June 6
MULTIPLE SOURCES REPORTED THE RSF COMMITTED A MASSACRE IN WAD EL NOURA, EL GEZIRA, KILLING MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE. A resident told Radio Dabanga the death toll reached 107 people. Resistance Comms of Wad Madani confirmed this on their Facebook page,… they have yet to count all the bodies. A video shared by Resistance Comms showed villagers assembling in a public square in the village around scores of bodies ready for burial en masse. Witnesses said the RSF targeted the village with heavy weapons. A video showed men, some in RSF uniform, in Land Cruisers mounted with Dushka machine guns firing towards. RSF acknowledged the attack,… they targeted 3 camps of Islamist forces who were p reparing to attack the RSF. The Transitional Sovereignty Council called on the international community and human rights organisations to denounce the massacre and hold its perpetrators accountable. Darfur Bar Assoc condemned the massacre …. expressed fear of an outbreak of civil war …. called on the world community to take the necessary measures to stop the war, halt human massacres and prosecute the perpetrators. Khartoum Resistance Comms denounced the massacre as another crime in the RSF’s record of committing crimes against humanity, describing it as genocide and forced displacement. Professional Pharmacists Assoc described the massacre as a continuation of RSF’s longstanding targeting civilians through killing, looting, and displacement. … called on Sudanese people to defend themselves. Minawi, gov of Darfur and leader of SLM-MM asked what the world is waiting for after the killing of 150 women, children and the elderly … why countries supporting the RSF are not taking action.
AMMAR DALDOUM, SPLM-N EL HILU, GAVE A CANDID INTERVIEW DURING THE FOUNDING CONFERENCE OF CIVIL DEMOCRATIC FORCES TAGADOM, STRESSING THAT THE SOLUTION LIES IN ADOPTING SECULARISM AND SEPARATING RELIGION FROM THE STATE. Daldoum warned that continued arrogance and intransigence could lead to Sudan teetering on the edge of total collapse. SPLM-N El Hilu presented a clear negotiating position addressing the historical roots of Sudan’s problems, but these negotiations were abruptly halted by a coup in 2021. The de facto government in Pt Sudan must courageously confront and address these issues, recognising the country’s diversity as a path to preventing total collapse. Daldoum outlined a stark history of civil war over 69 years, primarily driven by the central government’s refusal to manage and recognise Sudan’s diversity. He accused successive governments of using religion and Arab identity to divide the populace …. if the central government continues on this path, Sudan risks partition. He reiterated that the movement advocates for secularism to resolve the conflict between religion and state: Religion should not be a determining factor in the national identity of Sudan. Daldoum conveyed a message …. to keep Sudan united by addressing the full historical roots of its problems with courage and formulating solutions based on supra-constitutional principles. These principles include secularism, fundamental rights and the rejection of military coups.
SUDAN’S ARMY REJECTED A CALL TO RETURN TO PEACE TALKS WITH THE RSF FOLLOWING A CONVERSATION BETWEEN AL BURHAN AND ANTHONY BLINKEN, Reuters reports. We will not go to Jeddah and whoever wants us to, should kill us in our country and take our bodies there, said Agar, former rebel leader and Burhan’s number 2 on the Transitional Sovereign Council. Blinken discussed with Burhan the need to end the war and resume talks sponsored by the US and Saudi Arabia, stalled for months after failing to achieve a sustained ceasefire. Sudan’s army-aligned Foreign Min welcomed an Egyptian invitation for a summit of civilian political groups, but placed conditions on the types of groups and foreign actors invited. Agar suggested a separate summit for civilian political parties taking place in Addis Ababa was a distraction from the aim of ending the war. Blinken discussed the need to defuse hostilities in Al-Fashir, N Darfur where fighting has escalated since 10 May, killing at least 145 people and displacing over 3,600 families, most of them this week, according to UN and Medecins Sans Frontieres. RSF has surrounded Al-Fashir and raided civilian neighbourhoods, while the army, fighting to maintain its last stronghold in Darfur, has carried out costly air strikes. Residents say projectiles from either side have fallen and destroyed homes, while few people are able to reach hospitals and water and electricity services have been cut off. Middle East Monitor
May 30
COORDINATION BODY OF SUDANESE CIVIL DEMOCRATIC FORCES TAGADOM CONCLUDED CONFERENCE …. the most urgent priority now is immediate and unconditional ending of the war condemning failure of the warring parties, SAF and RSF, to sit for a ceasefire negotiation. The conference appealed to the international community to intervene and pressure warring parties to resume negotiations, form mechanisms for protection of civilians and ensure humanitarian access. The conference condemned the horrible violations committed by both warring sides … calling for international investigation and holding perpetrators accountable. It approved the Coordination’s articles of association and organizational structure, established the necessary controls for representation and decision-making processes and decided to allocate each of women and youth representation of 40%. The conference elected Tagadom’s new leadership board …. re-elected former PM Hamdok as chairman. The conference approved a political vision for ending the war, establishing the state and completing the Revolution. The conference laid out scientific basis for building a unified professional national army, accountability and governance systems. Al Taghyeer
AIRSTRIKE SETS N DARFUR HOSPITAL ABLAZE. SAF warplanes bombed the hospital of Kutum, killing and injuring many patients and destroying parts of the hospital. Activists shared videos showing the aftermath, which engulfed the maternity ward in flames and smoke. A resident reported medical services in the local hospital deteriorated due to the influx of displaced people: there is a lack of medicines, gauze, and medical supplies. A person in a nearby village was killed as he was tracking down a stolen herd of cows taken towards El Fasher: The herd was recovered, but a member of the search posse was killed in an exchange of fire with the thieves. Abu Shouk Camp Emergency Rm in El Fasher issued a report detailing the conditions of the displaced in shelter centres and Intl Rescue Comm health centre. The Emergency Rm conducted a field survey of centres in Abu Shouk Camp, IRC health centre and nearby areas … it counted 594 families living in shelters. The situation inside the shelter centres is dire, with severe shortages of water, food, and health services, particularly for children. Three centres were evacuated after attacks by the RSF last week. UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Nkweta-Salami was profoundly distressed by the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, where the noose of war is tightening its stranglehold on a civilian population that is under attack from all sides. We are receiving deeply worrying reports that medical facilities, displacement camps and critical civilian infrastructure have been targeted by parties to the conflict. Many parts of El Fasher have been left without electricity or water. A growing proportion of the population has limited access to basic necessities and essential services, including food and healthcare. Battles continue in El Fasher between SAF and their allies against the RSF, which have imposed a siege since last month, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries from artillery and airstrikes. Al Taghyeer
3 UN AGENCIES WARN OF A SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION IN NUTRITION OF CHILDREN AND MOTHERS: The lives of Sudan’s children are at stake and urgent action is needed to protect an entire generation from malnutrition, disease and death, UNICEF, WHO and WFP. The ongoing hostilities are worsening the drivers of child malnutrition. …lack of access to nutritious food, safe drinking water and sanitation, and increased risk of disease. Sudan is facing an ever-increasing risk of conflict-induced famine that will have catastrophic consequences including loss of life especially among young children. …the conflict is severely impacting the delivery of humanitarian supplies, leaving countless women and children without access to vital food and nutritional support … growing violence and bureaucratic procedures impede access to conflict affected areas. Child malnutrition in Sudan is at emergency levels. In Central Darfur, acute malnutrition is estimated at 15.6% among children under 5, while at Zamzam Camp in N Darfur is close to 30%. We need immediate and safe access to deliver the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need, WFP Cindy McCain: Millions of lives are at stake and the international community must act now or we risk losing an entire generation of children. Al Arabiya
May 29
ARTILLERY SHELLS ARE TEARING THROUGH DISPLACEMENT CAMPS AND CRASHING THROUGH RESIDENTIAL HOMES. Food and medical supplies are rapidly running out. People are fleeing without even being able to bury their loved ones. This is the situation in El Fasher, one of Darfur’s largest cities and the latest epicentre of the war. UN officials called the situation Hell on Earth and are warning that genocide crimes may be committed. Daily interviews with friends and human rights monitors suggest that neither claim is an understatement. I have never seen anything worse than the condition of mothers and orphaned children crying inside the hospitals, in pain and agony, Jamal, a friend told me, after dozens of people were killed by shelling in his neighbourhood.
