♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

DABANGA SUDAN – July 20, 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.

$49 billion of economic loss and looted property in Sudan

KHARTOUM – July 18, 2023. Sudanese economist estimate the economic loss caused by the war over the past three months at $9 billion, or roughly $100 million per day, while the value of property and goods plundered is estimated at another $40 billion. The war especially affected the industrial and banking sectors and impacts exports, imports, investments, and production.

“The ongoing fighting damaged and destroyed much infrastructure, especially for drinking water and power provision, and many health and educational services. Moreover, the magnitude of the losses of military equipment of both sides seriously affects the state budget,” Economist Haisam Fathi told Radio Dabanga. The fact that salaries and entitlements have not been paid to employees for three months further complicates the economic situation.

‘The ongoing fighting damaged and destroyed much infrastructure’

Haisam Fathi (economist)

South Darfuri warn about famine in the region
 
NYALA – July 19, 2023. People in Nyala, capital of North Darfur, expect extreme food insecurity leading to famine in the region. The prices of agricultural products are skyrocketing. “The price of a 100kg sack of Wad Ahmed sorghum has already risen from SDG18,000 to SDG30,000 (about $50),” a crop trader at the Sha’abi Market in Nyala South said. “A sack of millet now costs SDG52,000, while customers do not have the purchase power anymore to even buy food for the old prices.”
 
He added that “only few farmers dare to visit and cultivate their land because of the ongoing violence” and warned that the current food insecurity “will definitely lead to famine in the region.”

Political activist tortured in Sudan military detention
KHARTOUM / MEROWE – July 19, 2023. Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers has accused military intelligence officers in Merowe, Northern State, of torturing a political activist. A member of the Sudanese Congress Party was held in Khartoum and taken to an unknown destination.
 
Civilian deaths and abductions as RSF take control of Kass, South Darfur
KASS – July 18, 2023. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of Kass, a town in South Darfur, 80 kilometres west of the state’s capital Nyala, where the army’s 61st Infantry Brigade was stationed. Several civilians were killed in the clashes over the weekend and three were abducted.
 
Fierce fighting reported in Sudan’s central cities
KHARTOUM / OMDURMAN / KHARTOUM NORTH – July 18, 2023. Heavy bombing in Sudan’s central cities by the Sudanese Air Force whilst the RSF respond with anti-aircraft missiles. Civilian deaths and injuries have been reported as a result of the intensified fighting, which is seriously impacting already-troubled healthcare facilities.
 
Army remarks spark rumours that resumption of Jeddah talks is ‘imminent’
KHARTOUM – July 17, 2023. The leadership of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) seems open to mediation initiatives. SAF Commander-in-Chief Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan praised the Saudi Arabia-USA-led mediation efforts in Jeddah and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabbashi said that the army is open to ‘any serious initiative’ to stop the war.
 
Sudan timeline April-June 2023: Tensions between Sudanese army and the paramilitary RSF erupt into full-scale armed conflict
DABANGA SUDAN – July 14, 2023. Tensions between the SAF and RSF escalated into open conflict on April 15, sparking a humanitarian catastrophe in large parts of Sudan as countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. A series of humanitarian short-term truces negotiated in Jeddah offered some respite. However, reports of violations by both sides abound. Thousands of people fled the violence in the capital, while in Darfur – already scourged by years of civil war, poor security, and marauding bandits – ‘tribal tensions’ escalated into attacks that may amount to genocide.
 
Cairo summit explores solutions to Sudan conflict
CAIRO – July 13, 2023. The leaders of Sudan’s neighbouring countries are meeting in Cairo for a summit aimed at finding a solution to the armed conflict ravaging Sudan, also addressing the potential spillover effects on regional stability. The summit prompted mixed reaction from Sudanese intellectuals and experts.
 
DBA: Reports about women slave markets in North Darfur ‘not confirmed’
KHARTOUM – July 12, 2023. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) said yesterday that it has been receiving several reports about the existence of women slave markets in North Darfur but has not been able to confirm them. In a separate statement, the association reported that the RSF and affiliated gunmen continue to target Masalit leaders in the West Darfur capital El Geneina.