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The International Criminal Court warned on Monday that atrocities committed in Sudan’s El-Fasher could amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, as the UN said that thousands had fled a neighbouring region where paramilitaries have turned their focus.According to United Nations figures, more than 36,000 civilians have fled towns and villages in the Kordofan region between October 26 and last Friday, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces warned it was amassing along a new front line.Kordofan is a strategic area linking the vast western region of Darfur with Khartoum, the capital.The widening of the war comes just over a week after the RSF took control of El-Fasher — the army’s last stronghold in Darfur — where reports of mass killings, sexual violence, looting and abductions have emerged in the aftermath. The RSF has set up a rival administration in Darfur to the pro-army government operating out of the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.Residents on Monday reported a major surge in both RSF and army forces across towns and villages in North Kordofan state.The two sides are vying for El-Obeid, the North Kordofan state capital and a key logistics and command hub that links Darfur to Khartoum.Suleiman Babiker, who lives in Um Smeima, west of El-Obeid, told AFP that following the paramilitary capture of El-Fasher, “the number of RSF vehicles increased”.”We stopped going to our farms, afraid of clashes,” he told AFP.- Famine spreading -Another resident, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal, also said “there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El-Obeid” over the past two weeks.The RSF claimed control of Bara, a city north of El-Obeid last week.”Today, all our forces have converged on the Bara front here,” an RSF member said in a video shared by the RSF on its official Telegram page late on Sunday, “advising civilians to steer clear of military sites”.Awad Ali, who lives in Al-Hamadi on the road linking West and North Kordofan, said he has seen “RSF vehicles passing every day from the areas of West Kordofan toward El-Obeid since early October”.Kordofan is a resource-rich region divided administratively into North, South and West Kordofan.While the fighting shifts, famine is spreading with it.The Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification had previously declared famine in parts of South Kordofan as well as three displacement camps around El-Fasher.On Monday it declared that famine had reached two more areas of the country, including El-Fasher, and the besieged city of Kadugli in South Kordofan state.It added that twenty more areas across Darfur and Kordofan were at risk of famine. – Reprisals -The ICC prosecutor’s office voiced on Monday “profound alarm and deepest concern” over reports of mass killings, rapes and other crimes in El-Fasher, warning that such acts “may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity”.In Istanbul, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also urged the Muslim world on Monday to take its responsibility for ending the bloodshed in Sudan after paramilitaries seized the key city of El-Fasher. “No one with a heart… can accept the recent massacres targeting civilians in El-Fasher. We cannot remain silent,” he said.Ankara has provided support for the army during the war.Martha Pobee, assistant UN secretary-general for Africa cautioned last week that Kordofan “is likely the next arena of military focus for the warring parties”.She said “large-scale atrocities” had been perpetrated by the RSF, raised the alarm over patterns that echoed those in Darfur, where the group’s fighters have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab communities after the fall of El-Fasher.Both Darfur and Kordofan contain large non-Arab communities, distinct from the country’s Sudanese Arab majority.At least 50 civilians, including five Red Crescent volunteers, were killed in recent violence in North Kordofan, according to the UN.Both the RSF, descended from Janjaweed militias accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago, and the army face war crimes allegations.The United States under Joe Biden in January this year concluded that “members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan”.But international action on Sudan has largely been muted and peace efforts have failed so far.The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 12 million more and created the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.

