CounterVortex weekly headlines

Dec 22, 2025

Sudan: evidence of mass killings in El-Fasher

Satellite imagery analysis reveals widespread evidence of systematic mass killings and body disposal by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, Sudan, following the paramilitary group’s capture of the North Darfur state capital in late October, according to a report released by Yale University researchers. The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) identified at least 150 “clusters of objects consistent with human remains” in and around El-Fasher between Oct. 26, when the RSF claimed to have taken full control of El-Fasher, and Nov. 28. They identified the clusters as likely human remains, based on their size, the timing of their appearance, and proximity to reddish ground discoloration that later turned brown, consistent with blood oxidation. In some cases, the RSF’s own social media posts corroborated the presence of human remains at the locations. By late November, 38% of the identified body clusters were no longer visible in satellite imagery, suggesting systematic disposal operations, the researchers said.

https://countervortex.org/blog/sudan-evidence-of-mass-killings-in-el-fasher/

Sudan: UN reports atrocities at Darfur IDP camp

The UN Human Rights Office published a report detailing its findings of atrocities committed during a three-day assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s Darfur region. The wave of attacks took place in April of this year, when the camp fell to the RSF, and were found to constitute grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The report’s key findings include the killing of at least 1,013 civilians. The report documented widespread summary executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, abductions, and enforced disappearances. During the assault, the RSF pillaged food and livestock, looted shops and homes, and burned down houses. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an “impartial, thorough, and effective” investigation to hold those responsible for the atrocities accountable.

https://countervortex.org/blog/sudan-un-reports-atrocities-at-darfur-idp-camp/

Deadly strikes on hospitals: the new norm?

On World Humanitarian Day in August, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus released a statement calling attention to intensifying attacks on healthcare workers and facilities, which constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law. “We must stop this becoming the norm,” he wrote. The events of the past weeks suggest such attacks are now already the norm. In Sudan, the WHO reported that over 100 people, including 63 children, were killed when drone strikes attributed to the Rapid Support Forces hit a kindergarten and nearby hospital in South Kordofan. In Burma’s Rakhine state, a military airstrike destroyed the Mrauk-U general hospital, killing at least 31 people and wounding dozens more. It was the 67th attack on a healthcare facility in Burma this year, according to the WHO. Attacks on healthcare facilities killed a record 3,600 people in 2024, mainly in Gaza, Ukraine, Lebanon, Burma and Sudan. This year is on course to surpass that toll. In Gaza alone, at least 917 people were killed by Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities between Oct. 7. 2023 and June of this year.

https://countervortex.org/blog/deadly-strikes-on-hospitals-the-new-norm/

ECOWAS declares regional state of emergency

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced a state of emergency following a wave of coups and attempted coups that have struck several member states of the regional bloc. The declaration was made during the 55th session of the ECOWAS Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria, by the president of the bloc, Gambian diplomat Omar Touray. Since 2020, several military coups d’etat have taken place in West Africa, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. A coup attempt was launched days before the ECOWAS declaration in Benin, but was thwarted by Nigerian military intervention. A regional crisis is driven by armed insurgencies, economic hardship, and weak institutions, creating viable ground for military rule.

https://countervortex.org/blog/ecowas-declares-regional-state-of-emergency/

DRC: ethnic massacre near Kinshasa

At least 22 ethnic Teke civilians were killed when militia fighters attacked a village in the western Democratic Republic of Congo. The massacre in Nkana village—located just some 75 kilometers northeast of the capital Kinshasa—was reportedly carried out by the Mobondo militia, which is aligned with the Yaka ethnic group. Human Rights Watch said fighters armed with firearms and machetes killed “mostly ethnic Teke villagers in their homes as they attempted to flee.” The conflict is rooted in penetration of traditional Teke territory by Yaka agricultural settlers, setting off competition for land. It points to the potential for simmering conflicts to escalate throughout the DRC while the world is focused on the internal war in the country’s east.

https://countervortex.org/blog/drc-ethnic-massacre-near-kinshasa/

Yemen: UAE-backed southern separatist forces advance

Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council, which is said to be backed by the United Arab Emirates, has been rapidly advancing through large parts of the country’s south and east, in Hadramawt, al-Mahra and Shabwa provinces. They are taking over control from groups backed by Saudi Arabia, including the Hadramawt Tribal Alliance. While all forces involved are supposed to be on the same side in a broader anti-Houthi alliance, the move is yet another reminder that Yemen’s war is not over, and that it involves a variety of actors and local grievances.

https://countervortex.org/blog/yemen-uae-backed-southern-separatists-advance/

Audio:

NYC: did socialism really defeat fascism?

