RSF Advances in Sudan May Trigger Refugee Surge, UNHCR Warns

By Al Mayadeen English

9 Dec 2025

The UN has warned that Sudan's aid is at risk as funding covers only 42% of its response.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made significant territorial advances amid the ongoing Sudan conflict, raising fears of a fresh wave of displacement, the head of the UN refugee agency warned.

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the RSF’s recent takeover of the city of al-Fashir in Darfur and continued expansion east into the Kordofan region could escalate the Sudan crisis, particularly if violence spreads to major cities.

This month, RSF fighters also seized control of Sudan’s largest oil field.

“If that were to be – not necessarily taken – but engulfed by the war, I am pretty sure we would see more exodus,” Grandi told Reuters from Port Sudan.

Strategic cities, oil fields captured

The RSF’s control of El Fashir marked one of the group’s largest victories in the nearly three-year conflict with the Sudanese army. Fighting has since intensified in the Kordofan region, which comprises three states in central and southern Sudan.

Grandi emphasized that while most of the estimated 40,000 newly displaced people in Kordofan have remained within the country, this could change if violence spreads to urban centers like El Obeid.

“We have to remain...very alert in neighbouring countries in case this happens,” he said.

Refugee crisis deepens

Since the outbreak of the Sudan conflict, nearly 12 million people have been forced from their homes. Of those, over 4.3 million have fled Sudan entirely, mostly to Chad, South Sudan, and other neighboring countries, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Some displaced people have returned to Khartoum, which is now under Sudanese army control.

Grandi warned that humanitarian organizations are struggling to respond to the mounting crisis, citing a severely underfunded Sudan response plan. He noted that many Sudanese refugees arriving at the borders have suffered rape, robbery, and the loss of family members.

“We are barely responding,” Grandi said, referring to the limited aid available.

The UNHCR also lacks the resources to relocate refugees away from volatile areas along the Chad-Sudan border.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) stated on Tuesday that the body's humanitarian response in Sudan is severely underfunded, adding that essential services for women and girls can't be sustained without an increase in aid.

"In 2025, only 42% of UNFPA’s humanitarian response was funded," Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA's country representative in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva online. "That means, safe spaces are shuttered, supplies are cut, and support to reproductive health care is stopped."

The UNFPA is asking for $116 million for 2026 in order to keep maternal health care, reproductive services, and protection programs operational. Falcione states that the international leaders need to act immediately "to prevent further atrocities."

Falcione said that the civil war continues to put millions in danger, stating, "The war is an assault on the rights, health, and dignity of women and girls, with 12.1 million people at risk of gender-based violence."

Survivors describe violence, family separation

During a recent visit to the Al Dabba camp on the Nile, north of Khartoum, Grandi met with Sudanese refugees, most of whom are women and children. Many had fled on foot from El Fashir and Kordofan, walking hundreds of kilometers.

Survivors shared harrowing stories of families torn apart. Some women said their sons were either killed or forcibly conscripted. Others revealed they disguised their boys as girls to prevent their abduction by fighters.

“Even fleeing is difficult because people are continuously stopped by the militias,” Grandi added.

US sanctions network fueling conflict

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four individuals and four entities it claimed are part of a network recruiting fighters, including children, to be deployed to Sudan.

The US government agency stated that the network, mostly made up of Colombian nationals and companies, "recruits former Colombian military personnel and trains soldiers, including children," in order to fight for the RSF paramilitary.

"The RSF has shown again and again that it is willing to target civilians—including infants and young children. Its brutality has deepened the conflict and destabilized the region, creating the conditions for terrorist groups to grow," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley.

AES Threatens to Neutralize All Aircraft Violating Airspace

By Al Mayadeen English

9 Dec 2025 20:17

A Nigerian military aircraft made an alleged emergency landing in Burkina Faso, sparking tensions with the AES over airspace violation.

A Nigerian Air Force transport aircraft made an unscheduled landing in Burkina Faso due to technical concerns, Nigerian officials said on Tuesday, after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) warned it would neutralize any aircraft violating its airspace.

The AES had announced on Monday that it viewed the landing of the Nigerian Air Force C-130 as an airspace violation and vowed to take action against unauthorized aircraft. Burkinabe authorities launched an investigation after the incident, concluding the aircraft had landed without prior clearance.

On December 8, 2025, a Nigerian Air Force C-130 transport aircraft made an unscheduled landing at Bobo-Dioulasso airport in Burkina Faso.

Nigeria, however, said the crew was forced to make a precautionary landing shortly after take-off while ferrying the aircraft to Portugal. According to an Air Force statement carried by the Nigerian daily Sun, the crew detected a technical issue and chose to land at the nearest available airfield, which was in Burkina Faso.

Despite the AES’ condemnation of the incident as an “unfriendly act” and a breach of international aviation rules, Nigeria emphasized that the crew had been treated respectfully. The statement noted that all personnel were “safe and have received cordial treatment from the host authorities.”

74 Killed, 200,000+ Displaced in Recent Clashes in Eastern DRC: UN

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: News websites

9 Dec 2025 20:01

UN reports 74 deaths, 83 wounded, and 200,000 displaced in South Kivu amid deadly clashes between Congolese forces and M23 militants.

At least 74 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and 83 others have been wounded in clashes between Congolese forces and M23 militants in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations said Monday.

The fighting, which took place between Dec. 2 and 7, involved heavy weapons and shelling in populated areas across the South Kivu province, including the territories of Uvira, Walungu, Mwenga, Shabunda, Kabare, Fizi, and Kalehe.

New UN data indicate that the violence has displaced more than 200,000 people since Dec. 2, with thousands more fleeing across borders into neighboring Burundi and Rwanda. The province already hosted 1.2 million internally displaced people prior to the latest escalation.

Bruno Lemarquis, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Congo, called for immediate protection of civilians, condemning the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and attacks on schools. He said the fighting has also hampered medical evacuations.

“They must ensure the protection of civilians, respect their distinction in military operations, and ensure safe, rapid, and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to deliver life-saving assistance, including care for the wounded,” Lemarquis said, urging all parties to respect international humanitarian law.

Trump's ceasefires imitate his business ventures

Late last week, on Dec. 4, 2025, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and M23, via a broader agreement with Rwanda, ratified a new ceasefire pact in Washington under US mediation. The accord was meant to stabilize the conflict-torn eastern provinces, force withdrawals, and end hostilities following a peace agreement signed in June earlier in 2025.

Yet almost immediately, the ceasefire unraveled. On Dec. 5, 2025, violence flared, with heavy weapons reportedly used, civilian casualties mounting, and fresh displacement as towns in South Kivu came under attack. Within 24 hours, the government accused Rwanda of violating the deal, claiming Rwandan forces fired heavy weapons from across the border.

This fiasco adds to a string of ceasefires brokered under Trump’s watch that have repeatedly collapsed. Even the earlier truce reached in October 2025 during talks in Doha, hailed as a hopeful step, failed to prevent subsequent escalation. What remains clear is that agreements signed in high-profile ceremonies do little when armed groups on the ground continue fighting and commit ceasefire violations.

In the end, the new ceasefire, like its predecessors, shows that without robust enforcement, real political will, and on-the-ground oversight, these deals risk becoming symbolic. For civilians in eastern Congo, that means renewed suffering, displacement, and uncertainty all over again.

Lasting Peace Contingent on Palestine's Self-determination: Ramaphosa

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: News websites

9 Dec 2025 19:23

South Africa's president calls for Palestinian statehood and condemns "Israel’s" violations, urging action at the International Court of Justice.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed his country's unwavering solidarity with Palestine, stating that only Palestinian self-determination and the recognition of fundamental human rights can bring lasting peace to the region.

Speaking at the 5th National General Council of the African National Congress (ANC), Ramaphosa said, “Anything short of self-determination and the recognition of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people will not be acceptable and will not bring a just and lasting peace in that region.”

The president expressed concern over ongoing violations by "Israel" of a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian Resistance, which came into effect on October 10.

“South Africa welcomed the agreement on a ceasefire that resulted in the return of hostages and the release of many Palestinian political prisoners. However, there is a matter of greater concern that Israel is breaking the ceasefire almost on a daily basis,” Ramaphosa told ANC delegates in Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg.

Ramaphosa condemned the atrocities committed by "Israel" in Gaza, which prompted South Africa to take legal action before the International Court of Justice.

