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(LONDON) — United Nations special envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, has warned the conflict risks “morphing into a full-blown civil war” as fighting intensifies.

Announcing his resignation in a final speech to the UN Security Council, Perthes warned that violence in the North-east African nation has “worsened dramatically,” leaving a “tragic legacy” of human rights abuses.

“Each side is still waiting for the other side to be weakened into surrender. This is futile,” Perthes said on Wednesday.

Perthes – who has headed the UN’s Sudan mission since 2021 – has been declared “persona non grata” since June by authorities in Sudan, the UN saying the move is “not applicable” and contrary to Sudan’s obligations under international law.

“While the situation is relatively calm in the east, tensions have risen amidst ongoing tribal mobilization. And the mobilization by former regime elements advocating for a continuation of the war is of particular concern,” said Perthes. “What started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.”

At least 5,0000 civilians have been killed and 12,000 injured as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group nears five months, numbers of which analysts say are just the tip of the iceberg.

“These are conservative figures, and the actual number is likely much higher,” Perthes said. “Parties have demonstrated blatant disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law.”

Sudan just experienced its “deadliest weekend” since the start of the conflict on April 15 as fighting between warring generals intensifies; two deadly airstrikes rocking the nation’s capital Khartoum, killing at least 49 people.

“The horror of the day was overwhelming. For hours, dozens of bodies lay under sheets in the hospital’s courtyard until their families came to identify their lost loved ones,” said Marie Burton, MSF emergency coordinator in Khartoum. “Even though this war has been going on for nearly five months, the Sudanese volunteers on whom the hospital relies on are still shocked by what they witnessed.”

Sudan’s RSF accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of committing the attacks in a statement, but the Sudanese Armed Forces has denied responsibility.

“There is little doubt who is responsible for what: often indiscriminate aerial bombing is conducted by those who have an air force, which is the SAF. Most of the sexual violence, lootings and killings happen in areas controlled by the RSF,” Perthes said. “Both sides are arbitrarily arresting, detaining and even torturing civilians and there are reports of extrajudicial killings and detentions.”

The United States has said it is “alarmed” by the increase of indiscriminate air and artillery strikes.

“Both parties have instigated unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Sudan,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. “The United States continues to support accountability for perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan.”

According to the International Office of Migration (IOM), over 7.1 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan since the onset of the conflict: the highest of any internally displaced population in the world, including Syria, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least 24.7 million people – roughly half of the nation’s population – are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN. That is hampered by bureaucracy, violence and looting, the UN said.

The leaders of over 50 organizations have penned a letter, published by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, calling for increased aid and attention to the needs of Sudan’s civilians: “The costs of inaction are mounting”

“I have come to know Sudan as a country of tremendous potential, indomitable spirit, cultural richness and diversity,” Perthes said in his final address. “The Sudanese people inspired the whole world when they bravely upended three decades of dictatorial rule in 2019. They need our support more than ever.”

 

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(LONDON) — A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people has been pulled free days after it got stuck off the coast of Greenland, authorities said.

The Joint Arctic Command, which is part of Denmark’s defense forces, announced in a social media post on Thursday that the ship, named the Ocean Explorer, was finally pulled free at high tide in Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The 343-foot long and 60-foot-wide vessel, which is operated by Australia-based cruise company Aurora Expeditions, was traveling toward a remote corner of Greenland on Monday when it ran aground above the Arctic Circle near Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost national park in the world.

Previous attempts to free the stranded ship on Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful.

It was unclear why the vessel ran aground. There were no reports of damage to the ship.

ABC News’ Jon Haworth, Will Gretsky and Emma Ogao contributed to this report.

 

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(LONDON) — Tensions are rising quickly in Lampedusa — a small Italian island located off the coast of Sicily — after local officials said around 6,700 migrants arrived this week, with many asking to be relocated to other European Union countries.

The island, which has been a destination for migrants due to its proximity to Africa, is struggling to keep up with the flow of migrants coming in, with reception centers at full capacity and emergency workers overwhelmed.

At least 120 boats reached the southern Italian shore this week alone, said Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister of Italy and the minister of infrastructure and transport, bringing in a total number of migrants — including 257 minors — that outnumbers the entire population of Italy’s southernmost island.

“We are exhausted, help us. We need people and aid,” said Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Mannino.

Videos shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, show areas of the island overflowing with people, with some even trying to climb walls where they are waiting to be processed.

On Wednesday, a group of migrants that had occupied the Favaloro pier and demanded relocation ended up clashing with the Italian police forces, news outlet Euractive reported, before authorities pushed back and prevented escalation amid threats from the migrants to leave the pier.