Gaza’s future must be Palestinian-led and avoid any new system of tutelage, Turkey and six of its top Muslim allies said Monday after talks in Istanbul. Turkey, which played a central role in forging the now shaky three-week-old ceasefire, is pushing for Muslim nations to bring their influence to bear on the reconstruction of the embattled territory. “Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security, the international community should support this in the best possible way — diplomatically, institutionally and economically,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the talks.”Nobody wants to see a new system of tutelage emerge,” he told a news conference. Brokered by US President Donald Trump, the October 10 ceasefire — which halted two years of continuous bloodshed — has been tested by fresh Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers.The talks involved top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. All of them were called to a meeting with Trump in September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, just days before he unveiled his plan to end the Gaza war. “We’ve now reached an extremely critical stage: we do not want the genocide in Gaza to resume,” Fidan added, saying all seven nations supported plans for the Palestinians to take control of Gaza’s security and governance. Fidan, who held talks at the weekend with a Hamas delegation led by its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, said the Islamist movement was “ready to hand Gaza to a committee of Palestinians”. He also expressed hope that reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the rival West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, “will bear fruit as soon as possible,” saying inter-Palestinian unity would “strengthen Palestine’s representation in the international community”. Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas was “determined to adhere to the (truce) agreement” and urged Muslim states to play “a leading role” in Gaza’s recovery. “We believe the reconstruction plan prepared by the Arab League and the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)should be implemented immediately,” he said of the plan unveiled in March.  – ‘Task force needs UN mandate’ – Turkey has been instrumental in backing Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.Fidan said it was crucial that the emerging International Stabilisation Force that will monitor the Gaza ceasefire under Trump’s plan, have a “mandate defined by a UN Security Council resolution and a framework for legitimacy”. Washington is currently working with Arab and international partners to decide on the composition of the force, with Turkey hoping to play a role, despite fierce opposition from Israel. “The countries we’ve spoken with say they will decide whether to send troops based on … the ISF’s mandate and authority,” Fidan said. “First, a general consensus needs to be reached on a draft, then it needs to be approved by the members of the Security Council.”And it needs to be free from vetoes by any of the permanent (UNSC) members,” he said of a blocking move frequently used by key Israel ally Washington. Israel has long viewed Turkey’s diplomatic overtures with suspicion over Ankara’s close ties with Hamas and adamantly opposes it joining the task force that is meant to take over after Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. A Turkish disaster relief team, sent to help efforts to recover the remains of those trapped under the rubble — including Israeli hostages seized by Hamas — has been stuck at the border because of Israel’s refusal to let them in, according to Ankara.

Turkey on Monday hosts a string of top diplomats from the Islamic world to bring their influence to bear on the future of Gaza, as fears grow for the increasingly fragile truce.  The October 10 ceasefire in the two-year-long Israel-Hamas war, brokered by US President Donald Trump, has been sorely tested by continued Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers.In a bid to drive forward reconstruction efforts, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan invited his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia to Istanbul for talks to start around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT). All of them were called to a meeting with Trump in late September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, just days before he unveiled his plan to end the fighting in Gaza. Turkish foreign ministry sources say Ankara will press them to support plans for Palestinians to take control of the coastal territory’s security and governance. At the weekend, Fidan welcomed a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, the Palestinian Islamist movement’s lead negotiator.”We must end the massacre in Gaza. A ceasefire in itself is not enough,” Fidan said, stressing that “Gaza should be governed by the Palestinians.”Earlier on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas appeared committed to the truce, pointing the finger of blame at Israel. “It seems Hamas is quite determined to adhere to the agreement while Israel’s record is very poor,” he told an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) gathering in Istanbul, saying Muslim states should play “a leading role” in Gaza’s recovery. “We believe the reconstruction plan prepared by the Arab League and the OIC should be implemented immediately,” he said of the plan unveiled in March.  – Turkey-Israel tensions -Turkey has been instrumental in backing Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.Fidan is expected to repeat calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have complained their convoys still do not have enough access to alleviate the famine conditions in parts of the territory. Israel has long viewed Turkey’s diplomatic overtures with suspicion over Ankara’s close ties with Hamas and has expressed its firm opposition to Turkey having any role in the international peacekeeping force being put together to oversee the ceasefire.Under Trump’s plan, that stabilisation mission is meant to take over in the wake of the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.A Turkish disaster relief team, sent to help efforts to recover the many bodies buried under Gaza’s rubble — including those of Israeli hostages seized by Hamas — has likewise been stuck at the border because of the Israeli government’s refusal to let them in, according to Ankara.