“Since the onslaught began on Oct. 7, 2023, more than 70,000 people are known to have been killed in Gaza, most of whom are women and children,” he stated.

South Africa takes legal action at ICJ

In December 2023, South Africa filed a case against "Israel" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), citing violations of obligations under the Genocide Convention. Since then, the ICJ has issued provisional measures requiring "Israel" to take steps to prevent acts of genocide.

Ramaphosa reiterated his government’s call for an immediate ceasefire and the start of meaningful negotiations aimed at establishing a sovereign Palestinian state.

“South Africa continues to call for an immediate ceasefire and for meaningful negotiations to commence towards the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state existing in peace alongside the state of Israel,” he said.

South Africa engaged in other global peace initiatives

The South African president also addressed other global conflicts, including the civil war in Sudan, where more than 150,000 people have reportedly died, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Ramaphosa highlighted South Africa’s continued involvement in peace efforts, including the African-led initiative to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

Two years ago, he led a delegation of African leaders to both Kiev and Saint Petersburg in a bid to push for dialogue. The mission involved meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘The Struggle Is One’: Palestinians in Venezuela Oppose US Aggression

December 2, 2025

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro. (Photo: Kremlin, via Wikimedia Commons)

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By Louis Brehony

Venezuela has strongly opposed the genocide since October 2023, with Maduro labeling Palestinian resistance a “critical battle against fascism and colonialism.”

The November 29 statement by US President Donald Trump that Venezuelan airspace would be “closed in its entirety” was the latest shot in a war against the socialist government of Nicolás Maduro.

Having made spurious claims of bringing “peace” to the Middle East, leaving Gaza’s Palestinians displaced, blockaded and continually massacred, US imperialism is driving an increasingly bloody campaign for war on Venezuela. Despite its distance, Palestine looms large in Latin America, with Palestinian activists among the most prescient voices against US-led aggression.

A Warmongering Narrative

Like many other young Palestinians, Fares Matar received a scholarship to study at Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). Involved in solidarity organizing, which in socialist Cuba has state backing, Matar spoke to the Palestine Chronicle from Caracas, Venezuela.

Keen to point out that US aggression on Venezuela represents “not an isolated event” nor an “internal crisis,” Matar points to a wider context:

“This recurring policy reveals the essence of the imperialist project: to punish any country that chooses to be sovereign and stable, whether in the Arab world, Latin America, or Africa. Venezuela—just like Palestine—faces the tools of the same project: economic sanctions, media warfare, political distortion, and military or intelligence pressure—all means used to subjugate peoples.”

The Trump administration accuses the Maduro government of running a drug-trafficking Cartel of the Suns, outrageously placing a $50m bounty on the socialist president’s “arrest and/or conviction.” A record warrant, this greatly increases the $ 15m reward set by the first Trump government in 2020, claiming Venezuelan coordination with Colombian FARC leftists in military and narcotics smuggling.

Aimed at Venezuela and its allies, the Caribbean is witnessing the most significant US naval deployment since its invasion of Panama in 1989, utilizing the navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R Ford. Claiming to be targeting Venezuela-backed drug trafficking maneuvers, US warships carried out 78 recorded strikes on Caribbean vessels between September 2 and November 16, killing over 80 people by December 1.

Alongside these operations, former UN Special Rapporteur Alfred De Zayas estimates that 100,000 Venezuelans have died as a result of US, EU, and British sanctions.

War on a Political Alternative

While the threat of an all-out invasion is higher than ever, Matar points out that the narratives, pretexts and “fierce political, media and economic attacks” faced by Venezuela echo previous imperialist interventions.

Visiting US-occupied Puerto Rico on November 25, Chief Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine told marines that they were “on the front lines of defending the American homeland.”

Mirroring the disregard for human life seen in the Zionist genocide on Gaza, The Washington Post reported on September 2 that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had told troops to “kill everybody” on Venezuelan boats. Despite the call of UN human rights chief Volker Türk for an investigation into the attacks as extrajudicial killings, on November 30, Trump doubled down on supporting repeated strikes against survivors of initial missile attacks.

Referring to SOUTHCOM troops as “warriors,” Hegseth claimed on November 28 that these were “lethal, kinetic” and “legal” strikes, designed to “kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

Despite classifying Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist group, even anti-Maduro academics like Pérez Guadalupe admit that the cartel does not exist, let alone ship from Venezuela to the US.

Referencing Iraq, Matar told the Palestine Chronicle:

“Yesterday it was the alleged weapons of mass destruction; today it is drug trafficking and human trafficking, allegations refuted by official international bodies, specifically designed to demonize and besiege Caracas.”

Venezuela possesses the world’s largest oil reserves, rivaling Western-allied Arab Gulf states. Since the electoral victory of Hugo Chávez in 1998 and the launching of the Bolivarian project for socialism, Venezuela has reoriented its foreign relations from an authoritarian history of loyal dependence on imperialism to channeling funds into social provision.

Writing in Al-Hadaf magazine, Palestinian analyst Mohammed Abdel Qader shows that Venezuela’s commitment to socialist transformation “generated resentment, anger and animosity from the US and the West towards the political system led by Chávez.” Imperialism cannot tolerate “a system that prioritizes the interests of the people and the country.” Abdel Qader continues:

“This is the root of the US’s hostile stance towards Venezuela, its national governments and its people, who support the leadership, whether under Chávez or his successor, Maduro.”

Venezuela Stands for Palestinian Liberation

With the development of revolutionary politics on the national level, Chávez heralded a sea-change in Venezuelan policy. The capitalist regimes of Venezuela’s past had promoted normalized relations with the Zionist state, but this was challenged by a leftist government promoting progressive causes internationally.

Opposing the war on the Middle East, the Chávez government broke off all ties with Israel during its murderous invasion of Gaza in January 2009, calling for premier Shimon Peres to be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize; Peres had been given a lavish two-day reception under the Caldera government in 1995.

In a letter he delivered to the UN in 2011, Chávez recognized an independent Palestine and declared: “Let us be unequivocal: Zionism, as a worldview, is fundamentally racist.”

Offering a sharp critique of the forces preventing Palestinian liberation, Chávez exposed imperialist “double standards” in the Arab region, with NATO “violating international law in Libya while letting Israel act with impunity, making the US the chief accomplice to the Palestinian genocide by Zionist barbarity.”

This socialist position found continuation in Maduro, elected as Chávez’s successor in 2013. US destabilization campaigns in Venezuela have since enjoyed Israeli support, including Netanyahu’s preposterous recognition of opposition figure and attempted coup leader Juan Guaidó as “president” in 2019. Matar explains:

“For many years, Venezuela has stood by the justice of the Palestinian cause, defending its people’s right to liberation from the Zionist occupation. In return, Palestinians see Venezuela as a model of a country paying the price for its sovereignty, just as Palestinians pay the price for their right to exist on their land.”

Venezuela has strongly opposed the genocide since October 2023, with Maduro labeling Palestinian resistance a “critical battle against fascism and colonialism.” As in Cuba, Palestinians have been platformed at rallies and international events in Caracas, including Leila Khaled’s invitation to the International Conference of Solidarity with Palestine in December 2024. She told attendees:

“When we come to Venezuela, we are in our second homeland, where our dignity is, with a people who have chosen a President with a lot of dignity, Nicolás Maduro. When we come here, we speak from heart to heart because we know the meaning of the freedom that you enjoy today and we aspire to live the same freedom that you have.”

This battle has raged in the Venezuelan context, too. In October 2025, Venezuelan reactionary Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Alongside her support for US military intervention and oil privatization in Venezuela, she declared “The struggle of Venezuela is the struggle of Israel,” signing cooperation agreements with Netanyahu’s Likud party and promising friendly relations with the occupation if her counterrevolution was victorious. Machado has also cozied up to European racists and called for the ‘reconquest’ of Europe from a supposed Muslim takeover.

‘Those Who Resist’

“Defending Venezuela today means defending Palestine, just as defending Palestine is defending every people facing the imperialist-Zionist machinery of oppression. The struggle is one, regardless of geography,” Matar said.

Trump’s call for the closure of Venezuelan airspace has a recent precedent. So-called no-fly zones were imposed by the US, Britain and France upon Iraq in 1991, by NATO allies in the 2011 invasion and destruction of Libya, and called for in Syria by US presidential candidate Hilary Clinton in 2016.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry responded to the November threats:

“Venezuela denounces and condemns the colonialist threat that seeks to affect the sovereignty of its airspace, constituting yet another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people.”

