Turks and Caicos officers stand outside a police station. (ABC News/Nightline)
(NEW YORK) — Police in Turks and Caicos have charged an American woman with ammunition possession — a crime that carries a minimum penalty of 12 years — after airport officials alleged they found illegal ammunition in her luggage.
Sharitta Shinise Grier, 45, of Orlando, Florida, was visiting Turks and Caicos with her daughter for Mother’s Day when, during a routine search at the Howard Hamilton International Airport Monday, officials claim to have found two rounds of ammunition in her bag, police said.
Grier and her daughter were both arrested, though the daughter was later released.
Officials confirmed Wednesday the mother had been charged. She is expected in court on Thursday, officials said. Attorney information for the defendant wasn’t immediately available.
Two years ago, the Turks and Caicos government tightened their gun laws and prohibited civilian firearms or ammunition. If convicted, offenders are sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison.
It is illegal to transport firearms or ammunition to or from any of the Caribbean countries without a license, according to U.S. laws.
She is the fifth American to be charged under Turks and Caicos’ gun laws this year.
Grier’s arrest and charging comes as several U.S. governors released a letter asking the Caribbean island’s governor to release three men who have been jailed for weeks over similar charges.
Ryan and Valerie Watson of Oklahoma were arrested on April 24 after hunting ammunition was found in Ryan Watson’s carry-on bag before they flew home. Valerie Watson’s charges were dropped, and she was allowed to fly back to the U.S.
Her husband was released on $15,000 bond but remains on the island as his court case continues.
Ryan Watson told ABC News he didn’t know the ammunition was in the bag.
Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, is awaiting sentencing on the island after pleading guilty to possession of 20 rounds of ammunition.
Hagerich, who was arrested in February, told ABC News he forgot hunting ammunition was in his bag while he was traveling.
“I’m a man of character, integrity. I did not have intent in this,” Hagerich previously said.
Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas, also pleaded guilty to possession of seven 9mm rounds of ammunition in his luggage and is awaiting sentencing.
Tyler Scott Wenrich, 31, was charged on April 23 when officials found illegal ammunition during a checkpoint on Turks and Caicos while he was traveling on a cruise, investigators said.
The incidents have sparked calls from the defendants’ families and U.S. officials who allege the island’s laws and penalties are too strict.
On Wednesday, Governors Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia sent a joint letter to Turks and Caicos Gov. Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam to release Watson, Hagerich and Wenrich.
“This action will create the necessary recognition of your laws that will impact the future actions of travelers and continue our mutual interest in justice and goodwill between our jurisdictions,” the letter read.
(NEW YORK) — With numerous wildfires burning across Canada, including about 40 that remain out of control, meteorologists said conditions are stacking up for a replay of last year’s fire season when thick smoke wafted down to the United States, turning the skies over New York City orange and its air quality hazardous.
More than 130 wildfires are now burning in multiple provinces of Canada, mostly in the western part of the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Earlier this week, smoke from the Canadian wildfires drifted across the border into the United States, prompting Minnesota officials to issue the state’s first air quality alert of 2024.
“As of right now, it is very hot, it is very dry. Parts of northern Alberta, northern British Columbia and the southwestern and northwestern territories are experiencing some significant fires as a result of very, very dry conditions,” Jennifer Smith, the national warning preparedness meteorologist for the Meteorological Service of Canada, told ABC News. “These conditions are expected to continue into the spring and summer season.”
She said Canada had one of its warmest winters on record with low to non-existent snow in many areas.
Asked if smoke from the fires could again carry down to the East Coast of the United States, Smith said, “Absolutely.”
“It’s entirely possible,” she went on. “It all depends if the forest fires develop in those regions, and then you’ll need winds to be aligned with the timing for the fires for that smoke to [drift] south into the United States. So, a couple of things have to come together for it to happen, but it is not impossible.”
Canada recorded its most destructive wildfire season on record in 2023 when more than 7,100 blazes burned more than 42 million acres of wildland.
Last May and June, smoke from the wildfires burning near Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the eastern side of Canada, sent plumes of smoke across the border and down the Eastern Seaboard, cloaking New York City and the Tri-State area in an orange haze for days, prompting residents to wear face masks outdoors and leaving New York City and other metropolises like Detroit with some of the worst air quality in the world.
“It was an unlucky combination of events that came together that allowed the smoke to funnel into the United States and be seen and experienced so vividly,” Smith said.
