April 9
SUDAN RULER’S ENVOY SECRETLY VISITED ISRAEL TO REQUEST MILITARY SUPPORT. Al-Sadig Ismail, envoy of Al-Burhan, visited Israel last week to coordinate with officials on how to present Al-Burhan in a positive light to the new US administration and address growing tensions with UAE. Al-Rakoba newspaper reported citing informed source within the army. Al-Burhan’s envoy carried several messages to PM Netanyahu, including “Burhan’s desire to complete the normalisation process between the 2 countries and arrange for signing of the Abraham Accords in return for Israeli support for Sudan in the next phase.” Al-Burhan’s envoy conveyed another message to Israel related to rapprochement between the army chief and Iran, which has raised concerns in Israel. Al-Burhan had no choice but to improve ties with Tehran because Khartoum was isolated and…faced with regional and international pressures since the outbreak of the civil war, and needed qualitative military support from any party to win its war. Al-Burhan pledged “to fulfill any obligations….imposed by Tel Aviv in order to conclude the [normalisation] agreement. Israel has no justification for its anger at the approach to Iran, because the army leader did not receive desired military assistance from Israel, with which he had entered into a cooperation agreement 5 years ago.” Middle East Monitor
April 8
100 PEOPLE KILLED IN ATTACKS BY THE RSF IN OMDURMAN, local medics said. Sudan Doctors Network said the fatalities came from attacks in the Jama’iya region, south of Omdurman, over the past week. Middle East Monitor
April 7
WORLD HEALTH DAY 2025: SUDAN’S MOTHERS AND BABIES FACE HEALTH CATASTROPHE. This year’s theme focuses on maternal and infant health, underscoring the importance of proper medical care, nutrition and support during pregnancy and early childhood. In Sudan, …the reality is starkly different. Millions of mothers and babies are caught in a deepening humanitarian crisis, struggling to survive amid food shortages, collapsing healthcare services and widespread displacement. WFP warned of an alarming rise in child malnutrition driven by famine. Displacement and conflict destroyed food supplies, leaving millions without access to adequate nutrition….refugee and internally displaced children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition that requires immediate intervention. MSF revealed staggering malnutrition rates,…with children dying from preventable causes due to lack of medical attention. UNICEF has raised concerns that Sudan’s current crisis will have long-term consequences, not just for the health of children but for the future of the country.
SUDAN CONDEMNS UK FOR EXCLUDING IT FROM SUMMIT WHILE INCLUDING UAE. Sudan’s foreign min has written a letter to his British counterpart criticising the UK for hosting a Sudan conference without inviting the de-facto Khartoum government, and extending invitations to allies of the RSF. Ali Yousif wrote to David Lammy objecting to the conference set to take place 15 April in London. The summit will bring together foreign ministers from around the world in an attempt to end the war and address the humanitarian crisis. Foreign ministers from UAE, Chad and Kenya, alleged to support the paramilitary group, were handed invitations. Khartoum’s foreign min said the move equated Sudan’s government with the RSF….It added that the summit was the latest in several developments in the UK which showed leniency towards the RSF, including alleged secret talks between UK and RSF last year. Yousif told Lammy UAE’s participation in the conference “allows it to whitewash its image and conceal its complicity in acts of genocide in Sudan”. An independent inquiry by Raoul Wallenberg Centre found “clear and convincing evidence” that RSF and allied militias “committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit”. Sudan’s government last month filed an application to open proceedings against the UAE at the ICJ over complicity in…genocide. It said the Emirates was complicit through “its direction and provision of extensive financial, political and military support for the rebel RSF militia”.
MEE reported on the network of supply lines to funnel arms and goods from UAE to the RSF, via allied groups and governments in Libya, Chad and CAR. “The previous British government blocked the UN Sec Council from discussing UAE’s involvement in the war in April 2024. Had the Sec Council addressed the issue and taken a firm stance, countless innocent lives could have been saved and the war might have been ended.” Kenya, which will be represented in London, hosted a conference which saw the RSF launch a parallel government in areas it controls. Sudan subsequently suspended all imports from Kenya in protest describing it “tantamount to an act of hostility”. Representatives of Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will all be at the summit. All are known to favour the army over the RSF. Middle East Eye.
