♦ Sudan news highlights ♦

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

Healthcare collapse threatens pregnant women in Sudan’s Sharg El Nil
 
22/01/2025 – SHARG EL NIL / KHARTOUM NORTH. Pregnant women in Sharg El Nil (East Nile) area, particularly in Haj Yousef, are living a terrifying nightmare that threatens their lives and the lives of their unborn children. The lack of medical services has led to a rise in maternal and foetal mortality rates, alongside serious, life-threatening health complications.
 
The closure of hospitals and obstetrics and gynaecology centres in Sharg El Nil has caused an alarming increase in maternal deaths and obstructed labour cases. This is compounded by a lack of personnel, theft and plundering, and repeated shelling and targeted attacks. A lack of ambulance services leaves families to resort to dangerous methods to transport patients in emergencies.

Sudan war: Dozens dead amid accusations of sexual violence in El Gezira
 
15/01/2025 – EL GEZIRA. Nine people were killed in an attack on Abu Gouta, El Gezira, marking the latest in a series of deadly incidents targeting residents of the region. Reports indicate that these attacks have included killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence, and human rights abuses.
 
Secretary-General of the Kanabi Congress Jaafar Mohamedein told Radio Dabanga that the most recent attack targeted multiple Kanabi residential areas. He held the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) responsible. A day earlier, 18 residents of El Hedeiba and eastern Um El Gura were killed whilst a camp in southern El Gezira was reportedly set on fire. Mohamedein accused the SAF-allied Sudan Shield Forces of rape and sexual violence across Kanabi areas.

70+ dead in renewed North Darfur hospital bombing
26/01/2025 – EL FASHER. The bombing of the maternity ward of the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur, by the RSF has killed at least 70 people and injured dozens, wiping out the city’s only fully operational health facility, according to the El Fasher Resistance Committees.
 
Sudan timeline Oct-Dec 2024: Reports of famine and calls for peace overshadowed by war
24/01/2025 – DABANGA SUDAN. As the situation continues to deteriorate in Sudan to devastating levels, the international community confines itself to repeating calls for a dialogue and a ceasefire. The SAF and its paramilitary counterpart RSF have been fighting each other since April 15, 2023.
 
Sudan’s lost treasures: war fuels artefact trafficking
22/01/2025 – KHARTOUM. Sudanese officials and government sources have revealed ongoing efforts to track and recover stolen Sudanese artefacts from several museums, particularly those that have passed through South Sudan or across its borders. The extent and value of the stolen artefacts remain unknown due to the difficulty officials face in accessing museums in conflict zones.
 
Libya sets deadline for ‘undocumented’ Sudanese refugees
21/01/2025 – KUFRA / LILLE / TRIPOLI. Libya’s Anti-Illegal Immigration Service has issued an ultimatum to businesses across the country, requiring companies, factories, and shops to regularise the employment status of their expatriate workers by the end of January 2025. This move, aimed at regulating Libya’s labour market and improving its foreign labour profile, places thousands of Sudanese refugees and migrants in a precarious position.
 
90+ civilians dead in recent Sudan violence
20/01/2025 – KHARTOUM / KHARTOUM NORTH (BAHRI) / KABKABIYA / EL FASHER. At least 90 civilians have been killed since last Thursday as violence between SAF and RSF intensifies, spreading from Khartoum to North Darfur and White Nile states. The escalation has led to widespread human rights abuses and civilian casualties across multiple regions.
 
Yale HRL report: ‘Chinese UAVs identified at RSF-controlled South Darfur airport’
17/01/2025 – NYALA. A report published by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health identifies advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Nyala Airport, in the capital of South Darfur, currently under the control of the paramilitary RSF.
 
Nationwide curfew in South Sudan after riots target Sudanese businesses
17/01/2025 – JUBA. A wave of unrest targeting Sudanese businesses has swept through South Sudan following the killing of Southern Sudanese people in Wad Madani, El Gezira, after the SAF recaptured the city. South Sudan’s police chief announced a nationwide curfew from 18.00 to 06.00.
 
Sudan Shield Forces head vows ‘to enter Khartoum within 48 hours’
15/01/2025 – WAD MADANI / BUTANA. The commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, allied to the SAF, has vowed to enter the capital city of Khartoum, which is currently under RSF control, ‘within 48 hours’, amid ongoing advances and successes by the SAF and allied forces in the area.
 
‘Extrajudicial killings, abductions, and torture follow Sudan army’s victory in Wad Madani’
14/01/2025 – WAD MADANI / EL DINDER / EL HASAHEISA / UM EL GURA / EL KANABI / OMBADDA. The SAF’s recent recapture of Wad Madani in El Gezira state has sparked a wave of disturbing reports highlighting widespread violations against civilians. Alarming footage circulating on social media shows SAF forces and allied forces carrying out torture, extrajudicial killings, and widespread destruction in areas previously controlled by the paramilitary RSF.
 
MSF: Attacks on Sudan hospitals, ambulance ‘despicable’
12/01/2025 – GENEVA / KHARTOUM / EL FASHER. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders / MSF) has suspended all medical activities at Bashair Teaching Hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in south Khartoum, condemning “ongoing violent attacks on patients and staff”. MSF also decried “a despicable attack on an ambulance” in North Darfur capital El Fasher.
 
Rape and physical enslavement of women is a tool of criminal war in Sudan
11/01/2025 – SUDAN MEDIA FORUM. As this war approaches its second year, reports of grave violations against women, especially rape but also slavery and forced marriage, are increasing. At least 679 rape victims were rushed to medical facilities due to health problems and severe injuries.