November 14
WAR DEATH TOLL MUCH HIGHER THAN PREVIOUSLY RECORDED.…60,000 deaths in Khartoum State, far higher than other assessments. Released by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group, the study found 26,000 people died as a direct result of violence, and that starvation and disease are increasingly becoming the leading causes of death. Abdulazim Awadalla, Sudanese American Physicians Assoc, said the estimate appears credible: “The number might even be higher,” noting that malnutrition had weakened immunity, making people more vulnerable to infections. “Simple diseases are killing people.” The figures far exceed other estimates….“This is one of the most disturbing wars of the 21st century…,” Justin Lynch, independent consultant on Sudan, told Al Jazeera it has entered a “new phase of brutality”. The bulk of the violence…has taken place in Khartoum, according to ACLED, where residents say hundreds of graves have popped up next to homes. As the massacres unfold, keeping track of the dead has been challenging. As fighting intensified, people were cut off from places that record deaths, including hospitals, morgues and cemeteries. Repeated disruptions to internet services and telecommunications left millions unable to contact the outside world. Al Jazeera
KEY BORDER CROSSING WITH CHAD WILL STAY OPEN TO KEEP MUCH NEEDED HUMANITARIAN AID FLOWING INTO W DARFUR….The decision on Adre crossing followed a meeting with UN agencies and local and international aid groups. The border crossing, closed earlier this year, was reopened in Aug for 3 months by the Sovereign Council to address the catastrophic humanitarian situation. Famine has been confirmed in Zamzam Displacement Camp near El Fasher. Some aid continues to be distributed around Darfur, and an additional 30,000 metric tons are already in eastern Chad or on their way….While Adre is “a critical lifeline for millions” it isn’t enough and all routes crossing borders and conflict lines need to be opened to meet the spiraling demand for humanitarian assistance. ¨This decision, if sustained and supported,..could be a lifeline for 5.3 million children and families on the brink of starvation,” Mathilde Vu, Norwegian Refugee Council. AfricaNews/AP
AMNESTY INTL: FRENCH WEAPONS…BREACH OF UN ARMS EMBARGO. French-manufactured technology incorporated into armoured personnel carriers made by UAE is used…in Sudan in a violation of the UN arms embargo on Darfur. AI has shown how the constant flow of arms into Sudan is causing immense human suffering. UAE and France have a long-standing partnership in the defence sector. …French companies were responsible for delivering €2.6b in military equipment to UAE, 2014-2023. Lacroix Defence has an established presence in UAE,…“one of the first French intermediate-sized companies to localize in UAE”. Nimr Ajban APCs have been equipped with the Galix system since 2017. UAE has a long track record of breaching UN Sec Council arms embargoes, including in relation to Libya and Sudan. Dabanga
November 13
UN POLITICAL CHIEF ACCUSED ALLIES OF SUDAN’S MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY OF ENABLING SLAUGHTER that has killed 24,000 people and created the world’s worst displacement crisis. “This is unconscionable,” Rosemary DiCarlo told the Sec Council. “It is illegal, and it must end.” She didn’t name the countries funding and providing weapons to Sudan’s military and paramilitary but have responsibility to press both sides to work for a negotiated settlement. UN recently warned the country has been pushed to the brink of famine. Last month, RSF rampaged through Gezira, attacking towns and villages, killing dozens of people and raping women and girls, according to the UN and local groups. DiCarlo told the council…those attacks have been marked by “some of the most extreme violence in the last 18 months.” She strongly condemned RSF’s continuing attacks against civilians and said the UN is “appalled by the attacks against civilians perpetrated by forces affiliated with SAF in the Khartoum area.” DiCarlo said it is long past time for the rival forces to come to the negotiating table, but…both sides seem convinced they can win on the battlefield, and this is…fueled by outside support and weapons. “As the end of the rainy season approaches, the parties continue to escalate military operations, recruit new fighters and intensify their attacks. This is possible thanks to considerable external support, including a steady flow of weapons into the country.” Sudan accused UAE of arming the RSF. RSF received support from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. UN experts said the RSF received support from Arab-allied communities and new military supply lines through Chad, Libya and So Sudan. Gen. Burhan, who led a military takeover of Sudan in 2021, is a close ally of neighboring Egypt and its president, el-Sissi. In Feb, Sudan’s foreign min held talks in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart amid unconfirmed reports of drone purchases for government forces.
