KHARTOUM, Sudan — Hundreds of Arab militia fighters, many riding motorbikes or driving vehicles mounted with guns, attacked a village in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Sunday, torching homes and shops and killing at least 150 people, aid groups and United Nations officials said.

The violence, which later spread to a nearby town, was the latest in a series of clashes involving Arab and ethnic African groups in Darfur in recent months, and one of the country’s deadliest episodes in years. The attack highlighted the growing security vacuum that experts say has worsened in tandem with a political crisis in Sudan, where the military seized power in October.

The General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an aid agency, said 168 people had been killed and another 98 injured in the violence around Kereneik in West Darfur.

A United Nations official in Sudan confirmed that account, saying the U.N. had received reports of 150 and 200 deaths. The attack started at dawn, when hundreds of armed men encircled Kereneik before opening fire, later going house to house and killing civilians, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the lack of permission to speak publicly.

In a statement late Sunday, Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy to Sudan, deplored “the heinous killings of civilians” in Kereneik and called for an immediate end to the violence and a transparent investigation into its causes.

Adam Regal, a spokesman for the aid group, laid blame for the violence on the Janjaweed, the Arab militia responsible for the worst atrocities in Darfur since conflict erupted there about 20 years ago. Mr. Regal circulated photos that showed swathes of charred buildings, some still on fire, and apparent Janjaweed fighters.

Sudan’s military ruler, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, dispatched soldiers to Darfur by air to contain the violence. But witnesses said the attack had taken place with little apparent resistance from the security forces already deployed to the area, including troops from Sudan’s military and members of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.

By evening, the violence has spread to the town of El Geneina. Shooting erupted outside the main hospital where Arab fighters brought wounded men to be treated, causing the streets to empty as residents feared they would also come under attack, witnesses said.

“The situation in the town is upside down,” said Ibrahim Musa, a resident of El Geneina, speaking by phone. Doctors, government officials and militia commanders had been killed during clashes in the area during the day, he said.

By midnight, the streets had emptied as residents stayed home, worried about what would come next. “All the people are waiting,” he said. “There is some patrolling of security forces in the streets. We don’t know what will happen in the morning.”

At one level, the bloodshed was another tragic episode in the long-running cycle of violence between ethnic Arab pastoralists and non-Arab farming communities in Darfur.

The worst violence occurred in the 2000s, when Janjaweed fighters backed by the Sudanese military carried out a ruthless campaign that led to charges of war crimes and genocide. Earlier this month, Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed commander, went on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He denies the charges.

Hopes that the cycle of violence in Darfur would be broken after the ouster of Sudan’s longtime dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in 2019, have come to nothing. Planned reform of Sudan’s security forces has yet to start. And things have only worsened since the October coup, led by General al-Burhan, that has plunged the distant capital, Khartoum, into political chaos.

Since General al-Burhan ousted Sudan’s civilian prime minister, his efforts to forge a new government have been frustrated by an array of centrifugal forces, most notably the street protesters who clash regularly with the riot police, demanding a return to civilian-led rule.

And tension is quietly building with his deputy, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, a former Janjaweed commander from Darfur who now commands the powerful R.S.F. paramilitary force, according to western diplomats.

A proposed new security force for Darfur, combining local armed groups with official Sudanese forces, envisaged under a 2020 peace agreement, has yet to come into being. As a result, even small incidents can flare into violence.

The current clashes started on Friday, a day after the bodies of two Arab nomads suspected of cattle rustling were found near Kereneik, the U.N. official said. Arab fighters seeking revenge attacked the village, prompted clashes with local armed groups that spiraled until the attack on Sunday.

Turkey is drafting plans to return one million Syrian refugees to northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, under plans to build housing and provide services in regions held by Turkish-backed forces in the country.

Erdogan made the remarks in a video message on Tuesday as Ankara delivered more briquette houses to Syrians living in rebel-held Idlib.

The Turkish government, with the help of the local and international NGOs, aims to build 100,000 such houses to shelter Syrians fleeing the forces of Bashar al-Assad's government.

Erdogan said in his remarks that half a million Syrians have settled back in parts of Turkish-controlled Syria.

“We are backing up our strategy with projects to encourage the returns,” he said. “We are preparing a project to realise our one million Syrian brothers' return."

Erdogan added that Ankara will implement the project with the local assemblies in 13 regions, including Azaz, Al Bab and Tal Abyad. “All infrastructure projects, from housing to hospitals, everything regarding daily life will be in this project,” he said.

Turkey currently hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees and 1.7 million other foreign nationals. It is also in the grips of a currency crisis.

Last summer saw a spate of communal violence in big cities like Istanbul and Ankara as Syrian businesses and refugees were attacked.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has spearheaded the increasingly hostile anti-Syrian rhetoric. Despite his left-liberal political stance, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has promised to send Syrians back to their country if elected president in 2023.

Umit Ozdag, a right-wing politician and the chairman of the Victory Party, has created a media buzz in recent months by promising to send millions of Syrian, Afghans and Pakistanis back to their countries.

Erdogan, who just a few weeks ago declared that he would never send Syrians back, now talks about their "honourable” return, with Turkey approaching presidential elections next year.

Middle East Eye reported in February that Turkey closed 16 provinces to new arrivals of foreign residents, including refugees, and will relocate Syrians from districts where they make up more than 25 percent of the population.

This week, the government also banned Syrian refugees who live in Turkey from travelling to northern Syria for Eid al-Fitr, due to public criticism over them being allowed to travel freely back and forth.

