NEWS OF THE DAY

From Around the World

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Sudan unrest: Tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur province forced more than 11,000 people to flee into neighboring Chad over the past month, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday. Clashes between Arabs and nonArabs erupted late in December in the West Darfur town of Genena, 12 miles from the border with Chad. At least three dozen people, including women and children, were killed and around 60 others were wounded. Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, estimated the clashes have displaced some 46,000 inside the country. Clashes in West Darfur have posed a challenge to efforts by Sudan’s transitional government to end decadeslong rebellions in areas like Darfur.

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Market attack: Suspected Islamic extremists attacked a busy market in Burkina Faso in Soum province and killed as many as 50 people over the weekend, authorities said, as the West African country’s security situation deteriorates. It was the second attack in northern Burkina Faso in a week that has left dozens dead. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that as many as 900,000 people could be displaced by April. Extremist attacks are dramatically escalating in Burkina Faso, with deaths rising from about 80 in 2016 to over 1,800 in 2019, according to the United Nations. Burkina Faso’s military has struggled to contain the violence despite training and aid from the French and U.S. militaries in recent years.

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Caribbean quake: A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a vast area from Mexico to Florida and beyond, but there were no reports of casualties or heavy damage. The quake was centered 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 87 miles westsouthwest of Niquero, Cuba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that the quake could generate waves 1 to 3 feet above normal in Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Mexico and Belize, but issued a later message saying the danger had passed.

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Syria war: Syrian government forces Tuesday entered a key rebelheld town in the country’s northwest after surrounding it on three sides, sending thousands of people fleeing to safety in areas farther north, opposition activists and progovernment media said. The push into the town of Maaret alNuman in Idlib province came as Syrian forces were also advancing against insurgent positions west of the city of Aleppo, according to state media and opposition activists. Maaret alNuman has been in rebel hands since 2012. Syrian government forces have been on the offensive for more than a month in northwestern Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold in the country. In recent days, the government has captured more than a dozen villages in the area. Al Qaedalinked rebels control much of Idlib province.

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Separatist prisoners: The former vicepresident of Catalonia returned as a prisoner to the regional parliament in Barcelona on Tuesday, the first time he had been there since he was imprisoned for his role in the failed 2017 secession attempt from the rest of Spain. Oriol Junqueras and five other former Cabinet members released from prison for the occasion were greeted with applause and cheers of “Liberty!” by a small crowd of supporters inside the parliament building. This is the first time that the six have returned to the Catalan parliament since they were taken into custody following the failed October 2017 independence bid. They and three more colleagues were convicted of sedition and misuse of public funds in October by Spain’s Supreme Court and given sentences of nine to 13 years.