BBC News World

Jerry Kenny/BBCCopyright: Jerry Kenny/BBC

Nigerian students trapped in Kherson, a southern Ukrainian city occupied by Russian troops, say they have been left traumatised after two weeks sheltering underground, and want their home nation to act swiftly.

Jerry Kenny told the BBC that he and six of his friends had fallen sick because of the poor conditions below ground and said had no access to food and other essentials.

"Some people can’t even talk because they are scared," he said, adding that the Nigerian government had not "reached out to us in terms of food or water, nothing".

"I've spoken to so many representatives, ambassadors and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be evacuated. But we are still stuck here," he said.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffery Onyeama said at the weekend that he was in contact with Nigeria’s ambassadors to Ukraine and Russia, as they engaged the Russian and Indian governments as well as non-governmental organisations to safely evacuate the students trapped in Kherson.

Reports say more than 100 African students, many of them from Nigeria, remain stuck in Kherson.

So far, more than 1,400 Nigerians have been evacuated from Ukraine since the Russian invasion began there three weeks ago.

Jerry Kenny/BBCCopyright: Jerry Kenny/BBC

Jerry Kenny/BBCCopyright: Jerry Kenny/BBC

Sudanese anti-coup protesters have taken to the streets to denounce sexual violence against women, after a university student was allegedly gang-raped by soldiers in the capital, Khartoum, on Monday.

On social media, activists have launched a hashtag that translates from Arabic as "They will not break you" in a show of solidarity with victims of sexual violence.

The rape reportedly took place after security forces fired tear gas into a minibus. It was carrying some people who had earlier been protesting against the military government - angered by last year's coup and the rising cost of living.

Eyewitnesses say as passengers left the vehicle they were beaten and their possessions were stolen.

They say the woman was separated from her travelling companion and then reportedly attacked by eight soldiers.

Residents in the area heard screams and rushed to rescue her.

Several women were raped in protests against the military junta late last year.

The use of sexual violence as a weapon is not new to Sudan. Human rights groups have documented the rape of hundreds of women in the war in Darfur.

Days after a deadly attack on a maternity hospital in Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol, the city's biggest hospital has been captured and 400 patients and staff are being treated like hostages, officials say.

Regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko says the regional intensive care hospital, on the western outskirts of Mariupol, was all but destroyed the other day but staff continued to treat patients in the basement.

He has quoted one hospital employee as saying: "The Russians forced 400 people from neighbouring houses to come to our hospital. We can't leave."

Donetsk regional governorCopyright: Donetsk regional governor

Authorities say at least 2,400 civilians have already been killed since Russia's bombardment of the city began. Many of Mariupol's residents are trying to survive in underground shelters.

One human rights group accuses Russian soldiers of threatening to shoot anyone who leaves the hospital, and anyone who has tried to get out has been shot and wounded.

You can read more about the terrible conditions in Mariupol here.

Staff at the University of Bahr El-Ghazal in Wau are demanding that six months of unpaid salaries be paid to them, a week after a similar demand by University of Juba employees was seemingly ignored.

Faculty members of both institutions have been staging protests in recent days, and are calling on the government to settle all pay arrears across all five of South Sudan's public universities.

"A hungry man is angry," read one banner carried by University of Bahr El-Ghazal staff during protests on Monday.

A photo of it was shared in solidarity on Facebook by the vice-chancellor of the University of Juba, Prof John Akec:

Prof John Akec/FacebookCopyright: Prof John Akec/Facebook

Meanwhile, the BBC understands that South Sudan's education minister is to call an emergency meeting with leaders of all five public universities on Wednesday to discuss the matter.