Venezuelans are organizing to defend the country against foreign intervention and over 8 million volunteers have joined the Bolivarian militia. Communal councils and mass organizations that stood with Palestine are now preparing to repel the invasion of their own lands. Matar told us:

“What is happening in Gaza—genocide, siege, and starvation—is similar to what is being perpetrated against Venezuela: a siege, economic starvation, attempts to overthrow the state, and the punishment of its people for choosing the path of sovereignty.”

The battle ahead, Leila Khaled told Venezuelan commune organizers, “is the fight for future generations to come.” Palestinians and Venezuelans are walking this path of resistance together.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

‘The Massacre that Never Was’: Exposing Nakba Denial in Zionist History

December 8, 2025

The Deir Yassin massacre, which took place on April 9, 1948. (Photo: via MEMO)

By Peren Birsaygılı Mut

After October 7, 2023, Israel did not conduct merely a military operation; just as in the Deir Yassin Massacre, it launched a large-scale digital narrative war to conceal the truth.

Jewish professor Eliezer Tauber is widely known for his books on the rise of Arab nationalist movements and the formation of modern Arab states. His works are frequently referenced in studies on these subjects. He is also the founder of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University. What makes Tauber even more striking is his book Deir Yassin: The Massacre That Never Was, written about the Deir Yassin massacre, the last major massacre before the Nakba, which took place on April 9, 1948.

Tauber’s book was first published in Hebrew in 2017 and later in English in 2021. As the title suggests, Tauber claims that the Deir Yassin Massacre never happened and that there are different motives behind this so-called Palestinian myth. According to him, Deir Yassin — a village consisting of about 150 houses and covering 2,700 dunams, more than half of which were cultivated — was not a civilian settlement at all, but one of the places where Palestinian fighters stored weapons.

He even argues that the villagers themselves were armed. Tauber states that the massacre narrative has long been a driving force of anti-Zionist sentiment, while insisting that there was no brutality committed against women or children as widely evidenced.

Tauber’s main thesis is that this event was not a massacre but a mutual clash, deliberately portrayed as a massacre by Palestinian leaders. He claims that the aim of these leaders was to instill fear among Palestinians and force them to flee their lands. He argues that the Arab Higher Committee orchestrated this narrative, pointing specifically to Hussein Fakhri al-Khalidi, a committee member who served as Mayor of Jerusalem between 1934–1937 and was later exiled to the Seychelles by the British during the Great Revolt.

Zionist Historiography: The “Ministry of Truth”

Eliezer Tauber reminds me of the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s famous novel 1984. Just like that ministry, he takes on the mission of completely altering the truth. And by doing the exact opposite of what he claims to represent, he becomes responsible for the distortion of historical events. Orwell’s Ministry of Truth lives on today within the Zionist academic sphere. If one were to define Zionism in a single sentence, the answer would come instantly: a chain of lies designed to bury the truth. And the strongest links of that chain are found in academia and culture.

We all know very well what truly happened and possess a wealth of historical data and documentation that completely refutes Tauber’s claims. We know, for example, that Zionist terrorist organizations drafted Plan Dalet to make their brutality against Palestinians more systematic: to expel them from their land. We know that they continuously launched mortar and rocket attacks on civilians, carried out surprise raids, abducted Palestinian Arabs, and captured towns and villages in order to expand the borders of the state of Israel on the eve of its establishment.

We also know that following the official end of the British Mandate, military rivalry within the Zionist movement reached its peak: on one side, Haganah, and on the other, Irgun and the Stern Gang – all operating intensely in competition, manifesting itself in terror operations targeting Palestinians. Considering the symbolic, historical, religious, political, and strategic significance of Jerusalem, we know that conquering the city was one of their greatest objectives. And because Deir Yassin was a prosperous Palestinian village in close proximity to Jerusalem, it became a perfect target for Zionist terror organizations.

Real Stories from the Deir Yassin Massacre

We also have dozens of real stories that recount the Deir Yassin Massacre. For example, the story of Hind al-Husseini, who became a mother to the orphans of Deir Yassin.

Or the story of Hayat al-Balbisi, born in al-Bireh village. Ever since childhood, her greatest dream has been to become a teacher. But her father had died, her mother was paralyzed and bedridden, and her sister was visually impaired. Her family’s situation was extremely difficult. As a student at the Teacher Training College in Jerusalem, she decided to search for work to both support her family and continue her education.

Fortunately, Hayat found a job at Palestine Radio in Jerusalem. She worked and taught at the same time. When she heard that the village school in Deir Yassin needed a teacher, she set out with no hesitation, even though she knew the village was surrounded by six Zionist colonies. After the attack, she refused to flee and stayed with the children, helping the wounded. Seeing this, the Zionist militants deliberately targeted her, and she was martyred.

We know that, because the massacre took place on Ghassan Kanafani’s 12th birthday, he never celebrated another birthday again, until he was assassinated in Beirut at the age of 36.

They Want to Erase the Gaza Massacre Using the Same Method

After October 7, 2023, Israel did not conduct merely a military operation; just as in the Deir Yassin Massacre, it launched a large-scale digital narrative war to conceal the truth. To reinforce this framework, a significant amount of dramatic and cinematic content was produced. The most well-known examples were the productions circulated under the title “The October 7 Films.”

Soon after, these films were distributed to global media outlets; private screenings were organized for international journalists, diplomats, politicians, and even groups specially invited from Hollywood circles. After each screening, statements were delivered to make Israel’s narrative be accepted as the unquestionable truth.

This method appeared as a modern version of classical propaganda tools. This time, propaganda was not carried out merely through newspaper headlines or academic publications but through professionally crafted videos, viral social media content, and emotional manipulation strategies. All of this had a single purpose: to erase the traces of genocide in Gaza, divert the world’s attention from the real destruction on the ground, and distort the truth. Israel conducted a multi-layered strategy of control, acting simultaneously on both the military and digital fronts.

This propaganda circulated not what was happening in Gaza, but the image it wanted the world to see. The dramatic visuals, staged videos, and selective testimonies produced by Israel were served as the only valid narrative.

The Greatest Heroes of Our Time: Palestinian Journalists

The Palestinian journalists who have fought against this Zionist war of perception have, without a doubt, become the greatest heroes of our time. With immense courage, they shattered the entire narrative that Zionism sought to construct by bringing us real images from the ground. Risking death, they told the truth to the whole world.

In every frame they captured, in every second of video they released, there was the naked reality that was meant to be hidden from the world: the ongoing human tragedy in Gaza, the destruction of homes, the breaking apart of families, the screams of children…

They showed us how a perception strategy, built over many years and backed by immense financial power, could be destroyed by nothing more than faith and courage. Many of them were killed by Israel, but the images they left behind created an indelible memory in the minds of millions. They became the modern continuation of the testimony that Zionism had tried to silence in Deir Yassin. Every frame bore witness to the present while also carrying the cries of those silenced in the past into the future. They proved that the truth, which has been suppressed since Deir Yassin, can in fact never be completely erased.

So, shall we ask again now: Did the Deir Yassin massacre really never happen?

Western Media Mourns Abu Shabab, Its Favourite ISIS-Linked Militia Leader in Gaza

December 6, 2025

Yasser Abu Shabab. (Photo: via QNN)

By Robert Inlakesh

Among the Palestinian people, regardless of political affiliation, Yasser Abu Shabab was known for who he truly was: a traitor and criminal who committed heinous crimes against his own people.

This Thursday, Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of Israel’s ISIS-linked proxy gangs in the Gaza Strip, was killed. The announcement triggered celebrations throughout the besieged coastal enclave, while the Western corporate media quickly worked to whitewash the image of the death squad leader.

The death of Yasser Abu Shabab, a convicted drug trafficker and criminal who is infamous among Palestinians for collaborating with the Israeli military against them, has provided a clear example of corporate media double standards and just how far Western media will go to distort realities on the ground inside Gaza.

Upon the announcement of the gang leader’s demise, the popular response among Palestinians was one of both relief and a sense that justice had been served. Many even handed out sweets to mark the occasion.