DiCarlo called for stepped up international action to protect civilians and promote talks. UN special envoy Lamamra “is considering the next phase of his engagement with the warring parties, including another round of ‘proximity talks’ focused on commitments… to the protection of civilians.” Ramesh Rajasingham, UN humanitarian office, told the council “shocking atrocities” in Gezira and fighting in W and N Darfur are causing more people to flee. Last month, 58,000 people from 2 Darfur states crossed into Chad, now hosting more than 710,000 refugees….fighting continues to intensify around N Darfur capital El Fasher. Rajasingham said a recent nutrition screening in the camp found 34% of children malnourished including 10% severely malnourished: “And we are now seeing troubling indications that deepening food insecurity is spreading to other areas, with…particularly alarming levels of hunger in S Cordovan. I just cannot put strongly enough how serious this situation is,” urging the international community to take immediate action. AfricaNews/AP
SULIMAN BALDO, SUDAN TRANSPARENCY & POLICY TRACKER, WARNS SAF IS POSITIONING ITSELF TO DOMINATE POST-WAR ECONOMY, particularly through control over reconstruction. Sudan’s military has long dominated the economy, having monopolised 82% of budgetary resources, …SAF now views post-war reconstruction as a key opportunity to extend its economic grip and further consolidate power. Baldo highlights the role of SAF’s Defence Industries System…the target of numerous international sanctions and previously known as Military Industrial Corp. He stresses the importance of civilian leadership and private sector involvement in rebuilding, arguing that any continued military dominance will prevent sustainable development. SAF is reportedly steering international funds towards its own entities, with agreements with Chinese firms for rebuilding infrastructure and expanding weapons manufacturing. Baldo calls for urgent international intervention to prevent the military from monopolising reconstruction, including sanctions on military-linked companies…. He emphasises that the focus should be on revitalising Sudan’s private sector and reforming public institutions, not reinforcing the military’s control over the national economy. Read the Sudan Transparency & Policy Tracker report: How SAF is Positioning to Dominate Post-War Reconstruction and the Economy, and What to Do About It Dabanga
November 12
RSF ACCUSED OF POISONING SUDANESE IN EL GEZIRA. Hundreds of people have reportedly died after contracting strange symptoms in El Hilaliya in east El Gezira…. El Mubar Mahmoud, El Gezira Congress Platform, described the situation as “catastrophic in every sense of the word.” Sudanese Doctors Syndicate: “16 people…have been killed by live bullets” since it was besieged by RSF…312 deaths due to other causes in El Hilaliya and Omdawanban. The residents are still counting bodies. Sudanese Foreign Min, El Gezira Congress Platform, Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, and Madani Resistance Comms said what happened was the result of poisoning, and some blamed the RSF. …people died due to “intentional poisoning carried out by the RSF against the people of El Hilaliya.” Mahmoud accused RSF of destroying water wells and burning 10 pharmacies. …they were sure it was deliberate poisoning because patients had given…testimonies of being fed flour that contained fertiliser by the RSF….what happened could not have been the result of cholera, because no RSF soldier had been affected, nor had anyone from the villages surrounding El Hilaliya. “Cholera does not kill 312 people in 5 days….We heard statements from medics from El Hilaliya confirming poisoning, and denying it was cholera.” It was not possible to perform a post-mortem because of the lack of medical facilities….the only hospital had been destroyed.
ICRC team assesses the needs of people in the El Bawadi Camp in El Dogeared who fled ongoing fighting.
Sheikhs (community leaders) in Omdawanban told Mahmoud “there are 20 daily deaths due to poisoning symptoms. The cases are limited to people who fled from El Hilaliya.”
El Hilaliya is home to the family of defected commander Keikel, which locals say may explain the siege….RSF launched a large-scale attack on villages in eastern, northern and western El Gezira after Keikel defected and joined the army. OCHA reported 135,400 people displaced across El Gezira since Oct 20, following a surge of violence affecting 30 villages and towns. Dabanga
November 6
DEVASTATING AIRSTRIKE BY SUDANESE ARMED FORCES KILLED 60 CIVILIANS including women, children and the elderly in Omdurman. The airstrikes targeted crowded market areas, leveling shops and leaving widespread destruction in their wake. A local resident from Ombada reported that the SAF initially targeted Amiriya with airstrikes, resulting in immediate deaths of 42 people. The attack, which employed barrel bombs, left 230 civilians wounded, many of whom suffered severe injuries. SAF drones launched another round of airstrikes on Gandahar Mkt killing 11 people, including 3 children from the same family. The airstrike reduced nearby homes to rubble, with 1 family’s tragedy becoming painfully visible on camera as the children’s father wrapped his son’s charred body in a white cloth. In an emotional moment, the grief-stricken father, struggling through tears, identified his son, saying, “His name is Hassan Ahmed Mohammed Hussein. His brothers are also here. 3 of them died.” Another wounded victim, a woman lying on the ground, identified herself…as Araba Abakr from Al Jazira. …the cameraman is heard noting that people are trapped in the flames: “This is a person burned by the fire.” He warns bystanders to keep back as bullets, ignited by the flames, crackle in the background. “This won’t put you on the right side, Burhan. You’re only killing innocent civilians—civilians, children, the elderly and women.”
Resistance Comms of W Ombada…described a deliberate and brutal attack by SAF on civilians in Al-Amiriya….Alongside the heavy human toll, the bombing flattened 160 homes, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. The statement condemned these attacks as a “full-scale war crime” and described graphic scenes documented by cameras showing dismembered bodies and burned remains of victims. It demanded SAF hold accountable the leaders responsible for ordering attacks on civilian areas, stressing that justice must be served to prevent further atrocities. The army’s aerial attacks recall grim stories of murder and genocide in So Sudan, Darfur, Nuba Mtns, as well as similar recent atrocities in Al-Koma, Malit, Al-Jazeera and Sennar…. SAF intensified their airstrikes since Oct, leading to a significantly higher civilian death toll than intended RSF combatant targets, according to a report by Darfur Initiative for Justice & Peace, a local initiative aimed at documenting war-related deaths….the organization tallied 1,848 civilian deaths, 1,091 injured and 417 residential properties and shops destroyed due to SAF airstrikes throughout Oct-Nov. 350 people were killed in Koma and 70 in Melit in N Darfur. Other areas were severely affected including Hamrat Sheikh in N Kordofan and Al-Hasahisa in Al-Jazira. The organization accused the SAF of targeting civilians on an ethnic basis, particularly in Dinder, Sennar State. Sudan War Monitor
MASSACRES, RAPE, PLUNDER: WHAT’S DRIVING THE RAPID SUPPORT FORCES SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE? Reports of extreme violence coming out of Gezira indicate mass killings, torture and sexual violence against civilians in recent attacks by the paramilitary RSF. Local sources documented 124 people killed and 150 abducted in Alseriha, in the agricultural province between the White Nile and Blue Nile rivers, in an assault launched by RSF fighters 20-25 Oct. Women and girls were sexually attacked, scores were injured, private and public properties were looted, and 46,500 people were displaced. In a report by UN Independent Intl Fact-Finding Mission released 2 weeks ago, the paramilitary group…was accused of extensive “atrocious crimes”. …the majority of rape and sexual and gender-based violence was committed by the RSF, documented mainly in Greater Khartoum, Darfur and Gezira, a pattern aimed at terrorising and punishing civilians for “perceived links with opponents and suppressing any opposition to their advances”. An earlier UN report in Sept concluded both RSF and SAF and their allied militias are responsible for large-scale human rights abuses, including acts that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The RSF are eyeing their opportunity for booty and the ease of sexual assault,” Eric Reeves, American academic, told The New Arab, expressing shock. “They will seek and move into any territory in which they find the least resistance.” He observed that while the SAF is slowly making progress it hasn’t exerted real pressure on Gezira, which accounts for the ferocious spiral of violence there. According to Sudan expert Cameron Hudson, the events in Gezira carry a deeper motivation that goes beyond mere retribution for Kikal’s defection:“It’s not chaos and destruction out of lack of command or control but rather an intentional
effort to terrorise and ethnically cleanse a region,” Hudson emphasised that the sheer scale of violence in the province is a pattern witnessed over 20 years across various regions where RSF repeatedly committed such crimes. …RSF fighters typically engage in brutal actions against civilians in areas where there is little or no presence of the military. “That’s when they’re able to go on these rampages. When they exercise control over civilian populations, the result is a real uptick in sexual violence.” Hudson explained that RSF’s extreme fighting mode should be viewed in light of key losses the militia suffered in Khartoum and Omdurman and US sanctions against one of its leaders. During the paramilitary advance there were reports of residents killed, sexually assaulted and arrested, while civilian areas were looted and valuables stolen, causing thousands to flee, many lived in the state for decades as farmers.
