Sudan, West Bank, South Africa
Today's three stories you should know
Sudan
Fears of mass slaughter are growing as Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group surrounds the city of el-Obeid ahead of an apparently imminent ground offensive. The RSF has already hit the city, one of Sudan’s biggest and the capital of North Kordofan state, with waves of drone strikes. Last year, the RSF, which has been at war with Sudan’s military-led government for three years, laid siege to the city of el-Fasher in Darfur for 18 months before capturing it and killing thousands of residents in what rights groups said were ethnically motivated attacks that amounted to acts of genocide.
More from DW here.
Episode 5 of The Proximities Podcast, a conversation with journalist and author Sally Hayden, is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
West Bank
Israeli forces shot a Palestinian man dead in a dawn raid in the occupied West Bank, officials said. The killing of Mustafa Taha Mustafa Al-Khatib was carried out as part of a wider raid in and around the town of Sarta. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that when it arrived at the scene the man was already dead and family members said they were prevented from approaching when they tried to give medical assistance. The incident comes two days after two Palestinian teenagers, aged 15 and 19, were killed by Israeli troops in the town of Beit Ummar. Khatib’s killing brings the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the beginning of the year to 72, including 17 children, five women, and two elderly people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
More from Al Jazeera here.
South Africa
Far-right groups in South Africa have given undocumented foreigners a deadline of Tuesday to leave the country, with anti-immigration marches that many fear could turn violent planned for next week. Thousands of foreign Africans have fled back to their home countries, some with the help of their governments, and others are seeking shelter in camps for fear of attack. The organizers of the demonstrations, March and March, are insisting they will be peaceful but there has been a wave of recent attacks on foreigners in the country, many taking place around similar marches. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to crush any attempt to “destabilize the country” during the demonstrations.
More from Reuters here.
NB: Proximities has published a deep dive on xenophobia in South Africa here.