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RSF drone strike kills at least three in central Sudan, injures several

RSF drone strike kills at least three in central Sudan, injures several

Paramilitary force intensifies offensive in Kordofan region after seizing control of Darfur in October. Published On 13 Dec 202513 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share At least three people have been killed and nine others wounded, when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a drone attack on a central Sudanese city, as fighting intensifies across the vast strategic region of Kordofan that could determine the war’s outcome. The strike hit a square near a police station in the Tayba neighbourhood of el-Obeid on Saturday afternoon, military sources told Al Jazeera. Several of the wounded are in critical condition, they said. Recommended Stories list of 2 itemsend of list The attack underscores the RSF’s expanding use of air power as it shifts its offensive from Darfur to the sprawling Kordofan region, home to critical oil infrastructure that has generated revenue for both Sudan and neighbouring South Sudan. Military sources reported that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) had earlier struck RSF positions in the town of Um Adara in South Kordofan, while RSF forces shelled the city of Um Rawaba in the north, causing civilian casualties. An RSF drone also targeted army positions in Kosti city in White Nile state, in southeastern Sudan, destroying a military vehicle and injuring its crew, the sources added. The three Kordofan states have witnessed fierce clashes in recent weeks, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes and compounding what aid agencies describe as one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies. The United Nations’ World Food Programme warned it will be forced to slash food rations by up to 70 percent for communities facing starvation starting in January due to critical funding shortages. Advertisement Ross Smith, the agency’s emergency preparedness director, said the cuts would affect those already “on the brink of famine” as well as vulnerable communities at risk of sliding into hunger. The WFP said 20 million Sudanese are suffering from malnutrition, with six million facing famine-like conditions. Smith warned that funding could “collapse” by April, threatening the programme’s ability to continue operations. Sudan’s war between the army and RSF has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 13 million people since fighting erupted in April 2023, according to international organisations. Adblock test (Why?)

Belarus frees 123 prisoners including Ales Bialiatski as US lifts sanctions

Belarus frees 123 prisoners including Ales Bialiatski as US lifts sanctions

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Nobel Peace Prize winner among dozens released as United States removes potash sanctions. Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, in exchange for sanctions relief from the United States. John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, announced the lifting of sanctions on potash on Saturday after two days of talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. Belarus is a leading global producer of potash, a key component in fertilisers, the former Soviet state is a leading global producer. The prisoner release was by far the biggest by Lukashenko since the Trump administration opened talks this year with the close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Western governments had previously shunned him because of his crushing of dissent and backing for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Separately, Ukraine’s prisoner of war coordination centre said it had received 114 prisoners released by Belarus, including Ukrainian citizens accused of working for Ukrainian intelligence and Belarusian political prisoners. The centre’s statement said the released captives would receive medical attention, adding that the Belarusian citizens who so wished would subsequently be transported to Poland or Lithuania. The US, European Union and the United Kingdom did not recognise Lukashenko as a legitimate president after the country’s 2020 elections, which were rigged according to the opposition and rights groups. They also imposed sanctions that hobbled the economy and isolated longtime ruler Lukashenko whose main international supporter remains Putin. Advertisement Speaking from Warsaw, Pavel Slunkin, a former Belarus diplomat, told Al Jazeera that today’s release of prisoners signifies a major improvement in relations between the US and Belarus that was was “turning the table on sanctions”. “For Lukashenko it means he starts to renew his international legitimacy … His relations with the west are going to improve,” he said. “I expect the US to lift more sanctions … I think Washington will also pressure the European Union to do the same,” he added. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya expressed gratitude to Trump and said the fact that Lukashenko had agreed to release prisoners in return for the concessions on potash was proof of the effectiveness of sanctions. The opposition has consistently said it sees Trump’s outreach to Lukashenko as a humanitarian effort, but that EU sanctions should stay in place. “US sanctions are about people. EU sanctions are about systemic change — stopping the war, enabling democratic transition, and ensuring accountability. These approaches do not contradict each other; they complement each other,”  Tsikhanouskaya said in a statement. US officials told the Reuters news agency that engaging with Lukashenko is part of an effort to peel him away from Putin’s influence, at least to a degree – an effort that the Belarus opposition, until now, has viewed with extreme scepticism. “The United States stands ready for additional engagement with Belarus that advances US interests and will continue to pursue diplomatic efforts to free remaining political prisoners in Belarus,” the US embassy in Lithuania added. Meanwhile, it was not immediately clear where many of the group of 123 freed prisoners were heading after their release. On previous occasions, those released have left Belarus via Lithuania. But relatives, friends and supporters of the prisoners have expressed relief. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has expressed its “profound relief and heartfelt joy” after Bialiatski’s release and called on Belarus to release all political prisoners. Bialiatski, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, is a human rights campaigner who fought for years on behalf of political prisoners before becoming one himself. He had been in jail since July 2021. Also freed were Kolesnikova, a leader of mass protests against Lukashenko in 2020, and Viktar Babaryka, who was arrested that year while preparing to run against the president in an election. Tatsiana Khomich, Kolesnikova’s sister, told the Reuters news agency she had spoken to her by phone. Advertisement “She told me she is very happy to be freed, that she is thankful to the USA and Trump for their efforts in leading the process, and to all countries involved.” Adblock test (Why?)

Israeli claims to have killed senior Hamas commander, Raed Saad, in Gaza

Israeli claims to have killed senior Hamas commander, Raed Saad, in Gaza

There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas or from medics that Saad was among the dead. Published On 13 Dec 202513 Dec 2025 | Updated: 17 minutes agoUpdated: 17 minutes ago Click here to share on social media share2 Share The Israeli military sats it has killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad in a strike in Gaza City. The attack on Saturday killed four people and wounded at least 25, according to Gaza health authorities. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas or from medics that Saad was among the dead. In a post on Telegram, the army alleged that the commander had been operating to re-establish Hamas’s capabilities, which have been severely depleted by more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. It described him as one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. If Saad was killed, it would be the highest-profile assassination of a senior Hamas figure since a fragile ceasefire deal came into effect in October. An Israeli defence official told the Reuters news agency that Saad had been targeted in the attack, describing him as the head of Hamas’s weapons manufacturing force. Hamas sources have also described him as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing, after Izz al-Din al-Haddad. Saad used to head Hamas’s Gaza City battalion, one of the group’s largest and best-equipped, those sources said. The Wafa news agency reported that an Israeli drone hit a vehicle at the Nabulsi junction in the west of Gaza City, resulting in casualties. The agency did not report on specific numbers, and it was not clear if the attack was the one that allegedly killed the Hamas member. Since the ceasefire started in October, Israel has continued to attack Gaza daily – reaching nearly 800 times and killing at least 386 people – in a clear breach of the agreement, according to authorities in Gaza. Advertisement Israel also continues to block the majority of aid trucks from entering the enclave. The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly backed a resolution demanding that Israel open unrestricted humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, stop attacking UN facilities, and comply with international law, in line with its obligations as an occupying power. Adblock test (Why?)