WEEKLY INTERNATIONAL NEWS REVIEW – Oct. 25th-31th 2025

TANZANIA

KILLINGS, ABDUCTIONS AND CENSORSHIP BEFORE ELECTIONS

On October 27, 2025, Tanzania faced an alarming rise in human rights violations ahead of the elections. Opposition figures and civil society groups report murders, abductions, and violent attacks under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, accused of seeking an overwhelming victory for her Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. One opposition leader was found dead, his body covered in acid, while a young activist was reportedly kidnapped. In April, Father Charles Kitima was severely beaten after a meeting on democracy with religious leaders; he claims the police know the identity of the attackers but have not filed a report. The Tanganyika Law Society says it has documented 83 disappearances of opposition members since 2021, including 20 in recent weeks. The government dismissed the accusations as “baseless” and claimed the NGO had not given it a fair chance to respond.

700 DEAD IN PROTESTS

On October 31, 2025, Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema reported that around 700 people were killed during nationwide protests against the government, following elections marred by the exclusion of major opposition figures. John Kitoka, Chadema’s spokesperson, stated that 350 died in Dar es Salaam and over 200 in Mwanza, with additional fatalities elsewhere. A diplomatic source called the toll “rather credible,” while Amnesty International reported that security forces are controlling hospitals to suppress casualty figures. Internet remains blocked, and hospitals refuse to comment due to fear of reprisals.

Hamisi Mbeto, a ruling party spokesperson justified the blackout by claiming it prevents the spread of rumors. Protests continued despite a curfew in Dar es Salaam, targeting President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The military chief, Jacob Mkunda, labeled protesters as “criminals”.

Opposition leader Tundu Lissu is in detention with treason charges. Witnesses, fearing arrest, spoke anonymously, with one stating, “There has never been a credible election since 1995.

SUDAN

RSF CLAIMS CONTROL OF DARFUR

On October 26, 2025, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries claimed control of el-Facher, the last major city in North Darfur held by the army, after seizing the army’s headquarters. The army did not respond, but the Popular Resistance Committee, a civil group allied with the army, denied the city’s fall, stating civilians continue to resist. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, urged safe passage for trapped civilians, warning that hundreds of thousands face starvation, bombardment, and lack of medical care.

The RSF released videos showing celebrations inside the headquarters, but local resistance groups said fighting persists and the RSF only entered abandoned buildings.

FAILURE TO PROTECT CIVILIANS

On October 27, 2025, Mini Minnawi, the pro-army governor of North Darfur, called for the protection of civilians in el-Facher following the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announcement of seizing the city. Minnawi demanded an independent investigation into RSF abuses and the fate of displaced persons. Fighting continued around the airport and western districts, according to local resistance groups, who reported intense RSF shelling and the absence of army air support.

The RSF released videos showing hundreds of detained men, alleged army soldiers or allies, and claimed victory after capturing the army headquarters. Journalist Maamar Ibrahim was seen in RSF custody, prompting concerns from the Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate. The UN’s Tom Fletcher and US envoy Massad Boulos reiterated calls for humanitarian corridors, as 260,000 civilians,  half of them children, remain trapped without food, water, or medical care. Local resistance groups accused the RSF of ethnic cleansing and violence against civilians.

MASS EXECUTIONS IN EL-FACHER

On October 28, 2025, the Joint Forces, allies of Sudan’s army, accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of executing over 2,000 unarmed civilians in el-Facher between October 26–27. The statement claimed most victims were women, children, and elderly. The UN had previously warned of rising risks of ethnically motivated atrocities, while a Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) report, supported by videos and satellite imagery, documented mass executions following the RSF’s takeover of the city. HRL concluded there is a “systematic, intentional ethnic cleansing” targeting Fur, Zaghawa, and Barti ethnic communities, with mass executions and forced displacements.

The African Union (AU) denounced “atrocities” and “presumed war crimes”.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, also expressed alarm over “a growing risk of ethnically motivated atrocities,”. Army chief General al-Burhane acknowledged the “withdrawal of the army from El-Facher”, vowing “revenge”.