The battle for El Fasher started last month but had long been telegraphed. The city is the army’s final foothold in Darfur, the only place in the western region the RSF has not captured. Seizing the town will require the RSF – mainly from Darfuri Arab communities – to defeat not just the army but rebel groups whose fighters are mostly non-Arab Zaghawa, one of the main groups in El Fasher. As fighting intensifies, human rights groups fear it could lead to mass targeting along ethnic lines. most civilians are being harmed in crossfire shelling and because the RSF has encircled the city and imposed a brutal siege. With few international aid groups present in El Fasher and relief convoys unable to get inside, the only hope on the ground rests with a network of youth groups and Emergency Response Rms risking – and in some cases losing – their lives to help people in need. These mutual aid groups which emerged across Sudan have been constructing a medical clinic for children after the main one in the city was hit by a shell, and set up kitchens to feed people who fled RSF attacks. If you were not here, we would not only die from bullets but we would die from hunger, an elderly displaced woman camped in a village just outside of El Fasher told a volunteer friend of mine.
El Fasher had been a haven before the recent fighting. Hundreds of thousands fled there as RSF fighters committed atrocities in other parts of Darfur, as well as cities like Khartoum. That calm has been shattered. The city’s only working hospital has just a few days of supplies … its water network has been compromised. Thousands have been displaced, but escaping El Fasher requires passing through RSF checkpoints that surround the city. Its fighters are charging those who want to flee, confiscating cars and possessions and grilling people on their affiliations to the army and rebel groups. RSF shells have landed on civilian houses, killing dozens and causing massive blazes. The situation is perhaps most critical in Abu Shouk. This displacement camp houses victims of the 2000s Darfur conflict, which saw the state arm local Arab militias known as Janjaweed (morphed into RSF) to crush a revolt by mostly non-Arab armed groups. The camp is located close to conflict front lines. RSF shells have landed on houses, killing dozens and causing massive blazes, according to Jamal. Jamal has seen body parts strewn on the ground and injured people walking around, their tears mixed with blood. He said people are dying because the camp clinic has no surgical capacity, and no ambulance to take people to hospital: We do not know why the RSF target civilians and attack them with such heavy artillery the continuous shelling is robbing people of their dignity and creating powerlessness and resignation. The intensity of the fighting means there are few safe spaces left in the city, which Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab have referred to as a kill box. A local journalist shared a story on social media of an unaccompanied boy who turned up to a mosque for afternoon prayers …. He was hit by a shell after worship, and died with no family to identify him.
Everybody is affected by the siege. Though there are still food stocks in the city – and it is possible for some traders to smuggle in supplies – the prices of basic goods like meat, flour, sugar, pasta and soap are soaring beyond people’s means. If the siege continues, there is no question many civilians are going to die either through food shortages or lack of medicine. People on the ground keep telling me they need the blockade and fighting to end now, not tomorrow and not the day after.
Despite the critical situation, the only real humanitarian responders are local mutual aid groups, whose members have been killed or injured. The volunteer helping displaced people wished members of the warring parties could see and hear the painful stories of affected people. If they saw what he saw, perhaps they would drop their guns and stop fighting. Other community leaders and public figures played an important role in trying to counter the war. Though the battle for the city long felt like an inevitability, many individuals struggled for months to prevent it. Working alongside a dovish local governor, community leaders lobbied RSF and army leaders to stay in designated areas and not to fight. Darfur suffered enough in recent years, they pleaded.
Yet the ceasefire broke down as military authorities replaced the gov with somebody aligned with the army, and as community leaders were pushed to support military efforts in the face of mounting RSF crimes across the country. Those crimes challenged the neutrality of rebel groups in El Fasher. Having initially tried to distance themselves from the army and RSF – both loathed by many – they eventually felt their political future required picking sides. Tensions mounted as the army and armed groups began large-scale recruitment inside El Fasher, and welcomed in soldiers ousted by the RSF. There are now fears that if the RSF seizes El Fasher, it will launch deadly reprisals against civilians. During its campaign to control W Darfur last year, RSF forces killed thousands of non-Arab Masalit civilians. The killings may have amounted to genocide. That said, it is important that we do not see the RSF as the sole actor committing human rights violations, as most international media reports and analyses tend to do, leaning heavily on historical narratives of Janjaweed violence in the 2000s. The RSF and its allied militias may well turn El Fasher into hell, but so might the army and aligned rebel groups, armed to the teeth and spreading threatening hate speech on social media against Arab communities. Before the battle for El Fasher commenced, myself and others documented many cases of Arabs in the city being arrested and even killed in areas controlled by the army and the armed groups. Many Arabs left their homes out of fear. In recent weeks, Zaghawa militias executed Arab civilians alongside RSF fighters in Shangil Tobaya, south of El Fasher. Zaghawa militias stole cattle belonging to Arab civilians in Baraka, west of El Fasher. That small incident spiralled and resulted in RSF fighters attacking and burning 9 predominantly Zaghawa villages. It was the trigger for the wider battle we are now seeing for control of the city.
