Sudan, DR Congo, Colombia.

Today's three stories you should know.

May 20, 2023

Sudan

Smoke billowed over Sudan’s capital on Saturday as the country’s bitter conflict entered its sixth week with air raids and artillery exchanges. The conflict between government forces and a powerful paramilitary group has sent a million people fleeing from their homes and plunged the nation into a humanitarian crisis. Law and order has broken down, with looting and attacks on civilians becoming commonplace. Leaders at the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia today called for the generals at the heart of the conflict, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to call a truce but multiple attempts to broker a peace deal have so far failed.

DR Congo

Protesters and security forces fought pitched battles in the streets of Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa today as demonstrators expressed their anger over alleged irregularities in voter registration. Tear gas was fired and about a dozen protesters were arrested, according to local reports. The country is set to hold a general election in December in which President Felix Tshisekedi will seek a second term. Political tension is rising, though, and four opposition leaders came together to call for today’s protests. Voter registration data is due to be published on Sunday.

Colombia

Colombia has been gripped by a search for four children missing after a plane crash in which three adults on board were killed. Colombian troops found the wreckage of the small plane after it crashed earlier this week and recovered the bodies of the children’s mother, a pilot and a guide. The children, members of the Uitoto Indigenous community, are aged 13, 9, 4 and 11 months. Clues are being hotly debated in the media, including a baby bottle discovered one day and a pair of scissors in what appeared to be a shelter made from leaves on another. Dozens of military personnel, supported by Indigenous people from nearby villages, are continuing the search.