♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

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.

Eritrea military training camps raise concerns about security in eastern Sudan
 
26/01/2024 – AMSTERDAM – RADIO DABANGA. The ongoing militarisation and increased armament of ‘popular resistance’ groups in eastern Sudan has raised fears about renewed tribal conflicts in the region. Military sources told Radio Dabanga that six training camps have been established in the Eritrean Gash-Barka region by 11 armed groups from eastern Sudan and Darfur. Activists, journalists, and researchers warn of the dire consequences of setting up military camps in neighbouring countries. The social and political effects may be catastrophic in eastern Sudan.
 
The groups include the recently established Eastern Sudan Liberation Forces, the United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice under the leadership of El Amin Daoud, the Beja National Congress led by Mousa Mohamed Ahmed, the Beja Armed Congress headed by Omar Taher, and the Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Minni Minawi.

‘Hope must unite us, not despair’

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan

ICC Prosecutor: Sudan situation ‘dire by any metric’

30/01/2024 – N’DJAMENA / THE HAGUE / NEW YORK. “We are fast approaching a breaking point, and the situation in Sudan demands your attention more than ever,” International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan said during his briefing to the UN Security Council from Chad. Khan described the situation in Sudan as “dire by any metric.” One-third of the population in parts of Chad are Sudanese refugees, and they are arriving at a rate faster than Chad and the UN can respond.

He also blamed the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for crimes committed in Darfur. During meetings with Sudanese refugees, Khan said that the entire world had disappointed Darfur. “Hope must unite us, not despair,” he said, adding that his office was continuing to investigate what happened in Darfur. 

Hemedti denounces El Burhan ‘impulsive’ Sudan-IGAD split
01/02/2024 – DABANGA SUDAN. The commander of the RSF, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, has urged the leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development not to consider Sudan’s withdrawal from IGAD, as announced by SAF Commander-in-Chief Abdelfattah El Burhan.
 
Armed groups skirmish in eastern Sudan ‘safe state’
31/01/2024 – EL GEDAREF. The government of El Gedaref in eastern Sudan has deported forces affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minawi on Monday, following “isolated and limited friction” with members of another SLM faction east of El Gedaref town.
 
Ukrainian drones ‘strike Russian targets’ inside Sudan
31/01/2024 – KYIV. The newspaper Kyiv Post says that the Ukrainian Special Forces have conducted three drone attacks targeting “Russian mercenaries” and their “local terrorist partners” in Sudan over the last few weeks. 
 
Sudan-South Sudan border: 52 people killed in Abyei clashes
30/01/2024 – ABYEI. On Saturday, 52 people were killed and 64 injured in tribal clashes according to Bulabek Deng Kuol, Sultan of the Ngok Dinka in the disputed Abyei border region between Sudan and South Sudan. The UN Interim Security Force in Abyei confirmed the death of a peacekeeper.
 
Sudan Communist Party and SLM-AW sign agreement in Juba
29/01/2024 – JUBA. The Communist Party of Sudan (CPoS) and the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid Nur (SLM-AW) have agreed to form ‘a joint front to confront the challenges facing the fate of the country and unify national positions’.
 
‘Every second person needs humanitarian aid in Sudan’, int’l orgs warn
28/01/2024 – GENEVA / PORT SUDAN. The number of people displaced by the conflict in Sudan has neared a “staggering” 11 million people, most of whom are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the International Organisation for Migration warns.
 
Hunger in South Kordofan’s Dalami as calm returns after fighting
28/01/2024 – DALAMI / HABILA / ABU KERSHOLA. People in Dalami in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains are desperately searching for food after the agricultural season in the area failed last year. Attacks by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu on the town caused many people to flee. The RSF have formed ‘a local government’ in neighbouring Habila.
 
Darfur lawyers investigate ‘role of Wagner and Emirates’ in Sudan war
27/01/2024 – AMSTERDAM – RADIO DABANGA. The Darfur Bar Association and its partners are collaborating with international legal experts to compel the warring SAF and the RSF to agree on an immediate ceasefire. The lawyers also continue their investigations into the involvement of the United Arab Emirates and the Russian military Wagner Group in the armed conflict in Sudan.
 
Sudan: Wad Madani Resistance Committees defy dissolution order
26/01/2024 – WAD MADANI. The Wad Madani Resistance Committees have rejected the state governor’s decision to dissolve all grassroots committees in El Gezira, vowing to continue to work towards rebuilding the state and providing essential aid.
 
SLM’s El Nur meets with Kenya president and Sudan RSF commander
25/01/2024 – JUBA. The Sudan Liberation Movement leader Abdelwahid Nur met with Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday. El Nur also met with RSF commander, Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, on Monday, to discuss humanitarian aid in areas controlled by SLM-AW.