HUMANITARIAN VOLUNTEERS MURDERED

On October 28, 2025, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers were killed and three others went missing while on duty in Bara, North Kordofan. The volunteers, wearing Red Crescent vests and carrying official IDs, were attacked despite protections guaranteed under international law. The IFRC condemned the killings, stating: “Any attack on humanitarian teams is unacceptable.”

The oil-rich Kordofan region is a major battleground in Sudan’s civil war between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF claimed control of Bara, a strategic crossroads to Darfur, on October 26. The Sudanese Red Crescent has lost 21 staff members since the conflict began in April 2023. The UN Human Rights Office also reported summary executions of civilians in Bara by RSF fighters, with “dozens killed” after being accused of supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces.

FEARS OF ETHNIC CLEANSING

On October 28, 2025, mounting evidence and survivor testimonies raised alarms over ethnic cleansing in El-Facher, Darfur, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control. Civilians fleeing to Tawila described “genocide scenes” to AFP. The Sudanese government, backed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, accused the RSF of deliberately targeting mosques. Mona Nour Al-Daem, the government’s humanitarian aid official, alleged that the Adré border crossing with Chad was used to smuggle weapons to the RSF.

The RSF’s political branch denied the allegations, claiming many videos are “fabricated by the army and its allies.” 

SATELLITE EVIDENCE CONFIRMS ONGOING MASSACRES

On October 29, 2025, new satellite imagery analyzed by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) confirms that mass killings continued in El-Facher during the 48 hours following the RSF’s takeover, including executions near two hospitals and systematic killings on the eastern fortifications.

Over 33,000 people have fled to Tawila, 70 km west, where 650,000 displaced already live in dire conditions. Only 177,000 civilians remain in El-Facher, down from over a million before the war. Satellite communications are cut, except for the RSF-controlled Starlink network, and access to the city remains blocked.

MASSACRE AT MATERNITY

On October 29, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 460 patients and companions were killed at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Facher, following RSF attacks and the abduction of healthcare workers. The WHO called for an immediate ceasefire.

Mohamed Daglo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), acknowledged “a disaster” in El-Facher, stating that “those who committed errors will be held accountable”.

Local resistance committees reported ongoing clashes in western El-Facher, where remaining soldiers are making a last stand. The Red Cross expressed shock at “horrific atrocities” and immense suffering among civilians.

BODIES COVERING THE STREETS

On October 30, 2025, survivors of El-Facher’s fall to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 26–27, 2025 started to recount their escapes, describing streets littered with corpses, executions and looting.

A mother of five saw seven RSF fighters enter her home, kill her 16-year-old son, and loot her belongings. She fled with neighbors, passing “numerous bodies” and abandoned wounded on the road to Garni. Another witness described fleeing Zamzam camp: “Some bodies were reduced to bones.” His family now sleeps in the open in Tawila, with no shelter.

Emtithal Mahmoud, a 32-year-old Darfuri in the US, recognized her cousin’s corpse in an RSF video. They mocked her body saying “Get up if you can”.

RSF DETAIN OWN FIGHTERS

On October 31, 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), announced the arrest of several of their own fighters accused of committing abuses during the capture of El-Facher. In a late Thursday statement, the RSF declared that the arrests were made “in compliance with orders from the hierarchy”.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

U.N. NAMES INVESTIGATORS FOR KIVU PROVINCES

On October 27, 2025, the UN Human Rights Council announced the appointment of three experts to investigate abuses in DRC’s North and South Kivu provinces: Arnauld Akodjenou (Benin) as head, assisted by Maxine Marcus (Germany/USA) and Clément Nyaletsossi Voule (Togo). The move follows months of delay due to budget cuts, primarily from the US and other states.

The region, rich in minerals, has suffered armed conflict for over 30 years, with violence surging since 2021 as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized Goma (January) and Bukavu (February). Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands displaced this year alone. The Council’s February resolution tasked the commission with documenting violations and identifying perpetrators for accountability. The team is to visit DRC by January 2026.

ZIMBABWE

OPPOSITION OFFICES BURNT

On October 28, 2025, several attacks targeted opposition and civil society gatherings in Zimbabwe ahead of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s annual State of the Nation address. In Harare, the offices of the Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) were set on fire overnight, according to its director Ibbo Mandaza, who reported that about ten assailants arrived shortly after midnight, abducted a security guard, and threw an incendiary bomb inside. The home of activist Gilbert Bgwende, a member of the Constitutional Defense Forum, was also burned.

