The United Nations has issued a warning that the ongoing conflict in Sudan has the potential to result in a severe humanitarian crisis, with millions of people requiring urgent assistance.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the conflict has put an additional 2.5 million people at risk of starvation, bringing the total number of individuals experiencing acute food insecurity to a staggering 19 million.
US-Saudi mediated talks between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Jeddah made a slight breakthrough on Thursday after signing an agreement that commits to protecting Sudanese civilians.
Beneath the visible, physical fighting, another war is raging online.
In April 2023, conflict erupted again in Sudan, pitting the Sudanese armed forces against the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, a paramilitary group that is loyal to the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling council. By April 17, three days after things first escalated in Khartoum, more than 180 people had died, 1,800 were injured, and at the moment, many more have been forced to move, some to hostile regions.
Amidst a flurry of international voices working to mediate the crisis in Sudan, the United States must not allow Sudanese civil society to be drowned out.
As rival security forces continue vying for power in Sudan by terrorizing its population, the prospects for an end to the crisis seem to grow more distant by the day. The “pre-negotiation talks” in Saudi Arabia hold only a tenuous promise of the most minimal steps toward easing the suffering. Most indicators point toward continued fighting, and the stream of bad news and failed ceasefires can make it seem as though an even deeper crisis is inevitable. But there are two important truths about Sudan that analysts and policymakers should keep front and center in the weeks ahead to point the way forward.
MEMRI Vice President Ambassador Alberto Fernandez said in a May 2, 2023 interview with Alsyaaq (UAE) that the U.S. is partly responsible for the current armed clashes in Sudan because it failed to take measures against the two warring generals after the military coup in 2021. He said that the U.S. is leaning in favor of the Sudanese military in this conflict because it prefers “established institutions” and because the opposing Rapid Support Forces may be aligned with Russia and Wagner PMC. In addition, he warned that an Islamist regime may rise to power, particularly because the army is connected to Islamists who have been exiled to Turkey. Ambassador Fernandez served as charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, between 2007 and 2009. The interview was published on Alsyaaq’s YouTube channel.
After three weeks of fighting, envoys of Sudan’s rival generals traveled to Saudi Arabia for “pre-negotiation talks” on Saturday. Meanwhile, aid shipments have started arriving. DW has the latest.
Representatives from the warring Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary were in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Saturday, with the two expected to start direct talks on securing an actual cease-fire.
ISIS has acknowledged the weakness of its terrorist activity Libya in 2022 after it had published the results of its criminal operations in the world, nearly half of which took place in Africa.
An Egyptian diplomat, who asked not to be named, revealed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that a high-ranking Egyptian security delegation visited eastern Libya in the past few days and met with Khalifa Haftar to convey a warning message from officials in Cairo regarding his involvement in supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in light of the close relationship Haftar has with Hemedti.
Al-Kufra municipality and the city’s emergency room have denounced linking the city and its Subul Al-Salam Brigade in the conflict in Sudan by certain media, denying the presence of any mercenaries in the city.
L’Etat-major général des Armées maliennes a mis en garde contre le « port irrégulier » d’uniformes de l’armée, après avoir constaté que les nombreux combattants neutralisés lors de l’attaque complexe déjouée contre l’aéroport de Sévaré (centre du Mali), le samedi 22 avril, portaient des uniformes militaires.