World Status Report

This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked media and official sources from the U.S. and other countries.

More health and security information for each country can be found in the travel advisories issued by the governments of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, and the CDC, ECDC, and WHO sites. Not all advise in these sites will apply to US travelers.

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information. The information in this report may change without prior notice.

Security

• Middle East – Escalation of violence (ERCC). The ongoing escalation of violence notably in and around Gaza raises grave humanitarian concerns. More than 900 Israelis and close to 700 Palestinians are reportedly killed. Some 6 500 people have been injured. 
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – Intensification of conflict (ERCC). Since 1 October, renewed and intensified fighting has taken place between armed groups in North Kivu province, particularly in the western parts of the M23-controlled area’s in Rutchuru and Masisi territories as well as towards Kibumba, close to the city of Goma. The risk of escalating violence in the affected areas, including those hosting displaced persons, remains very high. Further population movements are to be expected.
• Mozambique – Population displacement (ERCC). Between 14 and 23 September, a string of attacks took place in north-eastern Cabo Delgado Province resulting in at least 1400 households’ displacement (approximately 7,000 persons). The non-State armed groups attacked Mocímboa da Praia, Muidumbe and Macomia districts. Civilians have been targeted in all attacks and at least 11 civilians have been killed.
• Syria – Conflict escalation in all hubs (ERCC). On 5 October, at least 89 people were killed and 277 wounded by drones carrying explosive ammunition targeting the graduation ceremony for military academy cadets in Homs province (central Syria). No group has taken responsibility for the attack so far. Humanitarian NGOs have been strongly advised to suspend non-essential movements in the affected areas until further notice.
• Rio de Janeiro’s security forces launch raids in 3 favelas to target criminals (AP News). Rio de Janeiro’s state government deployed hundreds of police officers early Monday to three of the city’s sprawling, low-income neighborhoods, saying it aimed to clamp down on organized crime groups.
• Heavy artillery fire killed at least 11 people and wounded 90 in a major city in conflict-torn Sudan (AP News). The attack took place on Thursday in the Karari neighborhood in the city of Omdurman, just next to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, said the aid group Doctors Without Borders, without saying which of the country’s warring parties was responsible.
• Over the past week, Turkey has struck nearly two hundred targets (Al-Monitor) it says are linked to Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq and Syria, including those of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). An SDF commander said Turkey has also targeted civilian sites such as schools. The attacks were in response to a suicide bombing in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, earlier this month for which the Kurdistan Workers’ Party claimed responsibility.

Demonstrations

• Farmers gearing up for ‘long march’ on Islamabad, Lahore against inflated bills (Pakistan Today). The key reasons behind the long march as listed by the farmers’ coalition are massive increases in the electricity, gas, and fertilizer prices leading to situations where both layman and farmer could not pay electricity bills.
• Guatemala’s attorney general asks authorities to act against pro-democracy protests (AP News). Guatemala’s attorney general on Monday called for the government to act against largely peaceful protesters, who have taken to the streets for weeks demanding her resignation for what they say are clear attempts to undermine their nation’s democracy.

Environment

• Somalia – Floods (ERCC). On 4 October, heavy rainfall hit the Baidoa District located in the Bay Region, South West State, southern Somalia, causing floods and resulting in damage.
• Myanmar – Conflict, floods (ERCC). A military strike on the village of Mung Lai Hkyet in Kachin State, that includes camps for displaced people took place at 11.00 pm of 9 October.  Twenty-nine people were killed, including 10 children, and 56 people wounded.
• Cameroon – Floods and landslide (ERCC). Heavy rains in Yaounde in the night of 8 to 9 October have caused death to 30 people and injured 17 in Mbankolo, an outskirt of Yaounde, the capital city. An estimate of thirty homes are reported destroyed.
• Afghanistan – Earthquakes, update (ERCC). The number of casualties is increasing following the seismic activity that hit Herat Province on 7 October. According to media, at least 1,294 people died, many more have been injured, and some 1,900 houses have been destroyed across 20 villages
• India – Flash Floods, update (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting the Sikkim State in nort-eastern India, between Nepal and Buthan, since 4 October, causing flash floods and the Teesta River overflow that have resulted in casualties and widespread damage.
• Hottest September on record puts 2023 on track to be warmest year ever (UN News). WMO said this continues an extended streak of extraordinary land and sea-surface temperatures and is an ominous signal about the speed with which greenhouse gases (GHG) are changing the climate.

Health

• In the 2023 dengue transmission season (ECDC), as of 2 October 2023, six clusters of autochthonous dengue virus transmissions with a total of 31 cases have been reported so far in mainland France; and 42 locally acquired dengue fever cases have been detected in the Lombardy (27) and Lazio (15) regions in Italy.
• In the 2023 West Nile Virus seasonal surveillance (ECDC), since the last update, and as of 4 October 2023, 42 human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection have been reported by EU/EEA countries and two by an EU-neighbouring country.
• COVID-19 (ECDC). By the end of week 39 (ending 1 October 2023), rates of respiratory illness in the community and numbers of COVID-19 cases continued to increase in over half of EU/EEA countries reporting data. Increased transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has translated into increases in hospital or ICU admissions and even deaths in some countries, although the impact is still limited.
• Chikungunya global outbreaks (ECDC). In 2023, and as of 30 September, approximately 440 000 cases and over 350 deaths have been reported worldwide as a result of chikungunya virus disease. Most of the cases were reported in South America.

Migration and Displacement

• Pakistan Orders More Than a Million Afghans Out of the Country (The New York Times). Migrants from Afghanistan living undocumented in Pakistan, many of whom fled the Taliban takeover, have been given four weeks to leave.

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information. The information in this report may change without prior notice.

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