分类： world

Gaza’s Civil Defense organization has issued a formal condemnation holding international bodies, Israel, and the United States accountable for civilian casualties resulting from unexploded ordnance in the conflict-ravaged territory. The statement characterizes the failure to protect residents from explosive remnants as a direct violation of the Geneva Convention and its additional protocols.

The organization specifically criticized the effectiveness of the US Coordination Center in Gaza, asserting that despite multiple high-level discussions, their interventions have yielded no tangible improvements on the ground. This indictment comes amid growing concerns about the lethal legacy of explosive contamination throughout the coastal enclave.

Julius van der Walt, Chief of the United Nations Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, recently emphasized the severity of the situation. He confirmed that more than two years of intensive Israeli military operations have created widespread contamination with explosive materials throughout Gaza.

Van der Walt further elaborated that this hazardous environment not only endangers Gaza’s inhabitants but also severely impedes humanitarian aid delivery and reconstruction efforts. The presence of unexploded ordnance transforms basic survival activities and recovery operations into potentially life-threatening endeavors, creating a complex emergency layered upon the existing humanitarian crisis.

A newly released United Nations report has documented systematic atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons in Sudan’s Darfur region. The assault occurred during the paramilitary group’s ongoing siege of El Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur state, marking a significant escalation in the country’s internal conflict.

The Zamzam camp, previously recognized as Sudan’s largest sanctuary for internally displaced persons, had provided refuge to approximately 500,000 vulnerable civilians before the April offensive. The UN investigation reveals the camp became a direct target of RSF operations as fighting intensified around the strategic city of El Fasher.

Sudan has been gripped by violent internal warfare since April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between military leadership factions erupted into open combat. The conflict primarily pits the national army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the RSF paramilitary forces commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. What began as a power struggle between rival military leaders has evolved into a full-scale humanitarian crisis, with the Zamzam camp attack representing one of the most severe incidents against civilian populations.

The international body’s report provides comprehensive evidence of the RSF’s campaign against the displaced persons camp, detailing methods that violate international humanitarian law. The findings underscore the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Darfur, where civilian infrastructure and humanitarian shelters have increasingly become battlegrounds in the conflict between the two military factions.

Haiti’s Arcahaie commune faced severe disruption as the Viv Ansanm gang coalition brought normal activities to a complete standstill. According to reports from Haiti Libre, the Haitian National Police intervened decisively, neutralizing six gang members during intense armed confrontations.

Local media investigations reveal these criminal elements have waged a systematic campaign against critical infrastructure since 2014. Their targets have included the strategic port facility, educational institutions ranging from schools to universities, and multiple police stations and prison complexes. Government buildings have not been spared, with attacks documented against ministries, bank branches, and the historically significant National Printing Office established in 1804.

The gang’s destructive reach extended to economic assets, including the arson attack on a massive 96,000-square-meter warehouse within the free trade zone. Civilian and religious targets suffered similarly, with assaults on private vehicles, a religious seminary, and Haiti’s inaugural Baptist church—an institution serving the community for over 180 years. More than a dozen pharmacies also fell victim to these attacks.

In April 2024, the gang demonstrated their escalating boldness by burning down the residence of Frantz Elbé, then serving as commander-in-chief of the Haitian National Police. The group’s notoriety reached alarming new heights when they opened fire on a Spirit Airlines aircraft during its landing procedure. This attack forced the plane to make an emergency landing in the Dominican Republic, resulting in injuries to a flight attendant and highlighting the gang’s capacity to threaten aviation security.

The Gaza Strip is confronting an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe with three-quarters of its population now experiencing acute hunger classified at IPC Phase 3 or higher, according to recent assessments. The remaining quarter faces chronic food deprivation in what humanitarian organizations describe as one of the most severe hunger crises globally.

Action Against Hunger’s Spanish chapter reports that extreme weather conditions and critical infrastructure damage have dramatically worsened the situation. Recent torrential rains have devastated displacement camps, flooding shelters and destroying essential belongings while exposing vulnerable populations to dangerously low temperatures and additional emergencies.

Affected families provided harrowing accounts of the flooding. ‘The water rushed toward us like a raging river, completely inundating our tent. The protective tarpaulins collapsed and were damaged beyond repair,’ one survivor recounted. ‘We desperately attempted to construct sand barriers, hoping to divert the water from our shelter.’

The NGO further documented that Gazan families confront immense challenges in obtaining adequate nutrition. In Deir Al-Balah, numerous households can afford protein-rich foods or vegetables only once weekly due to catastrophic economic conditions. The systematic destruction of agricultural land, market infrastructure, and livelihood opportunities has left the population unable to meet their most basic food requirements, creating a dependency on humanitarian aid that struggles to meet overwhelming needs.