December 18, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – The East Nile Emergency Room accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wednesday of arresting volunteers at community kitchens and health workers and stealing money and food supplies. The RSF has controlled the East Nile district of Khartoum state since the conflict erupted on April 15, 2023, using it as a key stronghold and committing serious abuses in the area. In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, the East Nile Emergency Room said it was “monitoring with concern the ongoing violations and repeated arrests of volunteers in community kitchens and health workers by armed individuals belonging to the RSF in the neighbourhoods of East Nile.” It noted that these forces are stealing money and food and targeting those responsible for providing supplies to community kitchens. “These practices threaten the continued provision of humanitarian services and increase the suffering of citizens in light of the challenging humanitarian conditions experienced by the people of East Nile and those displaced from other areas,” the statement added. It stressed that targeting health facilities and humanitarian workers seriously violates humanitarian and international norms and conventions. The emergency room emphasized the need to respect humanitarian work and keep it neutral from …

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December 18, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan condemned Wednesday’s European Union sanctions on the head of its military intelligence, accusing the bloc of a flawed approach to the country’s ongoing conflict. On December 16, the EU imposed sanctions on four Sudanese leaders, including the director of military intelligence, Lt Gen Mohamed Ali Ahmed Sabir. The EU said Sabir was responsible for “harassment, arbitrary arrests and detention of members of civil society, as well as acts of sexual and gender-based violence and torture.” The sanctions also targeted former National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) chief Salah Abdallah “Gosh” and two RSF commanders, Osman Hamed and al-Tajani Karshom. In a statement, Sudan’s foreign ministry denounced the sanctions as “baseless” and an extension of the EU’s “flawed and defective approach” to the war. The ministry accused the EU of hiding behind a claim of neutrality between the warring parties while ignoring the fact that one side “essentially represents huge groups of foreign mercenaries waging a war of genocide, ethnic cleansing, sexual violence, and the systematic destruction of the material and cultural infrastructure of the Sudanese people.” It said the Sudanese armed forces were carrying out their constitutional and national duty to defend the …

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December 18, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan demanded an official apology from Uganda on Wednesday over “offensive and dangerous” comments made by the chief of Ugandan army staff, who threatened to invade Khartoum. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, posted two comments on the X platform on Tuesday in which he threatened “to capture Khartoum” with the support of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump after he takes office. The posts were deleted later. “The government of Sudan demands an official apology from the Ugandan government for the offensive and dangerous comments of the army commander,” Sudan’s foreign ministry said in a statement seen by Sudan Tribune. The ministry called on the African Union and regional and international organizations to condemn Kainerugaba’s statements, which it said constituted a clear threat to regional and international security and an insult to Africans. Kainerugaba’s tweets came a day after a short visit to Addis Ababa, where he met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The Ugandan army chief’s remarks sparked widespread anger among Sudanese social media users. Sudan’s foreign ministry described Kainerugaba’s statements as “reckless and irresponsible,” stressing that they were an “abnormal precedent that embodies a regrettable level of disregard for …

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December 18, 2024 (EL FASHER/NYALA) – At least 39 people were killed and wounded in El Fasher, North Darfur, on Wednesday when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a medical facility and residential areas, according to activists and doctors. Separately, a Sudanese army fighter jet bombed a displacement camp in Nyala, South Darfur, causing further casualties. El Fasher has witnessed escalating violence in recent weeks as fighting between the army and the RSF intensifies. The RSF aims to seize control of the remaining strongholds of the central government in Darfur. The El Fasher Resistance Committees reported that shelling of residential areas resulted in 10 deaths and 20 injuries. The Sudanese Doctors Network later confirmed that 18 people were killed and 21 seriously injured when the Saudi Hospital was hit. The Network condemned the repeated targeting of medical facilities in El Fasher, noting that the Saudi Hospital had been shelled more than four times in recent weeks, along with markets, displacement camps, and civilian homes. “The hospital is facing a critical humanitarian situation due to the continuous targeting with heavy artillery and missiles and the loss of many of its staff and medical supplies,” the Network said in a statement. Eyewitnesses …

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Francis Mading Deng When I received the news of the passing of Professor Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil on December 10, 2024, I felt an immediate mix of emotions and reflections. I was, of course, deeply saddened by the loss of a dear friend and colleague, but I also reflected on the rich life he had led, the important contributions he had made at the national and international levels, and the loving family he had left behind. At the national level, Professor Mohamed Ibrahim held several important positions. While at the Attorney General Chambers, he simultaneously lectured in the Faculty of Law of Khartoum University and later became the first Sudanese Dean of the Faculty. Politically, he held the position of Attorney General and portfolios of Minister of Justice, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Speaker of the National Assembly. He also served as the Chairperson of the Referendum Commission, which supervised the self-determination referendum that led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Internationally, he served as Special Advisor of the International Monitory Fund in Kuwait and taught law at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. He retired from the United States, where he was affiliated as …

