♦ 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.

WFP: ‘Five million Sudanese can’t afford one meal a day’

22/02/2024 – BRUSSELS [UPDATED 25/02/2024 11:00*]. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the vast majority of Sudanese face severe hunger, with more than five million people unable to have one adequate meal per day, amidst 10 months of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
 
18 million people across Sudan face severe food insecurity and “10 per cent of the population, close to five million people, are on the precipice of catastrophe”, WFP Sudan Director Eddie Rowe told reporters. WFP previously warned of difficulties in accessing people affected by the ongoing war as the organisation could reach “only 10 per cent of those in need”. All community kitchens in Khartoum North have had to suspend operations due to a scarcity of food supplies.

‘Close to five million people are on the precipice of catastrophe’

WFP

Hadhreen: Sudan comms shutdown ‘ordered by army command’
 
25/02/2024 – KHARTOUM / DARFUR / KORDOFAN. The Hadhreen civil society organisation in Sudan claims that “careful investigation and information from reliable sources” shows that “the Sudanese Armed Forces leadership directly ordered the shutdown of communication services in large areas of Darfur and Kordofan since the beginning of the war. This was not due to technical problems, as was rumoured.”

Following up on an earlier statement accusing the RSF of being behind [or at least perpetuating] the shutdown, Hadhreen says it also strongly condemns the actions of the SAF leadership. “The first victim is a Sudanese citizen who relies on telecommunications services for daily life. Depriving them of these services is the same crime committed by the [RSF] militia in recent weeks, as it will directly contribute to the worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe.”

Sudan army offensive in El Gezira, clashes in North Darfur
03/03/2024 – MADINAT ARAB / EL FASHER / UM RAWABA. Fierce fighting took place between the SAF and the RSF west of Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, on Friday whilst four people were killed in airstrikes on Naeema in White Nile state. On Thursday, North Darfur witnessed SAF-RSF clashes.
 
RSF violence in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains and El Gezira continues
01/03/2024 – HABILA / WAD MADANI. In new attacks by the RSF on Habila in South Kordofan, dozens of people were killed, 15 women were abducted, and over 40,000 people fled the town, Nuba organisations say. Attacks on Jebel El Dayir left many more dead and 13 women missing.
 
Sudan displaced ‘left to fend for themselves’ as aid falters in Darfur
29/02/2024 – EL FASHER / UM RAWABA / KIRYANDONGO. The Darfur Women’s Forum has raised the alarm regarding a “looming threat of famine” in the region. The General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees also warned that the absence of urgent humanitarian aid places millions of displaced people in Darfur at risk of starvation. Other areas face similar struggles.
 
Sudan Business for Peace: ‘Corruption finances the war’
28/02/2024 – ADDIS ABABA. Participants in the Sudan Business for Peace Conference workshop, which began in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, addressed the presence of companies actively supporting and perpetuating the war. The companies are reportedly aligned with the SAF and RSF.
 
Journalists become vendors on the streets of Darfur cities
27/02/2024 – NYALA / ED DAEIN. Radio Dabanga correspondent Abdelmonim Madibbu documents the lives of journalists in Darfur, most of whom have lost their jobs and livelihoods due to the war. They are forced to find new ways to provide a living for their families. 

Missiles kill seven in ongoing Sudan capital battles, army regains control of Abrof
26/02/2024 – KHARTOUM. The SAF continued its attacks on positions of the RSF in greater Khartoum and managed to regain control of Abrof neighbourhood in old Omdurman. In southern Khartoum, seven people were killed. Two Sufi worshipers were shot by SAF troops in Omdurman.
 
USA calls for ‘unhindered aid deliveries to all parts of Sudan’
25/02/2024 – WASHINGTON DC / PORT SUDAN. The US Dept of State has urged the warring SAF and RSF “to immediately allow unhindered humanitarian assistance deliveries to all parts of Sudan”. The RSF denies that its cadres are guilty of looting humanitarian aid warehouses, and “reject as unfair any attempts to equate the RSF with the SAF”.
 
Darfur network reports ‘alarming humanitarian situation’ in El Fasher
24/02/2024 – KAMPALA. The area of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, is witnessing “an intricate and dire humanitarian crisis as a violent conflict tightly grips the region,” the Darfur Network for Human Rights said in a report. The majority of the residents of the city and surrounding camps for the displaced “face the harsh reality of inadequate access to food, leading to severe malnutrition”.
 
Severe hunger threatens Sudanese in western Omdurman
23/02/2024 – OMDURMAN / AMSTERDAM. The humanitarian situation in the vicinity of the Libya Market in Omdurman has reportedly become extremely difficult. Those still living there are facing severe hunger. Starvation as a method of warfare constitutes a serious violation of the laws of war.
 
US Ambassador to Sudan: ‘Contradictory signals from the army hinder aid access’
22/02/2024 – JOHANNESBURG HUB. The US Ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, provided reporters with a comprehensive briefing on American initiatives aimed at resolving the conflict in Sudan. He highlighted the significant hurdles encountered in facilitating humanitarian aid.
 
Hamdok to Dabanga: ‘We are still waiting for a meeting with Sudan army leadership’
21/02/2024 – ADDIS ABABA. Dabanga journalist Ashraf Abdelaziz interviewed former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, currently serving as the head of Tagaddum. They discussed recent diplomatic initiatives and challenges in facilitating dialogue between the warring parties in Sudan.