Opposition politicians argued that if the Syrians are able to travel to Syria they should remain there.

Currently, the government only issues permits for Syrians who visit the country for funerals or want to permanently resettle in northern Syria.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said migrant workers could gain 'pride' from hard work when questioned about reported abuse in Qatar during construction of infrastructure ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Despite the alleged abuses, Mr Infantino claimed workers would feel proud at being given the chance to construct stadiums for the tournament, earning a living rather than being given charity.

Last year, it was reported that 6,500 workers had died in Qatar since it won the hosting rights.

The comments came after Mr Infantino was asked at the global conference of the Milken Institute in Los Angeles if FIFA would use its profits to make "any sort of commitment" to help families of workers who died in Qatar.

Mr Infantino did not directly answer the question when responding to MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle on stage, instead pointing to the introduction of a minimum wage and enhanced labour rights.

"Let's not forget one thing ... when we speak about this topic, which is work, even hard work, tough work," Mr Infantino said.

"America is a country of immigration. My parents immigrated as well from Italy to Switzerland. Not so far, but still.”

"When you give work to somebody, even in hard conditions, you give him dignity and pride. It's not charity. You don't make charity.”

Mr Infantino did not directly dispute the claim that 6,500 workers have died building infrastructure - which was denied by Qatar - but said three people have died on the construction sites of the stadiums.

"Now 6,000 might have died in other works and so on, and of course FIFA is not the police of the world or responsible for everything that happens around the world,” he said.

“But thanks to FIFA, thanks to football we have been able to address the status of all the 1.5 million workers, working in Qatar."

Construction workers, mostly men from southwest Asia, live with multiple people in the same bedrooms in Qatar, while their families remain in their home countries.

The tournament has faced various forms of controversy since announcing Qatar as host, with organisations such as Human Rights Watch expressing ongoing concern over the country's treatment of migrant workers.

A man in his 20s with cropped hair agitatedly paces the corridor of the drug rehabilitation unit as he grapples with the agonies of early withdrawal.

In the TV room, a fashionably dressed young woman in a later stage of recovery wearily draws on a cigarette then rests her head in her hands.

Fighting from the decade-long war in Syria may have died down, but the country's transformation into a narco-state is sowing new seeds of misery across this region.

The rooms at Al-Rashid Hospital in Jordan's capital, Amman, look like hotel accommodation, but checking in here is an act of desperation.

"It's a long process. The patients stay for a minimum of one month, sometimes three months," says nurse Hadeel Bitar as she shows me around.

They come from Jordan and Gulf Arab states, where in recent years the amphetamine Captagon - cheaply manufactured in Syria and Lebanon and also known as "the poor man's cocaine" - has become the drug of choice.

"The consequences of taking it are very serious. They can include violence and psychosis," says Dr Ali al-Qam, a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director.

"It's very addictive as well. People start with one tablet and then increase by two or three, then shift into a more serious drug like crystal meth."

Huge industry

At the height of the conflict in Syria, smugglers and militant groups took advantage to supply Captagon - which is often laced with caffeine - to fighters, to boost their courage and help them stay alert on the frontlines.

With few legitimate work opportunities and growing poverty, many ordinary Syrians became involved in the drugs trade.

Now, with the Syrian economy shattered by a decade of war and still stifled by international sanctions, it has turned into a multi-billion-dollar industry, worth far more than any legal exports.

Although there have been public denials from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, reports have linked powerful figures in business and the military to the manufacturing and distribution of Captagon.

"The areas in which Captagon production is most pronounced are those controlled by the Assad regime and close familial relations of the regime," says Ian Larson, a Syria analyst for the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR), a Cyprus-based consultancy.

"Now, that remains a circumstantial linkage, but it is an indicative one."

A 2021 report, which he authored, suggested a "mind-numbing" scale of Captagon production, with a market value estimated at about $3.5bn (£2.7bn; €3.2bn) for the previous year, based on quantities that were intercepted.

The pills regularly show up in ports, airports and at crossing points - often expertly hidden. They have been found inside containers of machinery and fruits - even fake ones. The Jordanian authorities have released footage of them being removed from animal carcasses.

Shoot-to-kill

Once it was wave upon wave of Syrian refugees that spilt across the border into Jordan. Now, it is drugs.

Skirmishes between the Jordanian military and drug traffickers are becoming more frequent, with larger hauls being made.

Since the start of 2022, the army has intercepted more than 17,000 packets of hashish and 17 million pills of Captagon. Only 15.5 million Captagon pills were picked up in all of 2021, while 1.4 million were seized in 2020.

Jordan is largely a transit route to the drug's biggest market: the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia.

"The most dangerous thing we've noticed recently is the presence of armed groups alongside the smugglers," says Colonel Zaid al-Dabbas of the Jordanian army, who has taken me on a tour.

He estimates there are about 160 groups operating in southern Syria. They have "new tactics, like those of organised crime" and use drones and expensive, customised vehicles, he says.

The increase in illegal activity, along with the killing of a Jordanian soldier, has prompted a change in the army's rules of engagement: it now has a shoot-to-kill policy.

On 27 January, the military says, 27 traffickers were killed when it foiled a co-ordinated effort to cross into Jordan at several points along the border. Four others have been killed in separate operations.

The army would like more support for what another officer describes as "an undeclared war" on Jordan's borders.

"We're fighting on behalf of other countries in the region and the world at large," says Colonel Mustafa al-Hiyari. "Drugs are destroying our families, morals and values."