Agricultural production has come to a halt in RSF-controlled areas due to insecurity and pillage of farming equipment, seeds and fertilisers. Sudan’s breadbasket, Gezira produced ½ of wheat grown before the war. It has now turned into one of Sudan’s most food-insecure states. Sudanese freelance journalist Eyad Husham highlighted the disastrous impact…on national food availability given Sudan’s heavy dependency on the province for grain production….“RSF intends to take control of the agricultural heartland, make sure there is no resistance from local communities, and use Gezira to capture other SAF-held territories next,” anticipating the militia will likely push into the east as fighting is expected to intensify with the rainy season drawing to a close. While strongly deploring RSF’s indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians in Gezira, the reporter pointed out that some locals have chosen to arm themselves for “self-defence only” in the face of the paramilitaries’ brutal actions. With staggering levels of vicious abuses perpetrated against people RSF has undoubtedly failed to achieve any legitimacy… despite its significant territorial gains. RSF’s strategy can no longer rely entirely on military dominance, as remaining a militia grounded in violence and coercion will only hinder its pursuit of power. “RSF have no local popular support, no ideology. It’s simply lust for power and money.” The New Arab
November 5
RUTHLESS SAF-RSF POWER STRUGGLE KILLED 62,000 PEOPLE, THOUGH THE REAL TOLL COULD BE FAR HIGHER, and displaced 11 million. Over half of Sudan’s population are facing acute hunger. Several external actors backing the warring parties, who are implicated in widespread war crimes and atrocities, have been involved in supplying weapons and support to SAF and RSF, including Egypt, Iran, Russia and UAE. Research by Amnesty Intl documented how recently manufactured foreign weapons had been transferred into and around Sudan. A UN report cited credible evidence that UAE was providing arms and ammunition to the RSF. Abu Dhabi’s ongoing arms supplies likely enabled paramilitary fighters to commit the latest atrocities in Gezira among other serious abuses across the country. …although RSF as well as the SAF should be condemned for their actions, some differentiation is needed to “choose between the lesser of 2 evils”, and the US needs to make serious reconsideration of what it means to have UAE as an ally. “The RSF is exceedingly more evil, it’s tearing the country apart. It simply must be stopped.” The inaction of the international community means there is no diplomatic pressure on regional countries that support the warring parties. “The decision to end the war is not in the hands of Burhan or Hemedti, …global powers haven’t pushed for an end to hostilities because they have yet to find common ground that satisfies regional allies in securing their interests in Sudan. They still haven’t divided the cake yet, so the global community doesn’t know how to handle the situation.” …the global community, especially the US, is “running away” from the problem, choosing instead not to use tools such as labelling the RSF a terrorist group, sanctioning its leadership, or pressing UAE to stop fuelling the war. The specialist expects the fighting to continue and deepen, particularly since violations carried out by both sides, whether assaulting civilians or impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid, have gone unpunished. The New Arab
HUNDREDS OF VILLAGES IN AL JAZIRAH HAVE BEEN EMPTIED… RESIDENTS FLEEING RETALIATORY ATTACKS BY RSF, raising fears of forced displacement and demographic change. Concerns are growing that RSF may attempt to alter the region’s demographics by bringing in new residents. Al Jazirah Conference, a local civil society group, estimates 400 villages have been completely emptied and 115 partially emptied in east Al Jazirah alone. RSF has killed hundreds and displaced nearly 500,000 people. Last week saw deadly attacks in al-Hilailya and al-Bururab, forcing residents to flee villages across east Al Jazirah. Casualty figures vary, with some reports claiming 1,000 deaths since the RSF seized control in Dec. The violence has also been marked by reports of rape, suicide and kidnapping for ransom. Social media videos show a mass exodus from villages, with dozens reported missing. RSF has reportedly brought in new residents to villages near al-Hasahisa and Wad Madani, raising further concerns about demographic engineering. Many villages are now deserted, either due to attacks, destruction of infrastructure, or RSF orders to evacuate. In some areas, RSF prevented residents from leaving, demanding weekly payments for “protection.” Sudan Tribune
Egyptian Pres al-Sisi pledged “continued support” to the military in war-torn Sudan during a meeting with the country’s army chief. Al-Sisi called for “a ceasefire and sparing the blood of Sudanese brothers” during talks with al-Burhan according to the statement from Egypt’s presidency.