After the mayor declared a state of emergency, much of the island mobilized to help the migrants. Churches opened their doors and residents even rescued people from the sea, newspaper Il Corriere reported.

The local government of Sicily, as well as officials in Rome, said they have been working to send aid to relieve the pressure on Lampedusa and transfer migrants to the mainland.

Lampedusa, only 70 miles from Africa, is familiar with similar emergency situations but such numbers are unprecedented and pose a real political threat to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government who promised tighter immigration controls.

Since Jan. 1, around 118,500 sea migrants have landed on Italian shores according to Reuters, a near-record figure that clashes with Meloni’s election campaign pledges.

“The issue of relocation (in other EU countries) is secondary. Very few people have been relocated in recent months. It’s a Linus blanket. The question is not how to unload the problem; it’s how to stop the arrivals in Italy, and I still don’t see any concrete answers,” Meloni said on Italian state TV channel Rai 1.

“Ten years after the Lampedusa tragedy, we still have not done enough,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola admitted during a press point in Brussels, referring to the 2013 migrant shipwreck which caused an estimated 360 deaths. “The solutions cannot be found at the national level, but only at the European level. I think there is no other option but to conclude the migration pact.”

 

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(MARAKECH, Morocco) — The death toll has continued to climb in the wake of the rare and powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco Friday night.

More than 2,900 people are confirmed dead.

The quake, Morocco’s strongest in more than a century, hit the country’s High Atlas mountain range near Marrakech.

Latest headlines:
-Rescuers reach epicenter
-USAID makes up to $1M available for Morocco
-Death toll reaches 2,946

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Sep 13, 4:50 PM EDT
Death toll reaches 2,946

The death toll in Morocco has reached at least 2,946.

Rescuers have been digging in remote areas on Wednesday looking for survivors.

Sep 13, 10:49 AM EDT
USAID makes up to $1M available for Morocco

Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, said Wednesday the agency would make up to $1 million available in initial humanitarian aid for Morocco’s recovery efforts.

“This funding will help organizations on the ground provide emergency food assistance, health services, shelter, and mental health and psychosocial resources to assist the Moroccan-led response,” Power said in a statement. “The United States is also sharing specialized technical expertise directly with the Moroccan government to bolster its ongoing emergency response.”

“We stand ready to provide further support if requested by the Moroccan government,” Power added.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Sep 12, 9:02 AM EDT
Death toll rises to 2,901

The death toll from the devastating earthquake has increased to 2,901.

Another 5,530 people are injured.

Sep 11, 3:40 PM EDT
Moroccan government still not accepting US support

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed Monday that the Moroccan government has still not taken the United States up on its offer to provide support in its earthquake relief despite direct outreach from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken spoke with Morocco’s foreign minister this weekend and expressed his condolences, Miller said.

“They also discussed how the United States can best support the government of Morocco’s leadership of the humanitarian response to the tragedy, and the secretary and the foreign minister pledged to stay in close contact as the response efforts continue,” Miller said.

Asked whether the U.S. was providing any direct aid at the moment, Miller said, “We have made the offer for assistance and are in close consultations with the Moroccan government about how we can best provide that assistance.”

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Sep 11, 3:25 PM EDT
Death toll climbs to 2,862

The death toll from the devastating earthquake now stands at 2,862.

Another 2,562 people are injured.

 

 

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(LONDON) — American caver Mark Dickey said he could tell he was “pretty close to fading” after he fell ill while on an expedition to map a 4,186-foot-deep cave system in southern Turkey.

“There’s not that much that you tell yourself. You kind of just survive,” Dickey recalled during an interview Thursday with ABC News on “Good Morning America.”

The 40-year-old New Jersey native and New York resident was more than 3,400 feet below the surface inside the Morca Cave in the Taurus Mountains on Aug. 31 when he “suddenly became ill with intestinal problems that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a group of volunteers led by Dickey who specialize in cave and mine rescues.

Dickey’s fiancée and fellow caver, Jessica Van Ord, said she had a difficult decision to make — stay by his side to take care of him or go find help. But Van Ord, who is a paramedic, said she “knew immediately” that Dickey had internal bleeding based on his symptoms and recalled giving him “one last hug” before she left.

“I knew we had to get the ball rolling if there was going to be a rescue and to have treatment started,” Van Ord told ABC News in an earlier interview on Wednesday.

Van Ord made the harrowing, hours-long climb to the surface and alerted authorities about Dickey’s predicament on Sept. 2. The call to help him went out from the European Cave Rescue Association that same day and hundreds of aid works from various countries responded.