Kristina Dahl, the principal climate scientist at the Union for Concern Scientists, a U.S. nonprofit science advocacy organization, told ABC News that back-to-back years of drought across much of Canada is prompting an early start to the fire season. She also said many of the fires are being brought on by “zombie fires,” which are fires that were never fully put out and reignited this month with the return of warmer weather.
“These are fires that have embers that are smoldering over the course of the winter. Rain could help to alleviate that, but if it’s dry you’re not fully putting those fires out during the season when firefighters are taking a well-deserved rest,” Dahl said.
Dahl said the lack of precipitation from the extreme drought is also causing dry lightning strikes that are sparking wildland fires in remote areas that are inaccessible to fire crews.
“That’s the same setup as we had last year when there were record-breaking fires across the country,” Dahl said.
Dahl said the difference between last year’s fire season and what is occurring now is that more fires were burning in the eastern part of the county.
“So far from what I’ve seen this year, we still are having more of a western fire situation. We’re not seeing the level of fires that we were seeing last year in the eastern provinces,” Dahl said. “But it’s still early in the wildfire season, and the forecast for the next few months from the Canadian government there’s above average fire weather risk for much of the country.”
Dahl added, “It remains to be seen what will happen with eastern Canada. But whether it’s in the west or the east, because of atmospheric circulation patterns, the smoke can come into the United States.”
Smith said another “unique weather pattern” that occurred last year was the sustained high winds that fanned the flames and drew smoke into the U.S.
“Quebec and Ontario do see their share of forest fires each summer, but the prevailing wind or the direction the winds typically travel in that part of the country is to the east or the northeast,” said Smith, adding that last year the weather pattern held in place long enough to allow the smoke to move south into New York and other parts of the U.S.
Smith said a cooler weather system is moving into the Alberta and British Columbia areas this week and could bring “a little bit of precipitation.”
She added, “But with it comes the risk of thunderstorms as well. There’s also a chance of some gusty winds which might make things worse.”
One of the biggest fires is burning in British Columbia near the town of Fort Nelson, which has been evacuated. That fire, which started Friday, has spread to more than 32 square miles and is also threatening the Fort Nelson Indian Reserve, officials said.
Dahl said the Canadian wildfires are the result of climate change and signals the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat and cause global warming.
“What all our climate models show is that the more we warm the planet the worse the fires are going to get,” Dahl said. “When we’re thinking about what we need to do and what we can do to address the problem of worsening wildfires, we really need to be thinking with that long-term hat on. It’s going to benefit our children and our grandchildren if we make those emission cuts starting now.”
ABC News’ Daniel Manzo and Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
Tomas Tkacik/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot in the abdomen in an assassination attempt outside a government building in the town of Handlova on Wednesday, according to a government official.
Fico, 59, was raced to a hospital in Handlova in life-threatening condition, officials said. He was conscious following the shooting, government officials said at a press conference.
Several shots rang out, officials said. A suspect was immediately swarmed and arrested at the scene.
“I am shocked, we are all shocked by the terrible and malicious attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico,” Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova said in an address to the nation. “Something serious has happened that we can’t even realize yet. A physical attack on the prime minister is primarily an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy. Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we witness in society leads to hateful acts. Please, let’s stop it.”
Caputova said the alleged attacker has been arrested and “will surely bring more information when possible.”
“Until then, please don’t make quick judgments, and think about the most important thing: and that’s the only thing at the moment — that Robert Fico recovers as quickly as possible,” she added.
The U.S. Embassy in Slovakia said in a statement: “Ambassador Gautam Rana, as well as the entire team of the US Embassy in Slovakia, are shocked and horrified by the attack on the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico. Our thoughts are with him, his family and the Slovak people. We strongly condemn this attack and reject any form of violence. The United States is ready to provide any assistance.”
President Joe Biden condemned the attack and said the U.S. Embassy is in “close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.”
“Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia,” he said in a statement. “We condemn this horrific act of violence.”
Neighboring countries, such as the Czech Republic, which borders Slovakia to the west, reacted to the assassination attempt on social media.
“The news about the shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is shocking,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a statement. “I wish the prime minister to get well as soon as possible. We must not tolerate violence, it must have no place in society.”
Fico took over as prime minister in October 2023, but had previously served in the same capacity from 2006 to 2010 and 2012 to 2018.
Fico has generated controversy for taking a staunch position against providing aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Slovakia shares an eastern border with Ukraine and had taken in 1.8 million refugees from Ukraine through Nov. 21, 2023, according to data collected by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — A manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officers continued Wednesday for a fugitive prisoner dubbed “The Fly” and accomplices wielding machine guns who facilitated the convicted criminal’s escape by ambushing a prison transport van at a toll booth and gunning down two guards, authorities said.