Among the Palestinian people, regardless of political affiliation, Yasser Abu Shabab was known for who he truly was: a traitor and criminal who committed heinous crimes against his own people.

In stark contrast to the kinds of descriptions you will hear of Abu Shabab from Palestinians, the Western media presented the Israeli-backed criminal as a martyr and whitewashed his crimes. CNN described him as “the leader of an anti-Hamas group,” while Reuters characterized the gangster as “the head of an armed Palestinian faction that opposes Hamas in Gaza.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article entitled “A Hamas Rival Falls in Gaza.” “Yasser Abu Shabab defied the terrorists in these pages in July,” wrote the Editorial Board of the WSJ, referring to an op-ed they published in his name earlier this year. The op-ed was called “Gazans Are Finished With Hamas,” yet it was later pointed out by local sources that Abu Shabab not only could not speak English but is said to be illiterate in Arabic too.

The BBC and various other media outlets also adopted the narrative that Abu Shabab was the leader of an “anti-Hamas” group, which in and of itself totally whitewashes the nature of the five death squads that have been set up by Israel in Gaza and are actively being used to create a “Second” or “New Gaza” inside the 58% of the territory it currently occupies—during the ceasefire.

Whitewashing a Genocide-Aiding War Criminal

Back in October 2023, the Israeli military began strategically bombing the Gaza Strip’s prison facilities, enabling convicted criminals to roam free. Abu Shabab was one such criminal who had been convicted of drug trafficking. His role in the Gaza genocide began when he organized groups of armed outlaws to begin the looting of humanitarian aid trucks entering the besieged territory.

On May 6, 2024, the Israeli military launched its invasion of Rafah. The first priority in this operation was seizing the border crossing with Egypt, enabling their forces to fully control what enters and leaves Gaza. It was not long before Abu Shabab’s name would become infamous across Palestine and the wider region.

Israel provided air support and backing to Yasser Abu Shabab’s band of gangsters, composed of hardline ISIS-linked Salafist militants and criminals, to begin looting aid trucks. A specific designated route in eastern Rafah was set up for the entry of such aid, which is where the Abu Shabab gang would assault the trucks, stealing the desperately needed supplies and demanding a bribe to allow the vehicles to pass. All of this is well documented by the UN and international aid agencies.

As the majority child population of Gaza sank further and further into food insecurity, Abu Shabab’s gangsters were living a life of relative luxury in compounds monitored by the Israeli military and where the stolen aid was hoarded. What then developed was a thriving black market inside Gaza, where the looted goods were strategically drip-fed to the population and sold at exorbitant rates that only the wealthy could afford.

Setting aside the kidnappings, murder of civilians, and armed robberies, it is important to understand what the looting of aid truly meant. For the Israelis, they were able to claim that they were letting in humanitarian aid and use the excuse that Hamas fighters were the ones stealing it, knowing full well where it truly was. Abu Shabab reaped the benefits of becoming a mafia-style king among his armed thugs.

The aid that was being looted meant that children in Gaza were starved, the elderly wasted away, and pregnant women could not sustain themselves. Aid meant for the sick and to be used in hospitals was deprived of the people—all as Abu Shabab and his traitorous thugs lived secure existences under the watchful eye of the Israeli military.

In late 2024, the Washington Post and others began working to whitewash the nature of the group and prepare the propaganda script that Abu Shabab’s militiamen were a grassroots group of disillusioned Palestinians seeking to overthrow Hamas. They worked to present Abu Shabab as the victim and a criminal out of necessity, not by choice.

Then came the Gaza ceasefire in January 2025, during which the Israelis worked to complete the transition from an aid-looting band of criminals into a “grassroots anti-Hamas resistance.” Israel armed, trained, and coordinated with these thugs, providing them with Israeli military helmets, vests, and Palestinian flag patches to make them appear like a professional and organic force.

When Israel violated and collapsed the ceasefire in March, Yasser Abu Shabab appeared in videos and photos brandishing a rifle and wearing patches bearing the name that the group would then adopt, the “Popular Forces.”

The Israeli military and Shin Bet gave the so-called “Popular Forces” direct orders and used them to carry out missions on their behalf against Hamas and to aid their genocidal project targeting civilians. Theft, kidnappings, beatings, hospital raids, and assassinations were carried out by these criminals.

The Israelis openly admitted to backing them, knowing full well of their links to ISIS and other hardline Salafist takfiri groups. They liked this model so much that they began recruiting new collaborators to form three other groups, with a fifth having been created since the ceasefire began.

Abu Shabab still managed the transfer of aid and was implicated in coordinating with the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” privatized aid scheme. This aid program was later dubbed a “death trap” by Palestinians and resulted in the murder of up to 2,600 starving civilians by both Israeli forces and American private military contractors.

The ridiculously named “Popular Forces,” perhaps the most unpopular Palestinian armed force to have ever existed, were also intended to be used by Israel to rule over a concentration camp being constructed in western Rafah.

Since the ceasefire, Abu Shabab’s men have hidden under Israeli protection from the far mightier forces of Hamas, who received broad popular support in cracking down on the Israeli-backed death squads at the beginning of the ceasefire. In violation of the ceasefire, these groups have continued to work on behalf of their Israeli paymasters to carry out missions against Hamas and the other Palestinian groups.

Yasser Abu Shabab’s murder served as a major blow to Israel’s project inside Gaza, which aims to use these criminal collaborators to rule over a portion of the territory. The UAE has also thrown its weight behind these collaborator death squads. This is why there has been major damage control in the media and an attempt to shape the narrative surrounding his death.

Initially the Israeli Hebrew media appeared to indicate that Abu Shabab was assassinated, before the Israeli Army Radio asserted that his death had come as a result of a tribal dispute. Yediot Aharonot went on to publish a piece after this, claiming that the collaborator leader was beaten to death and not shot, seemingly contradicting previous narratives that had asserted he died due to gunshot wounds.

ùhttps://www.palestinechronicle.com/a-new-low-western-media-promotes-isis-linked-gangsters-in-gaza/

Hamas, for its part, published a graphic asserting that Israel will not protect such collaborators, but did not directly claim to have carried it out; yet it was interpreted by many that this was insinuated.

The Bedouin Tarabin Clan, from which Abu Shabab comes, stated that resistance fighters killed the gang leader. As the “Popular Forces,” now led by takfiri collaborator Ghassan Duhine, announced that Abu Shabab was shot dead while attempting to solve a dispute with the Abu Seneima family.

As expected, a range of different stories have spread on social media, claiming everything from an infiltration operation carried out by the “Arrow Forces,” tasked with combating collaborator gangs, to naming specific fighters who allegedly died during a clash.

What appears to be the case is that both the “Popular Forces” and Israeli media are lying to cover up what represents a major blow to their project; however, the details of what truly transpired are currently unclear.

The reason they are compelled to lie and brush this killing off as a simple mistake, as unlikely as that possibility appears, is so that it does not lead to mass defections among the militia members. The Palestinian tribal leaderships put out a joint statement affirming their solidarity with the ruling forces of Hamas and against the collaborators. This comes as the Palestinian security forces in Gaza have now put forth a 10-day amnesty offer to those who choose to surrender themselves.

Already, many of these gangsters have been killed, captured, or handed themselves over to the Hamas-led authorities during the past few months. The killing of Yasser Abu Shabab is a major development in that it demonstrates Israel’s inability to protect its collaborators. In addition, the Israelis view them all as disposable proxies and did not bother even eulogizing the disgraced criminal leader.

It was only truly the Western corporate media that bothered to whitewash Abu Shabab’s unforgivable crimes against humanity and to turn him into a martyr. The Western media are truly shameless and lie as easily as they breathe when it comes to reporting on Palestine, only occasionally producing grains of truth among a sea of ridiculous propaganda.

Unlike the five ISIS-linked collaborator gangs, there are, in fact, Palestinians who are opposed to Hamas; they are primarily those affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA) based in Ramallah. As unpopular as the PA currently is, it does actually enjoy enough support and possesses the means to potentially serve as a future governing force inside Gaza.

The lesson that should be learned from the dreadful gutter journalism surrounding this issue is that, in order to understand what is happening in Palestine, you do not need the Western media at all.

Israeli reporting, while evidently biased, is, in all honesty, a better tool than the media of the West. It at least gives you a glimpse into the thinking of Israeli society and its leadership, especially when you take the time to translate and read the Hebrew-language media. If you then pair this with independent on-the-ground reports, in addition to Palestinian and/or Arabic-language media sources like Al Jazeera and Al Mayadeen, you will get a well-rounded understanding of what is going on.

