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Civil War in Sudan

Museveni-Hemedti Meeting Riles Khartoum

  • In response to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s Friday meeting with RSF Commander Hemedti, Sudan’s government slammed Kampala for what it described as an “affront to humanity” and the Sudanese people (BBC)

Al-Burhan Resolute as RSF Strikes Aid Convoy

  • RSF forces killed three aid workers in a drone strike on a humanitarian convoy intended to bring supplies to South Kordofan state, where Sudanese government forces have made inroads in recent months (Al Jazeera)
  • The attack comes as SAF General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected calls for a truce or UAE-mediated peace deal until RSF forces withdraw from occupied territory (Middle East Monitor)

UN Nears Genocide Verdict in Darfur

  • Members of a UN fact-finding mission in El-Fasher described evidence that RSF forces inflicted widespread death, sexual violence, and starvation against Sudan’s Fur and Zaghawa communities—circumstances that prompted investigators to declare the situation in Darfur bears the “hallmarks of genocide” (BBC)
  • Their report marked the first time a UN-backed body had leveled a genocide allegation against the RSF (OHCHR)
  • The RSF did not immediately comment on the report, though their commander has previously acknowledged the forces committed some atrocities (NYT)
  • Additionally, the United States announced new sanctions on three RSF commanders for their actions during the siege of El Fasher; Washington reiterated its stance that the RSF has committed genocide in the conflict (Treasury)
  • It also updated a previous sanctions announcement about another RSF commander to note that he holds a passport from Kenya, which maintains its neutrality in the conflict (Treasury)

Report Outlines Military Control Over Sudan’s Food

  • As famine and food insecurity continue to threaten Sudan’s besieged east and central regions, researchers have charted the extractive, biased processes that sustain the RSF and SAF’s vast agricultural empires across the country (The Conversation)

Khartoum, Saudi Oil Company Reach Deal

  • The Sudanese government entered into an initial research and exploration agreement with the privately owned Saudi Gold Refinery, which plans to open a series of mines in Sudan’s Red Sea state (The National)

Nearly Thirty Dead in Market Strike

  • A series of drone strikes killed dozens of civilians in a crowded market in North Kordofan state, though the missiles’ source remains disputed; the assault comes after Volker Türk, the UN’s top human rights official, described the Kordofan region as “a focus of hostilities” (Al Jazeera)
  • Despite the Sudanese army’s recent breakthroughs in South Kordofan state, the near-constant threat of drone strikes continues to suffocate Sudan’s decimated markets (Al Jazeera)

Three Days, Thousands Dead in El-Fasher

  • Residents of El-Fasher described last year’s RSF siege on the town as “a scene out of a horror movie” in a UN report that tallied at least six thousand deaths over the course of just three days (BBC)

Sudanese FM: SAF “Protecting Africa” Against Outside Conspirators

  • Sudan’s Foreign Minister said government forces in his country are protecting the African continent in “a war against foreign interference,” a nod to Khartoum’s longstanding allegations that the UAE has provided material and logistical support to RSF rebels (Reuters)

Ferry Capsize Kills Dozens

  • Human rights observers renewed safety concerns related to river travel after at least twenty Sudanese civilians died when a passenger boat overturned in the country’s River Nile state (BBC)

RSF Mosque Strike Kills Two Children

  • RSF militants killed two pupils attending a morning Quranic lesson in a morning drone strike on a mosque in North Kordofan state’s al-Rahad city; the attack comes days after a similar RSF drone attack killed dozens outside the same town (AP)

Reuters: Ethiopia, UAE Training RSF Soldiers

  • Tucked away in dense forest just across the Ethiopian border from Sudan’s Blue Nile state, thousands of RSF soldiers have received training at an expansive secret camp; eight sources, including a senior Ethiopian official, claimed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had provided financial and logistical support for the camp (Reuters)

“Worse to Come” in Kordofan, UN Says

  • Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that deadly attacks against civilians will continue in Sudan’s contested Kordofan region as RSF troops aim to consolidate their power in the country’s central corridor (Al Jazeera)