It is important that Sudanese civil society groups show concern for all atrocities committed in El Fasher and beyond. It doesn’t matter if it is the RSF, the army or other armed groups. There is no single perpetrator and no single victim. Civil society must keep trying to resist the polarising forces of this conflict and refuse to take sides. … they must stay neutral – not just for a day or a month, but forever. We must work to empower the voices and actions of frontline volunteers taking matters into their own hands. What they stand for is the precise opposite to those responsible for this war. We must realise the international community cannot protect civilians, and nobody is going to ensure our safety. UN and foreign states can make statements all they like, but their words have no meaning for civilians being killed. These volunteers represent our best chance of getting through this conflict and building a just future. Those who depend on them right now in El Fasher know this all too well. You are the only ones feeding us every day, the displaced woman told my friend Mohammed, who has been handing out food amid gunfire and bombings. I will pray for you forever. The New Humanitarian
FOUNDING CONFERENCE OF COORDINATION BODY OF CIVIL DEMOCRATIC FORCES TAGADOM ATTRACTED SIGNIFICANT LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ATTENDENCE. Led by former PM Hamdok, Tagadom is a coalition of civil society, youth, vocational and feminist groups working towards bolstering democracy and human rights. Women participation constitutes 40% of representatives. Niema Mukhtar represented mayors of Darfur, the first time in Sudan history a woman assumed this role. 2018 Revolution’s iconic poet Azhari Mohamed Ali recited a poem documenting abuses committed during the war. Attendees welcomed participation of SPLM//N al-Hilu as observer. Chairman Hamdok: we are not aligned with any party of the war but when it comes to the issue of civilians and civil democratic transition, we are not impartial. He urged the warring parties to stop the war and return to negotiations. Chairman of SRF-Idris called the international community not to recognize the Pt Sudan government (army-controlled headed by al-Burhan). He said people should form a civil government instead of this illegitimate government to shoulder responsibility of delivering humanitarian aid to the needy. Rep of political forces Asma Muhmoud said Tagadom founding conference would be the start for a comprehensive endeavour aiming at realising the Revolution’s goals, ending the war, delivering humanitarian assistance and establishing the Sudanese state. Rep of civil community and women groupings Hadia Hasab Allah called on participants to brush their disagreements aside and work collectively to stop the bloodshed on the streets of Sudan. Rep of Resistance Comms Abdel Rahim Ali called SAF to join negotiations for ending the war and RSF to stop abuses against civilians. Rep of dismissed army and police officers are preparing for a new grouping aimed at unifying security and military sector in accordance with the principles of the civil democratic state. The farmers’ rep Ibrahim Darfi concentrated on RSF violations, particularly in al-Gezira jeopardising the planting season. Mohamed al-Moayad spoke on behalf of people with disabilities calling for a comprehensive societal reconciliation for building the future stressing that people with disabilities are among the categories most affected by the war. Al Taghyeer
May 28
TOGETHER AGAINST RAPE & SEXUAL VIOLENCE LAUNCHED AN INITIATIVE TO PRESSURE SAF AND RSF TO COMMIT TO PROHIBITING SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ARMED CONFLICT. They are urging the parties to sign the Instrument of Commitment to Prohibit Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict to create a record of accountability and end impunity. The campaign documented 377 cases of rape April 2023-2024, including 131 children and 7 men. The instrument calls warring parties to adhere to absolute prohibition of sexual violence and take all possible measures to prevent and respond effectively to acts of sexual violence. …calls for victims to have access to medical, psychological, social and legal services, in cooperation with humanitarian and development organisations. …emphasises the importance of rehabilitation programs that facilitate reintegration of victims into society and provide reparations. …emphasised the need to treat this commitment as part of a broader adherence to humanitarian standards, including international humanitarian law and human rights, and to contribute to their respect in field practice and the development of humanitarian work standards for armed conflicts. Hanadi El Mak called on parties to stop using women’s bodies as battlefields…. the goal is to build a tolerant and respectful society that strengthens efforts to combat sexual violence. Abdelaziz Sam: the campaign seeks to stop rape and sexual violence by reaching out to conflicting parties, potential parties and civil societies, urging them to sign and commit unilaterally to protect civilians and refrain from sexual violence. Salima Ishag, Unit for Combating Violence against Women, stated the campaign aims to establish a mechanism to stop sexual violence against women during conflicts. She called for accountability mechanisms, justice and commitments to prevent impunity, and for psychological, societal and economic rehabilitation of women. African Centre for Peace & Justice Studies documented 141 cases of rape in N, W and S Darfur since the outbreak of the recent war. The report indicates that displaced women in Kalma and Tawila camps experienced unwanted pregnancies due to a lack of access to medical care, and 59 survivors in the camps did not receive any medical care. El Hak: an ccurate victim count is difficult to determine due to the stigma associated with rap. Dabanga
MIN OF HEALTH IN EL GEDAREF REPORTED A SIGNFICIANT INCREASE IN THE RATE OF KALA-AZAR DISEASE. El Gedaref government postponed the start of the school year. The state recorded more than a thousand kala-azar* cases compared to 750 cases last year, an increase of 25%. The min said addressing the disease begins with combating sand flies and their activity inside and outside homes, using mosquito nets and regular spraying operations. Eastern Sudan has a dark history with kala-azar, as from the late 80s to mid-90s 100,000 died from the disease in Upper Nile region, now So Sudan. Earlier this year, S Darfur Sudan Teachers’ Comm dismissed the decision made by the Min of Ed to open schools, describing it as lacking realism: The war must stop to resume school. 350,000 teachers, administrators and workers in the education sector are living in catastrophic conditions. Dabanga *Visceral leishmaniasis, the most severe form of leishmaniasis known as kala-azar, is a life-threatening disease caused by Leishmania parasites transmitted by female sandflies ….. causes fever, weight loss, spleen and liver enlargement, and if left untreated, certain death. It is the world’s 2nd-largest parasitic killer after malaria.
NUMBER OF VIOLENT ATTACKS ON SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION INCREASED FOURFOLD WITH 88 REPORTS OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS AND MOST SCHOOLS CLOSED, ACCORDING TO SAVE THE CHILDREN. These incidents include air strikes resulting in killing and injury of students and teachers, torturing of teachers, killing and abduction of teachers and sexual violence against students inside education facilities…. occupation of schools by armed groups, use of schools as weapons storage facilities and battles fought on education premises. Violent attacks on schools and education in Africa has been on the rise. A similar analysis showed a rise in violence affecting schools, teachers and learners across AU countries, with 411 cases reported. Save the Children is calling leaders in Sudan and AU to make schools safe places for children. Hadeer, 13, was displaced with her family to Atbara. She has 3 younger siblings. Her aunt and uncle were killed, and her nieces fled Sudan. Her family lost contact with her father in the chaos. Until Save the Children built a school in the camp for displaced people in Atbara, she never thought she would be able to study again: I wish to be an architect when I grow up. At home we had facilities and electricity, and I could walk and study safely. But here I feel scared when I walk in the streets, not like there. It’s not just children’s lives that are on the line, but also their futures. Millions of children continue to face disruptions to their education with their schools destroyed by bombs, taken over as shelters for displaced families, or learning stopped as children flee, Dr Arif Noor, Save the Children in Sudan. Middle East Monitor
May 27
2 WEEKS OF FIGHTING OVER A MAJOR CITY IN W DARFUR KILLED 123 PEOPLE. The fighting in el-Fasher, capital of N Darfur, wounded 930 people in the same period, Doctors Without Borders said: This is a sign of the violent intensity of the fighting. We urge the warring parties to do more to protect civilians. El-Fasher has become the centre of the conflict between the military and the RSF, which is aided by Arab militias commonly known as janjaweed. The city is the last stronghold still held by the military in the sprawling Darfur region. RSF has built up forces in recent months seeking to wrest control of el-Fasher. Along with its Arab militia allies, RSF besieged the city and launched a major attack…earlier this month. The clashes renewed Thurs in the Abu Shouk Camp for displaced people in Salam neighbourhood. Sat, a shell hit the house of a Doctors Without Borders aid worker close to the main mkt, killing the worker. UN Humanitarian Coord Clementine Nkweta-Salami blasted the tragic killing. Nkweta-Salami urged warring parties to stop fighting in the city where hundreds of thousands of women, men, and children in N Darfur are once again caught in the crossfire of war. A human tragedy of epic proportions is on the horizon, but it can, and must, be prevented. AfricaNews
26 May
134 PEOPLE KILLED AND 900 WOUNDED SINCE MAY 10 IN EL FASHER, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: The numbers of people killed and wounded are increasing each day as intense fighting continues. We urge warring parties to do more to protect civilians. El-Fasher has witnessed renewed fierce fighting as RSF is pressing deeper seeking to take control. The city is the last remaining capital in Darfur not to have fallen to the paramilitary group. It is also hosting the region’s last garrison of the SAF. RSF besieged the city and launched a major attack on its southern and eastern parts. To repel the paramilitary group’s advance towards el-Fasher, 2 ex-Darfur rebel leaders, Minnawi and Ibrahim, broke months of neutrality by siding with the SAF. Sudan is the biggest famine [in the world] and the epicentre of that famine is the Darfur region, which is being ravaged by the RSF as they’ve rampaged across it, Alex de Waal, exec dir of World Peace Fdn told Al Jazeera. [They’re] attacking it starving it and threatening yet another disaster in this terrible war. There is a significant wave of displacement. A member of the MSF team was killed when a shell hit his house. Southern Hosp received 979 wounded. UN humanitarian coord Nkweta-Salami said she is deeply saddened by the news of the death of an MSF member and extended condolences to his family: This tragic incident comes when hundreds of thousands of women, men and children in N Darfur are once again caught in the crossfire of war. The relentless violence must come to an end. Each innocent life claimed stands as a harrowing testament to the sheer brutality of war. My message to all parties is simple. Stop the fighting. A human tragedy of epic proportions is on the horizon, but it can, and must, be prevented. Dar El Salam Emergency Rm in N Darfur said 20,000 displaced people have fled to the locality to escape fighting in El Fasher most staying with host families: There are 11 shelters, 8 of which are schools, in Dar El Salam. The displaced are living in difficult conditions due to the lack of external assistance from humanitarian organisations. 800,000 civilians in El Fasher and surrounding areas were facing severely deteriorating humanitarian conditions amid clashes. The fighting forced thousands of people to flee since May 10 and caused hundreds of civilian casualties, UN spokesperson Dujarric told reporters…at El Fasher Southern Hosp the only functioning hospital – only 10 days of supplies are left, with an urgent need to restock, more than a dozen trucks carrying aid for 121,000 people have been trying to reach El Fasher for more than a month but have been hampered by the security situation. WHO spokesperson Lindmeier said only around 30% of health facilities are functional and even so at minimal levels while medical supplies are meeting only around a quarter of needs. The WHO warehouse in El Gezira has been inaccessible, some states, such as Darfur, did not receive medical supplies during the past year.
THE FOUNDING CONFERENCE OF CIVIL DEMOCRATIC FORCES ALLIANCE TAGADOM WILL BE HELD IN ADDIS ABABA. The participants represent various sectors of society including creative people, intellectuals, native administration, sufi sects, farmers, pastrolists, businessmen, people with disabilities and retired militaries. Unionists Party al-Mirghani, SPLM/N al-Hilu and PCP of late al-Turabi will attend as observers. Resistance Comms…in all 18 States named their representatives. Tagadom received 44 membership applications, mostly civil forces, of which 40 were accepted….founding conference will discuss humanitarian situation, political vision for ending the war and the organizational visualization. Al Taghyeer
5 YEARS AGO, SUDAN WAS A HOPEFUL TALE OF OPTIMISM AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND STABILITY. Today, it as a humanitarian travesty. We’re witnessing a campaign of atrocities and bloodbaths, hunger and disease with millions of people fleeing their homes, hunted by armed militia on one hand, and poverty, starvation and aerial bombardment on the other. It feels like we are being punished for wanting to achieve democracy and peace through peaceful means. The geopolitical environment surrounding the Sudanese aspiration for democracy was not favourable. Sudan’s neighbours were overly cautious about the possibility of Sudan’s democratic transformation and tales of justice and freedom proliferating throughout the region. This is paired with global negligence and the regional and international community’s lack of interest in Sudan. The fatal errors that led to the current dreadful situation were committed by the country’s military and civilian elites. Their complicity, ineptitude and recklessness have largely contributed to this situation.
April 15, 2023, the people of Sudan found themselves trapped between brutal armed militias, a weak and corrupt military that failed to protect them, and local political actors who are polarized and unprepared to address the magnitude of the crisis or even comprehend its repercussions. The consequences of Sudan’s long period under an isolated, violent, war-oriented and militant Islamist totalitarian regime have had significant implications on the country’s future – indeed, its very existence. Sudan was in miserable shape at the dawn of the 2019 revolution. Decades of economic, social and cultural isolation caused by 30 years of sanctions, had taken a toll on generations.
Toward the end of his dictatorship, Al-Bashir began to lose trust in his allies and worked to weaken the Sudan Armed Forces as a means to ensure his own protection. He strengthened his alliance with the Janjaweed/RSF, the notorious tribal militia that played a major role in crimes against humanity in Darfur since 2003. This criminal alliance was based on extortion of resources and illicit transactions, and such alliances continue to operate, deeply harming the very soul of the nation. 2019, when the Al-Bashir regime was toppled, multiple armies within the country watched closely to see what they could gain. Considering its historical relationship with the military, NCP, the Islamist former ruling party, assumed a smooth transition to power would not interfere with their control of the national economy. This was a complete miscalculation as the general population had thoroughly turned against them along with the majority if not all regional forces.
UAE and Egypt emerged as crucial actors. Egypt, with historical ties, shared border security concerns. The Nile, the lifeline of Nile Basin states, held particular interest. Trade and movement across their shared border have served as a lifeline for millions. Egypt has historically wielded significant influence over Sudan’s political landscape, often undermining democratic initiatives. UAE is a newer player primarily engaged with professionals who served as civil servants and technicians to facilitate the growing economy and construction needs. UAE and Saudi Arabia developed different relationships with Sudan when the Al-Bashir regime began supplying soldiers to Saudi-Emirati intervention in Yemen. UAE was more proactive in scanning the political scene in Sudan and building alliances with new emerging forces. The vigorous engagement of militia leadership in the extortion of gold and other resources, subsequently sent to the UAE, boosted the position of the RSF. UAE built alliances among civilian actors in Sudan, hoping they will act as executive rulers or bolster influence among the civilian elite. Egypt has been attempting to maintain influence over its former allies within SAF.
The war may have been prevented if a serious and comprehensive political process had been implemented to support Sudan’s transition. The international community’s engagement was minimal and superficial, downplaying the complexity of the 3rd-largest country in Africa, which has struggled with wars and armed conflicts throughout its modern history. Acts of impotence by international actors coupled with dangerous military setups and limited capacity of the civilian contingent of the transitional government manifested in the poorly drafted power-sharing agreement that enabled Burhan and Hemedti to have the upper hand. This was followed by a sequence of strategic mistakes, such as ending the mandate of AU-UNAMID, the peacekeeping mission meant to absorb tensions and mitigate the risks of atrocities against civilians in Darfur. Sudan’s transitional government… handed over all UNAMID bases in Darfur to the RSF. RSF and affiliated militias have been actively carrying out aggressions against civilians in Darfur and these atrocities increased significantly following the withdrawal of UNAMID.
The civilian government made another significant mistake by failing to hold Al-Bashir and key actors accountable or hand them over to the ICC. The transitional government failed to push for accountability, particularly in Darfur and the Khartoum Sit-in Massacre primarily perpetrated by RSF and political Islamists. Holding these powerful actors accountable could have helped civilian actors gain popular support and establish themselves as agents of change. None of this happened, and RSF has become increasingly confident as they continue to commit atrocities with impunity. The civilian contingent of the transitional government assumed the RSF would help them confront and limit the power of political Islamists, including the SAF. RSF leadership took advantage of the weaknesses of the military and civilian elites and emerged as the strongest actor, largely due to its capacity for brutality and support from UAE. RSF, despite its ambition, brutal force and loyalty to the UAE, has nothing to give other than blatant destruction and atrocities that continue to cultivate utmost hate and rejection. The ongoing war revealed RSF’s lack of capacity to establish organization and governance and engage with the people. The widespread destruction of infrastructure including schools, universities and hospitals, government facilities, rampant looting, systemic sexual violence and mass atrocities…all indicate a fundamental disconnect between the RSF and the Sudanese population.
I believe this war is a significant turning point not just for Sudan but for the Sahel and Horn of Africa. RSF and its sponsors in the UAE and Russia, via Wagner, ignited a wildfire spreading beyond Sudan’s borders. The primary perpetrator of violence in Sudan at the moment is the RSF, which has relied on violence as a means and an end. Violence is integral to its organisational structure, dictating the nature of its mobilisations and operations. RSF cannot function without violence. Sudanese people are caught in the middle. It is important to understand the difference between SAF and RSF. Although the SAF has a long history of corruption and dysfunction, it represents most of Sudan’s rule of law and national identity.
Sudan is falling apart very quickly. We need a process that reflects on our realities, and acknowledges what is actually happening rather than denying it or being apologetic about it…. FFC and NCP should not hold us hostage to their grievances and hatred of each other. … we don’t care about either of them. They are not representative of the full civilian population. Many civilians at the moment are taking charge of their communities’ welfare, providing protection and making critical decisions about aid, humanitarian support and human rights. Several communities have no interest in supporting either FFC/Taqdom or political Islamist /NCP. The reality is that Sudan will not be the same country after this brutal war. FFC and NCP are stuck playing an outdated game, vying for control. Both need to be humbled and join a 3rd inclusive path that focuses on addressing the needs of the people of Sudan. Sudan Tribune
May 25
BOMBING OF EL JEILI OIL REFINERY NORTHEAST OF KHARTOUM WILL HAVE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENSES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IF ACTION IS NOT TAKEN IMMEDIATELY. Khaled El Ananze, environmental engineer, stressed the need for a rapid environmental impact assessment of the airstrikes on the refinery: Oil refineries are always hazardous due to their flammable and toxic hydrocarbon materials. Any accident at the refinery can cause significant harm to the environment and human health. Emissions like sulphur dioxide from the bombardment can cause long term, cumulative problems in living beings and may form acid rain. The refinery’s hazardous substances could also pollute groundwater.
RABAB ELNAIEM, SUDANESE ACTIVIST, LABOR ORGANIZER, SPOKE TO MERIP ABOUT POLITICAL ORGANIZING DURING THE 2018-19 UPRISING, THE TRANSITION PERIOD, AND THE WAR THE FOLLOWED:
Struggle is always a constant process, but there were several major events that led to a shift in the nature of the struggle. Jan 2018, a huge march took place organized by the Sudanese Communist Party against the Bashir government’s budget. The communist party called people to build a popular movement in opposition to proposed economic austerity measures and sharp increase in food prices and high cost of living. Nov 2018, Sudanese Professional Assoc, an alliance of alternative/shadow unions representing mostly white-collar workers… presented a wage study and statement calling for raising the minimum wage. There were several strikes in 2018, including teachers in White Nile State. The Sudanese Communist Party of Sennar State put out a statement Dec, 2018, calling for the reactivation of neighborhood Resistance Comms and a popular response to high food prices and to overthrow the Islamist regime. High schoolers took to the streets in Maiurno in Sennar. Dec 13 it was Ad-Damzin. Dec 19, it was Atbara, historically known as a labor city. They burned down the hqs of the Bashir party in Atbara. Until Dec 25, Sudanese Professionals Assoc was mostly out of the picture, but then put out a statement calling on people to go to the presidential palace. SPA really positioned itself as the main leader, mobilizing the masses, which was needed as people didn’t trust the political parties.