The English-language mainstream media, on the other hand, does not present an Israeli nor a Palestinian perspective; it invents an entirely parallel universe. It designs a fictional framing of reality and then attempts to police the boundaries of all discussions about it. This is done for the sole purpose of tailoring an artificially manufactured Zionist narrative, curated to convince a Western audience that Israel is good and the Palestinians are guilty for resisting.

Even when it comes to discussions of Israeli rights abuses, the confines of the discussion on such issues are strictly policed across Western media in order to ensure that Palestinians cannot speak their minds freely and explain their predicament. At best, all Palestinians are allowed to be victims—but not regular victims—victims who are forced to publicly accept that their oppressors are also victims, and to denounce their own people for fighting back.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

Storm Byron Threatens Gaza as Israeli Attacks Continue Across the Strip

December 10, 2025

Freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall are worsening already dire living conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians across the Strip. (Photo: via QNN)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Gaza faces the compounded dangers of an approaching winter storm and expanding Israeli attacks, with hospitals reporting new casualties and authorities warning of a looming humanitarian catastrophe for displaced families.

Gaza is bracing for the arrival of Storm Byron, which officials warn could unleash a new humanitarian catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced families living in fragile shelters.

The Gaza Government Media Office said the storm is expected between Wednesday and Friday evening, bringing heavy rainfall, strong winds, high sea waves, and thunderstorms to a population already enduring extreme hardship.

In a press release, the office cautioned that flooding, collapses of makeshift structures, and the inundation of displacement camps are likely, placing more than 1.5 million people at severe risk.

Many have spent over a year in worn-down tents with no long-term alternatives due to Israeli restrictions that continue to block the entry of relief and shelter materials, including 300,000 tents and mobile homes.

The office held the Israeli occupation responsible for exposing civilians to climate dangers and violating their right to safe housing, urging the United Nations, international organizations, US President Donald Trump, mediators, and donor states to act immediately to prevent further catastrophe.

As Gaza prepares for the storm, hospitals recorded one fatality and six injuries over the past 24 hours amid continued Israeli aggression, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported. Emergency and civil defense crews remain unable to reach multiple areas where victims are believed to be trapped beneath rubble due to the intensity of ongoing strikes.

Since the ceasefire announced on October 11, 2025, the Ministry noted that 377 Palestinians have been killed and 987 injured. Additionally, 626 bodies have been retrieved from destroyed neighborhoods during recovery efforts.

Israeli Attacks Hit All Gaza Areas

Meanwhile, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli sniper fire in the al-‘Attatra area of Beit Lahia in the north, according to the Lebanese news network Al Mayadeen.

The report added that Israeli forces targeted homes in the Old City near Deir al-Latin in Gaza City and shelled the al-Shejaiya neighborhood, demolishing residential buildings and displacing families under heavy fire.

Residents expressed deep concern about the approaching storm, fearing that thousands of displaced families living in tents could face flooding while still under blockade. Extensive demolition operations in the al-Shejaiya junction have forced additional displacement, with similar scenes unfolding in Khan Yunis amid artillery fire and drone strikes.

According to Al Mayadeen, Israeli attacks now extend across all areas of Gaza, not only the so-called yellow zone, and have intensified particularly in the eastern part of the enclave.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, warned on Tuesday that many families are unable to afford essential items for their children, including glasses, warm clothing, and school supplies. The agency said its emergency cash assistance programs remain the only means for many parents to meet these needs under worsening humanitarian conditions.

UNRWA called on the international community and donors to provide urgent support to help vulnerable children and families access basic necessities.

(PC, Al Mayadeen)

Former Commander Reveals: Israeli Army Fire Killed Captives in Northern Gaza

December 9, 2025

Al-Qassam fighters hand over three Israeli detainees in Saraya Square. (Photo: via QNN)

The commander said that many of the captives, who arrived alive in Gaza, died in Israeli strikes targeting buildings where they had been held.

A former Israeli military commander reportedly said on Tuesday that the majority of captives held in Gaza were killed in army fire.

“Israeli fire killed most of the hostages (captives) in Jabalia due to intelligence gaps,” Nitzan Alon, a former Israeli negotiator, told the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, according to the Anadolu news agency.

Alon stated that many of the captives, who arrived alive in Gaza, died in Israeli strikes targeting buildings where they had been held.

He said that three Israeli captives were killed in an Israeli attack in December 2023 due to “incorrect assumptions on the ground,” without providing further details.

“The fear caused by our airstrikes was repeatedly mentioned in the hostages’ testimonies,” the former commander added.

Final Remains Handed Over

Throughout the two years of Israel’s military assault on the enclave, Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, repeatedly broadcast video clips of Israeli captives in which they called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to stop the strikes that endangered their lives. Tel Aviv ignored those appeals, Anadolu said.

Regarding the protests held by families of Israeli captives, Alon said that “they had much less impact on the negotiations than many claimed.”

A ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on October 10 under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan. Phase one of the deal included the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Second Phase of Deal

Israel ties the start of negotiations for launching the second phase of the ceasefire agreement to receiving the bodies of all its captives. It claims that the remains of one Israeli captive are still in Gaza, while Hamas says it has handed over all 20 Israeli captives who were alive and the remains of all 28 who were killed.

In return for each Israeli body, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians killed during the two-year military assault on the enclave. Many of the Palestinian bodies returned showed signs of severe torture, starvation, medical neglect, and, in some cases, strangulation.

According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, an additional 9,500 Palestinians remain missing, believed to be buried under the rubble following months of Israeli bombardment.

Since the ceasefire came into effect, Israel has killed 377 Palestinians and injured 987 more, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Rising Death Toll

The total death toll since Israel’s genocidal operation began on October 7, 2023, has risen to 70,366  and 171,064 injuries. Thousands are still missing.

In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.

Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

(Anadolu, PC)

Israel First, Cloaked in Red White and Blue: The US National Security Strategy

December 9, 2025

US President Donald Trump. (Design: Palestine Chronicle)

By Robert Inlakesh

The White House has released its new 33-page National Security Strategy, a document that has had the media talking and poses as a path forward towards a re-shaping of US foreign policy.

The segment of the newly released document that pertains to West Asia, labelled “The Middle East: Shift Burdens, Build Peace,” is disguised as a transformative strategy, in its rather typical Trumpian approach.

It begins by asserting that the reasons for US foreign policy prioritizing the Middle East “for half a century at least,” were down to a number of factors, either no longer existing as strategic hurdles or in diminished form. The most telling point here is that the document puts superpower competition down as a primary motivator of Washington’s interests in the region.

The Strategy asserts:

“Superpower competition has given way to great power jockeying, in which the United States retains the most enviable position, reinforced by President Trump’s 28 successful revitalization of our alliances in the Gulf, with other Arab partners, and with Israel.”

The End of Superpower Competition?

What we can extract from this statement alone is enormous. To begin with, while there is an admission that superpower competition is a prime motivator of US policy in the region, it becomes clear later on in this segment that the White House intends to retain this position. However, the idea that US power has suddenly become uncontested under President Donald Trump is totally false.

In fact, the emergence of China as a major international superpower has birthed the idea of a “multi-polar world order” once more. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US had until now been the undisputed top dog of the so-called “new world order.”

The mere fact that Saudi Arabia and Iran reached an agreement towards re-opening ties, negotiated through Beijing, and more recently the Saudi-Pakistan security pact, are demonstrations of this slowly shifting world order. It is clear that the US does remain the most influential player, but it no longer enjoys total dominance.

The document uses the “revitalization” of alliances as its alleged proof of its regional dominance, naming the Gulf States and Israel as part of this equation. However, the US never broke from its Gulf Arab allies, although it is clear the Trump administration has established closer economic relations with them. In the case of Israel-US relations, it is laughable to assert that Trump’s policy has revitalized relations that were already ironclad. All Trump did was to bend the knee further to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Working on the premise that Trump is somehow transforming alliances, which there is simply no evidence to support, the document moves on to make yet another active claim: that the threat levels for further conflict are no longer as high under the current president’s administration.

To support this notion, it is argued that “Iran—the region’s chief destabilizing force—has been greatly weakened by Israeli actions since October 7, 2023,” adding that Trump’s strikes “significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear program”.