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN N DARFUR CAPITAL EL FASHER CONTINUED TO DETERIORATE, with civilians trapped between escalating violence and severe shortages of food and water. El Fasher has been experiencing intense shelling and growing threat of famine spreading. SAF warplanes bombed the weekly market in Tora March 24, killing dozens with some reports estimating the death toll in the hundreds. The following week, shelling by RSF in El Fasher killed at least 9….March 28 SAF bombed Shangil Tobaya Camp. Gen Coordination of Camps for Displaced Persons & Refugees accused SAF of targeting civilian infrastructure. Famine conditions, classified as Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Phase 5, the highest level, were confirmed in July 2023 at Zamzam Displacement Camp, leaving thousands of children facing life-threatening malnutrition. Local activists and mediators are calling RSF to lift their blockade in line with international directives and UN resolutions. Armed movements aligned with RSF, such as SPLM-N El Hilu, and Sudan Revolutionary Front Idris, announced…“safe corridors” to help civilians flee El Fasher and Zamzam Camp. Min of Culture & Info accused foreign states of supplying RSF with weapons and missiles, turning the siege into a land and air blockade….government forces airdropped food and medicine to El Fasher. SLF alliance led by Hajary, offered safe passage for civilians and called for urgent aid. The mainstream SLM Nur urged relocation to areas under their control. UN signalled readiness to intervene….Humanitarian Coordinator met with Sudanese officials in Pt Sudan to discuss coordinated response. Min Aleisir urged UN to use its aircraft and transport vehicles, under its own banner, to help save lives in El Fasher and nearby areas. Sovereignty Council Lt Gen Jaber echoed that appeal, calling on UN agencies to increase pressure on RSF to allow humanitarian convoys through. He reaffirmed the government’s willingness to cooperate with international actors to facilitate aid delivery across Sudan. Dabanga
89 KILLED IN VILLAGES IN OMDURMAN BY RSF…. Many more were injured in the attack that saw the paramilitary group carrying out random artillery shelling and direct gunfire. Emergency Lawyer’s Assoc accused RSF of violating “human rights and international law,”…engaged in widespread looting of homes and shops, arrested several young men from the villages “and forced them at gunpoint to transport the looted goods.” Many fled to Jabal Awlia, in hopes of finding safety. RSF continues to suffer setbacks. Since the beginning of the year the army seized Sennar, Al Jazeera and White Nile State, as well as…Khartoum. AfricaNews
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COLLAPSED UNDER WEIGHT OF WAR. Many hospitals and medical facilities have been destroyed, while ongoing violence forced humanitarian organisations to suspend operations. In Zamzam Camp in El Fasher, home to 500,000, MSF had no choice but halt medical services due to…violence. The withdrawal of humanitarian aid left countless families without essential healthcare, placing expectant mothers and newborns at extreme risk. With little to no prenatal or postnatal care, pregnant women are at elevated risk, while newborns are vulnerable. …childhood illnesses like measles and cholera are making a deadly comeback, spreading rapidly due to unsanitary conditions and lack of vaccinations. On top of food shortages and collapsing medical services, women and girls…face another grim reality-widespread gender-based violence. Conflict zones have become especially dangerous, with reports of targeted attacks, sexual violence and forced displacement increasing. For pregnant women and new mothers, the threat of violence compounds their dire situation, making access to healthcare and humanitarian aid even more difficult. Dabanga
HUNGRY, SCARED DARFUR CIVILIANS FEAR RSF ATTACK, PLEAD FOR ARMY HELP. Civilians in N Darfur and surrounding towns are starving. The paramilitary RSF imposed a siege…for about a year, yet they managed to forestall an invasion thanks to Joint Forces – local armed factions backed by the army. Besieged civilians are pleading for help, but some fear the army has neither the political will nor capability to rescue civilians, say experts, local journalists and civilians. 500,000 civilians in Zamzam Camp, largest refugee camp in N Darfur, are suffering from famine….Residents told Al Jazeera the army dropped some food aid from its warplanes earlier this week, but supplies will run out in a few days. “All Sudanese military and security agencies should move to ensure the flow of food, medicine and humanitarian supplies to besieged civilians,” Mohamed Khamis Doda, spokesperson for Zamzam Camp. “There must also be an immediate intervention….”
UN CONDEMNED…EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS IN KHARTOUM, WHICH THE MILITARY RECAPTURED LAST MONTH. Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking violence against civilians, said the army committed field executions against civilians in Khartoum and Jebel Aulia, on suspicion of collaborating with the rival paramilitary RSF. UN High Comm…was “appalled” by such reports and urged the army to end “arbitrary deprivation of life.” A video posted by Emergency Lawyers captures multiple instances of individuals, some blindfolded, being fatally shot by men in uniform and others in civilian clothing. OHCHR cited similar footage…showing armed men “executing civilians in cold blood” and…perpetrators stating they are punishing RSF supporters. “Extrajudicial killings are serious violations and their perpetrators, as well as those with command responsibility, must be held accountable,” Thameen al-Kheetan, Office of UN High Comm for Human Rights. …the organisation documented a “disturbing rise” in online hate speech and incitement to violence that includes lists of individuals accused of collaborating with the RSF…. Emergency Lawyers condemned the social media campaign led by activists and army supporters as a “serious breach” of local and international laws that “fuel hate speech, violence and threaten social unity,” leading to some settling their disputes outside the law and judicial frameworks. The New Arab
March 26
ARMY FRESH GAINS IN THE CAPITAL AND OTHER REGIONS, REDUCING TERRITORY CONTROLLED BY RSF. The army released a control map showing its forces and allied units expanding in Khartoum, White Nile and Cordovan. Eyewitnesses told Anadolu RSF fighters had withdrawn from eastern Khartoum neighbourhoods Burri and Arkaweet, Al-Azhari and Al-Sahafa in the south. Sudan Shield Forces, army-allied militia led by Keikel fighters captured the Sondos Agricultural Project area, long considered a key RSF stronghold in southern Khartoum. Middle East Monitor
ICJ SET APRIL 10 FOR ARGUMENTS FROM SUDAN AND UAE AFTER KHARTOUM ACCUSED THE GULF STATE OF COMPLICITY IN GENOCIDE…. arguing its support for the rebel RSF makes it “complicit in the genocide on the Masalit”. Sudan called for “provisional measures,” urging the ICJ to issue emergency orders to force UAE to pay reparations, among other requests. The orders of ICJ…are legally binding but no power to enforce. Khartoum urged the court to act quickly “to ensure…protection for the civilian people who remain at grave and immediate risk of continuing…acts of genocide. UAE fuels the rebellion and supports the militia that committed the crime of genocide in W Darfur.” RSF received crucial support from UAE, including arms deliveries through neighbouring Chad, say diplomats, analysts and rights groups. The Gulf state promised the US it would not arm the RSF after 2 US lawmakers attempted to block…$1.2 b in advanced rockets and long-range missiles. In Jan, US lawmakers said UAE had broken its promises and was still supplying the rebels. Both the army and RSF have been accused of war crimes. The New Arab
MONITOR ACCUSED ARMY OF CARRYING OUT ONE OF DEADLIEST AIR STRIKES ON REBEL HELD TOWN IN W DARFUR. Emergency Lawyers said “hundreds of civilians” were killed in an “indiscriminate air strike on Tora Mkt, while residents who took part in burial operations said they counted 270 bodies. “We counted 270 bodies buried and 380 people injured,” one resident told AFP, with another confirming. They said security concerns meant transporting the wounded to Melit was difficult, while the local health facility lacked the capacity to treat mass casualties. Darfur Gen Coordination of Camps for the Displaced & Refugees said the army’s “deliberate bombing” of the market was “a crime against humanity. It is deeply
regrettable that some would justify killing innocents under the pretext of the presence of one of the parties to the conflict. ” Footage on social media…showed charred bodies and smoking debris at the market, where residents of nearby towns gather weekly. Across the country, attacks on markets, villages and displacement camps regularly left over 100 dead at a time. In Dec, the lawyers’ group reported a similar army strike on a market in Kabkabiya, which killed 100, with UN confirming…”at least 80″. Last month, a 3-day RSF assault on central Sudan villages claimed hundreds of lives, with the army-backed government giving a toll of 433, while the monitor said 200 were killed. N Darfur capital El-Fasher is the only state capital RSF has not conquered, despite besieging the city 10 months and regularly attacking displacement camps that surround it. RSF is likely to intensify its campaign to consolidate its hold on the region, following defeats in Khartoum. Since the war began, both sides have been accused of targeting civilians, including indiscriminately shelling markets and residential neighbourhoods. RSF has specifically been accused of ethnically motivated mass killing, systematic sexual violence and rampant looting. The New Arab
March 25
SUDAN FACING ONE OF THE WORST MAN-MADE FAMINES IN RECENT HISTORY, fueled by deliberate violence, denial by authorities and lack of decisive international action. “Famine Denial in Sudan: Not Only Irrational but Also Irresponsible” was published by Fikra for Studies & Development. It argues 24 million people are facing acute hunger, with the worst levels of famine already confirmed in parts of Darfur. The report directly accuses RSF of “weaponizing hunger” through… destroying crops, looting humanitarian aid and besieging civilian populations. It criticizes the government for “dangerous withdrawal from reality,” refusal to acknowledge the famine, dismantling of early warning systems and bureaucratic obstruction of aid access. “Denial…is not just irrational. It is deadly.” International actors are heavily criticized….“silence on UAE’s complicity in arming RSF” and “false equivalence” drawn between SAF and RSF. It argues that combined with a collapse in global humanitarian funding is exacerbating the crisis. “Sudan’s famine is not inevitable. It is the result of deliberate actions—and it can be reversed by different ones. The time to act is now.” Report available at: https://rb.gy/hts67c Sudan Tribune
ARMY BOMBS RSF POSITIONS, DEADLY MOSQUE DRONE ATTACK KILLS 11.
SAF bombed RSF positions in Omdurman’s El Sawra, Khartoum’s El Bageir near Soba Bridge, and other neighbourhoods…..An RSF drone strike killed 11, including a child and a volunteer, during Taraweeh prayers at Radwan Mosque in Hilat Kuko in Sharg El Nile….In El Gezira, 18 civilians killed in RSF attacks on villages northwest of the state. Former UN envoy Perthes told AP the army’s recent advances could force the RSF back to Darfur, though he warned the war was far from over. Activists shared footage showing widespread destruction, but casualty figures remain unclear. In N Darfur’s capital El Fasher, RSF artillery shelling killed at least 8 civilians, including 6 women and children, and injured others. SAF reported that RSF shelling struck civilian areas at noon, using 120-calibre cannons and medium weapons. Intl Org for Migration said 15,000 families fled El Malha in N Darfur Thurs-Fri. National Umma Party accused RSF of committing war crimes in El Malha, documenting 40 deaths and calling for international intervention.
March 24
8 CIVILIANS KILLED WHEN RSF LAUNCHED ARTILLERY SHELLING ON RESIDENTIAL AREAS NORTH OF OMDURMAN…Hara 8 and Hara 10 neighbourhoods of Karari north of Omdurman at busy hours. RSF bombed Hara 29 and Hara 43, killing 7, including 2 children. The paramilitary targeted the area with heavy artillery shelling while people were praying Ramadan’s Taraweeh and youngsters were
in the squares playing football. RSF used to shell Karari neighbourhoods, markets and hospitals from its positions west of Omdurman killing dozens. Al Taghyeer
March 23