A rescue team that included medical staff began an evacuation late last week, after Dickey’s condition improved enough to move him. Volunteers had previously worked to clear a path to the surface.

Rescuers carried Dickey on a stretcher out of the cave, resting at planned stops along the way. He was extracted from the cave at around 12:37 a.m. local time on Sept. 12, according to the Turkish Caving Federation, which described the dramatic operation as “successful.”

Dickey said he knew some of the rescuers and that he didn’t doubt they would hoist him to safety.

“Once we started moving, it happened a lot faster than I expected,” he told ABC News. “Man, I was happy to get to the surface and see those stars and smell the fresh air.”

Dickey was subsequently hospitalized in intensive care in the southern port city of Mersin for further examination and observation. He was in stable condition at the time, according to Turkish authorities.

Dickey said he now feels “fantastic” but remains in the hospital in Mersin as doctors continue to conduct tests to determine what caused his illness.

“Every single day, I am getting a little bit stronger,” he told ABC News.

Dickey said he’s “alive because of the rescuers,” whom he called “heroes,” but also credited his fiancée with “initially” saving his life.

“She saved my life, period,” he added. “She is one hell of a woman, one hell of a caver, one hell of a rescuer, one hell of a paramedic.”

 

 

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(NEW YORK) — Boreal forests in regions all over the world have been experiencing the worst wildfires in recorded history in 2023, according to new research.

Record-breaking wildfires have been especially scorching boreal forests across the Northern Hemisphere this year, according to a report released Wednesday by Copernicus, the European Union’s climate change service.

In Canada, which broke the record in late June for wildfire smoke emissions released in a single year, wildfires began raging in May, long before the start of the fire season, and are still burning with fervor.

The total wildfire emissions for 2023 is estimated to be almost 410 megatonnes, the highest on record for Canada by a wide margin, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service dataset, which provides information on the location, intensity, and estimated emission of wildfires around the world. The previous annual record was set in 2014 at 138 megatonnes of carbon.

At this point, Canada wildfire emissions represent 27% of the total global wildfire carbon emission for 2023, the report states.

More than 42 million acres have burned across Canada so far this year, more than doubling the previous record, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. As of Wednesday, the acreage burned is more than 600% higher than the current year-to-date average.

Canada’s record-breaking and devastating wildfire season severely impacted air quality not only in Canada but other regions of North America. Some locations in the Northeast recorded their worst air quality in decades, and the wildfire smoke extended as far down as the Southeast U.S.

The severity of the wildfires can partly be attributed to warming temperatures all over the globe, CAMS senior scientist Mark Parrington said in a statement.

“As temperatures keep increasing and dry conditions become more long-term, the chances of experiencing devastating wildfires like those in Canada are increasing,” Parrington said.

Elsewhere in the world, significant wildfires also impacted Russia’s boreal forests, while devastating wildfires were also experienced in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Maui, Hawaii.

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(LONDON) — A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 passengers has run aground off the coast of Greenland.

The Ocean Explorer, a 343-foot long and 60-foot wide ship, ran aground on Monday near Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park — a 375,000-square-mile area that is the most northerly national park in the world.

There have been no reports of damage to the ship.

“Arctic Command has been in contact with the cruise ship Ocean Explorer, which has stated that they are still grounded in the National Park,” the Joint Arctic Command said in a statement posted on social media. “This means that the tide, which came during the day local time, did not provide the desired help to sail on. Arctic Command is still in contact with relevant ships in the vicinity, which could be able to help the cruise ship free.”

Tarajoq, a Greenland Institute of Natural Resources fishing research ship, arrived at the site on Tuesday and attempted to pull the boat out. The attempt was unsuccessful.

Now the Knud Rasmussen, a Danish Navy ship, was headed to The Ocean Explorer for assistance.

“The crew in Knud Rasmussen is doing their best to get there as soon as possible. Due to the weather in the area where Knud Rasmussen is, the ship has had to slow down a bit,” Joint Arctic Command said in a statement Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department confirmed there were “several” Americans onboard the cruise ship, but did not have further details.

“Our staff in Greenland and Denmark, as well as here in the United States, are in contact with local authorities and other partner organizations,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

The cruise ship — belonging to Ulstein Group in Ulsteinvik, southern Norway — had its maiden voyage only two years ago in 2021, according to AE Expeditions. It features a gym, jacuzzi and off-boat excursions and offers state-of-the-art amenities and “maximum passenger comfort,” according to its website.

