♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

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

Sudan displaced denounce El Burhan’s famine denial
 
03/01/2025 – PORT SUDAN / ZAMZAM CAMP. Following Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan’s denial of famine, spokesperson for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees Adam Rijal stressed that famine has been a reality in Zamzam Camp, located in El Fasher, North Darfur, since its declaration in August 2023. The crisis extends beyond Zamzam, affecting 71 camps across Darfur.
 
In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Rijal described harrowing conditions, with camp residents resorting to eating animal feed and tree leaves due to the lack of food. El Burhan, meanwhile, dismissed famine reports as “pure fabrication”. Rijal accused authorities of using starvation as a weapon of war, a strategy he deemed a war crime.

UN envoy sues for peace, disavows Sudan ‘military solution’
 
30/12/2024 – PORT SUDAN / ADDIS ABABA. Following his visit to Sudan and Ethiopia, Ramtane Lamamra, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, expressed cautious optimism about Sudanese officials’ commitment to peace.
 
Lamamra met Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan in Port Sudan and a paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) delegation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss the ongoing conflict. He reaffirmed the UN’s resolve to help Sudan achieve peace, stability, and democratic governance. Lamamra called on all parties to prioritise the interests of the Sudanese people over military ambitions: “There cannot be a military solution for this war. This is the lesson of history in Sudan and elsewhere.”

From dreams to ashes: A year in Sudanese cartoons by Omar Dafallah
05/01/2025 – AMSTERDAM. One and a half years since the war between RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) began in Sudan, Dabanga – Radio TV Online presents you with a visual compilation of struggles for power and peace during wartime, featuring a dark and witty series from the barbed pen of Sudanese veteran cartoonist Omar Dafallah.
 
JEM: ‘RSF disarmament essential for any Sudan settlement’
02/01/2025 – PORT SUDAN / MELIT / EL MAHLA / JEBEL ISSA. The Justice and Equality Movement faction headed by rebel leader and Minister of Finance Jibril Ibrahim (JEM-Ibrahim), warned that any political settlement excluding the disarmament of the paramilitary RSF and their removal from the political and military landscape will perpetuate Sudan’s crisis.
 
Sudan Embassy in Libya to resume issuing electronic passports
01/01/2025 – TRIPOLI. The Sudanese Embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli says that its consular section will resume issuing electronic passports, as a network malfunction has now been resolved.
 
Prospects for peace in Sudan: A closed window in the absence of will and hope
31/12/2024 – SUDAN. With each passing day of war in Sudan, the chances of reaching a peace agreement to end the suffering of the Sudanese people diminish, as the tribal nature of the fighting becomes increasingly complex.
 
RSF areas ban new currency as Sudan gov replaces banknotes
30/12/2024 – PORT SUDAN / KHARTOUM. As the deadline for replacing banknotes ends in most states, civil administrations aligned with the RSF are adding to the complexity and have banned the new currency, declaring its possession and circulation a crime punishable by law.
 
Sudan certificate exams delayed, ‘Chad blocks refugee students from sitting’
27/12/2024 – DELLING / EL NAHUD / N’DJAMENA. Sudanese certificate exams were postponed in Delling, South Kordofan, and El Nahud in West Kordofan, citing logistical setbacks and security concerns. Originally scheduled for 28 December, the exams have been rescheduled for March 2024.
 
First aid convoy reaches Khartoum since outbreak of Sudan war
27/12/2024 – KHARTOUM. Khartoum received its first humanitarian aid convoy since the war began on April 15, 2023, marking a major milestone in relief efforts for the conflict-stricken capital.
 
Sudan floods and cholera devastate White Nile communities
26/12/2024 – EL GEZIRA ABA / JEBEL AULIA. The humanitarian situation in White Nile state has rapidly deteriorated over the past week as floods and a cholera outbreak continue to wreak havoc. Thousands are displaced, and the crisis is compounded by conflict around the Jebel Aulia reservoir.
 
Famine declared in five areas of Sudan as govt withdraws from IPC
25/12/2024 – NAIROBI. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) officially declared a famine in parts of North Darfur and the Nuba Mountains region, along with imminent famine in parts of South Darfur. Sudanese authorities in Port Sudan reportedly suspended its collaboration with the IPC on the eve of the report. 
 
Sudan extends currency replacement deadline amid protests
24/12/2024 – PORT SUDAN / DURDEIB. Sudan’s Supreme Committee for Currency Replacement has extended the deadline for exchanging old banknotes by one week. Khaled Aleiser, Minister of Culture and Information, said the measure would allow more time to address logistical challenges.