♦ 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.

Renewed Sudan-Ethiopia border clashes

December 2 – 2021 EL FASHAGA Renewed border clashes between Sudanese army troops and Ethiopian forces in El Fashaga, east of the Atbara River, in El Gedaref continued on Wednesday. Sources indicate that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) aims to regain control of the Shai Beit camp in El Fashaga El Soghra. It is reported that Shai Beit is among the last three Ethiopian camps in Sudan that the army is seeking to restore.

At least 20 members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have already died in clashes with Ethiopian forces and militiamen, who ambushed them in the border area of El Fashaga El Soghra in El Gedaref, the SAF said in a statement on Sunday. The SAF also asserts that it inflicted “heavy losses of life” on Ethiopian troops and militiamen who attacked them.

Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, renewed his assurances that “El Fashaga is Sudanese land” and pledged “not to concede one inch of Sudanese territory”.

Camp burns in deadly West Darfur attack

December 6 – 2021 KEREINIK A yet unknown number of people have been killed and two others were injured as a result of an attack launched by armed men on Kereinik in West Darfur on Sunday. People from Kereinik said that the attackers surrounded the town from the early morning, launched an attack with heavy weapons, and burned the Abuja camp for the displaced and a number of northern and western neighbourhoods.

The attack continued for long hours on Sunday and smoke covered the sky of the town amid the sound of heavy weapons. It was not possible for the people to count the number of casualties due to the continuation of the attack. A large number of people and internally displaced people (IDPs) were displaced due to the attack.

People in the area accused affiliates of the members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia of transporting the attackers to the Kereinik border and they accused RSF groups of actually participating in the attack.

West Darfur violence claims 48 lives
December 7 – 2021 KEREINIK The initial death toll following an attack by armed men on Kereinik in West Darfur on Sunday has risen to 48, according to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. The dead were killed with live ammunition. The doctors say that there are many wounded, some in critical condition.
 
COVID-19 cases on the rise in Sudan, school closures considered
December 3 – 2021 KHARTOUM / SENNAR / EL GENEINA The Sudanese Ministry of Health announced 10 deaths and 68 newly conrirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. A school closure is considered in Sennar and West Darfur doctors warned that they are not ready as the number of cases increased.
 
Tribal clashes break out in the Nuba Mountains, killing dozens
December 3 – 2021 ABU JUBEIHA Tribal clashes broke out in Abu Jubeiha in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan on Wednesday. The clashes led to dozens of deaths and injuries at the market and in the western parts of town. An unknown number of houses burned to the ground.
 
Undersecretaries to temporarily run Sudan Ministries
December 3 – 2021 KHARTOUM On Wednesday 1 December, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok issued Decree No 616 for 2021, by which he assigned undersecretaries to run the 20 federal ministries until new, technocratic ministers have been selected.
 
Marches of the Millions: Sudan doctors count 98 injured from tear gas and stun grenades
December 2 – 2021 KHARTOUM International representatives have condemned the ongoing use of unjustified force against peaceful demonstrators as wells as human rights violations, as the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors reported 98 cases of injuries during the Marches of the Millions on Tuesday when tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Sudan.
 
Appeal to USA President Biden for urgent action on Sudan political crisis
December 1 – 2021 WASHINGTON A group of USA former diplomats, advisors, and a professor have published ‘An Appeal on Sudan to Senior United States Government Officials’, expressing “serious alarm about the ongoing political crisis in Sudan”.
 
Detained journalist released – some media remains gagged in Sudan
December 1 – 2021 KHARTOUM Sudanese authorities have released journalist and Sudan TV staff member Maher Abuljoukh after he spent 33 days in the security service detention centre near the Shendi parking lot in Khartoum North. Media continues to be silenced in Suda.
 
Clashes on Sudan-Ethiopia border escalate
December 1 – 2021 EL GEDAREF Clashes resumed between Sudanese army troops and Ethiopian forces in El Fashaga, east of the Atbara River, in El Gedaref on Tuesday morning, one day after a visit by the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan.