Women, children trapped at church in Sudan’s capital endure hunger, bombardment

Priest Jacob, nuns and the refugees pose for a photos at “Dar Mariam” a Catholic church and school compound in Al-SHajjara district, where they took shelter, in Khartoum in this undated handout picture. (Reuters)
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Updated 03 July 2024
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Women, children trapped at church in Sudan’s capital endure hunger, bombardment

  • Around 80 people are taking refuge inside the Dar Mariam mission, a Catholic church and school compound in Khartoum’s Al-SHajjara district
  • The roof of the main building has been damaged by shells, and parts of the nuns’ quarters have been set ablaze

KHARTOUM: Trapped in a Catholic mission sheltering dozens of women and children from the war raging on the streets of Khartoum, Father Jacob Thelekkadan punched new holes in his belt as the supplies of food dwindled and he grew thinner.
Around 80 people are taking refuge inside the Dar Mariam mission, a Catholic church and school compound in Khartoum’s Al-SHajjara district, caught in the crossfire between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to accounts by the priest and seven other people at the mission.
The roof of the main building has been damaged by shells, and parts of the nuns’ quarters have been set ablaze. Holes caused by stray bullets mark the mission’s walls.
As food has grown scarce, the nuns have boiled tree leaves for the children to eat and many of the adults have skipped meals.
A Red Cross effort to rescue them in December ended with two dead and seven others wounded, including three of charity’s staff, after gunmen opened fire on the convoy, forcing it to turn back before it could reach the mission. The warring sides traded blame for the attack.
Thelekkadan said he and the nuns had refused offers from the army to ferry them out across the river permanently, leaving the families behind.
“When the road is safe, we will be the first to leave, but with the people,” said Thelekkadan, a 69-year-old Indian national.
Many of the inhabitants of Sudan’s capital fled after the conflict erupted in April last year, enveloping Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman along the Nile, and quickly spreading to other parts of the country.
At the start of the war, the RSF occupied strategic sites and residential neighborhoods in Khartoum, positioning snipers on high-rise buildings. The army, lacking effective ground forces, responded with heavy artillery and air strikes.
The Dar Mariam mission became a safe haven for those lacking the money to flee or without anywhere to go.
Photos shared with Reuters by Thelekkadan show parts of the mission’s buildings littered with debris, walls heavily damaged by bullets or shelling, and rooms and corridors blackened by smoke.
“Our food situation became very bad,” said Thelekkadan. “We’re all very weak.”
Extreme hunger has spread across Sudan in areas worst affected by the conflict, prompting famine warnings for areas including in Khartoum.

10 MILLION DISPLACED
Some families took shelter at the mission in June last year, hoping for protection from its concrete roof. But the area soon became cut off as the RSF pressed to capture the strategic Armored Corps camp about 2 km away, one of several military bases it was targeting, Thelekkadan said.
Al-SHajjara district has come under heavy attack by the RSF. Those living nearby with the money to do so have registered with the military to be taken across the Nile; some have been waiting for months.
But a nighttime evacuation by boat across the White Nile is considered too risky for the children at the mission, Thelekkadan said.
Sudan’s war has created the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis and has driven nearly 10 million people to seek shelter inside or outside the country, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Reuters has documented how the fighting has triggered ethnically-charged killings in the western region of Darfur and led to the spread of deadly hunger.
The war has also caused unprecedented destruction in the capital, which was sheltered from modern Sudan’s previous conflicts. Both warring factions have impeded the delivery of humanitarian relief, aid workers say, leaving civilians dependent on charity provided by groups of neighborhood volunteers, among others.
An RSF media official said the paramilitary had tried to allow for the evacuation of the families by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but the army had thwarted the effort and was using them as human shields.
An army spokesman said the families had been trapped by the war, and that troops from the Armored Corps had done their duty by protecting and helping them, in line with army practice in other conflict-hit areas.
Numbers have fluctuated, but since March about 30 women along with 50 children aged 2-15 have stayed at the mission, according to Thelekkadan. His account was confirmed by two of the nuns, an administrator and four women sheltering at the mission, two other priests who have kept in touch with Dar Mariam, and an army intelligence officer responsible for churches in Khartoum.
Those staying at the mission are mostly Christian refugees from South Sudan and Ethiopia, who set up tents made from plastic sheeting around the compound’s buildings, which include a church, a school and a residence.
When fighting starts nearby, they take cover inside the residence. Some poor Sudanese Muslim families have also sought temporary shelter at the mission.

