December 18
2.7 MILLION WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE DISPLACED IN SUDAN according to UN Population Fund, including 272,000 pregnant women of whom 91,000 will give birth in 3 months. Sudan was already enduring years of humanitarian crisis, but the war unleashed an intensified humanitarian catastrophe of immense scale, particularly for women and children…. Every day, 20,000 people are newly displaced and among them are pregnant women fleeing for their lives and unable to access antenatal, safe delivery or postnatal services because 80% of health facilities are closed or barely functioning in crisis-affected areas….women are dying from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. “After I give birth, I worry about the cold weather and not having a proper place to put my baby. We don’t have a home, we sleep outside, on the floor,” Sabreen Abdulrahman, displaced mother…9 months pregnant with her 4th child. AfricaNews
December 17
UN ENVOY ARRANGES INDIRECT TALKS BETWEEN ARMY, RSF, sources revealed to Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. UN Envoy to Sudan Lamamra has begun arranging to send invitations to the Army and RSF to resume indirect talks in Geneva. Allied to Save Lives & Achieve Peace in Sudan participated in new consultations with actors in civil society to get their visions and observations and present them within the agenda of the upcoming talks….”The RSF agreed to resume the talks, while the army expressed a semi-initial approval to participate, without any official confirmation from its side so far,” the envoy “will personally lead the talks between the two parties to reach a binding agreement regarding protection of civilians, which may open the door to understandings on other issues regarding hostilities.” The upcoming round of talks in Jan will focus on protecting civilians, through “agreeing on measures to cease hostilities at the national level as an entry point to a ceasefire.” Lamamra confirmed that the talks are based primarily on what was reached in the Jeddah Declaration between the 2 parties. Al Mayadeen
DOCTORS BEAR BRUNT OF WAR AS HEALTHCARE FALLS APART. Sudanese doctor Mohamed Moussa has grown so accustomed to the constant sound of gunfire and shelling near his hospital it no longer startles him. …he simply continues attending to his patients: “The bombing has numbed us,” the 30-year-old GP told AFP from Al-Nao Hosp, one of the last functioning medical facilities in Omdurman. Gunfire rattles in the distance, warplanes roar overhead and nearby shelling makes the ground tremble,… Embattled health workers “have no choice but continue.” The violence has turned hospitals into battlegrounds, placing health workers like Moussa on the frontlines. Doctors tend to a harrowing array of injuries: gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen, severe burns, shattered bones and amputations – even among children as young as 4 months. Deadly shelling repeatedly hit its premises, according to Doctors Without Borders. In N Darfur, a recent drone attack killed 9 at the capital’s main hospital, while shelling forced MSF to evacuate its field hospital in a famine-hit refugee camp.
Sudan’s healthcare system, already struggling before the war, has now all but crumbled. Of 87 hospitals in Khartoum State, 1/2 suffered visible damage….WHO documented 119 attacks on healthcare facilities across Sudan. “There is complete disregard for civilian protection,” Kyle McNally, MSF. …an ongoing “broad-spectrum attack on healthcare” includes “widespread physical destruction, which reduces services to the floor“. The national doctors’ union estimates that in conflict zones 90% of medical facilities have been forced shut, leaving millions without access to essential care.
Both sides of the conflict have been implicated in attacks on healthcare facilities. 78 health workers have been killed…by gunfire or shelling at their workplaces or homes. “Both sides believe medical staff are cooperating with the opposing faction,” union spokesperson Sayed Mohamed Abdullah. “There is no justification for targeting hospitals or medical personnel. Doctors…make no distinction between one patient and another.” RSF raided hospitals to treat their wounded or search for enemies, while the army conducted air strikes on medical facilities across the country. MSF suspended most activities at Bashair Hosp, one of S Khartoum’s few functioning hospitals, after fighters stormed the facility and shot dead another fighter being treated there.