BREAD IS SUCH AN ESSENTIAL PART OF LIFE IN SUDAN THAT REOPENING A BAKERY IN BATTLE SCARRED SHAMBAT FILLED PEOPLE WITH OPTIMISM. Buildings…bear the scars of fighting…and some of the most basic services are still missing. But the smell of freshly baked bread after a nearly 2-year-hiatus is giving residents hope. “When we saw a place that can provide us with food and drink, it felt that life was restored”. Hundreds of residents returned to the area after the army retook it from the RSF. The war intensified in recent months, with the military making sweeping advances against the RSF in Khartoum and elsewhere…. “We experienced very difficult conditions and very tough events. Thank God, after the army returned and entered this area, we felt stability,” Mugahed Mohamed. Life remains very difficult where basic services like electricity and water are largely inaccessible. As an alternative to cooking gas, people collect firewood to cook meals. Humanitarian organizations have been supporting people with basic foodstuffs including flour, cooking oil, lentils and beans through local organizations partnering with UN WFP. WHO and Doctors Without Borders are working with local partners to assist. AfricaNews
COURTS LAUNCH MASS TRIALS FOR RSF COLLABORATORS. A rights group warned that mass trials of alleged RSF collaborators risk turning the judiciary into a tool for political reprisals. Hundreds are already facing trial in El Gezira, with thousands more expected. El Gezira Observatory for Human Rights said authorities must ensure transparency and fair trial standards. It raised concerns that many defendants had little time to prepare their defence and questioned whether prosecutions were politically motivated. A criminal court in El Gezira started hearings against 950 individuals accused of working with RSF. 5,000 charges have been filed against alleged collaborators, intelligence operatives and RSF leaders. The charges include crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in W Darfur. The trials follow Armed Forces recapture of El Gezira. Rights groups fear the sheer number of cases and speed of the prosecutions indicate a political purge rather than due process. Dabanga
March 22
KHARTOUM FRONT LINE, SUDAN WOMEN MEDICS RISK LIVES FOR PATIENTS. Dr. Safaa Ali stayed up all night before deciding not to follow her husband to Egypt with her 4 children: “I could either be with my children, or…stay and do my duty.” She has not seen her family since. Nearly 2 years into the war…she is one of the last remaining obstetricians in the capital, risking her life to give women a shot at safe births: “We find strength in our love of our country, our passion for our work and the oath we swore,” she said in a war-damaged delivery room. She is one of a cohort of doctors, nurses, technicians and janitorial staff AFP met in the last hospitals standing in Omdurman. Their operating theatres were turned into battlegrounds, hospitals bombed and colleagues killed where they stood. Yet…they turned up for their patients every day. Bothaina Abdelrahman has been a janitor at Al-Nao Hosp 27 years. She sheltered with her family in a neighboring district the first 48 hours of the war, but has not missed a day of work since. “I would walk 2 hours to the hospital, and 2 back.” For months, medical personnel have been subjected to routine accusations from combatants that they have been collaborating with the enemy or failing to treat their comrades. “Health professionals were attacked, kidnapped, killed and taken hostage for ransom,” Dr. Khalid Abdelsalam, Doctors Without Borders. 90% of hospitals in conflict zones have been forced shut, according to Sudan’s Doctors’ Union, which says 78 health workers have been killed since the war began. WHO recorded 119 attacks on health facilities. “At one point, there wasn’t a single working MRI machine in the country.” Khansa al-Moatasem heads 180-person nursing team at Al-Nao, Omdurman’s only hospital to remain functioning, despite repeated attacks: “It’s an honor to give the hospital everything I have and everything I’ve learnt.”
