Tag: Sudan

Africa
Sudan

Sudan: worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded

The International Rescue Committee declared that Sudan is currently experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded. The report states that approximately 30.4 million people—over half of Sudan’s population—are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, a staggering figure that accounts for 10% of all people globally requiring aid, despite Sudan representing less than 1% of the world’s population. Health services have been critically impacted, with more than 70% of healthcare facilities nonfunctional and widespread outbreaks of diseases like cholera and malaria threatening already vulnerable populations.(Map: PCL)

Africa
El Fasher

Russia vetoes UN resolution on Sudan ceasefire

Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at protecting civilians in Sudan amid the country’s ongoing conflict. The resolution, which called on the warring factions to cease hostilities and engage in dialogue in good faith, was blocked despite widespread support—including from China, which frequently votes in a bloc with Russia. Introduced by the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone, the draft resolution demanded that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) honor and fully implement their pledges in the “Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan,” which was signed by both sides in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May 2023. Russia said the resolution did not sufficiently respect Sudan’s sovereignty in justifying its veto, which was assailed by international human rights organizations. Sudan’s government rejected the resolution for failing to condemn the United Arab Emirates for backing the RSF—an accusation the UAE has consistently denied. (Photo: Roman Deckert via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa
Sudan

Sudan war drives continued refugee exodus: UN

The war in Sudan is driving continued refugee flight, leading to a deepening humanitarian crisis in the greater region, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported. The agency said that more than 3 million people have fled Sudan, seeking safety in neighboring countries, since the war began in April 2023. The refugees are faced with challenges of food shortages and continued rights violations such as killings, sexual violence and looting, as well as natural disasters such as flooding. In October, around 60,000 Sudanese escaping the escalated fighting in Darfur arrived in Chad, which is facing a resource shortage due to its increasing refugee population, now at over 1.1 million. The refugees there face an overwhelmed healthcare system, scarce food, and no education for their children who have already been out of school for two years. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Gezira

New atrocities by RSF reported in Sudan’s Gezira

Brutal attacks by the Rapid Support Forces on villages and towns in Sudan’s Gezira state, south of Khartoum, have displaced around 120,000 people over the past two weeks, resembling the kind of violence used by the paramilitary group in the Darfur region beginning last year. The attacks were triggered by the defection to the army of the RSF’s top commander in Gezira, Abu Aqla Kayka; villages under his control were reportedly targeted. The UN said the attacks left at least 124 people dead and resulted in more than 27 women and girls being raped, though these numbers are likely a massive undercount given survivor testimonies, activist reports, and videos that show rows of bodies wrapped in shrouds. The attacks are among the worst to take place in Gezira since the RSF took over the state in December 2023. The state is considered the country’s breadbasket, but farmers have been forced to flee and cropland has been deliberately burnt. (Map: Sudan War Monitor)

Africa
Darfur

Sudan: Fur leaders reject RSF-backed ’emirate’

Leaders and activists from the Fur people in Sudan’s Central Darfur state voiced their rejection of the Rapid Support Forces’ establishment of a new “emirate” in the ethnicity’s traditional territory for an Arab group that has migrated from the neighboring Central African Republic. They warned of an agenda of demographic change and the empowerment of outside groups at the expense of the indigenous population. The response came after platforms affiliated with the RSF published a video of a celebration held by a group called “Awlad Baraka & Mubarak,” marking the establishment of the “emirate.” RSF Brig. Gen. Mohamed Adam Bangoz addressed the event. (Map via Radio Tamazuj)

Africa
Sudan

Calls mount for Sudan intervention force

A UN fact-finding mission for Sudan called for an independent and impartial force to be deployed “without delay” to protect civilians. Its case is bolstered by reports of a new set of grave human rights violations in the country. In southeastern Sennar state, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were accused of killing 40 people in artillery strikes on local markets and residential areas, while in Darfur’s famine-stricken Zam Zam displacement site, the RSF reportedly tightened a siege and arrested traders trying to supply the camp. The war that began in April 2023 has produced the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. Recent mediation efforts have failed, with the army refusing to turn up and the RSF using its attendance to try to launder its terrible image. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Sudan