Riyadh Denounces RSF, “Foreign Parties”

  • As civilians and international humanitarian convoys continue to come under RSF attack across North Kordofan state, Saudi Arabia decried “flagrant violations of all humanitarian norms” and called for coordinated international action in Sudan (Al Jazeera)

Dozens Dead in Drone Strike

  • RSF fighters killed dozens, including eight children, in a drone strike targeting a vehicle transporting displaced civilians; the attack comes a day after rebels struck a World Food Programme convoy headed for El Obeid in the famine-stricken North Kordofan state (AP)

Time Dwindling to Prevent Famine in Sudan

  • Ahead of Sudan’s rainy season, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council warned of an imminent “epic biblical famine” in the besieged Darfur region unless aid groups are met with the financial and logistical resources needed to surge humanitarian aid (PBS)

Famine, Strikes in Darfur, Kordofan

  • Medical experts described “catastrophic conditions” in pockets of North Darfur state as they warned that up to 53 percent of children in some towns exhibited signs of acute malnutrition (AP)
  • The news comes as the Sudan Doctors Network said RSF rebels killed twenty-two at a hospital in South Kordofan state, among them the center’s director and three medical personnel (Anadolu Agency)

Washington to Present Sudan Peace Plan

  • White House Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos told attendees at a fundraiser that the Trump administration had finalized a roadmap to peace in Sudan; despite an expected $1.5 billion in aid pledges, diplomats remain skeptical that Sudan’s warring parties will agree to the deal (Middle East Eye)

SAF Recaptures Kadugli in Kordofan Breakthrough

  • Days after Sudan’s military broke an RSF siege on another key town, its leaders announced their troops had retaken famine-stricken Kadugli (AP)
  • According to SAF General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, control of Kadugli—the capital of the critical Kordofan region—has opened a continuous supply route to Khartoum (Al Jazeera)

Joint Turkish-Egyptian Airstrikes Raise Questions

  • As Turkish-made Akinci drones continue to pound RSF targets across Sudan, investigative reporting reveals the weaponry’s unlikely launch point: a remote base in Egypt’s barren south (NYT)
  • Though Ankara’s role in the partnership remains murky, the shift shows Cairo’s increased willingness to act in Sudan to pre-empt domestic security concerns (Reuters)

Witnesses Say Children Abducted by Paramilitary Forces

  • Interviews conducted by Reuters revealed that paramilitary fighters abducted children, and in some cases killed parents first, during their takeover of al-Fashir in October and other attacks in the Darfur region (Reuters)
  • Further, as Sudan’s rival militias entrench themselves in the country’s critical Kordofan corridor, analysts fear regional players could disregard international borders in an effort to destabilize the Horn of Africa (FP)

Army Breaks Siege in Al-Dalanj

  • Sudan’s army reported that it broke an RSF siege in al-Dalanj; the siege began in April 2023, and survivors report an acute hunger crisis in the region (Reuters)

Sudanese Forces Advance in Kordofan

  • After two years under RSF control, SAF forces entered Dilling in South Kordofan state—a linchpin for supply lines in the crucial Kordofan region; the move comes as SAF General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with Qatari leaders in Doha to seek regional military support (Al Jazeera)

Blue Nile State Could Be War’s Newest Front

  • A recent clash in southeastern Sudan’s Blue Nile state threatens to embroil the relatively stable region in the ongoing conflict between Sudan’s military and RSF paramilitary forces; observers say the RSF aims to open a new front in Blue Nile to stretch SAF forces (ACLED)

Nigeria Confirms Kaduna Kidnapping Days Later

  • Despite labeling initial reports of the attack as “mere falsehood,” Nigerian government officials acknowledged they had begun to deploy search and rescue missions to the country’s northern Kaduna state (BBC)

Half of Sudan’s Kids Are Out of School

  • Recent estimates from aid groups report that war-related violence is keeping 50 percent of Sudan’s youth from regular school attendance, with only 3 percent of schools in North Darfur state remaining open (Reuters)