Sudan’s doctors scramble to respond to another threat: mass starvation. In a paediatric hospital in Omdurman, malnourished children arrive in droves. Mid-Aug to late Oct the small hospital was receiving 40 children a day, many in critical condition. “Every day, 3 or 4 would die because their cases were very late stage and complicated, or due to a shortage of essential medicines.” Adnan Hezam, Intl Comm of the Red Cross, said there must be “immediate support in terms of supplies and human resources to medical facilities”. Without it “we fear a rapid deterioration” in already limited services. To Moussa, some days feel “unbearable. But we can’t stop. We owe it to the people who depend on us.” INKL/Al Jazeera
December 16
MOBILE UNITS TO REGAIN CONTROL OVER CAPITAL KHARTOUM AND AL-GEZIRA STATE.Gen Al-Burhan announced that more than 30 mobile units are ready to recapture…Khartoum and al-Gezira State from the paramilitary RSF. Addressing hundreds of fighters, al-Burhan vowed not to sit down for negotiations or agreement on a truce with the RSF “we have no option other than eradication of their-RSF-troops or they have to surrender…otherwise our fight continues.” Since Sept, SAF initiated an all out military operation to regain areas it conceded to the RSF in recovering some parts of Khartoum and majority of Sinnar State including capital Singa and currently engaged in violent confrontations near Madani, al-Gezira State. Al-Burhan was critical of the international community which he accused of disregarding…Sudan “if the world is really paying heed it will end the attack on al-Fashir and halt weapons flowing into Darfur.” Al Taghyeer
December 14
UAE FLIGHTS FLOOD AIRSTRIP, …SUPPLIES WEAPONS TO SUDAN REBELS. Since civil war eruptedlast year, dozens of cargo planes from UAE landed at a small airstrip in Chad some UN experts and diplomats suspect is being used to funnel arms across the border into the conflict.… 86 flights from UAE headed for an airstrip at Amdjarass, Chad, ¾ operated by carriers accused by the UN of ferrying Emirati weapons to a warlord in Libya, according to flight data and corporate documents reviewed by Reuters. UAE, a key Western ally, saysit has been sending aid for Sudan via Chad, not arms. The footage shows 2 pallets on the tarmac stacked with khaki crates, some labelled with the UAE flag. 3 weapons experts said the crates appeared unlikely to be carrying humanitarian aid. Due to their light weight, humanitarian aid is often packaged in cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic and stacked high on pallets. The crates in the video appear to be metal stacked low on the pallets. According to one of the experts, who worked as a UN weapons inspector, the cases on the right-hand pallet were “highly probably ammunition or weapons, based on the design and colour of boxes.” The long and thin proportions of the cases on the pallet indicate they likely contain weapons.
Since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, the oil-rich Gulf state has intervened in conflicts from Yemen to Libya, partly in an effort to roll back Islamist groups. Islamists associated with the rule of ousted Presal-Bashirhave long held influence within Sudan’s army. “Logistics win wars, and UAE has used this plane network to consistently facilitate weapons to the RSF,” Justin Lynch, Sudan Conflict Observatory monitoring platform. “UAE-supplied weapons to the RSF altered the balance of power in Sudan’s conflict, prolonged the war and increased civilian casualties.” A member of Chadian security forces…described witnessing planes arriving with crates that looked like the ones his units used to transport weapons. The New Arab
London
9 KILLED IN DRONE ATTACK ON HOSPITAL IN DARFUR. The Rapid Support Forces have been blamed for an attack on the last remaining hospital in el-Fasher. …the group fired 4 rocket-propelled grenades towards the main healthcare facility. A Resistance Comm involved in relief efforts said the attack targeted Saudi Hosp, forcing it to suspend medical services. It was the last remaining open hospital. The city has been a hub for humanitarian efforts in Darfur by the UN and other international aid agencies. Fri’s strike was the latest in a wave of devastating attacks. Al Jazeera
December 13
