Plane Downed by RSF in Darfur Region May Have Had Russians on Board
The RSF said it shot down a “foreign warplane” that had been aiding the Sudanese military, and Russia’s embassy in Sudan said it was investigating the incident; documents shown in mobile phone footage also appeared to link the plane to a Kyrgyzstan airline (AP)
Sudan’s Army Reports First Defection of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander in Current War
The army said the defection followed its military advances in the capital (Sudan Tribune,Reuters)
MSF Pauses Humanitarian Work in Darfur
The medical charity suspended its work in the Zamzam refugee camp, which hosts 450,000 people, stating that RSF and Sudanese military blockades have prevented supplies from entering the camp (Reuters)
Egypt Denies Sudanese Paramilitary Group’s Claim of Involvement in War
Egypt’s foreign ministry said the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader’s claim that Cairo’s fighters supported an attack on the group was “groundless” (Bloomberg)
The RSF is battling the Sudanese government in the country’s civil war and said that Egypt had long been involved but recently “intensified” its role to be directly engaged in the fighting (Sudan Tribune)
Sudanese Military Continues Fighting in Khartoum
Top Sudanese General Ibrahim Gabir said the army’s operation against the RSF would not halt for diplomacy; he also denied reports of famine conditions in Sudan and hinted at arms discussions with Iran (BBC)
Ex-PM Warns of Growing Threat of Terrorism in Sudan
The continuation of the country’s civil war risks making it “fertile ground for terrorism” at a time when several African countries are experiencing rises in militant violence, the country’s last civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told the Financial Times (FT)
Al-Burhan Denies Participation of RSF Backers in Peace Process
The country’s army commander said it would not participate in peace talks if countries providing military backing to the rebel Rapid Support Forces are observers; he accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the rebels, which Abu Dhabi has denied (Sudan Tribune)
Sudan’s Army Unleashes Push to Recapture Capital From Rebels
Army forces waged offensives flanking western, southern, and central areas of Khartoum yesterday where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were set up (Sudan Tribune)
Air strikes and fierce clashes continued into today as the army peddled forward its biggest operation yet to regain ground there in the nearly eighteen months of fighting (AFP)
United Nations’ Guterres: “Gravely Alarmed” by Reported RSF Attack on El Fasher
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to discuss Sudan with the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan when they meet today, White House advisor Jake Sullivan said (Reuters)
Sudan’s Warring Sides Say They Are Open to Negotiations on Ending Conflict
Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said he was committed to ending violence, while the head of its adversary, the Rapid Support Forces, also said it reaffirmed its commitment to cease-fire talks (Reuters)
U.S. President Joe Biden called for a cease-fire and return to talks on Tuesday; top U.S. and Egyptian diplomats meeting in Cairo echoed the appeal yesterday (White House,Sudan Tribune)
Burhan is due to attend Sudan-related events on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (Sudan Tribune)
UN Security Council Extends Sanctions Against Arms Flowing Into Western Darfur Until September 2025
The resolution also included the extension of asset freezes and travel bans (Sudan Tribune)
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry Rejects UN Proposal of Peacekeeping Force
The foreign ministry is aligned with Sudan’s army in the country’s civil war against a paramilitary force and said that UN recommendations of an international force in the country would be fulfilling a “wish for the enemies of Sudan;” it also strongly criticized the report’s proposal of an arms embargo (Bloomberg,Sudan Tribune)
Rights Experts Call for ‘Impartial Force’ Deployment to Sudan
A UN-backed fact-finding team blamed both sides in the country’s civil war for war crimes including murder, mutilation, and torture, and called for an “independent and impartial force” to be deployed to protect civilians; they said the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces committed crimes including rape, sexual slavery, and persecution on ethnic or gender grounds, and urged that an arms embargo be extended to cover the entire country (AP)
WFP Investigates Allegations of Misconduct in Sudan Operations
The UN World Food Program (WFP) is investigating two of its top officials in Sudan over accusations including fraud and concealing information about operations from donors, multiple unnamed sources told Reuters; the probe is deciphering whether staff attempted to hide the Sudanese army’s alleged role in blocking aid to civilians.(Reuters)
Sudan Dam Collapses, Exacerbating Water Crisis
