paramilitary

Oct. 11 (UPI) — Locals said a drone and artillery attack on a refugee shelter by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in el-Fasher, Sudan, late Friday killed at least 60.

Local activists said the RSF struck the Dar al-Arqam refugee camp with two drone attacks and eight artillery shells, which the RSF has denied, the BBC reported.

“Children, women and the elderly were killed in cold blood, and many were completely burned,” members of an el-Fasher resistance committee said in a prepared statement on Saturday.

The strikes killed at least 14 children and 15 women in the besieged city that is located in North Darfur in western Sudan.

Another 21 people, including five children, also were injured, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network.

The SDN called the attack a “massacre” and blamed the RSF, despite the paramilitary unit’s denial.

The attack struck the al Arqam Home that shelters displaced families in el-Fasher, Sky News reported.

The city has been under siege from paramilitary forces and caught in the middle of fighting between Sudan’s military forces and paramilitaries operating in the region.

The RSF is among those paramilitaries and is trying to establish a separatist government in the North Dafur region.

El-Fasher is the last stronghold held by Sudan’s army in the Darfur area and has been surrounded by the RSF for 17 months.

The RSF controls most of the Darfur region and much of the Kordofan province in central Sudan.

Displacement has surged in el-Fasher as paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensified attacks on North Darfur’s capital, according to a United Nations report.

More than one million people have fled el-Fasher since the start of Sudan’s civil war, with the exodus dramatically accelerating as the RSF has increased attacks following its loss of control of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, earlier this year, according to data published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Sunday.

The number of internally displaced people (IDP) sheltering in el-Fasher plummeted 70 percent, from approximately 699,000 to 204,000, between March and September, the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix says.

El-Fasher’s overall population has now shrunk by 62 percent from its pre-war level of 1.11 million to just 413,454 people.

Sharp decline

The sharp decline follows the recapture of Khartoum by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in late March, after which the RSF pivoted to consolidating control over Darfur. El-Fasher represents the army’s last major urban stronghold.

April has been one of the most violent months this year, with nearly 500,000 people – representing almost all of the camp’s population – displaced from Zamzam IDP camp in a single incident.

The Sudanese army has been battling the RSF for control of the country since April 2023, triggering what has widely been described as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Millions have fled to neighbouring countries, with Egypt and Chad absorbing the majority.

Cross-border movement into Chad surged by 45 percent year-on-year in 2025, reaching nearly 1.2 million people.

Those who are unable to leave the country have been internally displaced to surrounding areas. The IDP population in the nearby Tawila locality more than doubled from 238,000 to 576,000 between March and September.

The RSF has maintained a siege of el-Fasher since May 2024, cutting off supply routes and trapping an estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, without sustained humanitarian access for more than 16 months.

The Yale Humanitarian Lab, which has been monitoring the war, published satellite imagery which it said showed earthen berms built by the RSF almost encircling the city, helping to enforce the siege and preventing the movement of supplies and people.

Recent weeks have seen escalating violence. A September drone attack on a mosque during Friday prayers killed more than 70 worshippers, prompting the UN to raise the alarm about the possibility of “ethnically motivated” killings if the city falls to the RSF.

The RSF has been widely reported to have targeted non-Arab populations across Darfur, with their fighters frequently filming themselves shouting racial slurs at their victims.

In early September, UN investigators accused both sides of committing atrocities. They said the RSF is committing “murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement and persecution on ethnic, gender and political grounds”.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation continues to worsen.

Among households surveyed in August, 87 percent reported needing healthcare, but 78 percent were unable to access treatment due to destroyed facilities, insecurity, and lack of medicine.

Food security has deteriorated sharply, with 89 percent of households facing poor or borderline food consumption.

Since the siege began, more than 1,100 grave violations against children have been verified in el-Fasher, including over 1,000 children killed or maimed, according to UNICEF.

The battle for el-Fasher has become central to the broader war’s trajectory.

Key city

The RSF controls most of western Sudan, including nearly all of Darfur, while government forces hold the north and the east.

In July, the RSF and its allies announced a widely condemned “parallel government” in the country, underlining the deep political divide which has become more entrenched in the country.

El-Fasher’s potential fall would give the paramilitary force control over virtually the entire Darfur region.

Video from Pakistan shows an explosion outside a paramilitary headquarters in Quetta, where authorities say at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide car bombing.

Islamabad, Pakistan – A powerful car bomb blast outside the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps in the southwestern city of Quetta has killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 30 others, authorities said.

The explosion, swiftly followed by heavy gunfire, tore through the vicinity of Zarghoon Road in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, on Tuesday.

“Two law enforcement personnel were killed while the rest of the dead were civilians,” Bakht Muhammad Kakar, the provincial health minister, told Al Jazeera.