65 MASSACRED IN RSF SHELLING OF OMDURMAN’S KARARI NEIGHBOURHOOD. One of the artillery shells landed on a minibus, slashing all 22 civilian commuters into pieces. Khartoum State’s Gov visited the massacre sites and the injured who were taken to nearby medical care centres including al-Nao Hosp. Each of the warring parties accuses the other of deliberately targeting civilians. Local and international calls for protection of civilians have gone unheeded including a much waited for Security Council resolution which was vetoed by Russia. Al Taghyeer
TURKIYE’S ERDOGAN OFFERS TO MEDIATE IN SUDAN-UAE DISPUTES. Turkiye can step in to resolve disputes…Pres Erdogan told the head of Sudan Sovereign Council Gen al-Burhan. The Sudanese army accuses UAE of providing weapons to its rival RSF and prolonging the war. Erdogan suggested…Turkiye step in to resolve disputes between Sudan and the UAE, just as it mediated a dispute between Horn of Africa neighbours Somalia and Ethiopia….The Turkish pres emphasised…Turkiye’s main principles of protecting Sudan’s territorial integrity…and preventing the country from becoming an arena of foreign intervention. …al-Burhan said he welcomed any role Turkiye could play in ending the war and called for greater Turkish investment in Sudan. Al Jazeera
25 MILLION FACE ACUTE FOOD SHORTAGES WITH FAMINE DECLARED IN HUGE ZAM ZAM CAMP FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE IN W DARFUR. World Food Programme official Carl Skau cited progress over the past month in getting clearances to deliver aid across conflict lines and the border from Chad. And with roads drying up at the end of the rainy season, WFP is able to deliver “much more food.” One convoy reached Zam Zam and 2 on the way have been held up because of fighting in the past 10 days in el-Fasher. It is the only capital in Darfur still held by Sudanese forces. The others are held by the RSF. WFP aid reached 2.6 million people this month, stressing that the international community should have done more to address the Sudan crisis “and needs to do more going forward”. AP
SUDANESE POLITICIANS…MULLING SETTING UP A GOVERNMENT IN EXILE. US Special Envoy Perriello…says the move would be disastrous and lead to long-term war. The envoy reveals that over the last year RSF has been willing to come to various peace tables…but the same willingness has not been seen from the SAF. He says both sides are momentarily pursuing military offensives which is unfortunate because innocent Sudanese are paying a heavy price: “We have seen the resumption of some humanitarian flights in the areas where people have been seeing death from cholera and other horrific situations. We have made more progress on the emergency humanitarian aid front than…on the diplomatic front. …the only way to end this war is through negotiation and a civilian transition. We have seen more weapons coming into the country…fueling this conflict. We are working at the UN and elsewhere on enforcing the Darfur arms embargo. But at this point, both sides are pursuing military offensives…including the horrific killing of over 200 civilians yesterday from an airdrop. US has been leading the way…being the bigger donor of food and medicine and trying to make sure that is getting to north, south, east and west, but we have also been issuing sanctions on the people persecuting this war. Those supplying weapons into this war,…committed atrocities like rape and siege in El Fasher, we will continue to raise those causes and work with our partners…. US has been a major supporter of young people and women showing so much courage in this war. Creative ways to keep kitchens open, keep pharmacies open. Right now we don’t see a political will at the UN and AU for what you might think of as an intervention force. However, the right of civilians to be protected exists in international humanitarian law.
SAF and RSF need to follow that basic humanitarian law and we will continue to sanction those who violate that and demand accountability for horrific atrocities. Sanction is to be part of the broader strategy…. We believe the path forward is to bring the parties together, restore the civilian transition robbed from the Sudanese people and rebuild a kind of unity. So, we do think sanction is one part of showing there is going to be cost and consequences for those who murder civilians and use rape and starvation as a weapon of war and we need others to join us.