In Bulawayo, a planned press conference was cancelled when the venue was surrounded by State security agents and affiliated armed groups, said organizer Prince Dubeko Sibanda. Opposition figures including lawyer Tendai Biti and former MP Job Sikhala condemned the incidents. The attacks occurred amid growing opposition to the ruling Zanu-PF party’s proposal to amend the constitution and extend Mnangagwa’s presidency to 2030, a move critics say deepens authoritarianism in the country.

GAMBIA

GAMBIA VOWS TO ARREST EX-PRESIDENT IF HE RETURNS

On October 28, 2025, the Gambian government announced it would arrest and prosecute former president Yahya Jammeh, should he return from exile in Equatorial Guinea, following his recent message claiming he would come back in November. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Information, authorities said that “vigorous legal procedures” would be initiated, including investigation, arrest, and trial, while guaranteeing due process and fair treatment. Supporters of Jammeh gathered on Sunday in his native village of Kanilai, celebrating his announced return.

Jammeh, who ruled Gambia from 1994 to 2017, is accused of widespread human rights abuses, including killings, torture, sexual violence and State asset misuse. The government dismissed claims of any immunity deal, insisting no such agreement exists. It reiterated that returning to the country “does not exempt anyone from accountability for serious alleged crimes.” In 2022, the government accepted recommendations from a truth commission to prosecute 70 individuals linked to abuses under Jammeh’s rule, and in December 2024, the ECOWAS approved the creation of a special court to prosecute crimes committed during his regime.

CAMEROON

PROTESTERS KILLED IN POST-ELECTORAL CRISIS

On October 28, 2025, Cameroonian security forces violently repressed protests in Douala (southwest) and Garoua (north), following the official announcement of President Paul Biya’s re-election to an eighth term with 53.66% of the vote. The results, published on October 27, were immediately contested by main opponent Issa Tchiroma Bakary. Despite bans, hundreds heeded Tchiroma’s call to demonstrate. Multiple civilians were shot dead, injured, or arrested during the crackdown, according to reports received by the UN Human Rights Office.

AUTHORITIES ADMIT USING LETHAL FORCE

On October 28, 2025, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji acknowledged that “illegal protests” resulted in deaths and widespread destruction of public and private property across several cities, including Dschang, Ngon, Guider, Garoua and Douala. He blamed opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary for “irresponsibility”.

In Douala, four protesters died on Sunday, according to regional authorities, while Tchiroma reported two deaths among his supporters in Garoua, claiming snipers targeted them. Over 200 arrests were made in Douala; mostly of “vandals” said Littoral Governor Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua.

LEBANON

THREE KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKES

On October 26, 2025, Lebanese authorities reported three deaths in Israeli airstrikes: one in Naqoura, another in Baalbek, and a Syrian national also in Baalbek. Israel’s military claimed it killed Ali Hussein Al-Moussawi, a Hezbollah arms trafficker in the Bekaa region, and Abed Mahmoud Al-Sayyed in Naqoura, accusing him of rebuilding Hezbollah’s military capabilities. The Lebanese Health Ministry and ANI news agency confirmed the strikes.

U.N. FORCES DOWNED AN ISRAELI AIRCRAFT

On October 27, 2025, the Israeli military accused the UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of deliberately shooting down one of its reconnaissance drones in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL reported it countered an Israeli drone that had aggressively approached one of its patrols near Kfar Kila, prompting defensive measures to neutralize it. UNIFIL also reported the drone had dropped a grenade and that an Israeli tank later fired toward the peacekeepers, though no casualties were reported. Shoshani denied any intentional fire at UNIFIL.

This follows a September incident where UNIFIL accused Israeli drones of dropping grenades near its positions, which Israel dismissed as unintentional. The ceasefire agreement restricts deployment in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army and UNIFIL only.

ISRAELI RAID KILLS A CIVILIAN

On October 30, 2025, Israeli forces raided Blida village in southern Lebanon, killing municipal employee Ibrahim Salamé. Witnesses reported hearing Israeli soldiers shouting before gunfire erupted. The Lebanese presidency condemned the “unprecedented” incursion and called on the army to resist further violations.