It’s important to note the Bashir regime was bound to collapse. There was no way for it to continue, and the question was, what type of change do we want? A soft landing, which many establishment politicians were pushing for through a planned election, where we change the leadership of the regime while maintaining the same system, only within a democracy more appealing to the international community? Or do we allow this revolution to take its natural form? Already by Dec 2018 there were negotiations between the Bashir regime and counterrevolutionary forces over potential elections. The same political parties eventually ended up in the transitional government.
FFC was a declaration with very vague language, that started a political alliance of the major traditional political parties in Jan 2019. It included the Sudanese Communist Party as well as SPA. FFC entered negotiations with the military. The communist party broke away from FFC in 2020 and issued an apology to the people of Sudan for its role in empowering the military through its membership in FFC. SPA is made up of alternative unions, mostly white collar workers. Although they were effective during the years of al-Bashir’s rule, they were limited to those already politically active within traditional political parties. During the height of the uprisings, SPA had been thrown into a leadership role to sustain the movement. But they didn’t center labor in their political agenda. They should have built democratic labor organizations from below as a bulwark against the elitism within the political class and FFC. FFC/transitional government ended up embracing austerity measures set by international financial institutions (abolishing fuel subsidies), and this alienated workers. I think this is an ongoing issue with labor organizing in Sudan: to draw on the labor movement in the mobilizing stages of an uprising but then grant workers no real say in the political agenda. This happened in 1964… in 1985… in 2019. That’s why we lost the SPA. It had a major following, and at some point it was very responsive to critiques, especially from the feminist movement. … it played a major part in reactivating neighborhood Resistance Comms.
The neighborhood Resistance Comm is a really old concept of organizing in Sudan. It is a form of organizing within a geographic area (at neighborhood level), rather than in a workplace. During the 2018–19 uprisings there was a real understanding that the movement needed to be decentralized but collaborative. The new wave of Resistance Comms in 2019 were really creative in finding novel ways to operate and activate the masses. The sit-ins, in a way, took energy out of neighborhoods and hyper focused the revolution on Khartoum (although there were sit-ins in other major cities across Sudan). In early 2019, NRCs weren’t operating with a political framework. They acted mainly as a mobilizing force and to keep the SPA and FFC in check. There were several instances before the partnership between the FFC and the military was signed (Aug 2019), where Resistance Comms were able to voice disagreements on the way negotiations were going. But that didn’t last, mainly because neighborhood Resistance Comms at that point were not politically developed, which created friction around the signing of the partnership, where some part of the Resistance Comms supported the transition more than others. A Resistance Comm is a reflection of the political and social class behind it. A committee in a poor neighborhood in Khartoum might have a lot more in common with a committee somewhere in the periphery than another neighborhood in Khartoum. We saw some Resistance Comms in Khartoum starting to build a structure and go through what they saw as a democratic process, to give them legitimacy or some sort of a legal status. The transitional government tried to co-opt resistance and at some point even suggested a law to define their work. FFC wanted to keep them apolitical. The closer a Resistance Comm was to the center of power and wealth, the more reformist their political stances tended to be. Other NRCs were taking the stance that what makes you legit and revolutionary is how close your struggle is to the daily livelihood of the people, demanding justice for the massacre of demonstrators (June 3, 2019) and other martyrs of the revolution. In a neighborhood where there is an upper middle class there might be more time or resources to do an election process, but that doesn’t make that Resistance Comm more legitimate or deserving than a neighborhood resistance that meets on the route to work, or maybe a tea selling lady somewhere in the market, who wouldn’t necessarily have laptops or even electricity.
After the coup in 2021 (when the military overthrew Hamdok’s government) we started seeing Resistance Comms developing political charters in a major way. Nov 2021, a Resistance Committee in Maiurno, the same small village where the uprisings began in 2018, drafted their first political charter. … it explained how they could reclaim power and build democracy from below. This was a major development because until 2021, revolutionary slogans were not so explicitly political. Some NRCs progressed into an organizing role with a clear political stance, appointing spokespeople, developing political charters and being recognized by all players, including the international community. It started with Maiurno, then Kordofan and Wad Madani. There was an alliance following the 2021 coup. It made sure to build checks and balances, to make sure the power dynamic will not create another elitist group within the revolution. The charters came together and then Khartoum joined. 2023, they released an updated charter signed by an alliance of NRCs in which they defined sovereignty as consolidating a democratic power practiced by the people at all levels and power structures.
I think the failures of the transitional government sustained the revolutionary moment and radicalized people. When you see the transitional government adopting more austerity measures, paying debt to the US over terrorist activity that happened 30 years ago or trying to cozy up to the US, it makes you anti-imperialist. You’ve been through this traumatic event of the massacre and your comrades are being killed almost every Thurs simply for protesting! You don’t see any justice and to see your government, the supposed revolutionary government, trying to justify its existence through cozying-up to the international community instead of improving living conditions for the people of Sudan, you have no option but to continue the struggle.
2019, I met with labor leaders from SWARTU (alliance of different unions and labor organizers). SWARTU was very active and we published materials on how to build unions. I was trying to engage with some NRCs to unify the struggle in the workplace and within the neighborhood. SWARTU was working to emphasize self-determination for workers. We were trying to avoid having a state or any political power—even if it claims to be revolutionary —to interfere in the process of building a union. Almost everyone who I worked with was either trying to build their union, or already forming an initial committee to take care of the election. SWARTU members were labor organizers, truck workers, dock workers, oil workers, bankers, administrative workers and security workers, especially in the periphery, for example in Darfur, where it has been one of the major jobs due to the number of NGOs and level of insecurity.