If the RSF would have some sort of government over other parts of Sudan, moving backward from efforts to build a unity civilian transition working to bring this war to an end. …this would be a bad move. We will continue to monitor any steps in that direction that will move the country closely towards partition and make this a permanent war for many years.” Radio Tamazuj
December 12
175 PEOPLE DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED…. The first attack took place Mon when an air strike hit a busy market in Kabkabiya, 180k west of N Darfur, killing 100 civilians including women and children. 65 people were killed in Omdurman, an army-controlled region, according to Khartoum Gov Hamza who indicated 100 were injured. AfricaNews
ALI KUSHAYB TRIAL: ICC CLOSING ARGUMENTS CITE DABANGA EVIDENCE. ICC yesterday heard closing arguments in the trial of Darfur Janjaweed leader Abdelrahman Ali Kushayb, accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities…in Darfur 2003-04. The prosecution drew heavily on evidence linked to Dabanga’s reporting, including a video in which the accused confirmed his role in the crimes….Prosecutor Nicholls presented a video of Kushayb… boasting about Dabanga’s portrayal of him as the Janjaweed militia leader: “What Radio Dabanga says about me is true because I’ve killed a great many people, and I’m still going to kill people.” Nicholls used this footage…to underline the damning evidence linking Kushayb to the atrocities…. Kushayb’s statements affirm his identity as a militia leader and ICC-wanted figure: ‘I am a militia leader. I’m the person wanted by the ICC.’ Prosecutor Karim Khan underscored the importance of the trial, saying it represented a crucial moment for justice amid ongoing violence. He recounted harrowing witness testimonies of mass killings, rape and village destruction: “The victims demanded justice and did everything in their power to participate in this case”. The prosecutor detailed how rape was used as a weapon of war, with survivors facing lifelong stigma. He highlighted the plight of children, among the most affected, often forced into displacement camps or perishing during escape. Khan described the trial as a “glimmer of hope” for victims who awaited justice 2 decades. Ali Kushayb…continues to argue mistaken identity. Nicholls dismissed this claim, citing 16 witnesses who recognised Kushayb by name and nickname. The trial represents the first case of its kind addressing crimes in Darfur.
11 Dec
MORE PEOPLE KILLED IN N DARFUR AND GREATER KHARTOUM AS FIGHTING TURNS BLOODIER. The 20-month conflict which has killed tens of thousands, has become increasingly bloody, with the army stepping up air attacks in areas under RSF control and the paramilitary forces staging raids and carrying out intense artillery strikes. Mon, an air attack on a busy market in Kabkabiya, currently surrounded by the RSF, killed more than 100 people and wounded hundreds, according to Emergency Lawyers. The army denied responsibility for the attack, insisting it had the right to target any location used by the RSF for military purposes. Tues, RSF aimed heavy artillery fire at an army-controlled sector of Omdurman. Gov Hamza reported 65 people had been killed and hundreds wounded. According to Hamza, who called the attack a “massacre”, attributing it to “the terrorist militia”, a shell hit a passenger bus and “killed everyone on board and turned 22 people into body parts”.A medical source in Omdurman’s Al-Nao Hosp, one of the last facilities receiving patients, told AFP the hospital received 15 of those killed in the attack on the bus, with 7 dying later. Tues, RSF shelled famine-stricken Zamzam displacement camp, killing 5, according to Darfur Gen Coordination of Camps for the Displaced & Refugees. Emergency Lawyers reported 6 people were killed in N Kordofan when a drone that had crashed on Nov 26 exploded. Tues, the UN warned almost 10,000 people a day are fleeing across the border to So Sudan, with daily arrivals having tripled in recent weeks. Al Jazeera
December 10
AIR FORCE KILLS NEARLY 200 CIVILIANS IN ATTACKS ON MARKETS. Many children and women killed and wounded in new wave of attacks…targeting busy markets. The latest attacks hit rural towns Kabkabiya, Al-Kuma, and Melit, cities Nyala and El Fasher, and Khartoum suburb Hai Mayo. The attacks follow a year-long pattern of airstrikes against busy markets in areas controlled by the RSF, typically carried out on a set market day, with the apparent deliberate intent of maximizing casualties. Supporters of the militaryboasted about the attacks and justified them, claiming they targeted “social incubators” of the RSF rebellion. 86 people died in the bombing of Kabkabiya Mon, and dozens more were wounded. Videos…showed chaos on the busy market streets as crowds scrambled to locate loved ones and rescue the wounded amid burning stores, toppled market stalls and charred bodies.
