Sudan City Siege: Thousands Dead, Drone Threat Lingers

The United Nations reported that over 6,000 people were killed in a three-day period last October when a Sudanese paramilitary group took control of Al Fashir. The offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) included widespread atrocities that amounted to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, according to the UN Human Rights Office. Meanwhile, in Sudan, life is cautiously returning to the streets of Dilling after the Sudanese army broke a two-year siege by the RSF and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which had cut off vital supply lines.

The RSF's actions in Al Fashir included videos circulating online that showed fighters lynching women, lashing emergency responders, and cheering over dead bodies, according to Sky News. The UN report detailed the extent of the violence. The siege of Dilling had created a severe humanitarian crisis for the city's civilians, as reported by Al Jazeera.

In other news, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) warned that the gender pay gap in the UK will not close until 2056 if progress remains at its current rate, according to BBC Business. The TUC's analysis of official pay data revealed that the disparity between average wages for men and women is 12.8%, or £2,548 per year. The gap is widest in the finance and insurance industry, at 27.2%, but only 1.5% in the leisure service sector. Employers with more than 250 UK staff must report pay data.

Also, Iran stated it would continue efforts to get out of a blacklist of a global watchdog on money laundering and terrorism financing, despite 20 years of domestic opposition, according to Al Jazeera. The Financial Intelligence Unit of Iran's Ministry of Economic Affairs made the statement after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) renewed its years-long blacklisting of Iran.