November 2
10 civilians were killed in al-Jazira, pro-democracy activists said, in an attack they blamed on the RSF. Madani Resistance Comm said the RSF carried out the killings in the village Barborab, 50 mi northeast of capital Wad Madani. Rising violence in the past month has left around 200 people dead. Al Arabiya
October 30 `
FROM GAZA TO SUDAN: LIMITS AND FUTURE OF HUMANITARIAN AID. ‘What is happening at the moment is…unrecognised, unacknowledged failure.’ The systems the international community designed since the end of WWII…to prevent atrocities and mitigate the worst effects of conflict on civilians are utterly failing: The wars in Sudan and in the Gaza Strip have made that abundantly clear. The staggering levels of violence and deprivation inflicted on entire populations with utter impunity and complicity from powerful states are a dark testament to…global humanitarianism, and the international community has shown itself unable to significantly respond to the suffering. Whether power can truly be shifted in a sector that traces its origins to colonialism, and what might lie beyond the international aid system as we know it.
Sudanese activist Hanin Ahmed spoke about the reality of the humanitarian situation. Ahmed helped found the Emergency Response Rm in Old Omdurman to address humanitarian needs…. Ahmed was later forced to flee and has been raising awareness and support for the volunteer-run humanitarian providers. “On the ground, it’s getting worse every day and every single moment. We are trying to fill the gap, but the gap is too big.”
Arwa Damon, former CNN senior intl correspondent and founder of INARA, provided a window into the situation in Gaza: “You think you’ve seen the worst of it, and then you go back over and over again, and you realise that no matter what it is that your mind tries to imagine worse becoming, it actually is not equivalent to what is happening on the ground.” Thaer Ahmad, Palestinian-American emergency medicine physician, MedGlobal, travelled to Gaza multiple times…. He spent 3 weeks in Nasser Hosp in Khan Younis this year….the enclave was already “unrecognisable from before”, describing what he witnessed as a “360 degree assault on life. It keeps getting compounded every single month.”
A panel discussed the man-made hunger crises in Gaza and Sudan and the trend of growing impunity for violations of international law. Alex de Waal, World Peace Fdn, one of the foremost global experts on Sudan and famine, highlighted the role parties to the conflicts played in creating the hunger crises in Gaza and Sudan. In Sudan – facing the worst levels of food insecurity ever recorded by the IPC, …“each side is using starvation as a means to political goals, and each is ready to make trade-offs under pressure, but the pressure is not being put on them to make those trade-offs.” Gaza is different.… It’s not the biggest by number, but it is “the most intense, the most severe – it is the most rapid descent”. The successful rollout of the first phase of a polio vaccination campaign is proof Israel can facilitate successful humanitarian activities if and when it decides to do so. “If Israel wanted every child in Gaza to have breakfast tomorrow morning, it would do it,…we just have to ask, why is it not doing it?”
Jeremy Konyndyk, Refugees Intl, spoke about the disturbing implications of both conflicts when it comes to adherence to international humanitarian law. He specifically pointed out the danger of the US applying different standards…condemning Russian violations in Ukraine compared to the tolerance of very similar tactics used by the Israeli government: “It is basically validating the cynics view that IHL, ultimately, is just window dressing and just an extension of geopolitics, and that is a deeply frightening place to be when you look at the broader sweep of history and why we have IHL in the first place. When you have 1,000 healthcare workers that have been killed, 160 UN workers, 125 journalists, when you talk about all of the academics that have been killed, they weren’t killed by the humanitarian crisis,” Ahmad, the Palestinian-American doctor, said. Lina Srivastava, Ctr for Transformational Change, sometimes wonders if it is even possible to imagine a different future beyond the current global humanitarian system.
Alex Gray, Ctr for Disaster Philanthropy: “We just don’t have the political will and decision-making powers sitting in the hands of the right leadership in order to take these solutions.” “I don’t want to imagine a world beyond aid,”Aarathi Krishnan, Raksha Intelligence Futures. “What I want to imagine is a world where states can be held to account for blatantly contravening international humanitarian law. I want to imagine a world where children are not blown up, people can get access to food, people don’t have to work 3 jobs just to be able to put food on the table.” Ahmed, the Sudanese activist, highlighted the utility of neutrality in a highly politicised and dangerous environment. “Any kind of political affiliation, or talk about politics…will harm our colleagues on the ground.” De Waal: “There is no alternative but public pressure in all possible forms… using the courts to prosecute starvation crimes.” The New Humanitarian
AFRICAN CENTRE FOR JUSTICE & PEACE STUDIES MEETING WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS TO ADDRESS ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES. The centre documented 118 enforced disappearances, bringing the number of identified cases up to 1100 since conflict erupted. Mosaad Mohamed, Exec Dir, described enforced disappearances as a systematic and escalating problem, frequently attributed to sovereign bodies “including RSF, MI security forces and militias linked to the former regime”. He characterised enforced disappearance as a complex crime, often beginning with arbitrary detention and extending to torture or extrajudicial killing. …authorities increasingly target human rights defenders, political activists and members of Resistance Comms, even in remote areas. He suggested “the high numbers of bodies accumulating in morgues”…may indicate some missing persons have been killed.
