Sudan, Yemen, Niger.

Today's three stories you should know.

Mar 17, 2022

Sudan

We’ve talked about protests in Sudan a lot in Proximities since the military coup last October. Recently, people have also taken to the streets to protest rising food prices. And, now, gang rape. Demonstrators marched in several cities after an official said a 19-year-old woman had been raped by two members of the security forces in the chaos of a protest during which tear gas was fired. "What happened yesterday is not just oppression of women but of the whole Sudanese people, and we will continue to take to the street until our demands of freedom, justice, and human dignity are granted," Amira Salih, a 38-year-old teacher, told the Reuters news agency.

Yemen

A fundraising conference for Yemen today raised $1.3 billion - less than a third of what the UN said was needed to respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Martin Griffiths, the UN’s humanitarian chief, said the amount was a disappointment and called the situation in Yemen “dire.” Yemen, where a war has raged since 2014, is being overshadowed by events in Ukraine and several experts say it is in danger of being forgotten. More than 4 million Yemenis have been forced from their homes, and the UN estimates 161,000 people are likely to experience famine this year.

Niger

Yet another attack in the Sahel, where longtime Proximities readers know the governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are locked in an escalating, and increasingly brutal, conflict with groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS. Armed men on motorcycles today attacked a bus, killed at least 19 passengers, and then set the vehicle on fire. The bus was en route from Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, to Niger’s capital, Niamey. The three governments are coming under increasing pressure from a rattled public to step up their efforts to defeat the groups.