United News of Bangladesh

The fighting between Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary force has displaced more than 1.3 million people, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday. The International Organization for Migration said the clashes have forced over 1 million people to leave their homes to safer areas inside Sudan. Some 320,000 others have fled to the neighboring countries of Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic and Libya. The fighting erupted on April 15 after months of escalating tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The conflict derailed Sudanese hopes of restoring the country's fragile transition to democracy, which was disrupted by a military coup led by the two generals in October 2021. The conflict has killed at least 863 civilians, including at least 190 children, and wounded more than 3,530 others, according to the most recent numbers from the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate — which mainly tracks civilian casualties. It has also pushed the East African country to near collapse, with urban areas in the capital, Khartoum, and its neighboring city of Omdurman turning into battlegrounds. Also read: Sudan military chief freezes bank accounts of rival armed group in battle for control of the nation Egypt is hosting the largest number of those who fled, with at least 132,360 people, followed by Chad with 80,000 and South Sudan with over 69,000, the agency added. All but one of Sudan’s 18 provinces experienced displacement, with Khartoum at the top of the list with around 70% of the total number of displaced people, according to the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix. Sporadic fighting continued Wednesday in several areas, despite a cease-fire reached this week. Residents reported hearing gunshots and explosions in central Khartoum as well as areas close to military facilities in Omdurman. Both sides in the conflict Wednesday traded blame for violating the cease-fire. The weeklong cease-fire, which was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, took effect Monday night. It was the latest international effort to push for humanitarian aid delivery to the conflict-torn country. A joint statement from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia late Tuesday warned that neither the Sudanese military nor the Rapid Support Forces observed the short-term cease-fire. “The Sudanese people continue to suffer as a result of this devastating conflict," the statement said. It called on both sides to “fully abide by their commitments" and to implement the temporary cease-fire to deliver urgently needed humanitarian relief. Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned both parties of possible sanctions if the latest cease-fire was not adhered to. But on Wednesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington that the cease-fire has largely been holding, despite reports of sporadic fire in Khartoum and elsewhere. “Ultimately, it’s of course up to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to implement this thing.” Kirby said. “But in general, in the main, it appears to be holding. I want to caution you though, this is early, I mean, just went into effect yesterday afternoon. We have seen this movie before. So, we’re being pretty pragmatic as we look at it.” The fighting has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian conditions in Sudan. According to the U.N., the number of people who need assistance this year has increased by 57% to reach 24.7 million people, more than half the country’s population. The international body said it would need $2.6 billion to provide them with much-needed humanitarian assistance. The U.N. special envoy for sexual violence Pramila Patten, meanwhile, said Wednesday she is “is gravely concerned” about reports of sexual attacks against women. “There are strong indications that it is parties to the conflict who have committed sexual violence, including rape, against women and girls,” she said in a statement. She said many of the sexual attacks apparently took place in residential areas in Khartoum, or while they were fleeing the fighting in the capital. Other attacks on women also took place in the western region of Darfur, where sexual violence against women has been consistently reported over the past two decades, she said. She called for investigations into the allegations and urged all parties to take immediate measures against suspects, including suspending or removing them from the ranks.

Bangladesh is operating four chartered flights from Sudan, at its own cost, to evacuate the remaining Bangladeshi citizens to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Three of the chartered flights will be operated today (May 10, 2023), while the fourth will be operated tomorrow, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. He said the government has sent required financial support for providing food to Bangladeshis who are waiting in Sudan. Also read: Govt to provide all possible financial assistance to returnees from Sudan: Minister Once they reach Jeddah, they will fly back to Dhaka as soon as possible. On Tuesday, 136 Bangladeshi nationals arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. They were supported by IOM with air tickets through its internal emergency assistance funding mechanisms to travel from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Dhaka, Bangladesh with the coordinated support from Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Upon arrival the returnees were provided with meals and onward transportation allowance from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (Tk 3,000) and IOM (Tk 2,000). Read More: Sudan conflict: 136 Bangladeshi evacuees arrive in Dhaka

At least 100 people were killed in clashes that erupted last month between armed fighters in a city in Sudan’s restive region of Darfur, according to the Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate. Hospitals were still out of service in the Darfur city of Genena and an accurate count of the wounded was still hard to make, the doctors’ union added in a statement posted on their official Facebook page late Sunday. The fighting in Genena, which broke out a few days after Sudan’s two rival generals took arms against each other in Khartoum, pointed to the possibility that conflict in the capital could spiral to other parts of the East African country. Also Read: Sudan conflict: 136 Bangladeshi evacuees arrive in Dhaka   At least 481 civilians were killed in Khartoum clashes that erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, according to the same doctors’ statement. The number of the wounded among civilians has jumped to more than 2560.

A total of 136 Bangladeshi nationals, who were among those stranded in crisis-hit Sudan, arrived in Dhaka via Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Monday (May 08, 2023), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Bangladeshi nationals left Jeddah around 1am Monday and reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 10:30 am, said Seheli Sabrin, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry. Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed welcomed the Bangladeshi nationals at the airport. Read: 135 Bangladeshi evacuees reach Jeddah from crisis-hit Sudan

The government has taken measures to bring back Bangladeshi citizens stranded in Sudan, through Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said that at first the Bangladeshi nationals will be taken to Port Sudan from Khartoum, and from there they will be taken to Jeddah. Later, they will be brought to Bangladesh by several flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The Bangladesh Embassy in Khartoum has already arranged nine buses to take the Bangladeshi nationals to Port Sudan from Khartoum and adjacent cities and a team from Bangladesh’s Consulate General in Jeddah will reach there to assist them. All the Bangladeshis, stranded in Sudan, will be taken to Port Sudan by May 2. Also read: Bangladeshis stuck in Sudan to be repatriated: MoFA The Bangladeshi nationals are likely to reach Jeddah by May 3 or May 4. Two Bangladeshi schools in Jeddah are providing food, drink, medicine and temporary accommodation for the Bangladeshi nationals being brought from Sudan. Earlier, on April 25, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said a decision has been made to evacuate Bangladeshi nationals from Sudan through other countries. “The Bangladesh Embassy in Khartoum has already started spreading this message among the Bangladeshis living there,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. Read More: Heavy clashes rock Sudan’s capital despite truce extension The state minister urged the Bangladeshi nationals in Sudan to follow the instructions provided by the embassy and complete registration. Meanwhile, a number of Bangladeshi nationals were evacuated by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. More than 420 people, including at least 291 civilians, have been killed and over 3,700 wounded since the fighting erupted between Sudanese military and the country’s largest paramilitary force last week, AP reports. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation in Sudan a “catastrophic conflagration” that could engulf the whole region. Read More: Sudan conflict: 187 more people including Bangladeshis evacuated