An ACJPS researcher said cultural and societal pressures often deter families from reporting disappearances involving women: “Enforced disappearances affecting women frequently involve other violations, such as harassment or rape, which discourages families from speaking out due to the stigma attached.” The documented cases range widely in age, with most involving young people. “Most of the disappeared are in locations known to some of their families, while others are hidden in unknown locations.” Documentation efforts face significant obstacles, including unreliable internet and families’ concerns about potential reprisals. Many worry that revealing information about detainees could expose them to torture or extrajudicial killing. … obtaining consent from families often poses a challenge in bringing cases to international bodies such as the UN Comm on Enforced Disappearances and some families “refuse to be referred despite having complete data”. She cited 4 cases that stalled because families did not want to pursue international procedures, even though documentation was in place. The centre said that reporting cases…led to the release of 1 person, after Sudanese authorities intervened. But despite this success, the government has not responded to remaining cases. ACJPS plans to document mass graves, cases of disappeared children and people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, as part of continuing efforts to expand evidence of rights abuses. Dabanga
119,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED…IN AL JAZIRAH STATE SINCE OCT 20, Displacement Tracking Matrix said, as a US envoy warned of dire humanitarian conditions amid restricted aid access. Clashes between SAF and RSF drove people from their homes in Sharg Al Jazirah and Um Algura to seek refuge in neighbouring states. The violence compounds a humanitarian crisis that left 6.5 million people facing starvation and 25 million in need of urgent assistance, US Envoy Tom Perriello said. Perriello criticized Sudanese authorities for blocking or delaying 90% of emergency relief supplies at Pt Sudan: “For those suffering in Kadugli or Khartoum, Nyala or the north, we should find common ground to streamline the flow of emergency food and medicine to every corner of Sudan as quickly as possible.” DTM teams reported displacement from Tamboul and surrounding villages, but widespread telecommunication outages hindered assessments in other affected locations. Displaced people primarily sought shelter in Gedaref, Kassala and R Nile states. Sudan Tribune
October 29
CONFLICT CONDEMNS SUDAN TO HUGE DISPLACEMENT, RAMPANT SEXUAL VIOLENCE: UN War has displaced 14 million and sexual violence is being seen on a “staggering” scale. The conflict created the world’s largest displacement crisis this year, UN IOM said. UN Independent Intl Fact-Finding Mission said in a new report paramilitaries are preying on the female population. IOM Dir-Gen Amy Pope described the situation…as “catastrophic”. Outlining how women and girls are being abducted for sexual slavery, Mohamed Chande Othman said: “There is no safe place in Sudan now.
This is an underreported conflict situation, and we must pay it more attention. Millions are suffering, and there is now the serious possibility of conflict igniting regional instability from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa to the Red Sea.”
1/2 the displaced are women and over ¼ are children under 5. Diseases are spreading fast and 50% of people are struggling to get the minimal amount of food to survive,…in N Darfur, famine conditions have already taken hold. “There is simply no other way to put it. Hunger, disease and sexual violence are rampant. For the people of Sudan, this is a living nightmare.” Sudan’s military and the RSF and allied militias “committed large scale human rights and international humanitarian law violations, many of which may amount to war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. The report accused both sides of sexual violence, but said the RSF was behind the large majority of documented cases, responsible for “sexual violence on a large scale, gang rapes and abducting and detaining victims in conditions that amount to sexual slavery”. RSF… indulged in “abduction, and recruitment and use of children in hostilities” amid systematic looting and pillaging.