Instead of searching for a magical solution, we should be consumed by the question of what we want to build. Looking at the revolutionary slogan Freedom, Peace and Justice, I think of Marx defining the realm of freedom as where labor which is determined by necessity and mundane considerations ceases. This draws a direct link between freedom and the conditions of labor and production. We’ve seen the rise of Emergency Rresponse Rms (community-driven mutual aid groups that have almost replaced Resistance Comms), mostly disconnected from politics. But war is political, hunger is political and security is political. For a moment during 2019, we were lost in thinking we’re just going to organize day-to-day life without necessarily changing the political decision-making structures. The war, in some ways, brought people back into that tense. I see the missed opportunities. I see how imperialism could seep into post war Sudan. Post-war Sudan is vulnerable to the exploitation of the international community through NGOization or privatization and neoliberal measures. We need to organize ourselves, making mutual aid political by defining it as labor, and creating new life opportunities where we sustain ourselves and we save ourselves. This is really counter revolution at its logical conclusion. Like the soft landing, the war is meant to reset Sudan. The result could be the disintegration of the social, political and economic fabric of the country and removal of the political will of the people. Stopping this war (and future wars) is a result and not an action in itself, a result of creating the conditions for the people of Sudan to live, produce and reproduce cooperative
May 24
AMB IDRISS VOICED FRUSTRATION FOLLOWING A UN SEC COUNCIL MEETING ON SUDAN, CRITICIZING THE FORMAT FOR DILUTING THE FOCUS ON UAE’S ACTS OF AGGRESSION AGAINST SUDAN. Idriss voiced frustration that the meeting did not meet Sudan’s expectations or address the gravity of the situation: We sought a dedicated meeting to address the acts of aggression perpetrated by UAE against the Rep of Sudan…suggesting it diluted the focus and urgency of Sudan’s concerns. The Sec Council, due to pressures exercised on them, decided to convene a meeting that does not align with our expectations or the seriousness of our complaint…. which trivializes the focus and urgency of our concerns. This is not the first time Sudan raised concerns over the UNSC’s approach. Sudan remains steadfast in its commitment to pursuing a dedicated meeting focused only on our complaint against the UAE. We are determined to engage with the Sec Council to address its request. The ongoing conflict between Sudan and UAE raised significant concerns within the international community, with calls for a more direct and focused intervention by the UN. Sudan Tribune
May 23 110 DEAD AND POTENTIAL POLIO SURGE IN S DARFUR KALMA CAMP. Urgent food deliveries are deemed necessary to prevent further fatalities within the camp. Sheikh Abdallah, head of Darfur Displaced & Refugees Gen Coord, reported deaths of 66 children due to malnutrition and lack of medicines. 38 people and 6 pregnant women died within a month. The sheikh warned of potential polio and childhood diseases due to halted vaccination programmes, although some immunisation efforts recently resumed.
Mohamed Adam, Centre 6 Kalma Camp, said hunger reached its peak…. 142,000 families in the camp needing aid. Kalma Camp housed tens of thousands of long-term refugees for 20 years. Activists warn of a looming catastrophe in Um Rawaba, N Kordofan, as 66,000 displaced families endure hardships. Travel restrictions by RSF led to closure of key roads, driving up costs of basic goods. Air raids by SAF worsened the already severe humanitarian crisis, prompting urgent calls for UN intervention. Civilians are forced to smuggle themselves out of the city, paying high fees due to armed conflict in the streets. With no protection from either RSF or SAF civilians have been subject to robberies outside the city. Families … prefer to remain within the city to avoid similar robberies. SAF air raids on the city a major concern amongst civilians, leaving many dead with properties and infrastructure destroyed. Many commercial activities have stopped, leading to shortages of basic materials and forcing civilians to seek alternative safe places for work to provide their families’ needs. Residents of Um Rawaba and surrounding localities appealed to the warring parties to cease hostilities and negotiate a comprehensive peace to end civilians’ suffering. Dabanga
SUDANESE TRANSPARENCY & POLICY TRACKER INDICATES THAT SINCE TAKING CONTROL OF MELLIT, RSF HAS USED THE TOWN AS A BASE TO CONTROL FLOW OF GOODS INTO DARFUR AND EXTRACT RESOURCES FROM TRADE. The Military, Economic and Humanitarian Consequences of the RSF’s Control of Mellit, N Darfur, published May 15, sheds light on developments. Mellit is 60k from El Fasher at a crucial junction. The town now serves as a pivotal base for RSF to control cross-border trade routes, especially from Libya. This allows RSF to smuggle vital resources essential for sustaining the conflict. The strategic location of Mellit at the crossroads between Libya and Chad has facilitated the flourishing of smuggling networks with arms, drugs, alcohol and illicit goods making their way through porous borders. The flow of goods into Darfur has been significantly disrupted since the outbreak of war, interrupted after some Darfur movements…aligned themselves with the SAF. The establishment of toll gates at checkpoints along trade routes enables them to impose illegal fees on trucks carrying essential supplies like food and medicine. RSF refuses to allow humanitarian aid through vital routes controlled by SAF. Disruption of transportation networks has hampered the operation of essential services like water stations and grain mills. RSF is preparing to establish a unified administration in western and central Sudan, consolidating control over the region. This move is seemingly driven by a desire to monopolise the flow of humanitarian aid and exert complete authority. If the RSF go ahead and declare a civil administration in areas under their control, this will create a reality…similar to Libya, with division of the country into 2 competing administrations. Dabanga
AS SCHOOLS REOPEN AND OFFICIAL PLANS ARE MADE FOR EXAMS, CLASSROOMS DOUBLING AS SHELTER CENTRES FOR THE DISPLACED WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE. Schools re-opened in Northern State and W Kordofan. The school year has begun in R Nile State, W Darfur and Red Sea State.
El Gedaref is to start next week. Kassala is yet to set a start date, with discussion s about sheltering displaced people residing in schools. Sudan Teachers’ Comm in S Darfur dismissed the decision to open schools, describing it as lacking realism….continues to refuse to resume partial studies to avoid education becoming a gateway for division in Sudan. El Gedaref and El Fao, controlled by the RSF, are the most affected by displacement. 60% of schools have been turned into shelter centres. The Min reportedly proposed transferring the displaced from El Gedaref to 5 schools…. will accommodate displaced students. Primary and middle school students are young and cannot be accommodated in schools far from their homes. He warned of the educational risks of 1 year of school closures including illiteracy, drug abuse and bullying becoming more common. In Kassala, arrangements have been made to resume school education while creating a suitable environment for the displaced. They decided to allocate 60% of schools in Kassala for education and 40% for shelter. Kassala is hosting 70,645 displaced families in 285 centres. The Min stressed the necessity of opening schools and resuming studies whilst causing minimum disruption to the displaced.