The international police organization Interpol issued a worldwide red alert for the fugitive identified by authorities as 30-year-old Mohmed Amra after French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said authorities are concerned that Amra has fled the country.
“We are investing considerable resources, we are making a lot of progress,” Damanin said in an interview with the French radio broadcaster RTL.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated on the social media site X: “Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of this crime.”
“We will be uncompromising,” Macron added, describing the escape as a “shock to us all.”
The escape unfolded Tuesday at a toll booth near Rouen, about 85 miles north of Paris, as a white prison van transporting Amra from court to a penitentiary was ambushed, according to French authorities.
The attack was captured on security video, officials said.
At least five prison officers were escorting Amra when their van was rammed head-on by a stolen car at the toll booth and men wearing balaclavas to conceal their faces opened fire on the van with automatic weapons, authorities said.
Two of the officers were killed and three were wounded as the assailants hustled Amra, a suspected drug gang leader, from the van to a waiting vehicle that whisked him from the scene, officials said.
The attack lasted just two minutes, French media reported.
As hundreds of law enforcement officers combed the country for Amra and his accomplices, investigators reviewed CCTV video from dozens of security cameras near the toll booth in an attempt to identify those involved in the daring escape. The attack was also captured by dashboard cameras of vehicles nearby, officials said.
Amra was convicted on May 10 of burglary by a court in Evreuz and was being held at the Val de Reuil Prison, according to Laure Beccuau of the Paris Prosecutor’s Office. Beccuau told reporters that Amra had also been indicted recently in a kidnapping that resulted in a homicide.
Amra’s defense lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told the French television station BFMTV that the escape came less than a week after Amra was caught attempting to break out of prison by sawing the bars of his cell.
Vigier called Tuesday’s violent escape “inexcusable” and “insane.”
“This does not correspond to the impression that I had of him,” Vigier told BFMTV.
The escape was the most brazen to occur in France since 2018 when notorious gangster Redoine Faid broke out of the Réau prison by a helicopter that was hijacked and whose pilot was forced to land in the prison courtyard by heavily armed accomplices. Faid was recaptured about three months after the prison break.
Tomas Tkacik/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot in the abdomen in an assassination attempt in the town of Handlova on Wednesday, according to a government official.
Fico, 59, was raced to a hospital in Bratislava, the country’s capital, about 2 hours away, officials said.
A suspect was immediately swarmed and arrested at the scene.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip ride with their belongings in the back of a truck, as they arrive to take shelter in Deir el-Balah in the central part of the Palestinian territory on May 12, 2024. – Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, renewed negotiations are underway to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, as Israeli forces continue to prepare for an apparent invasion of the southern Gazan town of Rafah.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 15, 10:03 AM Blinken calls continued closure of Rafah gate ‘urgent problem’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked how long the U.S. would standby while Israel continues to seal off the Rafah gate, cutting off Gaza from the world. Blinken told reporters it is an “urgent problem” that aid isn’t getting into Rafah or Kerem Shalom. He also said the humanitarian situation is at risk of backsliding.
However, there’s no plan for the future, Blinken said.
Israel “cannot and says it does not want responsibility for Gaza. We cannot have Hamas controlling Gaza. We cannot have chaos and anarchy in Gaza. So there needs to be a clear, concrete plan. And we look to Israel to come forward with its ideas,” Blinken said.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
May 14, 7:02 PM US moving forward with $1B in new weapons deals for Israel: Sources
The Biden administration notified Congress on Tuesday that it is moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel, according to sources familiar with the matter at the White House and on Capitol Hill.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday that the United States is continuing to send military assistance to Israel. The only shipment paused involves the 2,000-pound bombs, for fear they’d be used in a major invasion in Rafah, according to a U.S. official.
May 14, 12:52 PM 450,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, UN says
About 450,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah, fleeing to safety, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“Inland in Rafah is now a ghost town. It’s hard to believe there were over one million people sheltering here just a week ago,” UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge said. “People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe. An immediate ceasefire is the only hope.”
The development comes as airstrikes continued to hit northern and southern Gaza Tuesday. The Israeli military said it had hit 120 targets in the last 24 hours.
May 14, 12:13 PM International court to hold hearings over Israel’s Rafah attacks
The International Court of Justice said it will hold hearings over Israel’s attacks on Rafah during the war in Gaza, after South Africa sought new emergency measures as part of its ongoing case accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in its offensive on Gaza.