“Accommodating just 134 expeditioners, the Ocean Explorer was purpose-built for expedition travel to the world’s most remote destinations. This small ship is outfitted with the latest cutting-edge technology, sustainability and navigation capabilities,” AE Expeditions says on its website detailing the vessel.

Meanwhile, authorities have been in contact with another cruise ship in the area and it had been asked to remain nearby to assist should the situation develop, according to AP, and rescue efforts are currently underway on multiple fronts.

“The most important thing for us is that everyone gets to safety,” Jensen told the AP.

The National Park is so remote that only a limited number of people get the chance to visit each year, according to Greenland’s tourist board, and more people summit Mount Everest every year than there are visitors in The Northeast Greenland National Park.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford contributed to this report.

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LONDON — The death toll from devastating floods in eastern Libya has reached 5,300, a local health official said Wednesday.

The number of deaths is expected to continue rising as search and rescue teams recover more bodies in what the United Nations has described as a “calamity of epic proportions.”

Another 10,000 people are believed to be missing and some 40,000 are displaced from their homes in the flood-hit areas, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Mediterranean storm Daniel is behind the widespread flooding in the North African nation, as it washed away entire neighborhoods over the weekend and swept bodies out to sea.

Libya’s National Center of Meteorology reported that more than 16 inches of rain fell in the northeastern city of Bayda within a 24-hour period to Sunday, according to the flood tracking website Floodlist.

The nearby port city of Derna was the worst affected following the collapse of two dams, which wiped out a quarter of the area. The city has been declared a disaster zone, with electricity and communication having been cut off, according to local officials.

In Derna alone, 6,000 people feared to be missing and more than 20,000 displaced, according to the International Rescue Committee, which described the flooding as an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”

Gen. Khalifa Haftar, head of the powerful Libyan military faction that controls the eastern part of the divided country, confirmed in a televised address on Tuesday that rescue and relief efforts were underway.

“We issued immediate instructions to use all our capabilities, provide the needed support of all urgent medical equipment, operate medical convoys and to allocate shelters to those who lost their homes,” Haftar said. “We have directed the government to form a specialized committee to assess the damage, instantly begin the reconstruction of roads to facilitate transportation, restore the electricity and to take all immediate and needed measures in that regards.”

The United States, Germany, Italy, Iran, Qatar and Turkey are among the countries that have said they have sent or are ready to send aid to Libya. But getting aid into the affected areas has proven difficult with many roads blocked.

Some aid has started to arrive, including from Egypt, but rescue efforts have also been hampered by the current political situation in Libya, with the country split between two warring governments — one in the east and the other in the west.

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(FIGUEIROPÓLIS, Brazil) — A convicted murderer who had eluded capture since escaping from a Pennsylvania prison nearly two weeks ago is accused of committing a separate slaying in his home country of Brazil in 2017.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, allegedly shot his friend Valter Junior Moreira dos Reis five times in the remote town of Figueirópolis in the northern Brazilian state of Tocantins in 2017. A motive for the alleged murder was unknown, according to documents from the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

A warrant was issued for Cavalcante’s arrest on Nov. 13, 2017, but he had already fled Tocantins. State authorities had not sent the arrest order to the national warrant judiciary system, according to the documents.

In January 2018, Cavalcante was able to board a flight using his own passport in Brasilia and travel to Florida via Puerto Rico, entering the United States illegally. His trial in Brazil has been suspended until now. The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 11, according to the documents.

Cavalcante absconded from the Chester County Prison in southeastern Pennsylvania on Aug. 31, while awaiting transfer to a state prison to serve a life sentence without parole for fatally stabbing an ex-girlfriend in 2021.

He allegedly broke out of the jail by “crab walking” up a wall in a recreation yard, pushing his way through razor wire and accessing the roof, where he climbed down and made his getaway an hour before guards realized he was missing, according to Howard Holland, acting warden of the Chester County Prison.

State authorities launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive, recapturing him 12 days later.

While on the loose, Cavalcante was said to be armed with a .22-caliber rifle with a scope and flashlight that he allegedly stole from a resident’s garage in Chester County.

Authorities believe Cavalcante may have been attempting to return to his native Brazil. They had stressed that anyone who helps him will be prosecuted.

A $25,000 reward was available for information leading to Cavalcante’s recapture.

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(NEW YORK) — North Korea launched a possible ballistic missile on Wednesday, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in a tweet.

The missile launch comes as North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia for a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A short while after the initial news broke, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed they had detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Sunan area into the East Sea.

“Our military has strengthened its surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, while maintaining a full preparedness while working closely with the U.S.,” read a statement the JCS released Wednesday morning local time.

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