Will Swanson

Besieged Sudan city faces fiercest paramilitary assault yet In a Sudanese city long besieged by paramilitary forces, the war has taken an even more violent and terrifying turn, leaving residents facing hunger and death with little chance of escaping.

'epicentre of child suffering'

'the road out is lined with dead bodies'

'many have died from hunger, thirst or violence'

Read this latest @AFP dispatch on the disaster unfolding in El Fashir, Sudan:

www.france24.com/en/live-news...

A hostile govt takeover of Nairobi’s beloved Karura Forest wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card…

Keep eyes on Sudan & Darfur.

A ‘devastating tragedy’ as the @UN says 260 000 civilians – including 130 000 children – remain trapped in El Fashir’s main IDP camp.

Children face starvation, sexual violence, forced recruitment news.un.org/en/story/202...

‘We watch the graveyards from space’: satellites track Sudanese city under siege Paramilitary forces have cut off El Fasher, the military government’s final stronghold in the western Darfur region

SUDAN: RSF forces on the verge of breaking the blockade and slaughtering thousands in the city of El Fashir, warns Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab.

Aid agency MSF says it’s preparing for mass casualties, should El Fashir fall.

www.ft.com/content/d331...

A tragic milestone - famine confirmed in Gaza.

'After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death.' www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-webs...

Disease spreads in Somalia as funding cuts leave 300,000 without safe water

Disease spreads in Somalia as funding cuts leave 300,000 without safe water www.nrc.no/news/2025/au...

The Trump Administration Is About to Incinerate 500 Tons of Emergency Food Federal workers warned for months that the high-energy biscuits would go to waste.

Nearly 500 tons of USAID emergency food -enough to feed about 1.5m children for a week- is set to expire and will be incinerated.

Federal workers warned for months that the food would go to waste rather than to malnourished kids in Afghanistan & Pakistan

www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

MSF says Ethiopian military executed its three staff during the Tigray crisis www.bbc.com/news/article...

A great Kenyan has rested. RIP.

A good time to share some previously unpublished portraits I took of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o in celebration of his incredible contribution to Kenyan political discourse and the wider literary world.

The renowned author passed away this morning, says his family 🕊️

Gates, others launch $500 million maternal, newborn health fund, bucking aid cuts trend A group of philanthropies including the Gates Foundation has set up a fund backed with nearly $500 million to help save the lives of newborn babies and mothers in sub-Saharan Africa, standing out against a bleak global health funding landscape.

Rare good news...

A new USD500m 'The Beginnings Fund' has launched to support maternal and infant health in Sub-saharan Africa

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

The US funded aid groups erasing 'climate change' from their websites:

- Mercy Corps
- Relief International
- World Food Program
- Care

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2025/04...

it's a good beat, keep at it...

Large parts of Spain and Portugal hit by power outage Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with energy companies to restore power after large parts of Spain and Portugal were hit by a power outage on Monday.

laughs in kenyan... www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Happy Easter to all who are celebrating 🌞

📍 Maban, South Sudan

Some good insight here 👍

Handy map showing the state of things in Sudan after two years of brutal civil war.

But it doesn't show the scale of human suffering - over 30 million people lack food, clean water, medicine, safety and peace.

💡 New research confirms that drought is fueling urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lot's of interesting stuff in here - 'Dry Spells, Urban Swells: Analyzing the Drought-Induced Expansion of Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa'

documents.worldbank.org/en/publicati...

More than 400 killed by rebel group in Sudan says UN The UN cites "credible sources" for the estimated death toll of recent attacks on refugee camps in Darfur.

Tragic.

400+ killed as RSF launch attacks on refugee camps around El Fashir in North Darfur

www.bbc.com/news/article...

You'd think there was nothing happening in Sudan by the way the mainstream media is ignoring it, as an IDP camp in N. Darfur is being brutally attacked by the RSF. Consider donating to the Darfur Women's Action Group doing incredible work for the last 15+ years.

www.darfurwomenaction.org

The 'Cattedrale di Mogadiscio' in downtown Mogadishu.

The crumbling grand cathedral now watches over displaced families who have taken shelter there while it awaits repair.

📍 Somalia

Sudan is not free until Darfur is free.

Difficult situation on the Sobat river & Nasir in South Sudan 🇸🇸 as up to 80,000 people displaced by fighting.

Sharing this as not much is coming out of the conflict related humanitarian crisis in Upper Nile: repository.impact-initiatives.org/document/imp...

South Sudan on brink of civil war as UN warns of rising tensions South Sudan is on the verge of another civil war, the UN’s top official in the country warned Monday, citing escalating violence and a stalled peace process. Tensions between President Salva Kiir and…

South Sudan on brink of civil war as UN warns of rising tensions - AP

www.france24.com/en/africa/20...

Trouble in paradise (again) 🇸🇸

This is my swamp goblin, very happy that the rainy season has arrived in Nairobi.

boy and his cows at the Mbirikani Group Ranch which lays between two famous landmarks of Mt Kilimanjaro and the Chyulu Hills in Kenya

Excited to see The Rock as 007 and Kevin Hart as Moneypenny in the franchise reboot.

Shame… economy class breakfast on Turkish used to be 🌶️🌶️🌶️

🎥 DOC Society have a call out for grants, up to $125K in grants for climate storytelling:

climatestoryunit.org/apply/

Applications close March 10