Weekly Global Conflict Update – Current Wars and Humanitarian Crises

The past week has seen significant developments in current conflicts around the world. This report provides an objective overview of the latest war news from major conflict zones – including Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo – based on verified updates from credible sources. Each region faces ongoing violence and humanitarian aid crises. Read on for factual updates on these wars and unrest, and learn how to help victims of war through humanitarian support efforts.

Ukraine: Ongoing War and Civilian Impact

Fighting rages on in Ukraine as Russian forces and Ukrainian defenders continue daily clashes with no definitive breakthroughs. In the past week, Russian troops pressed attacks in the east but made no significant advances​

. Meanwhile, Russian missile and drone strikes persist against Ukrainian cities: on March 29-30, a barrage hit a hospital and civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, causing damage and casualties​

. According to the United Nations, “since 1 March, not a day has passed without an attack harming civilians,” underscoring the relentless toll on the population​

. Officials have verified at least 12,881 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, though the true number is higher​

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The humanitarian situation remains dire. Nearly 13 million people in Ukraine need assistance, but aid programs are underfunded – a $2.6 billion UN relief plan for 2025 is only 17% financed so far​

. Civilians in frontline areas face “relentless shelling”, forcing awful choices to flee or risk death while lacking essentials​

. Many in Russian-occupied regions cannot be reached by aid at all. UN officials warn that continued support is vital as the war drags on, calling for adherence to international humanitarian law to protect civilians and for renewed efforts toward a lasting ceasefire​

. Diplomatically, tensions remain high – this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin even suggested a UN-backed “temporary administration” in Ukraine (essentially a regime change demand), which was swiftly rejected by the UN Secretary-General in defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty​

. In short, Ukraine’s conflict shows no signs of abating, and the humanitarian needs are only growing.

 

Gaza and Israel: Escalation and Humanitarian Crisis

In the Gaza Strip, a fragile calm gave way to renewed violence in recent days. Despite a ceasefire and hostage exchange that had been in place since January, Israel launched a new wave of air strikes on Gaza starting March 18, shattering the truce​

. Heavy bombardments over the past week have killed hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, and wounded many more​

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. On the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, multiple children were among those killed by Israeli bombing in Gaza​

, underscoring the conflict’s continuing human cost. In response to ongoing hostilities, Israeli authorities issued fresh evacuation orders for civilians. Over the past week, new evacuation directives covered an estimated 14% of Gaza’s territory​

, displacing at least 124,000 additional people, many of whom fled on foot toward safer areas in the south​

. With almost nowhere safe left to go, Gaza’s residents are increasingly trapped in a war zone.

 

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic. After more than five months of war (since the Hamas-Israel conflict erupted in October 2023), essential infrastructure lies in ruins and basic necessities are scarce. A UN spokesperson reported that 90% of people surveyed in recent weeks lacked sufficient access to clean water, often going days without even being able to wash their hands​

. Hospitals are overwhelmed with masses of displaced families seeking shelter amid the fighting​

. According to Palestinian health officials, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed (the majority women and children) and over 113,000 injured in Gaza since the conflict began in late 2023​

. These staggering figures illustrate the scale of devastation in an area of just 2.3 million inhabitants. International humanitarian agencies like the UN and Red Cross are warning of a total collapse of services. With ceasefire talks stalled and violence surging again, Gaza’s civilian population faces immense suffering. Human rights groups continue to urge protection of civilians and a renewed push for a durable ceasefire to halt what has become a massive humanitarian emergency.

 

Sudan: Intense Fighting and Displacement

In Sudan, the power struggle between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues into its second year with alarming intensity. Over the past week, Sudan’s army scored major gains in the capital Khartoum as part of a counteroffensive against the RSF. The army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared Khartoum “free” after government troops recaptured the main airport and even the presidential palace from RSF fighters​

. RSF units that had held parts of the capital since the war began in April 2023 were forced to withdraw southward in what the RSF called a tactical retreat​

. However, this by no means signaled an end to the conflict. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti) released an audio message vowing that his forces’ fight “is not over” and promising to return to Khartoum “stronger”​

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. Indeed, even as the army consolidates control in Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman, heavy clashes continue in other regions. Fighting rages in the western Darfur region, in Kordofan in the south, and elsewhere​

, with neither side willing to negotiate. The army has ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF and insists it will “crush” the rebellion​

, raising fears that Sudan is headed for a protracted war of attrition.

