Category News

Imagine walking for days and nights to escape gunfire. You carry your child in your arms, guiding them through the darkness to avoid drone attacks. You have no food, no water, and nowhere safe to go.

This is the reality for families in Darfur and across Sudan, where civilians are being trapped, targeted, and terrorised as the country’s brutal war enters its third year. In el-Fasher and other parts of Darfur, entire communities have been besieged. Those who try to flee are attacked; those who remain face starvation, violence, and disease.

Behind these headlines are women and children who are suffering the most. Sexual violence is being used systematically to punish, to terrorise, and to destroy. Women and girls are abducted, forced to work for armed groups during the day, and then assaulted at night, often in front of others. Many survivors are children themselves. Some of the girls who have become pregnant through rape are so young and malnourished that they are unable to feed their babies.

Perpetrators no longer attempt to hide their crimes. Violence has become so widespread that recording or documenting cases can cost you your life. In Tawila, North Darfur, only one clinic run by Doctors Without Borders can provide care for rape survivors.

Boys are also being drawn into the conflict. Over the past 10 days, three trucks filled with children were reported heading towards Nyala, while in South Darfur, children are being armed and sent to fight. Families are disappearing without a trace.

Aid workers are also targeted. They are being kidnapped for ransom, assaulted, sometimes killed, and targeted because armed groups believe humanitarian organisations can pay. Many of those delivering aid are Sudanese women who risk their lives every day to bring food, water, and protection services to others.

Violence has also taken on an ethnic dimension. One displaced person told us, “I cannot go back, they will know by my skin colour which tribe I am from, and they will kill me.”

Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis and one of its most severe humanitarian emergencies. More than 30 million people need urgent assistance. Fifteen million have been forced from their homes. Hunger and cholera are spreading fast. Clinics have been destroyed, schools are closed, and 13 million children are out of school, their education and futures slipping away.

Yet even amid this devastation, Sudanese women’s organisations are leading the response. They are running safe spaces, supporting survivors of violence, and keeping children learning where they can. They know their communities and continue their work despite constant danger. Their courage deserves not only recognition but also support.

The humanitarian response, however, remains catastrophically underfunded. Only about a quarter of what is needed has been received. Without immediate resources, millions will be left without food, medical care, or shelter as famine looms. Funding protection and psychosocial support for women and children is not optional. It is life-saving.

And this is not only a crisis of violence but also a crisis of indifference. Each day the world looks away, more lives are lost and more futures erased. The international community must support investigations into war crimes, including sexual violence, ethnic killings, and attacks on aid workers. Silence is not neutrality. Silence gives a blank cheque for horror to continue.

We must act now, urgently. Governments and donors must fully fund the humanitarian response and ensure access for those delivering aid. They must press all parties to immediately stop attacks on civilians, guarantee safe passage for those fleeing, and allow relief operations to reach those cut off by the fighting.

Humanitarian workers and grassroots organisations are risking their lives so that others might live. The world must match their courage with urgent action.

Above all, Sudan’s women and girls must be part of shaping peace. They are already leading by organising, sheltering, and rebuilding amid the chaos. Their courage offers a glimpse of the country Sudan could still become.

British police are deploying more than 700 officers in Birmingham, where local football club Aston Villa will host Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa League three weeks after the home team’s decision to bar travelling supporters from attending the match due to threats of violence.

The group-stage match between Villa and Maccabi in the second-tier European competition will kick off at 20:00 GMT on Thursday, and a heavy police presence is expected around the stadium, in the city centre and surrounding areas.

“We know protests by different groups will take place on the day, and we have plans in place which balance the right to protest with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham,” Chief Superintendent of West Midlands police Tom Joyce said on the morning of the fixture.

“People not attending the event should expect significant disruption to the roads in the area on the evening, and we’d urge people to avoid the area where possible.”

Various pro-Palestine groups, including Game Over Israel, the Hind Rajab Foundation and Health Workers 4 Palestine plan to oppose the visit of the club in the wake of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed at least 68,875 Palestinians.

Palestinian flags and banners calling for Israel’s removal from FIFA have been placed on bridges above the main motorway connecting Aston to central Birmingham.

The decision to bar Maccabi fans from attending the match was announced by Villa on October 16 after West Midlands police raised public safety concerns about potential protests.

They deemed the match at Villa Park to be high risk and cited violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played at Ajax in Amsterdam last season. More than 60 people were arrested as a result of the clashes.

The move also came after protests broke out at the Israeli national team’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Italy in October, with police using tear gas on protesters and pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Oslo and Udine.

Villa said they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park, based on a number of physical and safety factors.

“West Midlands Police have advised the SAG that they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night,” the club said.

This Thursday will see us mount a large policing operation, as Aston Villa take on Maccabi Tel Aviv at Villa Park.

Find out more about our work to keep everyone safe 👉 https://t.co/5UiRo7FGPU pic.twitter.com/tPYQqB21g1

‘Recipe for disaster’

Football expert Nicholas Blincoe believes the threat of riots also stemmed from the “racist” history of Maccabi fans.

“These [Maccabi] ultras have become increasingly right-wing nationalistic and explicitly racist,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Their chants are appalling – chants about death to Arabs, chants about death to Palestinian children.”

He termed Maccabi a “proudly racist football team” and said they had left behind fellow Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem, according to anti-racism organisation Kick Racism Out of Football.

Blincoe, author of the book More Noble Than War: A Soccer History of Israel Palestine, explained that hosting Maccabi fans would have caused several logistical problems for local authorities, as the fans would not fly directly from Israel to Birmingham.

After landing in London from Israel, the fans would have to take trains to Birmingham and onwards to Aston Villa.

“This was an absolute recipe for disaster,” Blincoe said.

“They can’t police 190 miles [305 kilometres] of train tracks. The situation is so unpredictable and threatens riots of several days, similar to what we saw in Amsterdam, and this is why the police came down on the side of extreme caution.”

The ban attracted widespread criticism, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it was the wrong decision, but Blincoe termed Starmer’s decision to wade into the argument “inexplicable”.

Earlier last month, Aston Villa urged supporters not to display political symbols, messages or flags during the match.

The club warned fans against contravening protocols issued by UEFA, the governing body of European football, banning the display of political messages inside stadiums.