♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

DABANGA SUDAN – July 11, 2023

A compact digest of the past week’s most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan. Subscribe to receive this digest weekly in your inbox.

Kidnapping and protection rackets rife in North Darfur
 
KUTUM / EL FASHER / TAWILA – July 5, 2023. Militiamen in Kutum, North Darfur, are reportedly imposing ‘financial fees’ on residents in return for protection and kidnapping people for ransom. The town fell under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in early June after attacks on the town and nearby camps left 40 people dead. More than 90 per cent of Kutum’s population has been forced to endure “a gruelling journey on foot to El Fasher and nearby towns”.
 
Displaced people from Kutum also shared disturbing accounts of continued rape and arbitrary arrests targeting various civil society groups whilst displaced people in El Fasher and Tawila face dire conditions as disease outbreaks and resource scarcity plague shelters.

Save the Children: Children as young as 12 raped as sexual violence rips through Sudan
 
LONDON / KHARTOUM – July 10, 2023. Girls aged between 12 and 17 years old are being sexually assaulted and raped in alarming numbers by members of the warring parties in Sudan, Save the Children reported. While conflict-related sexual violence is understood to be rampant, only 88 cases of rape as part of the conflict have been verified, Save the Children stated.

However, according to the Combating Violence Against Women Unit, these figures likely represent only two per cent of the total cases, “meaning there have been a possible 4,400 cases of sexual violence in 11 weeks alone”. “There have also been reports of girls being kidnapped and held for days while being sexually assaulted and of gang rapes of girls and women.”

Continuing battles in Sudan leave dozens dead
KHARTOUM / OMDURMAN / KHARTOUM NORTH / NYALA / BARA / EL OBEID – July 11, 2023. Civilians and military troops were killed in Khartoum, South Darfur, and North Kordofan on Sunday. In Nyala, an unknown number of youths have been liquidated, reportedly on ethnic grounds.
 
Sudan Military Intelligence continues to detain critical voices
KHARTOUM NORTH / DELLING / EL GEDAREF – July 11, 2023. Critical voices and political opponents of the Sudanese army, including a sheikh who called for peace, face detentions throughout Sudan at the hands of Military Intelligence or security forces. Detainees have been accused of supporting the RSF or other opponents of the army, often with little to no evidence.
 
Solidarity campaign for Sudanese artists
JOHANNESBURG / KHARTOUM – July 10, 2023. Many Sudanese lost their livelihoods when the war broke out, including Sudan’s artists who were exploring their newfound political and artistic liberty. Often forced to flee with nothing but the clothes they wore, many struggle to make ends meet. Curators and other creatives have banded together to start a crowdfunding campaign.
 
At least 37 Sudanese dead in Omdurman airstrikes
OMDURMAN – July 10, 2023. The death toll of the aerial bombardments on Dar El Salaam in eastern Omdurman this weekend rose to at least 37. The Sudanese army denies any responsibility and said that its “qualitative operation” only killed rebels.
 
IOM: Half of the population of Sudan in urgent need of humanitarian aid
GENEVA – July 9, 2023. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that half of Sudan’s population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid and protection. One-third of them are in Darfur. Nearly three million Sudanese have been displaced in less than three months.
 
UN OCHA and European Union call for humanitarian intervention in Sudan
PORT SUDAN / BRUSSELS – July 8, 2023. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan highlights the high death toll, mass displacement, and the pressing need for health assistance due to the war. The European Union strongly condemns the armed conflict and calls for immediate action to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid.
 
Op-ed: Tribal alignment in Sudan raises concerns over civilian involvement in armed conflict
KHARTOUM – July 7, 2023. The war in Sudan has led to concerning tribal mobilisation efforts and alignment between certain tribes, particularly in the war-scarred regions of Darfur and South Kordofan. Arab groups, such as the Fallata in South Darfur, have openly backed the paramilitary RSF.
 
Alarming testimonies emerge from North Darfur of alleged RSF lawlessness
EL FASHER / TAWILA – July 6, 2023. Displaced people fleeing the Tawila locality in North Darfur have alleged that the RSF and RSF-backed militants killed 15 civilians, raped at least three individuals, wounded dozens, razed the market, and displaced hundreds from camps in June.
 
‘Ethnic cleansing’ continues in West Darfur
EL GENEINA – July 5, 2023. The omda of the West Darfur capital El Geneina, who fled to Chad, said that ethnically motivated attacks in the area continue. “Gunmen have lists containing names of activists, medical doctors, merchants, and community leaders. They are searching for their targets in neighbourhoods to assassinate them,” he said.