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Ceasefire in east Congo appears to crumble as rebels take another town

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have seized control of a mining town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province, eight sources said on Wednesday, in an apparent violation of a unilateral ceasefire they declared this week. The capture of Nyabibwe on Lake Kivu takes the rebels a step closer […]

Congo’s M23 rebels take control of Goma airport, embassies attacked in capital

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters Rebels seized the airport of east Congo’s largest city Goma on Tuesday, potentially cutting off the main route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people, after capturing the city in an offensive that left dead bodies lying in the streets. M23 fighters marched into Goma on […]

ICRC to expand Syria humanitarian efforts beyond $US100 million program

Damascus, Syria Reuters The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to expand its work in Syria significantly beyond an initial $US100 million program, the organisation’s president said on Monday, citing pressing needs in the health, water and power sectors. Syria requires $US4.07 billion in aid this year, but only 33.1 per cent has […]

Red Cross opens hotlines to try to reunite Syrian families

Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The Red Cross said on Friday it had opened two new telephone hotlines to try to reunite Syrians who have been missing for years with their families, but warned that many cases will take months or years to resolve. Since the start of Syria’s civil war over 13 years ago, the International […]

Red Cross denounces lack of conflict mediation as aid needs explode

Geneva, Switzerland Reuters A lack of political leadership in brokering peace deals is prolonging conflicts and stretching aid groups tasked with addressing their worst impacts, a senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday. By the ICRC’s count, more than 120 armed conflicts are raging around the world, from Gaza, […]

Israeli army leaves north Gaza hospital, detains medics, says health ministry

Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israeli forces withdrew from a hospital complex in northern Gaza on Saturday, one day after storming it, and the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said the troops had detained dozens of male medical staffers and some of the patients. Later on Saturday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA said at least 30 people […]

Red Cross pushes for aid corridors into war-torn Myanmar

Bangkok, Thailand Reuters The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is in talks with Myanmar’s ruling junta, its armed opponents and its neighbours to provide cross-border humanitarian assistance into the war-torn country, its chief said on Wednesday. Myanmar has been mired in conflict since February, 2021, when top generals ousted the elected government of […]

Ukraine accuses Russian forces of killing, dismembering prisoner-of-war

Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine’s human rights commissioner urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations to investigate an image widely shared online on Saturday that he said likely showed a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war killed and dismembered by Russian forces. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said separately that an urgent investigation had been launched […]

Israel continues to bombard central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah

Cairo, Egypt/Gaza Reuters Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip’s historic refugee camps in the centre of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said. A barrage of Israeli airstrikes killed 16 in Zawayda […]