Israel claimed its troops fired at a “suspect” posing a direct threat inside the municipal building. In nearby Adaissé, Israeli forces demolished a religious ceremony hall. Additional airstrikes hit al-Jarmak and Mahmoudiyé villages, with Israel alleging Hezbollah infrastructure was targeted.

The UN reported 111 Lebanese civilians killed by Israeli forces since the November 2024 ceasefire.

PALESTINE

STRIKES IN CENTRAL GAZA

On October 25, 2025, the Israeli military conducted an airstrike in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, targeting a suspected Islamic Jihad operative allegedly planning an imminent attack against Israeli forces. The strike hit a civilian vehicle, wounding four people, according to Al-Awda Hospital.

Israel’s army stated it would continue operations in Gaza to “eliminate any immediate threat” to its troops, despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

CRITICS OVER CONTROVERSIAL AID GROUP

On October 25, 2025, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US-Israeli-backed aid group, announced readiness to restart food distributions in Gaza. Spokesperson Chapin Fay stated GHF had paused operations during the ongoing hostage release phase.

The group, launched in May after Israel’s three-month blockade, has faced sharp criticism from the UN and NGOs. Over 1,000 people have been killed near its sites. UN experts called for GHF’s dissolution in August, alleging aid is used for covert military and geopolitical purposes. GHF, which replaced a UN system of 400 distribution centers with only four, remains isolated from other aid organizations.

ISRAEL VOWS VETO OVER GAZA INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE

On October 26, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted Israel’s right to veto any members of the proposed international stabilization force for post-war Gaza, particularly opposing Turkish participation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the need for forces “Israel feels comfortable with.”

Meanwhile, Egypt sent heavy equipment into Gaza to assist in locating hostage remains, as Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya pledged to prevent Israel from using the issue to restart the war. Al-Hayya reiterated Hamas’s refusal to disarm unless Israel fully withdraws: “Our weapons are tied to the occupation. If the occupation ends, these weapons will return to the state.”

NETANYAHU ORDERS NEW STRIKES DESPITE CEASEFIRE

On October 28, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered immediate airstrikes on Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire.

Since the ceasefire of October 10, 94 Gazans have been killed in Israeli strikes, amid fears of renewed war. The ceasefire, brokered by the US, includes Hamas’s disarmament and Israeli withdrawal, but tensions remain high.

THREE KILLED IN WEST BANK RAID

On October 28, 2025, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, Abdallah Mohammed Omar Jalamneh, Ziad Nasser Jaas, and Ahmed Azmi Aref Nachrati, during a raid in Kafr Qud, west of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli police and army stated the men were members of a “terrorist cell” planning an attack, linked to a group active in Jenin’s refugee camp. According to Israeli accounts, the elite Yamam unit opened fire as the men exited a cave, killing two immediately and wounding a third, who was later “neutralized” by an airstrike.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the identities and ages of the victims, all in their twenties. Footage showed the aftermath: a burned car, scorched olive trees, and personal belongings near the cave’s entrance. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed the operation thwarted a “serious attack threat”.

HOSPITAL HIT

On October 28, 2025, Gaza’s Civil Defense reported at least three Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, despite the ceasefire in effect since October 10. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, stated that Israel was bombing Gaza. Strikes hit the courtyard of al-Shifa Hospital, as confirmed by hospital director Mohammed Abou Salmiya. The strikes also hit Abou Hassira Street and the al-Zeitoun neighborhood. Later, the Civil Defense announced five additional deaths in a separate airstrike.

101 MURDERED IN ONE NIGHT

On the night of October 28–29, 2025, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 101 people in Gaza, including 35 children, several women, and elderly individuals, according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense. Five hospitals confirmed receiving the victims within a 12-hour period.

ISRAEL PROHIBITS I.C.R.C. FROM VISITING DETAINEES

On October 29, 2025, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz signed a decree barring the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting Palestinian detainees held under Israel’s “illegal combatants” law, which allows indefinite detention without charge. Katz claimed such visits endanger national security.