Last week, dozens of civilians were killed in fighting, displacing thousands more in Gezira State. UNICEF described the situation as “one of the most acute crises in living memory”. UN warned 25 million people are likely to face acute hunger by end of year. Recent flooding in east Red Sea State has also caused displacement. Pope appealed for humanitarian response to be “scaled up”, that only half of the aid for the country has been funded: “We will not allow Sudan to be forgotten. Its people need peace, now.” Al Jazeera
WARRING MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY FORCES ESCALATING ATTACKS WITH OUTSIDE POWER ‘FUELING THE FIRE,’ intensifying the nightmare of hunger and disease for millions. In grim report, Guterres said the Sudanese people are living through numerous nightmares from killings and “unspeakable atrocities” including widespread rapes to fast-spreading diseases, mass ethnic violence and 750,000 people facing “catastrophic food insecurity” and famine conditions in N Darfur. He singled out “shocking reports of mass killings and sexual violence” in villages in east central Gezira in recent days. UN and a doctors’ group said paramilitary fighters ran riot in a multi-day attack that killed 120 people in 1 town. Guterres urged both sides to immediately agree to a cessation of hostilities, ensure protection of civilians for which they bear primary responsibility, and enable humanitarian aid to flow to millions in need. The Secy-Gen is horrified by reports that RSF continue to attack civilians in N Darfur capital El Fasher and surrounding areas, including displacement sites where famine has been confirmed. “And I am also horrified by reports of attacks against civilians perpetrated by forces affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces in Khartoum, and continuing mass civilian casualties due to apparently indiscriminate airstrikes in populated areas.” Guterres said those who violate international humanitarian law must be held accountable. AfricaNews
October 27
RESISTANCE COMMITTEES AND REVOLUTIONARY CHARTER FOR ESTABLISHING PEOPLE’S POWER CALL FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ENTITIES TO DESIGNATE RSF ‘TERRORIST MILITIAS.’ Resistance Comms…played a key role in the 2018 Revolution. The forces stressed their adherence to the principles of justice, ending impunity and holding all murderers, criminals and perpetrators of the war accountable. The forces condemned…the massacres, genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement the RSF used to commit in al-Gezira…bringing to memory the brutal genocide the paramilitary committed in Darfur. The forces likewise condemned SAF’s indiscriminately brutal airstrikes on civilians and infrastructure, considering both warring parties responsible for continuation of the bloodshed and escalation of fighting in all parts of Sudan. Al Taghyeer
ADVOCACY GROUP FOR PEACE IN SUDAN CALL FOR IMMEDIATE GLOBAL ACTION TO ADDRESS SURGE IN TRIBAL MOBILISATION. …AGPS cautioned that without decisive intervention, Sudan could spiral into mass violence reminiscent of the Rwandan genocide: “We recall the tragedy of Rwanda in 1994, as a reminder of what unchecked tribal mobilisation can lead to.” Urging swift action to curb hate speech and deescalate tensions, the group cautioned Sudan faces “a comparable human catastrophe” if violence continues. “Sudan stands on the brink,” appealing for unified action to “build a future rooted in peace” and protect the nation’s diverse heritage. Recent weeks have seen an alarming rise in ethnically motivated and intercommunal violence, as the paramilitary RSF attack villages in El Gezira. These assaults resulted in civilian casualties, atrocities and widespread displacement in El Butana. RSF reprisals appear to be in response to the defection of local commander Keikil to the SAF with some of his troops. SAF intensified their military campaign, escalating airstrikes on civilian areas in Darfur, Kordofan and El Gezira. These strikes caused extensive loss of life, severe infrastructure damage and widespread devastation of livestock. AGPS highlighted the influence of local leaders, poets and public figures stoking calls for retribution, sparking resentment that threatens to tip the conflict into an uncontrollable tribal war. The advocacy group warns that, without intervention, these dynamics are likely to result in widespread massacres throughout El Gezira, Nile R and Northern states, Darfur, Kordofan and east Sudan. AGPS urged Sudanese leaders, Resistance Comms and national and international institutions to act: “The warring factions and agitators must be held accountable for the genocidal crimes starkly looming on the horizon.” Dabanga
October 26
124 PEOPLE KILLED IN SINGLE ATTACK by paramilitaries who besieged villages in al-Jazira. Al-Sireha village…experienced the worst…Wad Madani Resistance Comm said. “Al-Sariha and Azraq have been under attack” since Fri morning, Resistance Comm in Hasaheisa said. In al-Sariha the attack killed 50 and wounded 200,… “The RSF militia is raiding east, west and central Gezira, and committing extensive massacres in one village after another.” Images on social media…show dozens of bodies wrapped for burial and mass graves being dug. “The people of al-Jazira are facing genocide by the RSF and it is impossible to treat the injured or even evacuate them for treatment. Those who have left on foot have died or are faced with death,” Sudanese Doctors Union. A video…purported to show an RSF soldier who said he was in Sireha and filmed troops lining up men of all ages at gunpoint, using racial epithets and forcing them to bleat like goats. Another video…showed an RSF soldier pulling an elderly man to his feet by his beard. The Resistance Comm said nearby village Azraq had been placed under total siege,… According to medical sources in several villages, nearly all health facilities capable of receiving emergency cases have been shut.