A dam collapse near the country’s de facto capital of Port Sudan over the weekend had killed at least thirty people by yesterday, a UN humanitarian agency said (AP)
Another two hundred have gone missing and around fifty thousand in total have been affected by the flooding (RFI)
The city is home to aid agencies servicing hundreds of thousands displaced by Sudan’s civil war; the dam collapse puts residents at risk of disease outbreaks and a water shortage (Sudan Tribune)
Aid Slowly Enters Sudan’s Darfur Region After Border Crossing Reopens
Fifteen aid trucks have entered Sudan from Chad after the Sudanese army temporarily reopened a border crossing last week that it had closed in February, a UN official said; at least 116 aid trucks still remain at the border, according to the United Nations (Reuters)
More than six million people face food insecurity across the Darfur region (Reuters)
Sudan’s Government Opens Border Crossing for Aid, Says It Will Participate in Talks
The army-aligned government said it will send a delegation to Cairo for talks on a humanitarian deal after staying away from meetings in Switzerland that began last week on a cease-fire (AFP)
On Saturday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the government’s reopening of the Adre border crossing with Chad last week; the crossing is a central aid route for the Darfur region that had been down since February (UN News)
Sudan Peace Talks Stretch Into Second Day Without Both Sides Present
A delegation from paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces arrived for the talks at an undisclosed location in Switzerland, but has largely seemed to be withdrawn from them; the Sudanese army is not there at all (BBC)
Still, participants, including the United States, said they were working out frameworks for a cease-fire and the delivery of aid (Reuters)
Sudan’s Government to Consult With United States Ahead of Peace Talks
The Sudanese government sent a delegation to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to meet with U.S. envoys ahead of August 14 peace talks in Geneva with the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, the opposing side in the country’s civil war; the Sudanese army has also been invited to the peace talks (Sudan Tribune)
Senior UN Aid Officials Appeal to Security Council for Help Accessing Sudan
Officials called on the Security Council to take action to ensure aid can reach Sudan in the absence of a cease-fire (UNSC)
The United States has also called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution on aid delivery; Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations said that the international community “should not interfere in the domestic affairs of Sudan” (Reuters)
Experts Declare Famine in Parts of Sudan
Two organizations that monitor global hunger said that parts of Sudan’s Darfur region were officially experiencing famine, with worsening conditions driven by the country’s civil war (NYT)
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on warring parties to remove barriers to aid and attend cease-fire talks in Switzerland scheduled for August 14 (Sudan Tribune)
Sudan’s Army Chief Survives Assassination Attempt, Army Says
Five people were killed in a drone attack on a military graduation ceremony in eastern Sudan today that was targeting army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, an army spokesperson said (Sudan Tribune)
The spokesperson blamed the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese army’s opponent in the country’s ongoing civil war; the RSF did not immediately comment (BBC)
Sudan’s Agriculture Minister Casts Doubt on Warnings Over Hunger Crisis
UN-backed data says 755,000 people are experiencing catastrophic hunger in Sudan, but Abubakr al-Bushra said it was “not a significant percentage compared to the total population” of around fifty million; an official declaration of famine could trigger UN Security Council orders that supersede restrictions on aid deliveries across the country’s borders (Reuters). Al-Bushra also rejected the idea that international humanitarian agencies could override army restrictions on delivering relief (AfricaNews, AP)
Emirati Leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Endorses Efforts to End Conflict in Sudan
The Emirati leader made the endorsement in his first call with Sudan’s military general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan since the country’s civil war began last year; the UAE has been accused of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in their war against the Sudanese army (Al-Monitor)
IOM: More Than Ten Million Sudanese Have Been Displaced Since Start of War
The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) tally shows that 20 percent of the country’s population has now been forced from their homes in what has become the world’s largest displacement crisis since the war began in April 2023; the civil war has also driven the country to the brink of mass famine, with about half of Sudan’s population of fifty million facing a hunger crisis, the most of any country worldwide (Reuters)