The ICRC stated it has had no access to Palestinian detainees since October 7, 2023, emphasizing its role is purely humanitarian. The decree was announced hours before a Supreme Court hearing on the matter, where state attorney Ron Rosenberg said Israel would soon allow the ICRC to receive only the names and detention locations of prisoners not linked to Gaza or Hamas. NGOs report 2,673 “illegal combatants” were detained as of early October, with several hundred released on October 13 as part of the ceasefire agreement.

TURKISH RESCUE TEAM BLOCKED IN RAFAH

On October 30, 2025, a Turkish disaster response team (known as the AFAD), sent by Ankara to recover bodies in Gaza’s rubble, remained stranded at the Rafah crossing due to Israel’s refusal to grant entry. A Turkish Defense Ministry source accused Israel of failing to fully honor ceasefire terms, noting that only partial humanitarian aid is being allowed through. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted Israel’s veto power over any international force, explicitly opposing Turkish participation due to its ties with Hamas.

SYRIA

DRUZE PASSENGER BUS SHOT

On October 28, 2025, unknown gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus traveling from Damascus to Suweida in Syria’s majority-Druze Suweida province, killing two people, a man and a woman, and wounding others, according to state media and local outlet Suwayda24. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) confirmed all passengers were Druze. The attack occurred in an area with government checkpoints. The OSDH warns of checkpoints manned by pro-government militias not affiliated with official security forces.

Suweida remains volatile after July’s sectarian clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins, which left over 2,000 dead, including 789 Druze civilians allegedly executed by security forces, according to OSDH. Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri, a vocal critic of Damascus, recently demanded “complete independence” for the province. Government forces control the Damascus-Suweida road, while Druze fighters hold Suweida city.

On October 29, 2025, Lamis, a 32-year-old Druze woman from Suweida, recounted to AFP from her hospital bed about the attack of the bus. It left her injured in both thighs and severely injured her seven-year-old daughter’s hand.

YEMEN

HOUTHIS ARREST U.N. STAFF AGAIN

On October 26, 2025, Houthi rebels in Yemen arrested three local UN employees, two women and a man, on suspicion of spying for Israel. The two women, employed by the World Food Programme (WFP), were taken from their homes in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, along with a Yemeni WFP colleague.

An AFP source stated that Houthi security services are still pursuing others suspected of collaborating with Israel and the United States. The previous week, 20 UN employees were already detained after Houthi rebels raided a UN building.

EASTERN EUROPE

STRIKE ON KYIV KILLS THREE

In the night of October 25–26, 2025, a Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded 31 others, including seven children, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The strike also caused significant material damage, with fires breaking out in several apartments of a nine-story building in northeastern Kyiv and drone debris hitting a 16-story residential building in the north, as reported by Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The previous night, Russian bombardments had already killed four and injured about twenty across Ukraine.

On the diplomatic front, US President Donald Trump said he would not “waste time” on a new meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

RUSSIA CAPTURES THREE VILLAGES

On October 27, 2025, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the capture of Novomykolaïvka and Pryvilné in Zaporizhzhia region, and Egorivka in Dnipropetrovsk region. Independent verification of these claims is not available. Russian forces, though better equipped and more numerous, continue to make only incremental gains, employing small infantry groups to infiltrate Ukrainian defenses and avoid drone strikes.

The Kremlin’s focus remains on seizing Donetsk region, with intensified pressure on the Pokrovsk-Myrnograd area. Ukraine’s General Staff reported that about 200 Russian soldiers infiltrated Pokrovsk in small groups, while President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russian forces have concentrated their main offensive power there, leading to “fierce battles” in the city and its outskirts.

KENYANS DECEIVED INTO FIGHTING FOR RUSSIA

On October 27, 2025, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that several “innocent” Kenyan citizens had been deceived by “unscrupulous recruiters” and ended up fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine. The statement, issued from Nairobi, did not specify the number of individuals involved or any casualties. It denounced agents “pretending to work with the Russian government” who used false information to lure Kenyans into Russian military operations. The ministry said it was coordinating with Moscow to secure the release and safe return of those affected, noting that Kenya’s mission in Russia had already rescued several citizens detained in military bases and helped them obtain emergency travel documents. The report followed local media coverage, including The Nation, which featured testimony from a former Kenyan soldier who had voluntarily joined Russian mercenaries.

