Syria, Yemen, Sudan.

Today's three stories you should know.

Apr 17, 2023

Syria

At least 26 people have been killed by ISIS in Syria, according to state media and an activist group. Both civilians and pro-government fighters were among the dead. The group who were attacked were searching for truffles in the desert, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. As mentioned in previous newsletters, ISIS has regularly targeted people out collecting the fungus, killing more than 150 over the last year. Just a kilogram of truffles can be sold for more than the average monthly wage. ISIS has been largely defeated in Syria and Iraq and pushed from the territory it once held. It does maintain the ability, though, to launch hit-and-run attacks.

Yemen

A Saudi Arabia-led coalition today freed 104 prisoners, the latest in a series of confidence-building measures as efforts continue to end Yemen’s nine-year war. The conflict erupted in 2014 when Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, pushed the then government from the capital Sana’a. The Saudi coalition later intervened militarily to support the toppled government. The UN estimates that 377,000 people have died in the conflict either on the battlefield or from starvation and disease.

Sudan

At least 185 people have now been killed in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, according to the UN, as fighting between the army and a powerful paramilitary group continued for the third day. Both the government and the Rapid Support Forces militia are claiming to be in control of key sites in the capital. “It’s a very fluid situation so it’s very difficult to say where the balance is shifting to,” the UN special representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, told journalists. The roots of the conflict lie in a row over how to go about a promised transition to civilian rule following a military coup in 2019.