 

Civilians are bearing the brunt of Sudan’s war. The conflict has unleashed what the UN calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises​

. In just under two years, more than 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes across Sudan​

. Many have escaped to neighboring countries, while others are displaced internally, sheltering wherever they can. Basic services have collapsed – Sudan’s health system is in ruins, with many hospitals destroyed or occupied by fighters​

. Millions of children are among those in urgent need of assistance​

. The war has also devastated food production and distribution, pushing nearly 25 million Sudanese into severe food insecurity​

. UN agencies warn that famine conditions have emerged in parts of Darfur and elsewhere, with about 600,000 people on the brink of starvation​

. Alarming reports emerged this week from West Darfur: a single army air strike on a crowded market in the town of Tora killed hundreds of civilians, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights​

. Both sides have been accused of atrocities and of blocking aid deliveries to areas under their opponent’s control​

. In total, the war’s death toll is difficult to quantify, but one study estimated that 61,000 people were killed in Khartoum state alone in the first 14 months​

. With no peace talks on the horizon, Sudan’s conflict risks further fragmentation of the country​

. The international community, including the UN, continues to plead for a halt to the fighting and increased humanitarian access, as half of Sudan’s 50 million people now require aid just to survive​

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Yemen: Flare-Up of Violence Amid Ongoing Crisis

In Yemen – a country that had seen a fragile truce reduce fighting last year – warfare has escalated again. In mid-March, the United States launched large-scale air strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement, marking a major new intervention in the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the strikes in response to a series of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. naval vessels in the Red Sea​

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. The bombing campaign, which began around March 15, is the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January 2025​

. It started with intense bombardment of Houthi targets in the capital Sanaa and other areas: at least 31 people were killed and over 100 injured in the initial U.S. strikes, according to Yemeni health officials – most of the victims were reportedly women and children​

. The Houthis, an Iran-aligned rebel group that controls much of northern Yemen, have decried the U.S. attacks as a “war crime” and vowed to retaliate​

. Trump has warned the campaign could last for weeks and threatened to rain down “hell” on the Houthis unless they cease all attacks​

. These developments risk igniting new fronts in Yemen’s long-running war, even as regional mediators had been pushing for a more durable peace agreement. Iran – the Houthis’ main backer – condemned the U.S. strikes and warned it would respond if its interests were threatened​

, raising regional tensions further.

 

This escalation comes as Yemen’s humanitarian crisis remains one of the worst in the world. The country is now entering its eleventh year of conflict, and the suffering has never stopped. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned this week that nearly 20 million Yemenis – two-thirds of the population – need humanitarian assistance to survive​

. Over 4.8 million people are internally displaced, many living in dire conditions without adequate food, water, or healthcare​

. Years of war (and a Saudi-led blockade) have caused widespread malnutrition and disease outbreaks. Women and children face heightened risks of violence, hunger, and poor health as basic services have crumbled​

. Aid agencies are stretched thin and underfunded, with critical relief programs at risk just as needs are rising​

. Although Yemen’s war had somewhat faded from global headlines during a period of reduced hostilities, the latest surge in violence threatens to plunge the country back into full-scale conflict, imperiling recent diplomatic progress. Humanitarian groups urge that “global solidarity is needed to prevent millions from being left behind” in Yemen’s crisis​

. The renewed fighting – now involving direct U.S. military action – could complicate peace efforts and inflict even greater suffering on Yemen’s civilians if it continues unabated.

 

Syria: Post-War Turmoil and Renewed Bloodshed

In Syria, a new wave of violence has erupted even after the presumed end of the country’s long civil war. Last year, Syria’s authoritarian president Bashar al-Assad was ousted after more than a decade in power, and an interim government took over in Damascus. But loyalists of the former regime have since launched a fierce insurgency, leading to the deadliest clashes Syria has seen in years. Over the past two weeks, fighting flared in western Syria (particularly in the coastal Latakia region) between forces of the new government – dominated by a rebel coalition – and well-armed fighters still loyal to Assad. The scale of the bloodletting has shocked observers: according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 1,000 people were killed in just two days of clashes in early March​

. Horrifically, 745 of those killed were civilians, alongside scores of combatants from both sides​

. These sectarian-fueled battles saw entire villages caught in the crossfire. There were reports of massacres, including execution-style killings of civilians from Assad’s Alawite minority sect​

, although details remain difficult to verify independently. The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency closed-door session to address the Syrian escalation, as diplomats expressed alarm that Syria could be sliding back into chaos​

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Syria’s new interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has scrambled to contain the violence. He announced an independent inquiry into atrocities committed by all sides and vowed that “no one will be above the law” in punishing those who shed civilian blood​