Hearings will be held on Thursday and Friday in the Hague.
South Africa first brought the case before the ICJ in December alleging Israel violated its obligations in its offensive with regard to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
May 13, 4:16 PM White House says world should be calling on Hamas to accept hostage proposal
National security adviser Jake Sullivan stressed the U.S. is working “urgently and relentlessly” to get a hostage deal in place, but did not have any major progress to share Monday.
Sullivan noted that he met with the families of American hostages this past Friday, and that “they know how hard the president is working on this.”
On where the hostage negotiations stand currently, Sullivan turned to the architect of the Good Friday agreement in Ireland.
“Sen. [George] Mitchell said quite famously, “‘Negotiations are 1,000 days of failure and one day of success.’ And right now, we’re in the former days rather than the latter day,” he said.
“[T]here could be a cease-fire tomorrow if Hamas simply released women, wounded and elderly hostages, all innocents. Israel put a forward-leaning proposal on the table for a cease-fire and hostage deal. The world should be calling on Hamas to come back to the table and accept a deal,” Sullivan said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
May 13, 4:06 PM US aware of American doctors trapped in Gaza
The State Department on Monday said it was aware of reports that U.S. doctors were trapped in Gaza, and that it’s been working with Israel to reopen the Rafah gate so U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals can leave.
“I can say that we’re aware of these reports of U.S. citizen doctors and medical professionals currently unable to leave Gaza,” principal deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said. “As I said before, we don’t control this border crossing. And this is a incredibly complex situation that has very serious implications for the safety and security of U.S. citizens. But we’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel, with the government of Egypt, to work on this issue.”
He added, “Rafah is a conduit for the safe departure of foreign nationals, which is why we continue to want to see it get opened as swiftly as possible.”
The State Department said it does not have an estimate of Americans still trapped in Gaza, but that it’s helped 1,800 U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to depart Gaza so far.
“Unfortunately, this is not a border crossing the United States controls but we are continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel, with the government of Egypt on whatever we can do to make sure that Rafah gets open. … We need to see Rafah open as soon as possible,” Patel said.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
May 13, 2:23 PM UN worker killed after vehicle struck in Gaza
A United Nations worker was killed and another injured after their vehicle was struck in Gaza on Monday, the organization said.
The staff members of the U.N. Department of Safety and Security were traveling to the European Hospital in Rafah when their U.N. vehicle was struck, the U.N. said.
Details on the incident were not immediately available. The U.N. said it is still gathering information.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a full investigation, his spokesperson said.
“Humanitarian workers must be protected,” Guterres said on X. “I condemn all attacks on U.N. personnel and reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire & the release of all hostages.”
More than 190 U.N. staff members have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to Guterres.
Today a @UN vehicle was struck in Gaza, killing one of our colleagues & injuring another. More than 190 UN staff have been killed in Gaza. Humanitarian workers must be protected. I condemn all attacks on UN personnel and reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian…
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 13, 2024
May 13, 3:44 AM Almost 360,000 people have fled Rafah, UN agency says
Almost 360,000 people have fled from the southern Gazan city of Rafah since Israel issued an evacuation order last week, the United Nations agency operating in Gaza said on Monday.
“There’s nowhere to go,” the U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees said on social media. “There’s NO safety without a cease-fire.”
The agency had said Sunday that 300,000 people had evacuated the city as Israel weighs a full-scale invasion.
-ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey
May 12, 5:39 PM IDF say its opened new crossing for humanitarian aid into Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces has announced that it has opened a new crossing to bring humanitarian aid into the famine-stricken Gaza.
The military announced in a Sunday press release the opening of the “Western Erez crossing” between Israel and northern Gaza in coordination with the U.S.
According to the military, the new crossing is located west of the Erez crossing, closer to the seashore. The crossing was constructed by the Israeli military “as part of the effort to increase routes for aid to Gaza, particularly to the North of the strip.”
Earlier Sunday, IDF said it launched a large-scale operation in the area of Jabaliya in the North, while intensifying its military operations in the Eastern portion of Rafah and the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. It said that it had called on the civilian population to evacuate from Jabaliya to shelters in the west part of Gaza City.
-ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic
May 12, 2:27 PM White House National Security Advisor speaks to Israeli counterpart, expresses concern over pending Rafah invasion
In a phone call Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed an “ironclad U.S. commitment” to Israel but also voiced the Biden administration’s concerns about Israel’s major military operations in Gaza, according to the White House.