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL HIT

On October 29, 2025, Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of carrying out a “deliberate attack” on a children’s hospital in Kherson, southern Ukraine, injuring nine people, including four children. Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed the same casualty count.

Kherson, liberated by Ukrainian forces in November 2022, remains a frequent target of Russian shelling from across the Dnipro River. The same day, Russian strikes in the Odessa region damaged power facilities, cutting electricity to nearly 26,900 households, according to the energy company DTEK.

UKRAINIAN ATTACK KILLS ON RUSSIAN SOIL

On October 29, 2025, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported one dead and three injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Shebekino, Russia.

SPY ARRESTED IN KYIV

On October 30, 2025, the United Kingdom confirmed it was in “close contact” with Ukrainian authorities following the arrest in Kyiv of a British citizen accused of espionage for Russia. According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the man, an ex-military instructor, was detained on October 29 for allegedly collaborating with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The SBU said the FSB had provided him with instructions for making explosive devices, along with a handgun and ammunition. Ukraine’s Prosecutor’s Office identified him as a “citizen of the United Kingdom” who arrived in Ukraine in 2024 to train soldiers in the south before working with border guards. Prosecutors claim he later agreed to pass military information to Moscow in exchange for money. He is now in custody in Kyiv and faces up to twelve years in prison and confiscation of his property.

FOUR DEAD IN AIRSTRIKES

On October 30, 2025, Russia launched an air assault on Ukraine, targeting energy facilities across ten regions, including Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and missiles. At least four people were killed and many others injured, among them several children. DTEK CEO Maxim Timtchenko described the strikes as a “serious blow” to Ukraine’s power supply efforts, while the national grid operator Ukrenergo warned of ongoing and possibly continuous outages nationwide. In Zaporijjia, two people died and 23 were wounded, including six children; in Vinnytsia, a seven-year-old girl later died from injuries. The Lviv region also reported damage to two power sites. AFP journalist Daria Andriievska reported that the attack caused extensive blackouts as Ukraine braces for winter amid ongoing daily bombardments.

MYANMAR

NO ASEAN OBSERVERS FOR MYANMAR’S ELECTIONS

On October 27, 2025, diplomatic sources told that the ASEAN will not send official observers to Myanmar’s December legislative elections. The decision deals a blow to the military junta’s bid for international legitimacy, as the ASEAN leaders, meeting in Malaysia, expressed “deep concern” over the ongoing civil war and lack of progress toward peace.

PRO-DEMOCRACY ARTISTS ARRESTED

On October 30, 2025, Myanmar’s state media reported three artists, a filmmaker, an actor, and a comedian, were arrested at their homes for allegedly violating a law banning criticism of the upcoming December 28 elections. The junta’s Global New Light of Myanmar accused them of spreading “false and misleading” social media posts.

In Myanmar, the “July law” prohibits any speech, organization, or protest aimed at disrupting the electoral process, with penalties ranging from three to seven years in prison, or five to ten years if committed in association with others. Campaigning for the junta-approved parties began on Tuesday. Opposition groups controlling key areas have vowed to boycott the vote, while rights advocates decry restrictions on freedoms in junta-held zones.

INTERNATIONAL – I.C.R.C.

RED CROSS CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON AID WORKERS IN GAZA AND SUDAN

On October 31, 2025, the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross Pierre Krähenbühl denounced the surge in violence targeting humanitarian workers, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, where five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers were killed earlier this week.

Krähenbühl warned of a severe “erosion of respect for international humanitarian law.” The killings occurred in North Kordofan State, amid fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Survivors fleeing to Tawila described massacres, executions of children, and looting. Krähenbühl called the Sudan conflict “one of the most dramatic of our time,” citing widespread sexual violence and deliberate attacks on medical facilities.

In Gaza, he said humanitarian access remained insufficient despite a fragile truce and ongoing Israeli airstrikes, noting that aid levels were “just the tip of the iceberg.” He also criticized Israel’s recent ban, announced by Defense Minister Israel Katz, on ICRC visits to detained Palestinians, insisting such visits posed “no threat to national security.”