A security camera video posted on social media showed a vehicle turning towards the regional headquarters of the Frontier Corps and exploding within seconds.

Naresh Kumar, a witness, said he was standing outside his office close to the targeted building when the explosion took place. “My mind just went blank. I got hit by shards of glasses in my arm and back. The explosion was just massive,” Kumar told Al Jazeera.

Inam, another injured person who only gave his first name, was brought to the hospital where he was treated for wounds after glass shards injured his back due to the explosion.

“Our office is right around the paramilitary building. We were working in our office when the explosion totally rocked us and then everything went dark. I could hear firing which lasted for a while before the law enforcement arrived to take control,” he told Al Jazeera via telephone from the hospital.

Balochistan’s Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti condemned the incident, labelling it a “terrorist attack”. Speaking after the blast, Bugti confirmed that at least four attackers were killed by the security personnel.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari issued a strong condemnation over the attack, saying, “The misguided extremists were acting on India’s agenda.” He did not give details.

India has not yet responded to the allegation. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Balochistan’s economic significance

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest yet most sparsely populated province. Home to about 15 million people in a country of roughly 240 million, it remains the country’s poorest province despite possessing vast reserves of oil, coal, gold, copper, and gas. While these resources contribute substantially to the revenues of the federal government, the province itself faces economic hardships.

Balochistan is also home to Gwadar, a strategic deep-sea port which is the centrepiece of $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project designed to establish a trade link between southwestern China and the Arabian Sea.

However, Chinese investments, particularly in Balochistan, have fuelled local resentments. Residents accuse Chinese firms of “stealing local resources” and this sentiment has repeatedly driven local armed groups to attack Chinese personnel and installations.

The province also has the Reko Diq reserves, which are said to contain the world’s fifth-largest copper deposits.

Canadian firm Barrick Mining has been operating at the site since 2022. Earlier this month, Pakistan also signed a $500m deal with a United States-based firm to export critical minerals and rare earth elements.

The local resentments have fuelled a rebellion movement for decades, which aims to establish an independent Balochistan state.

As violence escalates in the province, analysts have questioned the government’s ability in eliminating the armed and rebel groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) or the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF).

Muhammad Arif, an expert on international relations, said the demography of Balochistan is complex for both the violent groups as well as the government as he pointed out a logistical challenge inherent in the province’s topography.

“It is not possible for non-state actors to take control of the region of Balochistan with its vast, difficult terrain, but at the same time, the security of each and every corner of the state is difficult for the same reasons,” he said.

Arif suggested that a recent surge in violence could be linked to the government’s counter-insurgency operations.

“It is believed that the Baloch Liberation Army and other groups have suffered heavy casualties in the last couple of weeks, with the Pakistani forces helped by Chinese communication equipment along with drones and Pakistani jet fighters. [Tuesday’s] attack could be a retaliation move,” the Quetta-based analyst told Al Jazeera.

Additional reporting by Saadullah Akhter in Quetta.

Iraqi police clashed with Popular Mobilisation Forces in Baghdad after they stormed an Agriculture Ministry building.

At least one police officer was killed and 14 fighters detained after a gun battle erupted in Iraq’s capital with members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a state-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella that includes groups loyal to Iran.

The violence on Sunday broke out in Baghdad’s Karkh district when PMF fighters stormed a Ministry of Agriculture building during the appointment of a new director, the Interior Ministry said.

The gunmen disrupted an official meeting, stirring panic among staff and an emergency police response team. Police responding to the scene “came under fire”, also resulting in injuries among security personnel.

The ministry said “it would not tolerate any party attempting to impose its will by force and threaten state institutions”.

Group ‘does not want to escalate’

The PMF, known locally as Hashd al-Shaabi, is composed mainly of Shia paramilitaries formed to fight ISIL (ISIS), but has since been formally integrated into Iraq’s armed forces. Several of its factions maintain close ties to Tehran.

Security sources and witnesses inside the building said the fighters aimed to block the replacement of the former director. Hospital and police officials confirmed one officer was killed and nine others were wounded in the clash.

A statement from Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, which reports to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, said the detained gunmen were referred to the judiciary. Those involved belonged to PMF brigades 45 and 46, units widely linked to Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-aligned militias.

An unnamed member of Kataib Hezbollah told AFP news agency that a fighter from the group was killed and six others were wounded. The group “does not want to escalate” and will allow the judiciary to take its course, the group member said.

In response to the escalation, al-Sudani ordered an investigative committee to look into the events.

The PMF’s continued influence in Iraqi politics and its armed confrontations with state institutions have raised concerns over the fragility of Iraq’s security apparatus, and the blurred lines between formal authority and powerful militia.

