardment by the Israeli military.
In an update late Tuesday, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, noted that people have been told to relocate to the “already overcrowded” coastal strip at Al Mawasi near Khan Younis.
The area lacks even the basics for survival, according to the UN agency.
Al Mawasi has also been bombed multiple times in recent months.
And as the war drags on well into its 21st month between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s most vulnerable people continue to struggle.
Seventy-year-old Musbah Zaqqout is one of 230 patients receiving lifesaving dialysis at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
His treatment has been disrupted by persistent supply shortages that reduced sessions from three to two per week last month.
It’s thanks to the UN World Health Organization and partner organization KS Relief that dialysis supplies and fuel finally reached Al-Shifa Hospital, allowing Mr. Zaqqout’s treatment to continue.
Here’s his wife, Saadia now:
“He suffered a lot when dialysis was not available. He was suffocating and was frequently admitted to the hospital, to the point where he fell into a coma, lost focus and didn’t recognize anyone. Thank God, after restarting dialysis, his condition improved.”
Belarus: Rights experts urge probe into deaths in custody of opposition activists
And finally, top independent human rights experts called on Belarus on Wednesday to launch urgent investigations into the deaths of several people jailed for political dissent.
The experts – who are known as Special Rapporteurs – highlighted the case of 61-year-old businessman Valiantsin Shtermer. He died in May 2025 while serving his sentence in a so-called “Correctional Colony” in Šklou.
Mr. Shtermer had been jailed for making critical remarks about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite his serious medical condition, he was allegedly denied adequate care in prison.
Fifty-year-old opposition activist Vitold Ashurak meanwhile, also died shortly after being placed in an isolation in the same prison.
According to the Special Rapporteurs, Mr. Ashurak was a member of the Belarusian National Front who was jailed for violating public order during protests related to the disputed 2020 presidential elections.
“These deaths must not be ignored,” said the experts, who added that there were strong grounds to believe that they resulted from abuse or neglect linked to the exercise of fundamental rights.
Special rapporteurs report regularly to the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved.
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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