Foreign recruitment and external support networks are sustaining and expanding the civil war in Sudan by providing weapons, military technology and fighters, to the detriment of civilians, according to a United Nations-backed investigation. A report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, released on Thursday, said transnational entities operating across several countries recruited, trained and deployed foreign personnel to support the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since April 2023, the conflict between the SAF and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of Sudanese and forced millions to flee their homes. "This support fed into RSF operations in Zamzam camp and later during the takeover of el-Fasher, where the [UN] Mission documented grave human rights and international humanitarian law violations and international crimes, including conduct displaying hallmarks of genocide," mission member Mona Rishmawi said. The report said external entities have substantially enhanced the drone capabilities of both the RSF and the SAF, enabling them to strike far beyond front lines.

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Provincial premiers have joined Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, firing back after US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on about $20bn of Canadian goods. British Columbia Premier David Eby said Trump can't be trusted. Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record at humanoid games Thousands flee Sudan's Kordofan fighting for relative safety of El Obeid Iran threatens countries that join US'economic D-Day' More than 200,000 newly displaced in Sudan's Kordofan region Putin warns Ukraine has opened'Pandora's box', rejects peace proposals Canada to match US tariffs "dollar for dollar," PM Carney says

Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record at humanoid games Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record at humanoid games A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100m in 9.39 seconds, beating Usain Bolt's 9.58 second world record. 'Tianzhuo', developed by Beijing Innovation Centre of Humanoid Robotics, outpaced two other China-made robots to win the race at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. Thousands flee Sudan's Kordofan fighting for relative safety of El Obeid Iran threatens countries that join US'economic D-Day' More than 200,000 newly displaced in Sudan's Kordofan region Putin warns Ukraine has opened'Pandora's box', rejects peace proposals Canada to match US tariffs "dollar for dollar," PM Carney says Israel's Chief Rabbi says Palestinians are not a people and have no rights

Has the army turned the page on control of western Sudan? In early August, Sudan's military and allied groups repelled two successive attacks by the RSF in the strategically important Bir Saliba region. It lies about 30km (nearly 20 miles) north of el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state and the RSF's last stronghold in the region. The strategy could signal a shift in fighting towards el-Geneina. Leading to el-Geneina, the Bir Saliba region is of strategic importance.

Drone strikes are disrupting daily life in Sudan's El Obeid, targeting fuel stations, power supplies and water infrastructure. The army says it remains in control of the strategic city, while the Rapid Support Forces continue attacks aimed at weakening its position and pressuring civilians to leave. Paramount-Warner merger: could it reshape the media? Pride despite defeat as Morocco's World Cup run ends

El-Obeid under siege by RSF: Could this be Sudan's next el-Fasher? Half a million people are trapped in the Sudanese city of el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group tries to enforce its dominance over the Kordofan and Darfur regions during a civil war that has wrought devastation on the country for three years. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of an impending humanitarian "catastrophe" as el-Obeid is expected to be the next site for major ground clashes between the RSF and Sudanese military. Many countries have also raised the alarm about atrocities being carried out in the city. El-Obeid, which has been cut off by continuous drone attacks for months, is under threat after the mass atrocities carried out by the RSF in el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state.

'Digging with a needle': Generals stall peace as Sudan's el-Obeid burns As drone attacks rain down on el-Obeid and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tighten their months-long siege, the capital of North Kordofan has emerged as the latest flashpoint in Sudan's grinding war of attrition. Despite mounting international alarm and renewed US diplomatic pressure aimed at securing a nationwide truce, Sudan's warring generals remain deeply entrenched. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF appear locked in a pursuit of outright military victory, largely sustained by a continuous flow of foreign weapons. Through the lens of the escalating crisis in el-Obeid, a grim reality is unfolding: Civilian suffering is increasingly weaponised amid polarised domestic narratives, while geopolitical manoeuvring repeatedly stalls any viable path to peace. El-Obeid holds immense strategic value.

More than 1,000 civilians in Sudan have been killed in drone strikes in the first five months of 2026, according to the United Nations. The death toll is due to a "sharp" increase in the use of drone warfare in the country's vicious civil war, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Volker Turk said in a speech on Monday. On top of documenting more than 1,000 civilians being killed in the first five months of this year, the UN office also reported "rampant" levels of sexual violence, including rape. The war in the African nation started in April 2023 when a rivalry between Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, exploded into war. The conflict, which had first started in the capital Khartoum, soon spread to several areas of the country.