The number of students in Sudan is estimated at 12 million, including 9m in primary and middle schools. The war must stop to resume school, Sudanese Teachers Comm told Radio Dabanga: 350,000 teachers, administrators and workers in the education sector are living in catastrophic conditions. They are demanding for authorities provide teachers’ salaries, rehabilitate school buildings and deliver textbooks. Authorities in Atbara, R Nile State, forced displaced people sheltering in 2 schools to leave. After the war began 10,400 schools had to close in conflict-affected areas, leaving 19 million children without education.
May 22
DOZENS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN WERE KILLED IN AL FASHIR DUE TO HEAVY FIGHTING. Doctors Without Borders indicated that without getting medical supplies and extra staff members it will be extremely difficult to continue to treat the wounded. Eyewitnesses told Altaghyeer some parts of al-Fashir and Abu Shouk Camp for displaced people have been subjected to RSF artillery shelling, while SAF intensive airstrikes hit other parts of the city. Saudi Obstetrics & Gynecology Hosp, the only such health facility in al-Fashir, has been shelled. The Dialysis Centre was affected by fighting, while Al-Fashir Southern Hosp is expected to stop work. Min for Health condemned deliberate shelling of civilian objects including hospitals and shelters, which represents serious violations of the international and humanitarian law and human rights conventions.
May 15
SUDAN WAR: REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT PLOTS PATH TO PEACE. As fighting between the RSF and army rages and the situation in Darfur worsens, Resistance Committees have difficult choices to make. Al Burhanders of radical revolutionary group Anger Without Borders met with chief of the SAF. Members had been fighting alongside the army in its war against the RSF. Its meeting with Burhan started an argument on social media. Burhan, after all, was the man who, along with Dagalo, orchestrated the military coup of 2021 that blew up Sudan’s transition to full civilian leadership. And so, Anger Without Borders was accused of seeking to legitimise military rule through its meeting with Burhan who …. announced that his aim was not to return the country to any kind of civilian government.
Appearances, though, can be deceptive. What really happened, according to Nuha Abdul Gadir was an ambush: The revolutionaries had been set up as part of a piece of propaganda. The members were summoned for a normal meeting, then suddenly found themselves in a room with Burhan. Our leaders tried to leave but the soldiers prevented them. They were lured there so Burhan could be photographed with them. We can’t put our hands on the hands of Burhan, which have been dirtied by the blood of the revolutionaries. Our leaders joined the army to defend our people from the violations of the RSF, she said, specifying that fighting the RSF was not the same as fighting for the army, referring to the army and RSF-led operations against protesters in 2019 which left hundreds of civilians dead. The country’s revolutionary movement, as well as its technocratic civilian leaders, has been trying to forge a pathway to peace that does not end up solidifying military rule. Sometimes this has meant taking difficult decisions, with different civilian actors seeming to offer support to one or other of the warring parties. The army is now made up of a constellation of different groups representing wildly diverging ideologies from radical revolutionaries to ultra-conservative Islamists. Many see the army as a means to an end: defeating the RSF, which… is committing genocide against non-Arab groups in Darfur, the vast western region that serves as its powerbase.
Resistance Committees, nationwide groups of local activists that have been at the heart of Sudan’s revolutionary movement, have, along with affiliated Emergency Response Rms been organising lifesaving wartime support, actively trying to bring the war to an end. In The political vision to end the war in Sudan, committees detailed their bottom-up approach to solving the crisis through political pressure and popular organising. This stands in contrast to the approach taken by technocratic civilian actors like former PM Hamdok’s Taggadum coalition seeking to convince the warring parties to head back to the negotiation table. Resistance Comms have expressed doubts over the commitment of international donors and hit out at world actors for forgetting the crisis in Sudan. A leading member from Gezira told MEE the groups’ roadmap called for dismantling of the RSF and creation of a new army that would stay out of Sudan’s politics and allow the building of full civil rule. … this would not be possible under the SAF’s current leadership, which is against the revolution and against civilian rule. The question of how to build a new army is the main challenge for the war in Sudan. We are working with retired officers and officers who have been dismissed to formulate the creation of a professional army that accords with the process of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. We believe that junior army officers, who have no interest in continuing the war, will stand with our vision. The resistance committee leader said they were against the RSF and against leaders of the SAF who failed to protect the people. We warn the elite supporting the militias and foreign countries that are supporting the militias to stop what they are doing. The UAE is RSF’s main patron, while Africa Confidential reported that the army has been operating Iran-supplied drones since Jan. Moscow moves to play both sides, strengthening relations with the army while continuing to facilitate the supply of the RSF through the Wagner Group. Our roadmap includes the formation of revolutionary governments from the grassroots in different states after the design of new interim constitutions through a dialogue between the Sudanese people.
Muzan Alneel, Sudanese scholar, described Resistance Comms as the only genuine democratic group to face the militarisation of politics in Sudan: The success of the resistance front in advancing its position was captured in the slogan of the 3 Nos’ – no negotiations, no partnership, no legitimisation – against the military council. This slogan was chanted at protests and even the civilian FFC coalition felt compelled to include it at the bottom of their statements. However, the argument Resistance Comms made that the latest coup would only encourage further violence and perhaps even a war was ignored by international political and media organisations. For the two warring entities – both of which had expanded their influence using violence, massacres, and coups, and faced no consequences other than further legitimisation – it was only logical to attempt a full takeover via further violence. But she criticised Resistance Comms for now supporting the army, saying they attempted to strike an impossible balance between calling for an end to the war and supporting the army of the coup government. For months they attempted to hold together contradictory goals: namely, the revolution’s goal of protecting and prioritizing human life, and the counter-revolution’s goal of protecting the state. The counter-revolution, boosted by decades of bourgeois propaganda promoting patriotism over human life, appears to have defeated the revolution.
Facing little real pressure from the outside world, both sides escalated the fighting, with the army targeting Khartoum and Gezira. There is fierce fighting in el-Fasher, capital of N Darfur, where there are fears that the RSF could massacre non-Arab civilians. Across Darfur, there is already clear and convincing evidence the RSF is committing genocide. Currently the RSF is maintaining static positions around el-Fasher, with clashes and exchanges of artillery taking place in the northern and eastern sectors of the city. For the first time since the war began there is fighting in R Nile state. Former rebel movements from Darfur and Blue Nile are fighting alongside the army and they have shifted the balance of power slightly, advancing towards Gezira, under RSF control since the paramilitary stormed through it meeting little army resistance. The war has devastated Sudan. Almost 25 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024, while 8.8 million have been displaced from their homes. Mass killing, rape and sexual assault, theft and looting have all been widespread, as the Sudanese people struggle to see an end to the bloodshed.