Al-Nao suffered 3 direct hits. After RSF stormed nearby Saudi Maternity Hosp, Dr. Ali steeled her nerves and went to the paramilitaries herself: “I met their field commander and told him this was a women’s hospital, only for them to storm it again the next day with even more fighters”. She watched one of her colleagues die. Eventually the hospital was forced to close after ceilings collapsed, equipment looted and walls of delivery rooms riddled with bullets. Dr. Ali set up mobile clinics and a temporary maternity ward until Saudi Hosp partially reopened this month. Al-Nao was rocked by RSF shelling as exhausted doctors raced to treat dozens of casualties from artillery fire on a crowded market. Those hospitals which still function have been forced to rely increasingly on volunteers from local Emergency Response Rms…a grassroots aid network delivering frontline aid across Sudan, mainly young Sudanese with few resources. With no senior physicians left, Dr. Fathia Abdelmajed, paediatrician for 40 years, has become “mother” of Al-Buluk Hosp. For years, she treated patients at home in Omdurman. But since Nov 2023, she has been training teams at the small, overwhelmed hospital “where hardworking young people were struggling since the start of the war.” She said the work was often harrowing but the honor of serving alongside such dedicated volunteers “has made this the highlight of my career.” Al Arabiya
MILITARY RETOOK REPUBLICAN PALACE IN KHARTOUM, the last heavily guarded bastion of rival paramilitary forces in the capital, after nearly 2 years of fighting. The seizure of the Palace, surrounded by government ministries, was a major symbolic victory for Sudan’s military against the RSF— though it likely doesn’t mean the end of the war as RSF holds territory in W Darfur and elsewhere. AfricaNews
ARMY CLAIMS CONTROL OF MAIN HQS OF CENTRAL BANK FROM RSF as it…advances in the capital. Nabil Abdallah said…soldiers “eliminated hundreds of militia members who tried to escape through pockets in central Khartoum”. But the RSF retaliated…with a drone attack that killed 3 journalists and several army personnel. Paramilitary forces posted snipers in high-rises that overlook Omdurman across the Nile and ministries in central Khartoum. Al Jazeera
March 20
DOZENS OF CIVILIANS KILLED BY RSF ATTACKS AGAINST 10 VILLAGES EAST OF AL FASHIR during the past few days. The attacks resulted in death of 18 including women and children, said Dir Gen of the Health Service. Ibrahim Khatir told al-Jazeera most of the injuries are fatal due to heavy shelling of populated areas. RSF continued shelling Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons camp south of al-Fashir, threatening exasperation of the humanitarian situation in the camp, which hosts thousands of families. For months, al-Fashir has been witnessing escalating RSF military operations in a bid to take over the only state still under Armed Forces control. Al Taghyeer
March 16
POLICE ACCUSE PARAMILITARY AFTER 11 BODIES FOUND AT BOTTOM OF WELL. Bodies recovered from a deep well in Khartoum’s Fayhaa neighborhood. Authorities said many bodies have been found at the bottom of a well a few days after the military cleared the area from paramilitaries. The bodies of 11 people, including women and children, were recovered from the deep well, according to police. Col.
Hassan, civil defense’s field team, said a search was mounted after residents found a dead body in the well: “We found inside this well different bodies, males and females, adults and children.” Police say the victims were killed by RSF before being thrown into the well when the paramilitary was controlling the area. Afraa al-Hajj Omar, resident of Hajj Youssef, said the RSF killed many people in the area and their bodies were left for days in the streets. She said many bodies were thrown in the well: “They robbed us, beat us and tortured us. ” The New Arab
3 OR 4 PATIENTS SHARING SINGLE BEDS AMID SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION OF HEALTHCARE. Patients are turned away or left dying on the floor as aid group describes catastrophic conditions. The conflict-stricken country has seen countless displaced families seeking care, and the collapsing medical infrastructure has been unable to accommodate demand, with ongoing violence outstripping limited resources and 2/3 of all main hospitals out of service. Dr Abdalbasit Alameen Mohamed Adallah, al-Gedaref Teaching Hosp, told Islamic Relief the number of displaced people seeking treatment is increasingly double or triple the rate the hospital that can find beds: “The health situation is very serious. The existing hospitals take all of the burden [from displacement as a result of the conflict]. After recent displacements, the number of patients has increased many times. 2 or 3 patients can be treated in 1 bed, some treated on the couch, and some we just give…treatment and let them go if they have a place to stay. People are begging for prescriptions.” Adallah went on to say there was a severe lack of medication available, including for vital emergency treatments such as infusions and lab testing: “There has been a systematic destruction of all health facilities across Sudan. Most of the medical staff have…been displaced and many hospitals destroyed completely, resulting in no medical services. In Gedaref we took the biggest burden since the very start of the war from the displacement of Khartoum and Al Jazirah, where half the population was displaced to Gedaref including elders, children and people with chronic diseases. It’s a huge number.” Many doctors and medical staff fled the country after facing violence, attacks, decimated infrastructure and corruption, Islamic Relief said. 122 health workers have been killed and 90 arrested, with medical facilities including clinics and hospitals damaged 136 times, and taken over 51 occasions for non-medical purposes. Insecurity Insight attributed almost 2/3 of these attacks to the RSF. Middle East Eye