WAITING FOR EVACUATION
The bombardments in November shredded an image of the Virgin Mary at the compound’s entrance, ripped through the second floor of the main building, and set the roof on fire. Several people were lightly injured.
RSF snipers had the entrance to Dar Mariam in their sights. A boy from the neighborhood was killed when mortar shrapnel sliced into his head after he had helped carve out an exit at the back of the compound to avoid sniper fire, Thelekkadan said.
The mission’s residents had been trying to survive “a lot of shooting and bombing,” sister Miriam, one of the nuns, told Reuters in a video call.
“We got used to it and we are not afraid. God is protecting us, but we are waiting for evacuation,” she said.
Thelekkadan and the nuns turned their most secure room into a shelter to try to protect the children from the crossfire. They attempted to distract the children from the violence raging around them, creating a space to use bicycles in the yard and encouraging them to play video games.
“We tried to not make them feel like they are in a prison,” Thelekkadan said.
In early January, the mission was caught in the crossfire again and rooms in the nuns’ residence were set ablaze.
Food has been a challenge. By September, cash was running low, and collecting supplies from local markets became nearly impossible due to clashes.
The children have often received meagre servings of porridge, lentils and beans. But stocks dwindled.
Since February, troops stationed at the Armored Corps camp have delivered some airdropped provisions to Dar Mariam, including sugar and fuel for generators used to draw water from wells, Thelekkadan said.
The army also provided a Starlink connection, allowing those at the mission to use their phones again. They flew the priest and an administrator twice to Port Sudan, a Red Sea city to which army and government offices have relocated, to meet church officials and collect some cash and supplies.
Sister Celestine, another of the nuns, said she is still gripped by fear each time bombardments shake the area.
“I would like to be out of here,” she said. “I want to get out and write a book about everything that happened.”
The fighting has shown little sign of abating.
“These past four days have become very trying for all of us in Dar Mariam and people around as explosions, bombings, gunfire etc have become more intense and frequent!” Thelekkadan said in a message on June 19. “Please do continue to pray for us.”


Trump says two weeks is ‘maximum’ for Iran decision

Updated 53 min 45 sec ago
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Trump says two weeks is ‘maximum’ for Iran decision

  • Trump also played down the possibility of asking Israel to halt its attacks
  • The US president dismissed the chance of success in talks between European powers and Iran

MORRISTOWN, United States: President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he set a day earlier.

Trump added that Iran “doesn’t want to talk to Europe,” dismissing the chance of success in talks between European powers and Iran in Geneva on resolving the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Trump also played down the possibility of asking Israel to halt its attacks, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would not resume talks with the United States until Israel relented.

“I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump told reporters when asked if he could decide to strike Iran before that.

He added that the aim was to “see whether or not people come to their senses.”

Trump had said in a statement on Thursday that he would “make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks” because there was a “substantial chance of negotiations” with Iran.

Those comments had been widely seen as opening a two-week window for negotiations to end the war between Israel and Iran, with the European powers rushing to talks with Tehran.

But his latest remarks indicated that Trump could still make his decision before that if he feels that there has been no progress toward dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump dismissed the chances of Europe making a difference, saying the talks between Britain, France, Germany and EU diplomats and Tehran’s foreign minister “didn’t help.”

“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this,” Trump told reporters as he arrived in Morristown, New Jersey.

Asked if he would ask Israel to stop its attacks as Iran had asked, Trump said it was “very hard to make that request right now.”

“If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody’s losing, but we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran, and we’ll see what happens.”


In Istanbul, top Arab League diplomats discuss Iran-Israel war

Updated 20 June 2025
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In Istanbul, top Arab League diplomats discuss Iran-Israel war

  • The ministers were in Turkiye’s largest city on the eve of weekend gathering of the OIC
  • Some 40 top diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering

ISTANBUL: Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Istanbul late Friday to discuss the escalating war between Iran and Israel, Turkish state news agency Anadolu said, quoting diplomatic sources.

The ministers were in Turkiye’s largest city on the eve of weekend gathering of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was also slated to discuss the air war launched a week ago.

Israel began its assault in the early hours of June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, triggering an immediate immediate retaliation from Tehran in the worst-ever confrontation between the two arch-rivals.

Some 40 top diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering of the OIC which will also have a session dedicated to discussing the Iran-Israel crisis, the Turkish foreign ministry said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva on Friday, will also attend and address the diplomats, the ministry said.

