Sudan civil war: Over 300 killed in two-day attack on displacement camps
Sudan: More than 300 civilians were killed in just two days of intense fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region, the United Nations reported on Monday, as the civil war nears its two-year mark.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the attacks occurred on Friday and Saturday at two displacement camps, Zamzam and Abu Shorouk, in North Darfur and in the region’s capital, El Fasher. The assaults were carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who targeted famine-hit civilians already suffering from severe humanitarian conditions.
Initial reports had placed the death toll at over 100, including 20 children and nine aid workers. However, OCHA later cited local sources estimating more than 300 fatalities, including 10 humanitarian personnel from Relief International who were operating a health centre in Zamzam camp. Due to the dangerous conditions and poor communication infrastructure, these figures have not been independently verified by the Associated Press.
The conflict began on April 15, 2023, when tensions between Sudan’s military and the RSF erupted into widespread violence, starting in the capital Khartoum and spreading across the country. Since then, at least 24,000 deaths have been officially recorded, although activists suggest the real toll is significantly higher. The war has led to the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis, with Sudan now the only country experiencing famine.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that the recent RSF offensives followed the military’s regaining of control over Khartoum late last month, a symbolic win for the army. He noted that the El Fasher area, the last major stronghold not under RSF control, remains under siege.
The UN migration agency reported that between 60,000 to 80,000 families have been displaced in the past 48 hours due to these attacks. El Fasher remains overwhelmed, struggling to support the influx of internally displaced people.
Mamadou Dian Balde, the UN refugee agency’s regional director, described the situation as involving “massive violations of human rights.” Nearly 13 million Sudanese have fled their homes, 4 million to other countries, including Libya and Uganda.
The UN’s humanitarian appeal for $1.8 billion to support refugees remains just 10% funded. Balde warned that without increased international aid, migration flows could spread toward southern Africa, the Gulf, and Europe.
The surge in violence comes ahead of an international conference in London on Tuesday marking the war’s second anniversary. Organized by the UK, EU, Germany, and France, the event will see participation from over 20 foreign ministers and major global organizations. The UN Security Council is also scheduled to hold emergency consultations on the Sudan crisis.
Dujarric called on the international community to act in unity toward peace and to halt the deepening of Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pune Porsche crash: Mother of accused teen walks out of jail days after SC grants interim bail
Pune (PTI): The mother of a 17-year-old boy involved in the Pune Porsche crash, in which two persons lost their lives, walked out of jail on Saturday, four days after the Supreme Court granted her interim bail.
She is the first among the 10 accused arrested in the alleged blood sample-swapping case to be released on bail.
The others in custody include the teenager's father, Sassoon Hospital doctors Ajay Taware and Shrihari Halnor, hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble, two middlemen, and three others.
A Porsche allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy in an inebriated state fatally knocked down two IT professionals on a two-wheeler in Pune's Kalyani Nagar in the early hours of May 19 last year.
The boy's mother is accused of swapping her blood sample with that of her son to conceal his inebriation at the time of the accident.
While granting the mother interim bail, the Supreme Court had directed a Pune court to set the bail conditions. Accordingly, the district and sessions court heard arguments from both sides on Friday.
Special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray represented the state, while advocates Angad Gill and Dhvani Shah appeared for the woman.
Advocate Hiray said, "We sought conditions such as barring her from staying in Pune district, a passport seizure, mandatory police station attendance, and keeping her mobile location on at all times."
Additional sessions judge Amol Shinde, however, rejected the prosecution's plea to restrict her from staying in Pune but accepted other conditions.
The defence lawyers opposed the condition of her staying out of Pune, citing her husband's custody and the need for her presence in the city to assist in the legal proceedings. They also objected to the proposed Rs 5 lakh surety and daily police station visits.
"We argued that since the chargesheet has been filed and no recovery is pending from her, such strict conditions are unwarranted," the defence counsel said.
The court accepted the arguments and imposed standard bail conditions, including a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, submission of her passport to the investigating officer, mandatory mobile tower location sharing, and a ban on leaving India without court permission.
The court has also barred the woman from disclosing her identity for three months and asked her to report to the police station every Wednesday.
