Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
Sudan: Hollow truces, blood theft, and problematic US mediation
In a move that will shock absolutely nobody following the war in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces declared a unilateral humanitarian truce this week – and then promptly broke it with an attack on an army position in the West Kordofan town of Babanusa. RSF leader Hemedti billed the pause as a first step towards a political solution, but it looks like just another attempt to con mediators and journalists. As ever, those attempts have been drowned out by a stream of grim revelations, including reporting that RSF fighters forcibly took blood from civilians fleeing El Fasher – prompting one commentator to label them “literal vampires” – and an MSF update saying that many of the 260,000 civilians still alive in El Fasher before the RSF takeover on 26 October are now dead, detained, trapped, or unable to access lifesaving aid. Meanwhile, the Sudanese army, no paragon of peace either, has snubbed the latest US-led truce proposal as biased towards the UAE, which is arming the RSF, and appears to have lost confidence in White House adviser Massad Boulos. Still, with US President Donald Trump promising to personally wade into mediation, army chief al-Burhan published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal casting the conflict as a sovereign army defending civilians against a genocidal militia, not a war between two rival (and equally bad) generals. Of course, that overly convenient framing ignores the state’s long record of cultivating and empowering the RSF, not to mention the awkward fact that the two forces joined hands to stage the coup that derailed Sudan’s democratic transition.
Israel steps up eviction campaign in the West Bank
Israeli troops have been conducting house-to-house raids in the northern West Bank, reportedly sealing off the area surrounding the town of Tubas with bulldozed piles of earth, forcing dozens of families out of their homes and limiting the movement of ambulances. Israel says it has launched a large-scale campaign to prevent “terrorist activity” in the area; Human Rights Watch says the forced displacement earlier this year of 32,000 people during similar operations in three West Bank refugee camps amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel’s forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since massively ramping up military operations there since October 2023, alongside its war in Gaza, where Amnesty International said this week Israel is “still committing genocide” despite an October ceasefire. The West Bank death toll now includes what appears to be the execution by Israeli forces of two Palestinian men who had already surrendered, captured on video on 27 November in Jenin. While Israel says it is fighting armed groups in Tubas and elsewhere, some believe the real intention of the latest move is to confiscate more Palestinian land for settlement expansion in the West Bank. The vast majority of the international community considers East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be Palestinian territory illegally occupied by Israel.
UNSG: Same opaque race, but will a first woman win out?
The slow-motion race to find a new secretary-general for the United Nations is officially under way. Countries can start nominating candidates to replace Secretary-General António Guterres, who is slated to step down at the end of 2026. After 80 years, will member states and world powers choose a woman for the first time ever? It’s more of a marathon than a sprint. And it’s a backroom conclave, not a democratic election, for that matter. Officially, the Security Council will recommend a candidate to be approved by member states at the General Assembly. What the public doesn’t see is the bargaining and bartering it takes to get there – or the not-so-hidden power imbalances embedded in the system. So who’s willing to put their hand up? Chile and Costa Rica have already declared their intentions to nominate former UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet and current UN trade and development head Rebeca Grynspan, respectively. “After 80 years of male leadership, as the UN’s normative power wanes and inequality can no longer be tolerated, one principle stands out: the next Secretary-General must be a woman,” some 160 civil society groups said in a statement.
ICC asked to investigate Tanzania’s election killings
A coalition of local and international human rights groups has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a case against Tanzanian President Samia Hassan and senior members of her government over killings by the security forces during election unrest in October. How many people died in the protests over the “sham” elections is still unknown. Hassan’s government has remained silent on an official death toll, but the opposition – who were effectively barred from the polls – claims thousands claim thousands were shot dead by the police and allegedly Ugandan special forces. Gruesome images were widely shared online of armed men firing indiscriminately at people, and of overflowing morgues. A CNN investigation this week said satellite imagery suggested the existence of mass graves. The opposition has chosen Independence Day – 9 December – to take to the streets to demand the resignation of Hassan and the cancellation of an election she officially won with 98% of the vote. International pressure is also mounting, with European MPs this week blocking a major EU development package. Read our analysis of the election killings here.
US military manoeuvres inspire mixed feelings in Venezuela
President Trump’s administration is ramping up efforts to drive Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power. Having spent months bolstering its military presence in the Caribbean, the US has now officially designated the Cártel de los Soles – which it claims is led by Maduro – as a foreign terrorist organisation. Internationally, fears of a direct confrontation are growing: A new phase of US military operations targeting Venezuela is reportedly in the making, while the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela, prompting airlines to halt flights. Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado continues to push for regime change, using what some see as an overblown narrative to justify US military intervention. And while the idea of ousting Maduro may still bring hope to some Venezuelans struggling through a decade of humanitarian crisis and rising authoritarianism, others have mixed feelings. Facing increased repression, the population is now even more isolated and the new cartel designation could reduce oil receipts and worsen the already dire economy. If the US does invade, Venezuela could fall into chaos or civil war, and some experts are warning that America could become mired in another protracted war, like in Iraq.
US immigration: Trump vows to reverse, re-vet, and reduce
President Trump has called for “reverse migration” and a “major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations” in a racist late-night online rant. In a bizarre Thanksgiving message, Trump also vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and to revisit migration decisions made under his predecessor, Joe Biden. He said deportations happen to “anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country” or “non-compatible with Western Civilization”. Trump’s messages followed the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC, by an Afghan refugee, Rahmanullah Lakanwal (for more, read the And finally… at the bottom). Hours before the Washington shooting, the White House had already confirmed plans to re-vet refugees already settled in the US.
Weekend read
In DR Congo’s Uvira, pro-government militia actions show abuses aren’t just an M23 problem
“People were whipped, arrested, some died in detention.”
Residents fear the Rwanda-backed rebels, but also the armed groups tasked with defending the city.
And finally…
The alleged DC shooter’s work for the CIA in Afghanistan
As mentioned above, Wednesday’s shooting in Washington DC, which killed 21-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded a second National Guard soldier, was allegedly committed by 29-year-old Afghan refugee Rahmanullah Lakanwal. While much of the media coverage has focused on Trump’s angry response – including his decision to suspend immigration requests from all Afghans – less is being written about the alleged shooter’s difficult life in Afghanistan. Originally from the southeastern province of Khost, Lakanwal reportedly served in Kandahar as part of the so-called Zero units: paramilitary forces – sponsored and controlled by the CIA – notorious for conducting night raids into people’s homes targeting suspected Taliban members. Rights groups have accused them of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, indiscriminate airstrikes, and attacks on medical facilities. According to The New York Times, the brutality of the Zero unit tactics took a toll on Lakanwal’s mental health, with a childhood friend recalling how he suffered from mental health issues and was disturbed by the casualties his unit had caused.