Many victims were simple merchants, including women who make tea, prepare cooked meals or sell vegetables or other products for a living. Darfur Bar Assoc issued a statement condemning the “massacre committed today by army aviation in the city of Kabkabiya. The crimes committed by the 2 parties to the war continue amid complete international silence.” Sheikh Abdelrahman…told Darfur 24 local authorities met last week and decided to close the market, in anticipation that it could be bombed. But the decision had not been implemented when 8 bombs fell. 2 days before, an airstrike hit a petrol station in Hai Mayo. 28 people were killed and 37 wounded, including 29 with burn injuries and 8 with fracture wounds. Similarly, bombs landed on a busy market in Al-Kuma, N Darfur Dec 4. In speeches at a mass funeral afterwards, local leaders said the air raid killed 45 civilians and injured 200….the bombing struck the “heart of the market”. UNICEF…received information 13 children were killed in the airstrike in Al-Kuma: “These attacks on children are unacceptable. Children have no role to play in wars or civil conflict, but children are the ones who are suffering the most…. Thousands of children and families are trapped in areas affected by violence.” Dec 3, seven civilians were killed and 3 injured in an airstrike in Melit. Melit suffered numerous air raids recently, causing many traders to close up shop, deadening the once busy market town and worsening humanitarian and economic conditions. Additional airstrikes have taken place at Kab al-Jiddad, Al-Jazira, where an unknown number of victims died in an attack on the market Nov 24. Bombs landed at a border crossing in Renk, wounding 3 civilians.
The military issued a statement asserting it has a “right to deal with any site or facility used by the militia.” The full death toll from aerial attacks since the start of the war is unknown, but we estimate…that the number of civilian victims is in the thousands. Sudan’s Air Force generally lacks warplanes with the capability to identify and hit moving or camouflaged targets, hence they instead bomb stationary targets like markets and other suspected “gathering places” of the RSF or its alleged supporters. Occasionally, soldiers are present in these markets, but the markets are principally civilian gathering places, not military sites. Sudan War Monitor.
December 9
SUDANESE REFUGEES IN KIRYANDONGO CAMP, UGANDA, LIVE IN MISERABLE SITUATIONS….in dilapidated houses, suffer from hunger and diseases and deprived from essential services such as health care and education, an official says. A number of Sudanese refugees…have been sentenced to long imprisonment terms including life imprisonment for violating the country’s laws, Leading Office of the Sudanese Refugees in Kiryandongo Camp, Othman Adam, said. Sudanese prisoners…live in catastrophic situations in overcrowded cells. Adam called for intensifying humanitarian efforts to support the refugees regardless of political differences. The number of Sudanese refugees in Uganda stands at 54,343. Al Taghyeer
RSF ATTACKS ON AL-GEZIRA AND WHITE NILE STATES…KILLING SCORES OF CIVILIANS and forced hundreds to flee their homes. 20 civilians, including a woman and her 2 children, were killed in “retaliatory” attacks launched by the paramilitary RSF against villages in the southern part of al-Gezira. The attacks…forced tens of families to flee their homes. RSF attacked al-Taboon, White Nile State assaulting medical staff, looting the health centre and pharmacies…displacing hundreds of civilians and turning the area into military barracks, Sudanese Doctors Network. Al Taghyeer
REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY MEETING WITH ARAB LEAGUE AIMED AT NEUTRALISING INTERVENTIONS IN SUDANESE AFFAIRS. Sudan’s call seeks to address nations interfering in Sudanese internal matters under the Arab League’s umbrella: “We rely on the Arab League to play a significant role, especially since many regional and international organisations have turned their backs on us during this crisis.” Khalid Aleisir stressed 3 key points via the Arab League: “No to interference in Sudanese affairs, no to aggression against the people and no to state fragmentation.” Aboul Gheit held a meeting in Pt Sudan with Al-Burhan. Gheit acknowledged the humanitarian severity of Sudan’s crisis and discussed potential coordination between the Arab League, the international community and AU to restore peace and stability. MEM
December 7
MILITARY AIR STRIKE ON N KHARTOUM MOSQUE KILLED 7 CIVILIANS. “The attack occurred as worshippers were leaving the mosque” afternoon prayers, said Emergency Lawyers documenting human rights abuses throughout the war. The local Resistance Comm…confirmed the death toll and said “a number of wounded” had been transported for treatment. The attack was “part of a series of arbitrary military assaults that do not discriminate between civilians and military targets”. Both the army and the RSF have been accused of deliberately targeting civiliansand indiscriminately shelling residential areas. A UN investigation found both sides committed rights abuses with the RSF particularly implicated in sexual violence. UN humanitarian chief Fletcherc