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December 18, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – A leader of a breakaway faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has called for the formation of a “revolutionary government” operating within Sudan, a move that could further complicate the country’s already fragile political landscape. Suleiman Sandal, a prominent figure within the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), announced the proposal on Wednesday following a contentious debate within the Tagadum coalition, a broad alliance of civilian forces. Tagadum has been discussing the possibility of forming a parallel government to challenge the legitimacy of the military-led administration in Port Sudan. While the SRF’s proposal for a parallel cabinet was rejected by most Tagadum members, who feared it would deepen divisions within the country, Sandal insisted the envisioned government would not be based in exile. Instead, he said, it would operate within Sudanese territory and assert authority nationwide. In a statement, Sandal outlined the proposed government’s core objectives: ending the ongoing conflict, establishing peace, safeguarding civilians, addressing the humanitarian crisis, preserving national unity, countering divisive rhetoric, restoring democratic principles, and guaranteeing human rights for all citizens. Despite the rejection within Tagadum, the coalition has formed a committee to seek consensus and maintain unity. Sandal did not …

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December 17, 2024 (UNITED NATIONS) – The U.N. envoy for Sudan is joining international talks in Mauritania aimed at coordinating peace efforts, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday, while aid agencies struggle to deliver food to the besieged city of El Fasher in the western Darfur region. Ramtane Lamamra, the U.N. Secretary-General’s personal envoy, will attend a two-day meeting in Nouakchott starting Wednesday, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. The talks will bring together representatives from the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Arab League, and key countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The meeting is “an important opportunity to discuss the status of good offices, mediation efforts and various peace initiatives in the spirit of coordination and unity,” Dujarric said. The diplomatic push comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where a conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has raged for more than a year and a half. The World Food Programme (WFP) has been unable to get food aid into El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, which has been under siege, Dujarric said, citing the agency. “Recent operational progress is fragile, as …

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December 17, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the protection of civilians. Airstrikes and shelling, according to reports, resulted into mass civilian casualties in parts of the Darfur region and Khartoum state. According to the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs agency (OCHA), airstrikes and artillery exchanges occurred in the urban areas of Greater Khartoum, Al Fasher, Al Kuma, Kabkabiya, Kutum, and Nyala, leading to significant numbers of reported civilian casualties. Also destroyed in the past week’s attacks were homes, markets and medical facilities. OCHA, in its statement, said the facilities of Al Fasher’s Saudi Hospital were reportedly struck by drones on 13 December, causing intensive damage and civilian casualties. It further stated that between 10 and 15 December 2024, Zamzam IDP camp has seen numerous incidents of shelling that have reportedly caused civilian casualties, burned houses and caused hundreds of people to flee due to increased security concerns. “This wave of large-scale and devastating violence against civilians underscores the need for immediate de-escalation. After 20 months of conflict, this ever-rising toll of the dead and injured is unacceptable. International humanitarian law must be respected,” said Nkweta-Salami. “The principles …

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December 17, 2024 (JUBA) – Over 905,000 people have crossed into South Sudan since the outbreak of the Sudan crisis in April 2023, with an additional 337,000 people projected to arrive in 2025, the UN said. On Monday, the humanitarian community launched the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), calling for $1.7 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 5.4 million people across the country. Anita Kiki Gbeho, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan cited extreme effects of climate change, disease outbreaks and economic crisis as having exacerbated the ongoing conflict in Sudan. “The 2025 HNRP paints an accurate picture of the most acute needs of vulnerable people across the country, and a plan for assistance that is realistic and most importantly, life-saving,” she said. Gbeho said floods resulting from climate crisis affected at least 1.4 million people this year. “Food security projections state that South Sudan will continue to experience severe food insecurity in 2025, a rise from 6.3 million people to 7.7 million who are food insecure is projected for next year,” she stated. In 2025, the UN said, 9.3 million people or 69 per cent of South Sudan’s total population of 13.4 million people are projected to …

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December 17, 2024 (OMDURMAN) – Indiscriminate shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed 30 civilians and wounded 643 others in Omdurman in November, a Khartoum state health ministry official revealed on Tuesday. The RSF has been carrying out heavy artillery attacks on several areas in Khartoum state, causing deaths and injuries. Speaking to Sudan Tribune, the director general of the health ministry in Khartoum state, Fath al-Rahman Mohamed al-Amin, acknowledged the challenges facing the health sector, including indiscriminate shelling by the RSF and its continuous and systematic targeting of hospitals, which endangers the lives of patients and medical personnel. “The number of casualties resulting from the war events during November reached 30 dead and 643 wounded,” he said. The old neighbourhoods of Omdurman and the Karari locality north of Omdurman are subjected to repeated shelling by the RSF stationed in Khartoum Bahri and some areas west and south of Omdurman. Al-Amin called on the RSF to stop targeting civilians and the health sector as they are not related to political or military issues or the war. The official confirmed that the Ministry of Health has taken several steps to improve performance in Khartoum hospitals, including forming an advisory committee …

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