Earlier on Friday, Araghchi said Tehran was ready to “consider diplomacy” again only if Israel’s “aggression is stopped.”

The Arab League ministers were expected to release a statement following their meeting, Anadolu said.


US to move third aircraft carrier closer to Mideast conflict

Updated 20 June 2025
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US to move third aircraft carrier closer to Mideast conflict

  • Navy official confirms USS Gerald R. Ford will depart for Europe next week
  • USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group already in Middle East, soon to be joined by USS Nimitz

WASHINGTON: The USS Gerald R. Ford will depart for Europe next week, a Navy official said Friday, placing a third American aircraft carrier in closer proximity to the Middle East as Israel and Iran trade strikes.
Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran last week, and US President Donald Trump has said he is weighing whether to join Israel in the fight.
“The Gerald Ford carrier strike group will depart Norfolk (Virginia) the morning of June 24 for a regularly scheduled deployment to the US European Command area of responsibility,” the Navy official said.
The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group has been operating in the Middle East since earlier this year, taking part in an air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
And a US defense official has confirmed that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ordered the Nimitz carrier strike group to the Middle East, saying it was “to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel.”
Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran within the next two weeks, citing a chance of negotiations to end the conflict.
That deadline comes after a tense few days in which the US president publicly mulled hitting Iran and said that Tehran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an “easy target.”
Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path toward a deal to replace the nuclear deal with Iran that he tore up in his first term in 2018, but has since backed Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military top brass.
A key issue is that the United States is the only country with the huge “bunker buster” bombs that could destroy Iran’s crucial Fordo nuclear enrichment plant.
A number of key figures in his “Make America Great Again” movement have vocally opposed US strikes on Iran, and Trump’s promise to extract the United States from its “forever wars” in the Middle East played a role in his 2016 and 2024 election wins.


GCC chief hails UN adoption of landmark resolution on strategic cooperation

Updated 20 June 2025
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GCC chief hails UN adoption of landmark resolution on strategic cooperation

  • Jasem Albudaiwi describes agreement between the organizations as a major step forward in deepening regional and international collaboration
  • Its adoption reflects the respected status of the GCC as a proactive regional partner in efforts to support global peace and security, he adds

RIYADH: The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Albudaiwi, on Friday welcomed the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a landmark resolution on collaboration between the organizations.

He described the agreement, formally titled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council” and the first of its kind, as a major step forward in deepening regional and international collaboration, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The resolution, adopted on Monday, was submitted to the UN on behalf of GCC member states by Kuwait, which currently holds the presidency of the regional organization.

Albudaiwi said its adoption reflects the respected status of the GCC as a proactive regional partner in efforts to support global peace and security. It signifies a new phase of strategic partnership between the organizations, he added, underscored by concrete plans and activities to enhance cooperation.

He praised Kuwait for the diplomatic efforts of the nation’s mission to the UN in New York, and said the success of the resolution embodies the spirit of unity within the GCC and its commitment to working constructively with international partners across multilateral platforms.


19 injured in Israeli port after Iran missile barrage

Updated 20 June 2025
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19 injured in Israeli port after Iran missile barrage

  • Projectile slammed into an area by the docks in Haifa on Friday afternoon

JERUSALEM: At least 19 people were injured in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa as Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
Iran has been launching daily missile salvos at Israel for the past week since a wide-ranging Israeli attack on its nuclear and military facilities triggered war.
One projectile slammed into an area by the docks in Haifa on Friday afternoon where it damaged a building and blew out windows, littering the ground with rubble, AFP images showed.
Israel’s foreign ministry said it struck “next to” the Al-Jarina mosque.
The locations of missile strikes in Israel are subject to strict military censorship rules and are not always provided in detail to the public.
A spokesman for Haifa’s Rambam hospital said 19 people had been injured in the city, with one in a serious condition.
A military official said that “approximately 20 missiles were launched toward Israel” in the latest Iranian salvo.
More than 450 missiles have been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones, according to Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate.
The directorate added that the country’s tax authority had received over 25,000 claims linked to damage caused to buildings during the war.
Israel launched a massive wave of strikes on June 13, triggering an immediate retaliation from Tehran.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered, while Israel and Iran have traded accusations of targeting civilians.
At least 25 people have been killed in Israel by Iranian missile strikes, according to authorities.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not updated the toll since.