Zohran Mamdani’s Oval Office lovefest with Donald Trump was a dangerous legitimization of fascism, and has won New York no respite—as the city was targeted for ICE raids mere days later. These were happily met with a strong street response by progressive New Yorkers, and Zohran has reiterated his stance of non-cooperation with the federal police state. Meanwhile, the massacre of Jews one week ago in Sydney increases the pressure on Mamdani to walk the fine line between remaining true to his anti-Zionist principles on one hand, and acquiescing in anti-Semitism on the other. And his support for bulldozing the Elizabeth Street Garden (even after a deal to save it has been accepted by the incumbent administration), while failing to protest displacement of tenants from public housing projects slated for privatization, points to an accommodation with the pro-”development” consensus of the city’s permanent government. On the final countdown to Mamdani’s inauguration, the contradictions he faces are sharpening. In Episode 309 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg breaks it down.

https://countervortex.org/blog/nyc-did-socialism-really-defeat-fascism/

Feature:

From Global Ganja Report:

Trump signs executive order to expedite cannabis rescheduling

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to accelerate the reclassification of marijuana, a move that would ease decades-old restrictions that have classified the drug alongside heroin as having no accepted medical value. Drug reclassification under the Controlled Substances Act requires a lengthy administrative process involving scientific review, public comment, and public hearings if requested. President Joe Biden initiated the process in 2022, asking the Health Secretary and the Attorney General to review marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug. Trump’s order does not immediately reschedule the drug but instructs the Justice Department to complete the pending rule-making process “in the most expeditious manner”allowed by federal law. The change could also be effected by an act of Congress.

https://globalganjareport.com/node/1991

SCOTUS declines to hear challenge to federal marijuana laws

The US Supreme Court announced that it will not hear a case challenging the federal illegality of marijuana. The case, Canna Provisions v. Bondi, was brought by four Massachusetts commercial cannabis growers. The businesses alleged that the Controlled Substances Act exceeds the powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause and violates the right to due process under the Fifth Amendment.

https://globalganjareport.com/node/1990

Support CounterVortex:

Remember: We are the alternative to the alternative. We receive NO foundation sponsorship. We are 100% reader-supported! Our operating expenses are over $2,000 a year—not counting production time and labor. Please give what you can!

Ways to support us:

1. Become a Basic Supporter on Patreon for $5 per month

The CounterVortex podcast now has 61 Patreon subscribers. Jack it up to 62.

https://www.patreon.com/countervortex

2. Become a Special Supporter on Patreon for $10 per month

Become a Patreon subscriber for $10 per month, and you get to choose a topic for one episode per year on the CounterVortex podcast.

https://www.patreon.com/countervortex

3. Become a Major Rant Enabler for $25 per month!

We now have seven Major Rant Enablers. If you can afford it, please become the seventh. At this level, you get to download a CounterVortex ringtone, with more than 100 inimitable Weinbergisms to choose from!

https://www.patreon.com/countervortex

4. Become a Paypal subscriber

We now have five monthly subscribers on Paypal—in New York, NY, Brooklyn, NY, Austerlitz, NY, Elkins Park, Penn., and Los Angeles, Calif. We ask a minimum of only $5 per month. Who’s next?

https://countervortex.org/support-us-2/

5. Make a single payment with PayPal:

Whatever you can afford is greatly appreciated.

https://countervortex.org/support-us-2/

6. Send a check to:

CounterVortex

44 Monroe St. #B44

New York, NY 10002

Checks should be payable to CounterVortex.

7. Become a social media volunteer:

We still need a tech-savvy person to help us extend our reach. Please be in touch if that’s you!

https://countervortex.org/contact-us/