A coalition led by the RSF announced the creation of a parallel government; the step has spurred fears of a lasting territorial split in the country (NYT)
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is its president, and Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi, a politician who served in Sudan’s transitional government before the 2021 military coup, is its prime minister; regions including Darfur now have two rival governors (DW)
Egypt Funds Train Journeys for Sudanese Refugees Returning to Khartoum
The Egyptian government, which hosts the largest number of Sudanese refugees, is funding train journeys to the Sudanese capital city Khartoum,, which recently was recaptured by the Sudanese Army from RSF rebels; Khartoum was largely demolished—electricity and other basic services are not fully operational around the city—but is experiencing a rebirth as residents return and markets reopen (AP)
Libya Deports Seven Hundred Sudanese Migrants in Trafficking Crackdown
Libyan authorities have deported seven hundred Sudanese migrants back to the conflict-ridden country as part of an ongoing crackdown on migrant trafficking in eastern Libya; officials claimed some of the deportees suffered from diseases including hepatitis and AIDS, while others were deported because of either criminal convictions or “security reasons” (AP)
RSF Accused of of Killing Hundreds Since Saturday
RSF raids targeted villages with civilians, thus violating international law, one rights group said; the United Nations estimated that 3,400 people fled during recent fighting (Guardian)
450 Civilians Killed in North Kordofan as Humanitarian Crisis Mounts
Aid workers are warning of limited access to refugee and humanitarian assistance after more than 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed in attacks surrounding the Bara town in the North Kordofan state (AP)
RSF Kills Four in Artillery Shelling Attack in Obeid
The RSF reportedly launched artillery shelling on neighborhoods in Obeid city, the capital of North Kordofan state, killing at least four people and injuring others; the Sudan Doctors’ Network claimed the attack intentionally targeted densely populated areas of displaced people, as well as women and elderly people (AP)
ICC Warning on Sudan
The country’s civil war “has reached an intolerable state,” the deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) advised the UN Security Council; the tribunal believes that war crimes and crimes against humanity are currently occurring in Sudan’s Darfur region (AP)
The United Nations has estimated that 40,000 people have so far been killed and almost 13 million displaced in the conflict (UNHCR)
ICC Warns of War Crimes in Sudan’s Darfur Region
The International Criminal Court believes war crimes and crimes against humanity are occurring in Sudan’s Darfur region; the tribunal’s deputy prosecutor told the UN Security Council that suffering “has reached an intolerable state,” with famine, sexual violence, and abductions mounting as hospitals, humanitarian convoys, and other civilian infrastructure are being targeted (AP)
MSF Warns of Strikes on Sudan’s Hospitals as Disease and Injuries Rise
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned of attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan as mass atrocities are being committed against civilian populations while famine and disease outbreaks rise; they stated that 70 percent of medical facilities in Sudan have either closed or are barely operational (AP)
WFP Warns Food Aid for Sudanese Refugees Could Run Out in Two Months
The World Food Programme warned that food aid for Sudanese refugees in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya could end within two months without new funding; WFP’s emergency coordinator said $200 million is urgently needed to prevent cuts and worsening malnutrition (Reuters)
Sudan’s Military Leader Meets With Egyptian President
Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo shortly after el-Sisi held separate talks with eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar; the meetings followed the RSF’s seizure of the strategic border triangle between Egypt, Libya, and Sudan—an operation the Sudanese army claims was supported by a Salafist militia loyal to Haftar (Sudan Tribune)
Reports have also emerged of RSF training camps operating inside Libya (Al-Monitor)
Trump’s Aid Cuts Exacerbating Starvation in Sudan
The delivery of hundreds of thousands of already purchased doses of a high-calorie food supplement meant to stave off malnutrition in Sudan was delayed following the Trump administration’s foreign aid cuts, the supplement’s manufacturer told the Washington Post; the World Health Organization estimates that around five million people in Sudan could lose access to lifesaving services due to the cutbacks (WaPo)
The State Department said that it was “continuing lifesaving programs” (CSIS)
Separately, at least three people were killed and dozens injured when RSF artillery hit El Fasher; the RSF has intensified its bombardment of the army’s final foothold in Darfur, defying UN calls for a humanitarian pause (Sudan Tribune)
Sudan’s Military Regains Road From Rebels in South Kordofan
Sudan’s army has reportedly reopened a key road in South Kordofan after expelling fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, which had seized it last week; the road links the towns of Kadugli and Dilling and was retaken following heavy clashes (Sudan Tribune)