. By mid-week, government forces claimed to have slowed the insurgents’ advance, securing cities like Jableh and Baniyas, and were sweeping surrounding areas for remaining pockets of pro-Assad fighters​

. An estimated 5,000 pro-Assad insurgents had taken to the hills, where skirmishes are ongoing​

. This sudden insurgency comes after a period of relative calm following Assad’s fall. It has quickly spiraled into an extremely bloody confrontation, described as the worst violence in Syria since the notorious 2013 chemical attack in Damascus (which killed about 1,400 people)​

. International actors are deeply involved: Turkey and several Arab states back the current government, while Iran and Russia had backed the former Assad regime​

, raising the stakes if conflict endures. For Syrian civilians, who have already endured years of war and one of the largest refugee crises of our time, the renewed fighting is a devastating setback. Humanitarian conditions in combat zones are deteriorating again, and thousands more families are displaced by the recent clashes. The hope that Syria could finally find peace has faltered, as the threat of a fragmented new civil war now looms unless the insurgency is quelled and a political solution is found.

 

Democratic Republic of Congo: Rebel Offensive and Regional Tensions

An escalating conflict in central Africa is also reaching a critical point. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the past few months have seen a major offensive by the M23 rebel group in the east of the country – and in recent weeks the fighting has only intensified. The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who resumed their insurgency last year, have made dramatic territorial gains despite international peace efforts. Since January, M23’s swift advance has seized eastern Congo’s two largest cities​

. By February the rebels had captured the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, key commercial centers in North and South Kivu respectively​

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. This offensive has reportedly resulted in “thousands of deaths” and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes​

, as civilians flee the violence. Just this week, heavy clashes were reported in both North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. On Tuesday, M23 fighters battled local pro-government militias known as Wazalendo in multiple areas​

. Fighting was ongoing near Lake Edward on the Ugandan border and in several towns north of Bukavu, as the rebels attempted to push further despite earlier pledges to pause their campaign​

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. The situation is extremely volatile, with Congolese government forces, community militias, and the M23 all in a complex battlefield and neighboring countries watching closely.

 

The DRC conflict has raised fears of a wider regional war in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The Kinshasa government accuses Rwanda of actively supporting the M23 rebellion – an allegation Rwanda denies, though the rebels are widely understood to have Rwandan backing​

. Regional organizations have stepped up diplomacy to prevent the conflict from spiraling. This week, leaders from across East and Southern Africa met to revive a faltering peace process​

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. In a joint effort, five former African heads of state have been appointed to mediate between the Congolese government and the rebels​

. A ceasefire had been negotiated in principle, but it collapsed when M23 withdrew from talks and accused the DRC army of launching attacks​

. Now international pressure is mounting to get both sides back to the table. Meanwhile, the humanitarian fallout worsens: entire communities in North Kivu are displaced as M23 occupies territory, and reports continue of atrocities and human rights abuses in rebel-held areas (which echo the DRC’s history of brutal rebel wars). The UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) and aid agencies are struggling to provide assistance to the growing number of displaced people amid ongoing hostilities. With mineral-rich lands at stake and ethnic grievances fueling the conflict, the situation remains explosive. The coming days will test whether diplomacy can halt the fighting, or if eastern DRC is destined for a prolonged and devastating war.

 

How You Can Support Peace

As conflicts rage on multiple fronts, the suffering of ordinary people caught in war is immeasurable. However, readers around the world can play a part in alleviating this suffering and supporting peace. One immediate way to help is by supporting organizations that deliver emergency medical aid and relief to victims in war-torn regions. You can also make your everyday actions count. For example, consider making purchases through PutDownYourArms.com – an online store on a mission to promote peace. Through a partnership with Virtue (formerly known as Pledger), a portion of all proceeds from PutDownYourArms.com sales is donated to fund emergency medical aid for those affected by war. This means that by shopping conscientiously, you are directly contributing to life-saving medical assistance in conflict zones. It’s a simple step that can have a real impact on the ground.

Beyond donations and ethical shopping, staying informed and sharing credible information is important. Raise awareness about these current conflicts and the humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, the DRC and elsewhere. Support charities, the Red Cross/Red Crescent, UN agencies, and local NGOs working tirelessly to deliver food, water, shelter and medical care in war zones. Encourage your community and leaders to prioritize peace initiatives and humanitarian aid funding. Every contribution – big or small – helps and sends a message of solidarity to families enduring the horrors of war. Together, we can help victims of war and support efforts to end the violence. In a world fraught with conflict, choosing to Put Down Your Arms and aid those in need is a powerful stand for peace and humanity. Let us all do what we can to help heal the wounds of war and bring hope to those who need it most.