Any objective look at the region today suggests that due to the actions taken by Israel over the past years, Tehran has become more closed off from signing any kind of deal to limit its nuclear progress, has accelerated its production of offensive capabilities and that in the likely event Israel strikes it again, a new war between the two could prove a major threat to the stability of the entire region.

Contrary to the rhetoric adopted in this National Security Strategy document, the US tricked Iran through a fake diplomatic process, only to allow Israel to violate the UN Charter by launching a war of aggression for 12 days in June 2025. This is a war jumped into by the US on the side of the aggressor.

Palestine: “Permanent Peace”

Addressing the issue of Palestine, it is argued that “progress toward a more permanent peace has been made,” then a few paragraphs down it asserts that “nation-building wars” should be abandoned, despite the fact that Trump’s Gaza plan is quite literally a regime change operation that seeks to completely control and shape the emergence of a new Palestinian governing force there.

Leaving out the case of Lebanon, where a new war appears inevitable, and the conditions for it are due to US and Israeli policy decisions, it moves on to its eastern neighbor instead:

“Syria remains a potential problem, but with American, Arab, Israeli, and Turkish support may stabilize and reassume its rightful place as an integral, positive player in the region.”

Despite recent diplomatic moves, Israeli think-tanks and analysts are currently predicting the fall of the Syrian government, as are their pro-Israeli Washington-based counterparts. That aside, the mere fact that Israel is mentioned as a support actor to encourage stabilization is so ludicrous that it begs the question as to whether the author of the document wrote it with a straight face.

Israel is a belligerent occupier that continues to illegally seize more and more territory from Syria, backs armed opposition militias, and frequently launches airstrikes killing civilians and security personnel alike. The Strategy continues:

“The days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-term planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over—not because the Middle East no longer matters, but because it is no longer the constant irritant, and potential source of imminent catastrophe, that it once was.”

This is again false on every conceivable level, with US involvement in Syria having accelerated and expanded, its involvement in Lebanon has expanded, it has actively become directly involved in the Gaza war, and the list goes on.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Washington for the fifth time in less than a year, more times than any other world leader. In fact, the US has been directly involved in starting two Middle East wars since Trump came to office, both on behalf of Israel. Trump launched a month-long deadly assault on Yemen, then moved on to set up, coordinate and directly enter the 12-day Iran War.

US Strategy and the Arab States

The segment also adds rather meaningless rhetoric about allowing Gulf Arab nations to preserve their customs and not trying to influence them, but to let them reform slowly, pretending as if the reforms made under Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have nothing to do with the West and are totally organic. These words are meaningless, just as they were when Trump repeated them earlier this year during his trip to Riyadh.

The document concludes this segment by asserting that the Middle East is “emerging” as “a place of partnership, friendship, and investment—a trend that should be welcomed and encouraged. In fact, President Trump’s ability to unite the Arab world at Sharm el-Sheikh in pursuit of peace and normalization will allow the United States to finally prioritize American interests.”

There are no new partnerships that the Trump administration is making, and the idea that pursuing the normalization of ties between Arab states and Israel is prioritizing “American interests” makes it clear that there is no difference in sight for US foreign policy in the region.

What this document demonstrates is that the White House is comfortable with lying about the realities of the region and using language about ending wars, which will evidently be popular with the president’s base, while continuing to pursue an Israel First Policy that prioritizes normalization and Tel Aviv’s domination. It is clear that the US seeks to pursue dominance over the Gulf of Hormuz and the Red Sea, when the only threat to stability in these two areas is Israeli-US aggression.

In all, this is a propaganda document more than an indicator of any serious policy shifts. There is nothing identifiable on this agenda that indicates otherwise. Every single point is based around Israeli interests, while attempting to flatter Gulf Arab monarchies in the hope of greater economic cooperation.

A real anti-war, peace policy in the region would prioritize pressuring the Israelis to withdraw from occupied territory, while bringing the Iranians to the table to secure a cooperative future that mitigates the threat of arms races and perpetual war. Instead, the US follows a policy of Israel first, refusing to stop its daily aggressions against Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Featured on 1+1 With Youri Smouter Discussing the History and Contemporary Affairs of Algeria

Well hello everyone! Welcome to another edition of 1+1: your place for inconvenient truth telling and myth busting. 

To watch this interview in its entirety just click on the following link: 1+1 E353 Youri speaks to Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan-African Newswire & Black Agenda Report on Algeria

This is another of our all-things Africa edition, we’re continuing to explore the North African region and today we’ll be looking at the history and current affairs of Algeria. 

And who better to teach us about this African nation or any African country then our returning champion and history teacher/our historical tour guide Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan-African Newswire and frequent contributor to Black Agenda Report, Abayomi as everyone should know is an independent journalist and historian and anti-imperialist campaigner and all-round Leftist. 

And as always before we start a reminder to our audience to please share widely all of 1+1’s content, past and present episodes, our playlists and help us overcome the far-right algorithms and the dominant monopoly Western corporate/state media and pseudo-leftists websites have in the social media by sharing our content, share us across social media and e-mail, and please donate if you can to 1+1 at our PayPal and if people are having trouble and would prefer an alternative form to donate then do please get in touch with me at [email protected].  

And sometimes Facebook blocks my ability to share 1+1 so again please share widely it helps the show IMMENSELY and its our only way of overcoming pro-capitalism/pro-imperialist/sexist/heteronormative/racist media. So now onto the topic at hand .

Analysis: ‘Drones and Satellite Developments Challenge Value of Traditional Naval Bases’

07/12/2025 14:44 AMSTERDAM / PORT SUDAN

The USS Winston S. Churchill arrives in Port Sudan on March 1, 2021. (Photo: US Embassy Sudan)

Report by: Suleiman Siri

The reopening of the file concerning a Russian military base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast has reignited debate in political and media circles, as the United States warns against proceeding with the deal. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Sudanese government has offered Russia the opportunity to establish its first naval base on the African continent — a move that could shift the balance of power in one of the world’s most strategic maritime corridors.

According to the newspaper, Sudanese officials said the proposal includes a 25-year agreement allowing Moscow to deploy up to 300 troops and four warships, including nuclear-powered vessels, in Port Sudan or another naval facility along the Red Sea.

Under the proposal, Sudan would receive advanced weapons at preferential prices, alongside Russian promises of investment in the mining sector — particularly gold, one of Khartoum’s most important economic resources, the Wall Street Journal revealed.

A senior US official warned Sudanese leaders that “moving ahead with establishing such a facility, or any other form of security cooperation with Russia, will deepen Sudan’s isolation, worsen the current conflict, and expose the region to further instability.”

“El Burhan is playing with fire”

Military and security expert Major General Hashem Abu Rannat says the world is divided, albeit informally, into Western and Eastern spheres of influence — particularly between the US and Russia — each seeking strategic footholds whenever opportunities arise.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, he said former president Omar El Bashir had long sought to entice Russia with access to the Red Sea, reviving Moscow’s ambitions dating back to the 1970s to dominate the Horn of Africa by forming a strategic belt linking Ethiopia, Somalia, South Yemen, and Djibouti. These attempts failed with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Western countries and Sudan’s neighbours became alarmed, he said, when Bashir also began offering facilities to Iran and Türkiye on Sudanese islands in the Red Sea. But the December 2018 Revolution and Bashir’s removal in April 2019 halted all of this.

Abu Rannat says that following General Abdelfattah El Burhan’s recent coup and growing international isolation, “he has begun brandishing this card from time to time, despite knowing that such a base is impossible to implement.”

He warns that Burhan’s actions may be taken seriously by the United States, noting that Washington is not a power easily intimidated when its global interests are at stake. He added, “Bashir fell for the same reckless behaviour — and I believe Burhan is playing with fire.”

A ‘zero-sum marathon’

However, writer and political analyst Khalid Taha, a specialist in Horn of Africa affairs, argues that the competition over the “Flamingo Naval Base” is part of a “zero-sum marathon” that yields no genuine strategic benefit to either side, except preventing rivals from gaining it.

He says great-power competition in the Red Sea — one of the world’s most important waterways — is escalating sharply, with Flamingo positioned at its centre as a potential strategic anchor coveted by Russia and the United States alike.

