- South Korea officials say three dead in heavy snowfall
- High-flying Fiorentina face test of Scudetto credentials with Inter visit
- Verstappen switches focus to re-boot defence of F1 teams' title
- UK filmmaker Richard Curtis makes first foray into animation
- Countrywide air alert in Ukraine due to missile threat
- China's military corruption crackdown explained
- Primark boss defends practices as budget fashion brand eyes expansion
- Williamson eyes ton as New Zealand take control against England
- Norway faces WWF in court over deep sea mining
- Trump, Sheinbaum discuss migration in Mexico amid tariff threat
- Asian markets mixed after subdued pre-holiday shift on Wall St
- Orban's soft power shines as Hungary hosts Israeli match
- 'Retaliate': Trump tariff talk spurs global jitters, preparations
- 'Anti-woke' Americans hail death of DEI as another domino topples
- Trump hails migration talks with Mexico president
- Truckers strike accusing Wagner of driver death in Central African Republic
- London police say 90 victims identified in new Al-Fayed probe
- Air pollution from fires linked to 1.5 million deaths a year
- Latham falls for 47 as New Zealand 104-2 in first England Test
- US tells Ukraine to lower conscription age to 18
- Judge denies Sean Combs bail: court order
- Suarez extends Inter Miami stay with new deal
- Perfect Liverpool on top of Champions League, Dortmund also among winners
- Liverpool more 'up for it' than beaten Madrid, concedes Bellingham
- Aston Villa denied late winner against Juventus
- Mexico president hails 'excellent' Trump talks after US tariff threat
- Leicester set to appoint Van Nistelrooy - reports
- Coffee price heats up on tight Brazil crop fears
- Maeda salvages Celtic draw against Club Brugge
- Villa denied late winner against Juventus
- Dortmund beat Zagreb to climb into Champions League top four
- Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid
- Brazil's top court takes on regulation of social media
- Thousands still queuing to vote after Namibia polls close
- Trump taps retired general for key Ukraine conflict role
- Canadian fund drops bid for Spanish pharma firm Grifols
- Argentine ex-president Fernandez gives statement in corruption case
- Mexico says Trump tariffs would cost 400,000 US jobs
- Car-centric Saudi to open first part of Riyadh Metro
- Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal: Lula
- Faeces, vomit offer clues to how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth
- Ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' up for auction
- Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks up in October
- Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial
- US says China releases three 'wrongfully detained' Americans
- New clashes in Mozambique as two reported killed
- Romania officials to meet over 'cyber risks' to elections
- Chelsea visit next stop in Heidenheim's 'unthinkable' rise
- Former England prop Marler announces retirement from rugby
Dead or alive? Scores missing after Sudan attacks
Khadir Ali and his family managed to survive a harrowing paramilitary attack in war-torn Sudan. But by the time they got to safety, he realised that one person was missing.
"We escaped in total chaos -- there was gunfire coming from every direction," said the 47-year-old civil servant of the October 22 Rapid Support Forces attack on Rufaa in al-Jazira state.
"But once we got out of the city, we noticed my nephew wasn't with us," he said.
Mohammed, 17, suffers from a congenital skin condition and "needs special care".
The teenager is among scores of people reported missing as the RSF stages major attacks across eastern al-Jazira state after a high-ranking officer from the area defected to the army.
In retaliation, the RSF has been "killing people in their homes, in markets and on the streets, and looting property including from markets and hospitals", rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
"Six days have passed, and we know nothing about him," Ali said, speaking in New Halfa in Kassala state.
He and his family have taken refuge there after an arduous 150-kilometre (90-mile) journey.
At least 124 people have been killed and dozens wounded in the fighting in al-Jazira state over the past 10 days, according to the United Nations.
The death toll for the whole month is at least 200.
War has raged in Sudan since April 2023 between the army under the country's de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The conflict has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. More than half the population -- 25 million people -- face acute hunger.
- 'Entire families' missing -
The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than 119,000 people have fled from al-Jazira state amid the recent surge of violence.
Mohamed al-Obaid from al-Hajilij village in the state told AFP his story.
"So far, we've counted 170 missing from our village. Entire families are unaccounted for," he said from New Halfa, where some children arrive unaccompanied by family members.
Since February, communications networks and internet services have been almost entirely severed in the state, making it practically impossible to check on someone's whereabouts.
Activist Ali Bashir, who helps people get away from villages in eastern al-Jazira, said "the communications blackouts are making the missing persons crisis even worse".
Sudanese social media are filled with posts about missing persons, with activists sharing the pictures and names, many of them children or elderly.
Earlier this month, intense clashes between the army and the RSF spread to al-Jazira's Tamboul city.
Just hours after the army said it had taken control of Tamboul, witnesses reported that the paramilitaries were continuing to operate there, causing thousands of civilians to flee.
Among them was trader Osman Abdel Karim, who lost track of two of his sons during fighting on October 19.
"Two of my sons, one 15 and the other 13, were outside when the attack began that Saturday night, and we had to leave without them," the 43-year-old said.
"Ten days have passed, and we don't know if they're dead or alive."
F.Müller--BTB