Meanwhile, drones from the Sudanese army attacked two strategic RSF centers, including a training facility in Nyala and a military post in the town of Sisi, local sources said (Sudan Tribune)
U.S. Sanctions Sudan Over Chemical Weapons Use
U.S. sanctions against Sudan took effect following a State Department determination that the Sudanese government used chemical weapons against its people; under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act, Sudan is now barred from receiving U.S. assistance—except humanitarian aid—as well as arms sales, security-sensitive exports, and financial support from agencies such as the Export-Import Bank (Sudan Tribune)
Additionally, Sudan’s military chief accepted a UN-proposed ceasefire in El Fasher to allow humanitarian aid; it remains unclear whether the RSF will also comply (AP)
Meanwhile, around 3,200 families fled El Gantoo village near Babanusa, West Kordofan, after a multi-day RSF assault on the army-held town that began on June 16; the army claims it repelled the attack, pushing RSF forces into nearby villages, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (Sudan Tribune)
Lastly, tensions have erupted among Juba Peace Agreement signatories over a 25 percent share of cabinet posts, complicating Prime Minister Kamil Idris’s efforts to form a government; some army-aligned leaders are demanding to retain their current roles (Sudan Tribune)
Sudan Government Accuses Kenya of Supplying Weapons to RSF
The Sudanese government accused the Kenyan government of aiding the United Arab Emirates in supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (News Central)
United Nations Warns of “Crisis of Humanity” in Sudan
The United Nations has released a warning about worsening conditions in Sudan, describing the ongoing conflict as a “crisis of humanity” after the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan documented the increased use of heavy machinery in densely populated regions; this has resulted in extensive killings, displacement, and suffering as aid agencies are purposefully obstructed (Africanews)
Hospital Attack in West Kordofan Kills Forty
At Al Mujlad Hospital in West Kordofan, an attack on a hospital allegedly resulted in the deaths of forty people, including children and health care workers; a human rights group, Emergency Lawyers, accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of launching a drone at the hospital (Reuters)
RSF Captures Border Area Near Egypt and Libya
The RSF announced it had captured the strategic Karb al-Toum oasis in Northern state; an RSF advisor told Sudan Tribunethe area lies near the Jebel Arkenu mountain range and would help strengthen the group’s supply routes (Sudan Tribune)
UN Fact-Finding Mission Reports Conflict Rising, Aid Weaponized
The UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan has reported that both warring parties are increasingly using heavy weapons in populated civilian areas and obstructing humanitarian aid; the mission presented its latest findings to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, warning that the conflict remains intense (Al Jazeera)
Sudan Army Thwarts RSF Attack on El Fasher
Sudan’s army and allied armed groups reportedly thwarted a renewed ground attack by the RSF on El Fasher, the last army stronghold in the Darfur region (Sudan Tribune)
Sudan Surpasses Syria as Country With Most Forcibly Displaced People
According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sudan became the country with the highest number of forcibly displaced people, as it currently has 14.3 million refugees and internally displaced people (DW)
SAF Retreats From Libya-Egypt-Sudan Border Triangle Area
One day after accusing Libya’s Haftar forces of attacking Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) outposts, the SAF retreated from the area, claiming in a statement that it was “part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression” (Reuters).
Alleged Libyan Role in Sudan
Sudan’s military accused Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces of attacking border posts; although Sudan previously accused Haftar of sending weapons to the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, this was the first time Libya was accused of directly participating in Sudan’s conflict (Reuters)
According to Laurent Bukera, a representative of the World Food Programme in Jabal Awliya, a town twenty-five miles from Khartoum, urgent international support is needed to prevent famine; the area is currently experiencing a cholera outbreak and limited access to water, healthcare, and electricity (Al Jazeera)
Fighting Intensifies in Sudan’s Kordofan Region
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched drone strikes on El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and a city controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF); additionally, the SAF fired artillery shells at RSF positions in Babanusa, West Kordofan (Sudan Tribune)
Attack on Aid Convoy Kills Five
UN agencies called for an investigation as they reported that five members of an aid convoy to the city of El-Fasher were killed in an attack earlier this week; the convoy did not reach El-Fasher, which the UN food and children’s agencies called “famine-stricken” (UNICEF)
Each side in Sudan’s civil war accused the other of targeting the convoy with drones (BBC)