“But the deeper question,” he argues, “is no longer who will secure the base, but whether traditional naval bases retain their relevance in an era where military geography is shifting towards technology and remote surveillance.”

Taha believes that the United States, with its entrenched regional presence and extensive alliances from the Gulf to the Horn of Africa, retains strong influence over any maritime-access arrangements. Yet its regional image has become tied to traditional geopolitical contests, at a time when some regional actors are seeking to balance between global powers.

Russia, by contrast, positions itself as a counter-balancing force, offering arms and partnerships with fewer political conditions. For years, it has sought a permanent foothold on the Red Sea to support operations in “warm waters.” Despite having less influence than Washington, Taha says Russia’s flexible offers make it a player that cannot be ignored.

Superiority lies with technology

According to Taha, the most significant shift is the declining importance of conventional naval bases. Advances in satellites, drones, and long-range sensing systems have shifted strategic advantage towards technological surveillance rather than large, fixed installations.

“The key question,” he says, “is what use is winning a base when the future depends on information dominance rather than controlling physical space?”

He notes that Sudan’s theoretically strategic geography could serve as leverage — but the weakness of the state, institutional fragmentation, and inability to make coherent strategic decisions render such advantages unusable. “A deal of this magnitude requires legitimate and capable institutions, which are simply not present today,” he says.

He adds that Washington’s warning — that creating a Russian base would “increase Sudan’s isolation and deepen the conflict” — signals a readiness to use pressure tools, including sanctions, restricting aid, delaying debt relief, and influencing Gulf and European positions.

“In the end,” Taha concludes, “real advantage in the Red Sea will belong to those who command technology and information, not merely those who hold a patch of coastline.”

‘Political blackmail’

Political analyst Fathi El Daw describes the offer made by the “Port Sudan government” to Russia as political blackmail.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, he mocked what he called the “laughable” behaviour of the Port Sudan authorities, whose statements about the Russian base, he said, have no real substance.

He dismissed talk of new alliances or power struggles as media exaggeration, calling it a distraction for the public. “These things amuse people briefly — and are quickly forgotten,” he added.

El Daw believes General Burhan imagines the Russian-base issue will strengthen his position against US pressure, although “it carries no real meaning.”

“Many dictators think that simply having strategic coastlines allows them to manipulate global powers at will,” he said. “This is absurd. Dictators rarely understand political realities and imagine the world moves according to their wishes rather than the actual conditions on the ground.”

A strategic outlet, but international constraints

El Daw emphasises that while the Red Sea is indeed a crucial corridor, “nothing is ever that simple.” He criticised the government for pursuing a naval base deal while the country is engulfed in war and unable even to feed its starving population with international aid.

He said Washington’s swift response — warning that such steps would increase Sudan’s isolation — is exactly what should be expected.

“These matters are governed by international calculations, political balances, and strategic considerations,” he said. “The Port Sudan government’s statements are temporary distractions that some people entertain themselves with before forgetting.”

However, El Daw added that such positions are carefully monitored in UN and US circles. “This requires little effort from either,” he said.

He urged Sudanese citizens to focus on the harsh reality they face — widespread atrocities and suffering — rather than on “these ridiculous announcements” about granting Russia a naval base.

“If Sudanese people must endure the tragedy of war,” he said, “they are also forced to listen to the farce coming from these ‘irresponsible’ officials in Port Sudan.”

‘Inflaming the American position’

Military and security expert Major General Dr Mutasim Abdelqader believes certain actors have deliberately revived the Russian-base issue to provoke a negative American stance towards Sudan — especially following recent remarks by the US President that he now fully understands the situation in Sudan after being briefed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Abdelqader denies that the Sudanese government has made any offer to Russia at this stage — or vice versa. He argues that Russia, preoccupied with its war in Ukraine, is inward-looking and has no interest in opening a base in Sudan or anywhere else. He cites Moscow’s scaling back of commitments in Syria as evidence of its desire to reduce its burdens.

Sudan has the right to grant what it wishes

Major General Abdelqader insists that Sudan is entitled to grant any state a military base on its shores if it chooses. He says Sudan’s coastline is particularly strategic, as the western Red Sea is bordered by Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt — with Sudan centrally positioned between them. Somalia’s stretch of the Red Sea, he notes, is minimal and weak, while Sudan has deep-water ports, including the undeveloped Abu Amama site.

He believes Sudan could play a major strategic role in Red Sea security, positioned opposite Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Egypt, and located at a crossroads between East Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

He maintains that Sudan does have the political and institutional capacity to approve such an agreement — but stresses that, for reasons known to the Sudanese government, “there is no such proposal at this time, and Sudan has not used this issue as a bargaining card at any stage.”

Sudan Darfur-bound Aid Destroyed, 20 Civilians Dead as Drones Hit Eastern Chad Market

07/12/2025 13:16 ADRÉ, CHAD

A screenshot from a video posted by survivors on social media shows the aftermath of the attack on the Adkon market at the Adré border crossing between Sudan and Chad on Friday

A drone strike on the weekly market in Adikon, near the Adré crossing at the Sudan–Chad border, left a large number of civilians dead and injured on Friday afternoon after a missile hit the market area, as well as humanitarian aid trucks en route to North Darfur and Kordofan. A resident of Adikon said the drone struck the market directly, causing heavy civilian casualties. She reported that more than ten charred bodies were recovered from shops that were completely destroyed by the explosions and ensuing fires.

Badr El Din Dawoud, Executive Director of the Isenga Administrative Unit, said a Turkish-made Bayraktar drone had fired two missiles at the weekly market, killing between 18 and 20 people, most of them Chadian traders. He added that many others were wounded, some critically, and that dozens of people remain unaccounted for. Those with severe injuries were transported to hospitals inside Chad.

Dawoud said a truck carrying humanitarian supplies bound for Babanousa and El Fasher was completely burned in the attack, with several aid workers on board killed. He noted that the majority of those who died at the site were Chadian civilians working as traders in the market.

The head of the Civil Administration in West Darfur, Tijani Karshoum, said authorities had taken urgent measures following the incident, including forming a committee to assess loss of life and property, a security committee to protect civilians, and a technical committee to reorganise the market. Karshoum stressed that the crossing used for aid delivery is a recognised humanitarian corridor approved by the United Nations and the Security Council. He confirmed that aid trucks had been burned in the attack and urged the UN and the international community to take firm action to prevent further targeting of relief convoys.

Abdel-Baqi, head of the West Darfur Founding Council, said a government delegation visited the area after the strike and assessed the scale of the damage. He stated that the airstrike targeted traders and civilians going about their daily activities, emphasising that there were no military sites in the area. He condemned the attack, describing it as a deliberate strike on innocent and unarmed civilians.

Eastern Chad hosts at least 1.2 million (UN estimates) Sudanese refugees, many of whom have fled from Darfur since the outbreak of the current hostilities in April 2023.

Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said that airdropping aid into Sudan has become a likely last-resort option to break the blockade and save lives. His comments came as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the Sudanese army of shelling the Adré border crossing with Chad, claiming the strike directly targeted the Adikon gate of the crossing in order to obstruct the flow of humanitarian aid and hinder relief efforts.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Skau announced that convoys of aid and lorries remain stranded awaiting permission to enter, highlighting the major logistical and security challenges they face. He noted that a WFP aid truck bound for the Tawila area in North Darfur was struck by a drone a few days earlier, leaving the driver critically injured.

Earlier, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric strongly condemned an attack on a WFP truck near Hamrat al-Sheikh in North Kordofan last Thursday evening.

In his daily press briefing in New York, Dujarric said the truck was part of a larger convoy of 39 vehicles on its way to deliver “vital food assistance to support hungry families who have fled to the Tawila area in North Darfur.”

Skau described the situation in Sudan as “the world’s worst food crisis,” revealing that around 20 million people are suffering from malnutrition, including six million on the brink of famine.

He stressed that the WFP’s current focus is on South Kordofan, where villages and localities are under severe siege by the RSF. He noted confirmed reports of people starving inside these areas, emphasising that the world must learn from the “atrocities” that occurred in El Fasher to prevent the same scenario from unfolding in other parts of Sudan.

Sudan Says Army Repelled RSF Drone Attack in Ad-Damazin

By Al Mayadeen English

A Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attack targeting critical civilian infrastructure in Ad-Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile state, was thwarted.

The Sudanese army intercepted a drone attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeting civilian service facilities in Ad-Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile state, authorities reported on Sunday.