During the call with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Sullivan reiterated President Joe Biden’s “longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah, where over one million people have taken shelter,” according to a readout of the call that was released by the White House.
“He [Sullivan] discussed alternative courses of action to ensure the defeat of Hamas everywhere in Gaza,” the readout said. “Mr. Hanegbi confirmed that Israel is taking U.S. concerns into account.”
The White House said Sullivan also expressed condolences on Israel’s Memorial Day, the first since Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office.
Sullivan and Hanegbi also reviewed discussions by officials on both sides of the war about alternatives for a Rafah invasion and agreed to plan an in-person meeting soon, according to the White House.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
May 12, 6:16 AM 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says
More than 300,000 people have fled Rafah in the week since Israel issued a partial evacuation order, the United Nations agency operating in Gaza said on Sunday.
The U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees called the evacuation “forced and inhumane.”
“There is nowhere safe to go,” the agency said on social media, repeating the phrase three times for emphasis.
The Israeli military late Saturday called again for civilians to evacuate from much of the eastern part of the city, which is in southern Gaza.
Israel Defense Forces entered Rafah last week, in what they called a “precise” operation ahead of potential invasion.
“Prior to our operations we urge civilians to temporarily move towards humanitarian areas and move away from the crossfire that Hamas puts them in,” the Israel Defense Forces said on a post on Telegram. “Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza.”
(NEW YORK) — The United States will provide an additional $2 billion in aid to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday during a press conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
The foreign military financing will be used not only for purchasing weapons from the U.S., but also by Ukraine as it invests in manufacturing its own machinery and weapons, Blinken said. Ukraine will also use some of the funding to purchase weapons from other countries, he said.
“All of this — in particular as we think about the defense industrial base — builds on an incredible spirit of innovation, of ingenuity, of entrepreneurship that we see here in Ukraine,” Blinken said.
The deal for the latest aid comes as Russian forces increase their assaults along the front lines in northern and eastern Ukraine.
Blinken on Wednesday said the United States is “rushing” much of the military aid in the $60 billion package President Joe Biden approved in April.
“The $60 billion supplemental, we know, is coming at a critical time,” he said. “Ukraine is facing this renewed brutal Russian onslaught, and we see again senseless strikes on civilians and residential buildings.”
Newly arrived refugees from Darfur in Sudan sit on a vehicle before being taken to a new camp on April 24, 2024 in Adre, Chad. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Fighting between the Sudanese Army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group and allied militias has intensified in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state.
In a dramatic escalation of violence, fighting has broken out in the north and east of El Fasher — also commonly known as Al Fashir — with the sound of airstrikes, artillery fire and heavy weapons ringing from mid-morning on Friday into the weekend.
At least 27 people have been killed in the renewed fighting and at least 130 people injured, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
An estimated 850 people across various locations in El Fasher have also been displaced by the most recent clashes, with many people fleeing southward, the U.N. said in an alert.
The violence comes as the U.S. warned of a looming offensive on El Fasher — one of the only remaining cities in the Sudanese Army’s control — by the RSF Paramilitary group and allied militias.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said he is “gravely concerned” by the escalating violence in El Fasher, expressing alarm at the “use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas” that have resulted in dozens of civilian casualties and “significant” displacement and destruction of infrastructure.
Around 800,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the besieged city — which was a key humanitarian hub and safe refuge to hundreds of thousands already displaced by the conflict. As militants encircle the city, U.N. Relief Chief Martin Griffiths warned the situation is at a “tipping point”: “Countless lives are at stake.”
An airstrike by the SAF over the weekend near the Babiker Nahar Paediatric Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit caused the hospital’s roof to collapse, killing three people, including two children, according to a statement from Médecins Sans Frontières, which is known as Doctors Without Borders or MSF.
The incident came after 160 wounded people recently arrived at the hospital, 25 of whom were in terminal condition upon arrival, and have since died.
“This must not happen again,” said MSF in a statement. “We remind the warring parties with the utmost gravity that hospitals and health facilities must not be targeted or become collateral damage in a conflict.”
Fighting between the SAF, RSF and allied militias plunged Sudan into chaos in April 15, 2023, following weeks of tensions linked to a planned transition to civilian rule. SAF’s Commander General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Head of RSF General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo — known as Hemedti — engaged in a vicious power struggle.
The conflict has precipitated “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history,” with a new report finding at least 9.1 million people have been displaced, the most ever recorded in a single country since the IMDC began taking records in 2008.
At least 14,000 people have been killed according to the U.N.
