Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
Sudan’s army advances, abuses multiply
The Sudanese army appears close to retaking the capital city Khartoum from the paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces as momentum continues to swing in its favour following nearly two years of conflict. Reports suggest the army has been advancing on multiple fronts this week, having broken a bruising siege on its Khartoum headquarters last month, and having also won back significant territory in other parts of central Sudan, including Gezira State. Military control, however, has come at a significant cost, with the UN reporting that soldiers and allied militia have been carrying out summary executions of civilians they accuse of being RSF collaborators. Mutual aid workers – the backbone of the humanitarian response in Sudan – have been caught up in the crackdown. The war in Sudan began in April 2023 and has produced the world’s largest displacement crisis, uprooting over 12 million people, and the biggest hunger crisis too. Famine has been detected in at least five areas, and is projected in five more by May. See our latest stories for more.
Regional leaders meet on Congo crisis as fighting spreads
Regional leaders are set to meet in Tanzania to discuss the expanding conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where M23 rebels – backed by Rwandan troops – have continued their advance after capturing the city of Goma on 27 January. DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi is scheduled to take part in person in the 8 February summit joined by his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame – possibly virtually. The high-stakes talks, a joint initiative of East African and southern African regional organisations, aim to restart African Union-mandated mediation. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation remains dire. In Goma, where nearly 3,000 people were killed, healthcare services are overwhelmed, and food is in short supply. The mass displacement of people has also triggered concerns over the spread of infectious diseases, including Ebola. Rwanda is coming under belated international pressure to end its long-standing intervention, amid concerns of a possible wider war. The EU is also being pushed to freeze a mineral deal with Kigali, criticised for fuelling the conflict. For more, read: Goma dispatch: Mass graves and reprisal fears as M23 seize DR Congo city
Israel ramps up violence in occupied West Bank
While the ceasefire in Gaza is largely holding, Israeli forces and settlers are ramping up their violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, forcibly displacing more than 30,000 people and severely restricting access to crucial services, including healthcare. Much of the destruction is part of a new operation launched by the Israeli military last month, just as the Hamas-Israel ceasefire came into effect. The campaign started in the Jenin refugee camp and has moved north to the city of Tulkarm. Israel says it is acting to “defeat terrorism”, but airstrikes and “controlled detonations” have destroyed homes, forcing people to flee, and knocked out infrastructure. An estimated 70 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the operation began, and settlers have also been involved in attacks on Palestinians. Some settler violence has involved masked men setting homes and cars on fire. Among the targets have been villages that are home to Palestinian prisoners released as part of the Gaza deal. On top of that, the UN reports a broader pattern of escalating settler attacks against Palestinian Bedouin and herder communities.
Trump calls for Gaza ethnic cleansing, then sanctions ICC
US President Donald Trump sparked outrage with a proposal to turn the Gaza Strip into a “riviera” in the Middle East by expelling its entire population of over two million people, and then having the US take over the territory to redevelop it. The comments came during a White House press conference on 4 February with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump later referred to Gaza as a “demolition site”, saying: “There’s hardly a building standing”. Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges for his role in overseeing a brutal 15-month military campaign and siege of Gaza that has killed at least 62,000 people. The Israeli military is drawing up plans for Palestinians to "voluntarily" leave Gaza following Trump’s proposal. Trump has now also slapped sanctions on the ICC in retaliation for the arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza are left navigating a ceasefire that feels like anything but the end of the war and their suffering. For more, read: “I fear this calm”: Life during Gaza’s uncertain ceasefire.
Confusion reigns over Trump aid cuts
The sudden dismantling of the US aid architecture hurtles forward with news of plans to lay off nearly all of some 10,000 staff at the international development agency, USAID. Signs of the impacts of President Donald Trump’s overnight aid freeze pile up. For aid workers and frontline community groups, frantic talk of vague humanitarian exemptions and waivers appears increasingly moot: If the waivers existed in the first place, who’s left to approve them? Secretary of State (and apparently acting USAID administrator) Marco Rubio appears to be gaslighting aid organisations, claiming they’re sabotaging their own work – even though evangelical charities, including one run by Trump-supporter Franklin Graham, also seem a bit confused. With the US aid freeze increasingly looking like a tear-down, discussions among many frontline groups are turning from finding stopgaps to finding more reliable alternatives to fickle international donors.
Deportation threats for Afghans in Iran and Pakistan
Afghanistan’s acting minister of refugees and repatriation has urged neighbouring countries to halt the deportation of Afghan nationals. Mawlai Abdul Kabir’s call came after both Iran and Pakistan made public declarations that they plan to send potentially millions of Afghans home. In September, Tehran announced a scheme to deport up to two million Afghans within a six-month period. Pakistan has also said that any Afghan national waiting to be relocated to a third country from the capital Islamabad, or twin city of Rawalpindi, must be evacuated by foreign missions by 31 March, or face deportation back to Afghanistan.
Weekend read
How climate smart is solar in meeting Africa’s power needs?
“In many of the rural areas, there is no grid connection because the infrastructure is not developed, and the cost of that infrastructure is truly enormous.”
The roll-out of large-scale solar projects is fraught with challenges over cost, efficiency, and an increasingly unpredictable climate.
And finally…
“Today the Yanomami people are no longer crying”
Indigenous Yanomami communities held an assembly in a remote Brazilian forest last month to celebrate the government’s crackdown on illegal mining, which for years had spread hunger, disease, and conflict in the Amazon region. Armed gangs swarmed the forest under the previous far-right administration of Jair Bolsonaro, destroying health infrastructure and contributing to a spike in infant mortality. Activists and health experts warned of a genocide against the Yanomami. But in the past two years, leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has overseen an emergency operation to expel the gangs and restore health services. Newly resourced clinics are reporting drops in infant mortality and malnutrition. Some illegal miners remain, and the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela continues to spill over into Yanomami communities on the Brazilian side of the border. But the worst of the crisis appears to be over. One indigenous leader said at the assembly: “Today the Yanomami people are no longer crying because our children are no longer dying.”