In a statement, the Blue Nile state government said the armed forces successfully repelled the RSF’s attempt to strike civilian infrastructure, labeling the group as a “terrorist militia”. The statement condemned “in the strongest terms” the drone attack and the RSF’s attempt to hit the city’s power station, without providing details on casualties or damage.

The power station serves as a critical facility, providing electricity for water access, hospitals, dialysis centers, and neonatal care units, the statement noted. Authorities described the attack as a “clear disregard for the lives of civilians and their humanitarian needs.”

Officials reassured residents that the “situation is under control”, emphasizing that the Sudanese army is carrying out its duty to maintain security and stability, protect lives and property, and prevent efforts to plunge the country into chaos.

Hundreds flee Kadugli following RSF assault

Meanwhile, the displacement crisis has also deepened in the wider Kordofan region, with hundreds of residents fleeing Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, as insecurity worsened amid escalating attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a statement released on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said field teams from the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) estimated on December 5 that between 350 and 450 people were forced to leave Kadugli due to rapidly deteriorating security conditions.

According to the IOM, those displaced sought refuge in several areas across West and North Kordofan, including Abu Zabad and Sheikan.

Kadugli has faced a prolonged siege by both the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu since the early months of the conflict, compounded by repeated artillery and drone attacks that have left the city increasingly isolated and vulnerable.

A harrowing pattern of violence

This comes as part of the RSF's brutal pattern of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Following their late-October capture of El Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in western Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have advanced east into the oil-rich Kordofan region, which is divided into three states. Reports of mass killings, sexual violence, looting, and abductions emerged in the wake of El Fasher’s fall.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk warned on Thursday of a potential new wave of atrocities in Sudan amid intense fighting in Kordofan. “It is truly shocking to see history repeating itself in Kordofan so soon after the horrific events in El Fasher,” he said.

Since the RSF seized the North Kordofan city of Bara on October 25, the UN has recorded at least 269 civilian deaths from aerial strikes, artillery shelling, or summary executions. A separate army drone strike in Kauda, the SPLM-N stronghold in South Kordofan, killed at least 48 people last week, according to UN reports.

Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed in a paramilitary drone attack on the army-controlled town of Kalogi in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, local officials reported on December 7. The assault, which occurred on December 4, targeted a kindergarten and a hospital, and struck again as residents rushed to aid the victims, according to Essam al-Din al-Sayed, head of the Kalogi administrative unit.

The UN also estimates that more than 40,000 people have fled Kordofan over the past month. Analysts suggest the RSF’s offensive is designed to breach the army’s remaining defensive lines in central Sudan and pave the way for future attempts to retake major cities, including the capital, Khartoum.

Sudan Rebel RSF Seizes Strategic Heglig Oilfield, Local Administration Deploys Protection Force

RSF elements pose at Heglig oilfield in West Kordofan, on Dec 8, 2025

December 8, 2025 (HEGLIG) – Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took full control of the strategic Heglig oilfield in West Kordofan on Monday following a withdrawal by the Sudanese army, prompting local civilian authorities to deploy a special protection force.

Video footage released by the paramilitary group showed fighters inside the facility. Sources told Sudan Tribune that army troops had retreated across the border into South Sudan to prevent the oil installations from being destroyed in crossfire.

Operations at the field were halted late Sunday, and workers were evacuated to border points for transfer to Juba and Renk in South Sudan, the sources added.

The takeover further threatens Sudan’s collapsing energy sector. It comes days after a leaked letter revealed that the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) had requested termination of its production-sharing agreement in the nearby Balila field (Block 6) due to “force majeure.”

Heglig is a critical energy hub, housing a central processing facility that handles 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from South Sudan for export. Domestic production at the site had already plummeted from a pre-war level of 64,000 bpd to approximately 20,000 bpd due to the conflict.

The RSF’s advance follows its capture of the army’s 22nd Infantry Division in Babanusa earlier this month. The region has faced escalating violence, including a November 13 drone attack that killed three workers and damaged the central processing facility’s laboratory.

Civil Administration imposes security measures

Following the shift in control, Youssef Aliyan, head of the West Kordofan Civil Administration, announced that a specialized force had been established in coordination with RSF leadership to secure the oilfield.

Citing emergency laws and mandates from the Native Administration, Aliyan issued a decree banning unauthorized armed groups, private vehicles, and motorcycles from the site. He also ordered the removal of informal checkpoints and authorized the protection force to use “legitimate means” to enforce security, warning that violators would face legal action.

Aliyan further stated that his administration is coordinating on security and community peace with officials in South Sudan’s Unity State to maintain stability along the border.

WHO Condemns Airstrikes that Killed 114 in Sudan

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO),

SALVATORE DI NOLFI/' KEYSTONE / SALVATORE DI NOLFI

By Rédaction Africanews

The head of the World Health Organization has denounced a series of airstrikes in Sudan’s South Kordofan State that killed 114 people, including 63 children.

The attacks happened on December 4 and hit a kindergarten and the nearby Kalogi Rural Hospital, according to the WHO’s Attacks on Health Care monitoring system. Another 35 people were injured.

Hospital Hit Multiple Times

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Kalogi hospital was struck at least three times. Survivors were later moved to Abu Jebaiha Hospital for treatment, where medical teams urgently called for blood donations and more supplies.

Tedros also highlighted reports that paramedics and first responders were attacked as they tried to move injured children from the kindergarten to the hospital.

Calls for a Ceasefire and Humanitarian Access

Tedros condemned the strikes as “senseless attacks on civilians and health facilities” and renewed his appeal for a halt to the conflict.

He urged all sides to guarantee humanitarian access and allow lifesaving medical aid into affected areas. “Sudanese have suffered far too much. Ceasefire now,” he said.

Bomb Explosion Kills Over 30 in Eastern DR Congo After Army Clashes with Pro-government Militia

By JUSTIN KABUMBA and MONIKA PRONCZUK

10:46 AM EST, December 8, 2025

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A bomb explosion killed more than 30 people and wounded 20 others in eastern Congo following a dispute between the Congolese army and a pro-government militia, despite a deal signed in Washington and touted as a major step toward peace in the country.

Residents and civil society leaders told The Associated Press that the FARDC, the Congolese army’s acronym, and Wazalendo, which has been helping the army combat the insurgents, clashed before they felt the blast in the town of Sange in South Kivu Sunday evening.

More than 100 armed groups vie for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most prominently the Rwanda-backed M23 group. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, officials say.

The explosion came less than a week after a U.S.-brokered peace agreement was finalized in an attempt to stop the ongoing war between the Congolese armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group in the eastern part of Congo. But the fighting continues, according to residents, civil society and analysts.

“FARDC soldiers were coming from the front lines and wanted to reach the city of Uvira,” said Faraja Mahano Robert, a civil society leader in Sange. “Once in Sange, they were ordered not to proceed, but some disagreed. That’s when they started shooting at each other, and then a bomb exploded, killing many people.”

Many residents have fled for safety, mainly in the direction of Burundi, eyewitnesses said Monday.

“This morning, we woke up a little better, but people are still leaving the Sange area,” said Amani Safari, a resident. “To the east of the town, there were clashes between the Wazalendo and the FARDC; two FARDC soldiers were killed around 7:30 AM.”

Another resident, David Kaserore, said: “It’s difficult to distinguish between the enemy and the FARDC, as they are killing all the civilians. We demand that the government end this war. We are tired.”

The army did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda in a speech in parliament on Monday of violating the peace agreement and “organizing the plundering of our natural resources and destabilizing our institutions.”

Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington last week to sign the peace deal. Lauded by the White House as a “historic” agreement, the pact followed monthslong peace efforts. The agreement finalized a deal signed in June.

“The very next day after the signing, units of the Rwandan Defence Forces conducted and supported heavy weapons attacks launched from the Rwandan town of Bugarama, causing significant human and material damage,” he said, calling the incident an “aggression by proxy” and refuting claims of internal rebellion.

Last week, residents said the fighting had intensified in South Kivu despite the deal. M23 and Congolese forces have repeatedly accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreed on earlier this year.

Earlier this year, M23 seized Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in eastern Congo, in a major escalation of the conflict.

The rebels in Congo are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the east.

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Associated Press writers Saleh Mwanamilongo in Bonn, Germany, and Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo contributed to this report.