The army announced RSF’s al-Jazira commander Kaykal abandoned the paramilitaries, bringing “a large number of his forces” with him,…the first high-profile defection. Activists reported 20 people killed in subsequent paramilitary attacks…an air strike by the SAF on a mosque in Wad Madani killed 31. …neighbouring Chad denied helping to arm the paramilitaries after Gov of Darfur Minnawi accused them of doing so. Sudanese authorities previously charged that Chad was facilitating delivery of weapons from UAE to Sudan. IMF Dir for Africa Catherine Pattillo, told AFP the war was likely to cause heavy economic damage to its already struggling neighbours. “And then to be confronted with the refugees, the security issues, the trade issues, is very challenging for their growth.” The New Arab
110 CHILDREN AT THE CAMP IN PT SUDAN, ALL HAD FLED THEIR HOMES…. Sitting amid makeshift shelters made from plastic sheets, the children spoke with members of the psychosocial team from Islamic Relief and described what happened to them. They drew pictures of men with guns, men killing people, houses burning and worlds ending. One little boy, 6 or 7 years old, approached Waseem Ahmad, Islamic Relief, and asked if he had any sweets. “I could tell he was malnourished. …he said he’d eaten whatever he could find – grass and insects.” Ahmad gave him 2 sweets. The boy told him he would save one for his sister and brought Ahmed to meet her and their mother: “She said she didn’t know where her husband was.” Fighting in her native Sennar State forced the woman to flee with her children on foot. With daytime temperatures topping 40C and armed groups along on the roads, she led her children through bush, jungle and forest at night. It took the family 12 days to get away. During her 300k journey with her family, she would periodically hear screams and cries of other women. RSF…has been “ripping women and young girls away from their relatives”….In RSF-controlled areas, abductions and assaults often occur at roadblocks. To avoid this, the boy’s mother steered her family away from vehicle-accessible paths. Thinking back to his initial encounter with the boy: “Such an innocent young boy, asking me if I have sweets. At this age, how is that possible?” Islamic Relief is operating in Pt Sudan, Gedaref, Central Darfur, W and N Kordofan. Ahmad says his team estimates the death toll could already be as high as 200,000.
In Darfur, RSF has been targeting non-Arab groups, especially the Black African Masalit people, in…an ongoing genocide. Ahmad spent a year in 2005 in el-Geneina, W Darfur, in a camp that housed 20,000. “I see the conflict of 2005 as nothing compared to what is happening now. This war is going to leave long-term scars. This generation – there’s a need for them to be supported. It will take decades.” In el-Geneina, the war has taken a
brutal toll. Residents describe a city full of rotting corpses and recount a litany of crimes committed by RSF fighters, including rape, abduction and murder.
Throughout the war, aid agencies have been unable to reach large parts of the country. Michael Dunford, WFP, said convoys of trucks carrying vital aid had taken 6 weeks to cross Sudan. …some commanders will not let trucks carrying aid go through and fighters are looking to extract bribes. Islamic Relief handed over 6 tonnes of medicine, but “children cannot wait weeks for antibiotics” which have a shelf life. Ahmad arrived in Pt Sudan….The Red Sea city is a small place not built to handle the number of people now living there. Prices in the city have soared, with a small lunch now costing as much as $20, leaving locals struggling to make ends meet.
One member of the Khartoum team described seeing a disabled, elderly woman shot dead by RSF fighters, who then took over her home. Another survivor described fighters shooting people indiscriminately. “They found children left on their own in the jungle. Neighbours are taking care of children because they don’t know where the parents are. We have heard reports of mass burial.” One child described people being buried alive, simply being thrown in a hole and tried to depict this in a drawing. Ahmad spoke to 3 women in Pt Sudan who had been sexually assaulted: “What I saw in the eyes of women who went through sexual violence, had their children killed in front of them, had guns put to their heads. This is not something you want in this century.” When he landed back in London, Ahmad found it hard to describe what he had seen. “…as a humanitarian worker, the last 4 or 5days really impacted me. It hit my brain hard. I was speaking to
my wife and I can’t describe the situation.” Ahmad thinks back to the children he met in Darfur: “They were born in the camp and now they are back there. There needs to be political intervention. There needs to be an end to the violence. People need to be held accountable for doing all this to innocent people. How can we let this happen? And for how long? The cost will be a lost generation….that will want to take revenge.” Middle East Eye