Local groups, however, warned the true toll is likely much higher.
United States Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello this week begun a regional tour, departing Washington for Uganda, Kenya, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Perriello is due to meet with “key regional partners” and Sudanese civilians as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Sudan continue, the State Department has announced.
“The RSF must lift its siege of the city. The SAF must protect critical infrastructure,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Greenfield said. “There will be direct and immediate consequences for those responsible for an offensive on El Fasher.”
Destroyed houses, damaged cars, branches, and debris are seen in Cruzeiro do Sul following the devastating floods that hit the region in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 14, 2024. (Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Persistent rains and destructive flooding continue to wreak havoc in Brazil, with officials saying rising river levels signal further damage in the Rio Grande do Sul region.
As of Tuesday, 149 people were confirmed dead in the flood-stricken southern state, with 124 individuals still unaccounted for, according to civil defense officials.
More than 600,000 people have been displaced from their homes, with approximately 155,000 of those homes being destroyed, officials said.
In total, local agencies say 2.1 million people have been directly affected by the ongoing climate crisis in Rio Grande do Sul.
The Guaíba River in Porto Alegre, the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul, could reach unprecedented levels of over 18 feet in the next few days, according to local officials.
On Monday, Brazil’s Minister of Finance Fernando Haddad said the federal government is preparing direct financial assistance for families affected by the floods.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced National Civil Defense resources for humanitarian aid and reconstruction of damaged structures would be available to the region starting Tuesday.
“Starting today, mayors and the state government can register requests for schools, daycare centers, health units, hospitals, and equipment recovery. Just register and it will start happening immediately to serve the people,” President Silva said during a live broadcast.
On Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement on the ongoing crisis, saying, “The United States stands with Brazil at this difficult time.”
“My administration is in contact with our Brazilian partners, and the United States is working to provide necessary assistance to the Brazilian people, in coordination with Brazilian authorities as they lead the response,” Biden said.
Over the weekend, large parts of Rio Grande do Sul saw close to 4 inches, according to INMET, the National Meteorology Institute.
The World Meteorological Organization is attributing Brazil’s record rainfall to El Niño, a surface warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean.
El Niño is the same climate pattern that influences weather patterns in the U.S., frequently bringing above-average rainfall to parts of California and dry conditions in the Ohio Valley during the winter months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(JERUSALEM) — Multiple people have been arrested in connection with an attack Monday on an aid convoy headed toward Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli protestors blocked aid trucks that were headed to Gaza from the West Bank. Humanitarian groups say civilians are facing a “full-blown famine” and a humanitarian crisis amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Footage of the incident, captured by bystanders at the scene and shared online, appears to show protesters blocking and raiding the aid vehicles near Hebron that were passing through the West Bank from Jordan, destroying boxes of water, food and other aid bound for Gaza. Aid trucks can also be seen set ablaze and left burning on the road.
The attack on the convoy is the culmination of weeks of demonstrators attempting to block aid trucks from reaching Gaza, with protesters claiming the aid will instead wind up in the hands of the terrorist group Hamas.
The White House condemned the destruction of the aid, calling it “completely and utterly unacceptable behavior.”
“It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys coming from Jordan going to Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a press briefing on Monday. “We are looking at the tools that we have to respond to this and we are also raising our concerns at the highest level of the Israeli government.
Israeli law enforcement has publicly said only that an investigation into the aid convoy attack is ongoing.
Several aid organizations, including United Nations organizations, have warned that Gaza is experiencing “catastrophic” levels of hunger and need.
Immediately following Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in Israel, Israel implemented a blockade of Gaza and severely limited the amount of goods that travel into the territory. Since then, some Gaza border crossings have reopened, but relief workers say the aid getting through falls far short of what’s needed.
Amnesty International is among the human rights organizations that have accused Israel of not providing enough authorization to deliver sufficient aid to Gaza, and that ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza make it difficult to deliver what little aid is authorized.
Israel denies the accusations, and counters that the U.N., its partners and other aid agencies have created logistical challenges, resulting in a bottleneck of aid intended for Gaza. Additionally, the Israeli government claimed Hamas steals aid meant for civilians. The U.N. and Hamas dispute the respective claims.
More than 180 aid workers from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and associated agencies have been killed while providing aid in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to the U.N. agency.
In Gaza, more than 34,790 people have been killed and more than 78,000 have been injured since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. More than 1,700 Israelis have been killed and more than 8,700 injured, according to Israeli officials.
ABC News’ Mary Kekatos and Marcus Moore contributed to this report.
