♦ 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.

Mother of Mercy Hospital: A lifeline in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains
 
20/08/2024 – KADUGLI. In the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s South Kordofan region, the Mother of Mercy Hospital has become a critical lifeline for thousands. Established in March 2008, the hospital has expanded from an 80-bed facility into a 485-bed referral centre, serving not only the Nuba Mountains but also the wider surrounding regions.
 
In 2000, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu requested the diocese to build a hospital for the liberated areas, the hospital’s award-winning Medical Director Dr Tom Catena explained. Despite the ongoing conflict and new logistical hurdles threatening the hospital’s day-to-day function, Dr Catena remains optimistic about the future. “Despite the chaos all around us, we’ve been determined from the very beginning to keep pushing forward.”

‘Despite the chaos all around us, we’ve been determined from the very beginning to keep pushing forward’

Dr Tom Catena

Swath of death and destruction in wake of Sudan dam collapse
 
26/08/2024 – PORT SUDAN. More than 130 people are reported to have been killed – a figure that is quite likely to rise as news unfolds – following the collapse of the Arbaat Dam, 20 kilometres north of Port Sudan, on Saturday. The exact damage and number of casualties caused by the ensuing flood are still unclear as the dam’s collapse has left dozens of villages and small communities isolated.
 
Hundreds of people are still missing, including many elderly, children, and women. Others are still trapped in the nearby plateaus and mountains and on the other side of the river. Over 28 villages have been affected. Most houses, schools, health centres, and public facilities were swept away.

Sudan flooding: Death toll rises amid rescue efforts
28/08/2024 – TOKER / PORT SUDAN / ARBAAT. In Toker, Red Sea state, the death toll from the catastrophic flooding has risen to 14 after the bodies of a man and a girl were discovered. This discovery comes as water levels in the city have begun to recede.
 
Sudan Bishop: ‘War does not discriminate against anyone’
27/08/2024 – CAIRO. Coptic Bishop Sarabamon of Atbara, Omdurman, and northern Sudan said that the war in Sudan is “a story of pain, suffering, and innocent blood shed every day. Everyone suffers and wants an end to the war, but we do not have the tools to achieve it”.
 
Darfur and Sudan aid distribution hampered as bridges succumb to floods
26/08/2024 – ADRÉ / MURNEI. Humanitarian convoys bound for Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan, especially via the Adré crossing at the Sudan-Chad border that was recently opened for aid, face the additional challenge of damage to essential infrastructure following unusually heavy rains in Sudan.
 
Comms blackout across Sudan as rains damage essential fiber optic cable hub
25/08/2024 – HAIYA / PORT SUDAN. Cable outages attributed to heavy rains and flash floods in the Haiya area of Sudan’s Red Sea state have continued across much of the country. Communications services were also interrupted in Omdurman and River Nile state.
 
SAF-RSF pledge to open Adré Sudan-Chad border crossing. Geneva delegates ‘watching developments on the ground’
25/08/2024 – ADRÉ. The group of countries and organisations participating in the negotiations in Geneva between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have decided to remain in the Swiss city to observe developments on the ground, especially regarding the entry of aid through the Adré crossing at the Sudan-Chad border.
 
North Darfur: ‘Children dying as RSF block aid’
23/08/2024 – EL FASHER / ZAMZAM CAMP. In the heart of Zamzam camp, near El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, Maryam Abdallah, a displaced resident, endured the horror of watching her infant starve to death. Her family, unable to provide food and medicine, witnessed his tragic demise.
 
Customs officers at Sudan-Egypt border on strike, El Burhan intervenes
22/08/2024 – WADI HALFA / PORT SUDAN. Workers of the Wadi Halfa Customs Clearance Department at the border crossings to Egypt downed their tools on Saturday in protest against the increase in clearance costs and tough import conditions. Army Commander Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan decided to transfer the supervision of customs clearance to the council.
 
Eastern Sudan: Two drown in Gash River floods, cholera reported
20/08/2024 – KASSALA / AROMA. The El Gash River swept through Aroma in eastern Sudan’s Kassala on Friday, for the second time since the beginning of the rainy season in June. Cholera is spreading in the town. Two people drowned in the river in Kassala city.
 
More than 100 killed in RSF revenge attack on Sudan village
19/08/2024 – ED DAMAZIN. Members of the paramilitary RSF killed 108 people in the village of Jalagani in southern Sennar last week. Three RSF soldiers were killed.
 
Exclusive: US Envoy Tom Perriello says Geneva talks on Sudan ‘positive’ despite ‘tragic’ SAF boycott
16/08/2024 – AMSTERDAM / GENEVA. After three days of special consultations to end Sudan’s conflict and deliver humanitarian aid, US Special Envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello has lauded the energy as “very, very positive.” This in spite of the “tragic” refusal of the SAF to attend the talks.