On 27 January 2026, the Dutch court in Zwolle delivered a significant verdict in the case against a suspect known as Walid, or Tewelde Goitom, convicting him on nearly all charges related to widespread human rights abuses against refugees in Libya. The court, in a comprehensive ruling totaling around 100 pages, sentenced Walid to the […]
Situation Report Special: Cruel Eritrean smuggler Walid gets the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison
Walid hearing verdict (per 27 January 2026) The judges in the Dutch court in Zwolle found the suspect in the ‘Walid’ case guilty of almost all charges and sentenced him to the maximum of 20 years in prison. The full verdict comprises around 100 pages. The judge presented the main points of the verdict during […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Alarm at inflammatory rhetoric in South Sudan
Situation in Sudan (per 26 January) Two civilians have been killed by a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suicide drone strike on the besieged city of Dilling, South Kordofan state, reported The Sudan Doctors Network on Sunday. The network accused the RSF and allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), of ongoing deliberate attacks on unarmed civilians […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Intensified fighting across South Sudan
Situation in South Sudan (per 22 January) Intensified fighting attacking military posts has been reported across South Sudan in the largest offensives by various coalitions of opposition forces since 2017. The heaviest fighting is occurring in Jonglei state, and Equatoria region, with battles raging in reportedly in all but two states, especially in old hotspots […]
How the EU’s Initiated Crackdown on Human Smuggling Will Impact Migration Systems for the Better or the Worse.
BRUSSELS. Belgium | 21 January 2026 (IDN) — “We Europeans, decide who comes to Europe and crosses our borders, and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers” was the message in European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen’s speech, kicking off the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling conference on 10 December in […]
Why World War II Analogies Are Reappearing in Debates Over ICE on America’s Streets
By Piet Gotlieb* This article was originally published on https://phdforsociety.com/world-war-ii-analogies-ice/ TILBURG, The Netherlands | 20 January 2026 (IDN) — On January 7, 2026, Renée Good was shot and killed by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The killing of the 37-year-old mother and author tugs at the heartstrings of the American and global […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Ammunition seized in Amhara
Situation in Sudan (per 19 January) At least 103 civilians were killed, 88 injured and 18,000 families displaced between 22 December – 16 January by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks in the Um Baru, Tina and Kornoy areas, North Darfur, as fighting near the Chad border intensified over the past days, reports the Tina local […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Ammunition seized in Amhara – Ethiopia accuses Eritrea
Situation in Sudan (per 15 January) Jarjira area, North Darfur, has been recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements (JSAMF) and Popular Resistance in a military operation on Tuesday, informed the spokesperson of the JSAMF. 19 civilians were killed in a ground attack in Jarjira with JSAMF […]
Situation Report: US pauses assistance to Somalia
Situation in Sudan (per 8 January) Tomorrow marks 1000 days since the start of the conflict in Sudan. Fighting continues unabated. A drone attack on a house in El-Obeid, North Kordofan, has killed 13 people, including children, on Tuesday. Fighting in the Kordofan region has displaced 65.000 people in the span of three months. The […]
Situation Report: Somaliland’s independence recognised by Israel
Situation in Sudan (per 5 January) Over 114 people have lost their lives in the western region of Darfur, amid the recent clashes between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) using drone strikes and ground assaults, according to medical sources. Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris has proposed a plan to end […]