Sudan peace talks no-show

US-sponsored talks to halt the 16-month conflict in Sudan kicked off in Geneva, but there was a no-show from the army despite all the fanfare. There had been hope that the new venue and buy-in from regional powers supporting the warring factions—including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates—would give the process a better chance of succeeding than prior, disjointed mediation attempts. But the army’s command remains internally divided on the issue of dialogue—especially while it is on the back foot militarily—and is wary of the US. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the army’s rival, is meanwhile being accused of attending talks only to launder its image and bolster its international legitimacy. Grassroots civilian groups also remain deeply wary of another potential power-sharing accord that strengthens the military generals at their expense. (Map: PCL)

Africa
jihadis

Is Ukraine backing Mali insurgents?

Mali announced that it has cut diplomatic relations with Ukraine, after a Kyiv military official boasted of having aided an insurgent attack in the country’s north that left scores of government troops and Russian mercenaries dead. Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, said on social media that “the rebels received necessary information, and not just information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.” While not saying whether Ukrainian military personnel were involved in the fighting or were present in the country, Yusov cryptically added that the GUR “won’t discuss the details at the moment, but there will be more to come.” Malian official Col. Abdoulaye Maiga said Yusov’s comments “admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups.” (Photo: FIDES)

Africa
El Fasher

UN: over 10 million internally displaced in Sudan

The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 10 million Sudanese, over 20% of the population, have been displaced from their homes. An estimated 7,794,480 people have been internally displaced since the current Sudan conflict began in April 2023, while a further 2,238,671 have crossed borders into neighboring countries such as Chad, South Sudan and Egypt. Some half of the displaced are from the especially conflicted western region of Darfur. In a statement last month, the IOM warned of an extreme risk of famine in Sudan. (Photo: Roman Deckert via Wikimedia Commons)

Planet Watch
Chad

Record 117 million forcibly displaced worldwide: UN

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that a record number of 117.3 million people around the world were forcibly displaced as of the end of 2023. The agency expects this number to rise to over 120 million cases by the end of this year, especially noting the situations in Sudan, Burma and Palestine. The conflict in Sudan that began in April 2023 has led to 6 million becoming internally displaced persons (IDPs) with 1.2 million people forced into neighboring countries as refugees. In Burma, conflict since the military coup of 2021 has resulted in 1.2 million IDPs, while over 75% of the population in Gaza was displaced between October and December amid the ongoing bombardment of the enclave. (Photo of Sudanese refugees in Chad: Henry Wilkins/VOA via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa
Fasher

Sudan: mass exodus from El Fasher

A mass exodus of civilians from El Fasher, capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, is underway as the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battle for control of the city. The month-long RSF siege of El Fasher has resulted in hundreds of casualties and triggered the massive wave of displacement, with an estimated 28,000 people fleeing their homes over the past weeks. Those fleeing have recounted harrowing experiences of escalating violence and dire living conditions. (Photo: Sudan Tribune)

Africa
Wad Al-Noora

Sudan: RSF accused in village massacre

The local Resistance Committees in Madani, capital of Sudan’s al-Jazira state, reported that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a massacre at the nearby village of Wad al-Noora, killing nearly 100 people. The Resistance Committees released a video showing the burial of dozens of bodies in a public square amid a large gathering of village residents. Other videos circulating online show RSF fighters firing with automatic rifles and from “technicals,” pick-up trucks mounted with machine-guns. The RSF acknowledged operations in the area, but said it only targeted army positions on the village outskirts. Since taking control of Madani late last year, the RSF has been raiding villages in al-Jazira, with widespread atrocities reported, including killings of unarmed residents, abductions, forced displacements, and looting of properties, including crops and homes. (Photo: Sudan Tribune)