Battle for influence

Over the years since the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq, a battle has played out in the country between Iran and the US for government influence. Among those working in alignment with Iran are a number of members of the PMF, which emerged in 2014 to fight ISIL.

In 2017, the PMF’s legitimacy was codified into law against the wishes of the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Defence, and was brought under the oversight of Iraq’s national security adviser.

The Sudanese Armed Forces say they have withdrawn from the area as part of its ‘defensive arrangements’.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have said their fighters have seized a strategic zone on the border with Egypt and Libya, as the regular government-aligned army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), announced its withdrawal from the area.

The announcements on Wednesday came a day after SAF accused forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar of launching a cross-border attack alongside the RSF, the first allegation of direct Libyan involvement in the Sudanese war.

“As part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression, our forces today evacuated the triangle area overlooking the borders between Sudan, Egypt and Libya,” army spokesperson Nabil Abdallah said in a statement.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

القيادة العامة للقوات المسلحة

تعميم صحفي

الأربعاء ١١ يونيو ٢٠٢٥م

في إطار ترتيباتها الدفاعية لصد العدوان، أخلت قواتنا اليوم منطقة المثلث المطلة علي الحدود بين السودان ومصر وليبيا.

(نصر من الله وفتح قريب)

مكتب الناطق الرسمي باسم القوات المسلحة

General… pic.twitter.com/3o5Z1xDfb0

— القوات المسلحة السودانية (@SudaneseAF) June 11, 2025

Since April 2023, the brutal civil war has pitted SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his erstwhile ally Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the RSF, in a bitter power struggle.

In a statement on Wednesday, the RSF said its fighters had “liberated the strategic triangle area”, adding that army forces had retreated southward “after suffering heavy losses”.

SAF said on Tuesday that Haftar’s troops, in coordination with the RSF, attacked its border positions in a move it called “a blatant aggression against Sudan”.

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the assault, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” and a “flagrant violation of international law”.

It also described the latest clash as part of a broader foreign-backed conspiracy.

Haftar, who controls eastern Libya, has long maintained close ties with both the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

While Cairo has supported Sudan’s leadership under Burhan since the war began in April 2023, Khartoum has repeatedly accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons, which the Emirati government has denied.

Tensions between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi escalated in May after drone strikes hit the wartime capital of Port Sudan for the first time since the outbreak of the war.

After the attacks, Sudan severed its diplomatic ties with the UAE and declared it an “aggressor state”.

Since the war began more than two years ago, multiple countries have been drawn in. It has effectively split Sudan in two, with SAF holding the centre, east and north, including the capital Khartoum, while the paramilitaries and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced 13 million, including four million who fled abroad, triggering what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Efforts by international mediators to halt the fighting have so far failed, with violence continuing to escalate across the western Darfur region and the Kordofan region in the country’s south.

The announcement comes weeks after the army made gains in and around the capital city to push back the RSF.

Sudan’s army has announced it has cleared the state of Khartoum of rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after weeks of intensive battles, with the civil war now in its third year.

The General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the state – which comprises the capital Khartoum, its twin city Omdurman, and the city of Khartoum North (Bahri) – is now “completely free of rebels”.

“We also renew our pledge to our people to continue our efforts until every inch of our country is liberated of every rebel, traitor, and agent,” said the SAF, headed by Sudan’s de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

This comes after Sudan’s army secured a number of victories in battles in and around the capital in March, including the recapturing of the presidential palace and major urban centres that culminated in taking back the Khartoum airport from the RSF, headed by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.

In late March, al-Burhan had declared “Khartoum is free” hours after the recapture of the key airport, although smaller battles were ongoing with RSF militias in pockets around the state.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said intense battles raged in recent days in southern Omdurman’s Salha area, which was the last remaining major RSF stronghold and home to one of the group’s largest military bases.

“The army had been making gradual advances in the Salha area in the past few days until it was able to take control of the area completely from the RSF in the early hours of Tuesday morning,” she said.

“The army also said it was able to recover weapons and ammunitions that were used by the paramilitary, including drones and jamming systems.”

After more than two years of devastating civil war that has gradually attracted foreign funding and weapons, control of Sudan remains torn between the two generals and their allies.

The SAF dominates the north and the east – including the smallest state by area, but most populous, Khartoum – along with some central areas, while the RSF holds most of western Sudan, including most of Darfur.

Where the RSF has been forced back on the ground, it has been trying to inflict damage with drone strikes, including those that have targeted energy infrastructure in both Khartoum and Port Sudan.

Fighting has also been ongoing in el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan, as well as some key supply lines in Kordofan.

More than 12 million people have been forcibly displaced by the war so far, with tens of thousands killed and many exposed to ethnicity-based violence.