Page 6 - aruba-today-20240927

A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 27 September 2024
Sudan military offensive sparks new fighting in Khartoum as

cholera outbreak worsens

By FATMA KHALED since the country’s rainy
Associated Press season began two months
CAIRO (AP) — New fight- ago, health officials said.
ing rocked Sudan’s capital Sudan’s Federal Ministry
on Thursday with airstrikes of Health in a Wednesday
and drone attacks in and update reported on Face-
around Khartoum amid book 14,944 cholera cases
a worsening cholera out- across 10 states, with 386
break, officials said. new cases. It said that six
Sudan’s military launched people died on Tuesday
an operation in the early alone in six states.
hours of Thursday aimed at The majority of cases were
taking control of areas in reported in Kassala, where
the capital that had been UNICEF is collaborating with
in the hands of its enemy, the ministry and the World
the paramilitary Rapid Health Organization to car-
Support Forces, or RSF. Su- ry out a second round of
danese media reported the oral cholera vaccina-
increased military move- tion campaign that kicked
ments and airstrikes in the off last week.
districts of Khartoum and This grab from video shows smoke rising over Khartoum, Sudan on Thursday Sept. 26, 2024, after UNICEF delivered 404,000
Omdurman, the heaviest in Sudan’s military started an operation to take areas of the capital from its rival, the paramilitary doses of the vaccine to Su-
Rapid Support Forces.
the capital area in months. Associated Press dan on Sep. 9. More vacci-
Mohamed Ibrahim, the nation campaigns are ex-
health ministry’s spokes- further. The head of Sudan’s because of artillery shell- On Thursday, U.N. Human pected to be rolled out in
person in Khartoum, said in military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah ing and airstrikes since the Rights Chief Volker Türk said other affected states.
a statement that four civil- Burhan, addressed the U.N. beginning of September in that artillery shelling on a Cholera was officially de-
ians were killed and 14 oth- General Assembly in New the Khartoum area. market there had killed at clared an outbreak on
ers wounded in the latest York, saying that “we’ve “Our immediate concern is least 20 civilians on Sep. 20 August 12 by the health
fighting in the Karrari district done everything we could for the welfare of civilians, and 21. ministry after a new wave
of Omdurman, a city next to put an end to this war and the likelihood of further Meanwhile, the death toll of cases was reported start-
to the Sudanese capital, and to steer our country displacement and dam- from Sudan’s cholera out- ing July 22. The disease is
Khartoum. from the destruction being age to civilian infrastruc- break jumped by nearly spreading in areas devas-
A military spokesman con- waged” by the militia. Jere- ture,” he said. 100 or nearly 20% in only tated by recent heavy rain-
firmed the operation was my Laurence, a spokesman For months, some of the two days, Sudan’s health falls and floods, especially
underway, but declined to for the U.N. human rights worst fighting has been in ministry said Wednesday, in eastern Sudan which
comment further. A military office in Geneva, said in a the city of El Fasher, the in a worrying sign that the sheltered millions of people
spokesman confirmed the statement to The Associ- capital of the North Darfur disease is spreading more displaced by the conflict
operation was underway, ated Press Thursday that at state. RSF forces have laid rapidly. A total of 473 peo- between the Sudanese mil-
but declined to comment least 78 civilians were killed siege to the city since May. ple have died from cholera itary and the RSF.q

Taliban who banned women from public spaces say no one faces

discrimination in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Despite promising more beyond sixth grade, many bare faces and prohibit- not politically recognize the
The Taliban said Thursday moderate rule after they public spaces and most ing them from raising their Taliban as the legitimate
it was absurd to accuse seized power in 2021, the jobs. In August, the Vice voices in public. leaders of the Afghan pop-
them of gender discrimina- Taliban have barred wom- and Virtue Ministry issued More than 20 countries ex- ulation.
tion and other human rights en and girls from education laws banning women’s pressed their support Thurs- “Afghanistan’s failure to
violations, as four countries day for the proposed legal fulfill its human rights treaty
vow to hold Afghanistan’s action against the Taliban. obligations is a key obsta-
rulers accountable under “We condemn the gross cle to normalization of rela-
international law for their and systematic human tions,” they said.
treatment of women and rights violations and abuses The Taliban’s deputy
girls. in Afghanistan, particularly spokesman Hamdullah Fi-
Australia, Canada, Germa- the gender-based discrimi- trat said human rights were
ny and the Netherlands are nation against women and protected in Afghanistan
set to start legal proceed- girls,” the countries said. and that nobody faced
ings against the Taliban for “Afghanistan is responsible discrimination.
violating a U.N. convention under international law for “Unfortunately, an attempt
on women, to which Af- its ongoing gross and sys- is being made to spread
ghanistan is a party. tematic violation of numer- propaganda against Af-
The countries launched the ous obligations under the ghanistan through the
initiative on Wednesday Convention on the Elimina- mouths of several fugitive
on the sidelines of the U.N. A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food tion of All Forms of Discrimi- (Afghan) women and mis-
General Assembly, which rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul, nation against Women,” represent the situation,” he
Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 23, 2023.
is taking place in New York Associated Press they added. said on social media plat-
until Monday. The countries said they did form X.q