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☆ Over 1 million may flee Sudan conflict, UN refugee agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency warned on Tuesday that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed. He did not give details on how far above 1 million he expected refugee numbers fleeing abroad to reach. The United Nations estimates more than 2.5 million people have been uprooted since April, most within Sudan. A Sudanese refugee who has fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region, sits at her makeshift shelter near the border between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad May 15, 2023. The UNHCR has already had to revise its forecast for people fleeing into Chad from Sudan to 245,000 from 100,000 people, he said.

Persons: Mazou, Chad, Zohra, El Geneina, There's, Emma Farge, Alison Williams Organizations: Central African, UNHCR, Operations, United Nations, REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Sudan, Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Central, Central African Republic, Darfur, Sudan ., Sudan's Darfur, Koufroun, Khartoum

☆ Sudanese in Israel watch in anguish as Darfur violence unfolds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Hannah Confino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Suad Fissa, 40, an asylum seeker and factory worker from Darfur in Sudan cries as she speaks about her children who are missing there, in a playground in southern Tel Aviv, Israel June 24, 2023. "There's no internet there but we still have connections to people who are telling us what is happening in El Geneina now," Usumain Baraka, head of the Masalit tribe in Israel, told Reuters. Going from home to home asking, 'Are you from the Masalit tribe?'" Just over 5,000 Sudanese people live in Israel, mainly in Tel Aviv, dating to when brutal conflict escalated in Darfur from 2003. Baraka said the community in Israel is collecting money to send to refugees in Chad so they can buy food, water and medicine.

Persons: Fissa, Amir Cohen TEL, Sudan's, Usumain Baraka, Masalit, Baraka, Hannah Confino, Aidan Lewis, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Nations, Thomson Locations: Darfur, Sudan, Tel Aviv, Israel, Amir Cohen TEL AVIV, Sudan's Darfur, Chad, El, Khartoum, El Geneina

☆ Sudan conflict: The US embassy destroyed passports when it fled the violence. Some Sudanese are now 'stranded in this war zone'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sana Noor Haq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Courtesy Ibrahim Khalid Ibrahim MohamedMany Sudanese have fled the fighting to neighboring countries like Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The embassy advised Sudanese visa applicants without passports to apply for a new passport with the Sudanese embassy in Cairo, despite Egyptian authorities issuing a raft of entry requirements for refugees from the country. Mohamed was among several Sudanese visa applicants who told CNN they witnessed violence while attempting to flee the country. “They had to leave because it’s a life or death matter if they stayed (in Khartoum).”Alhaj Sharafeldin, a 25-year-old university graduate, told CNN he is "stranded in this war zone." “I’m here stranded in this war zone,” he told CNN.

Persons: CNN — Ibrahim Mohamed, “, ”, Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim Mohamed, Ibrahim Khalid Ibrahim Mohamed, Mohamed, Fayez Nureldine, Arwa Idris, Idris, Alhaj, “ It’s, ” Sabah Ahmed, Zeyazen, Kareem, Renad, Sabah Ahmed, Madani, Ahmed, Ahmed’s, Abdelazim Alhajaa, ” Alhajaa, ” Ahmed Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Saudi, Hadath, Television, International Organization for Migration, American, Ministry, US State Department, Getty, UN, Sudanese Locations: Khartoum, Nuzha, Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan, United States, Kabul, Cairo, Sudan, Saudi, Port Sudan, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, AFP, New York, “, Wadi Halfa, Iowa, Bahri, Omdurman, Columbus , Ohio

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police camp as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage or the RSF statement. Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: RSF, Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police base as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. Khartoum and El Geneina have been worst affected by the war, although last week tensions and clashes escalated in other parts of Darfur and in Kordofan, in the south. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, U.N, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood, Mark Porter Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Opinion | Death and Displacement Return to Darfur
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Lydia Polgreen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Darfur was loosely and sometimes imprecisely divided between Black and Arab communities, many of whom had deeper ties with the Sahelian peoples of Chad and Niger. These ill-fitting parts have formed a kind of booby trap, plunging Sudan into cycles of violent strife. The region seceded by referendum in 2011, becoming the Republic of South Sudan, generally considered the most recent widely recognized nation on Earth. Ultimately Sudan’s president, al-Bashir, would be charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court for his role in the slaughter. Now, the two generals who overthrew al-Bashir have turned their guns on each other, with the Sudanese people caught between them.

Persons: Sudan’s, Bashir, Alex de Waal, Mohamed Hamdan, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, al Organizations: Democratic, Rebels, International, Court, Rapid Support Forces Locations: Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Darfur, Black, Chad and Niger, Nile Rivers, Khartoum —, Khartoum, Republic of South Sudan, Chad

☆ Sudan's warring factions widen conflict across the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, June 23 (Reuters) - Sudan's two-month long war is extending across the country with the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashing in several areas on Friday. Air strikes and anti-aircraft missile fire hit overnight in the Omdurman and Khartoum, two of the three cities that make up Sudan's wider capital. The West Darfur city of El Geneina has been worst hit by repeated militia attacks. In recent days, fighting had also picked up between the army and RSF in Nyala, capital of South Darfur and one of Sudan's largest cities. A new front in the fighting is also threatening to open in South Kordofan, where the rebel SPLM-N controls some areas.

Persons: Al, El Geneina, Khalid Abdelaziz, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, United, MSF, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Omdurman, Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan, Al Fashir, North Darfur, El Obeid, North Kordofan, West Darfur, El, United States, Nyala, South Darfur, South Kordofan, Chad, Egypt, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo

CNN —Residents of El Geneina, the capital of war-torn West Darfur, are struggling to bury their dead as violence rages across the city. Activists say 500 bodies across the city have been identified, and that they believe “thousands” more remain unburied on streets and inside homes. Fighting erupted in mid-April between Sudan’s Armed Forces and its Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Sudanese refugees gather as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams assist the war wounded from West Darfur, Sudan, in Adre hospital, Chad June 16, 2023. MSF did not name the party responsible for the killing, but Kamal Al Din blamed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the attacks on those fleeing.

Persons: El Geneina, Health Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Mohammad Ghannam, Kamal Al Din, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: CNN —, Darfur Bar Association, CNN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Health, Sudan’s Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Radio Dabanga, MSF, Sudanese Armed Forces Locations: El, Darfur, Sudan, Saudi, West Darfur, Adre, Chad, Adré

☆ Fighting surges in Sudan's capital as three-day ceasefire expires
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - Heavy clashes broke out between rival military factions in several parts of Sudan's capital on Wednesday as a 72-hour ceasefire that saw several reports of violations expired, witnesses said. Shortly before the truce ended at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) fighting was reported in all three of the cities that make up the wider capital around the confluence of the Nile: Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman. They reported artillery fire and heavy clashes in Omdurman and ground fighting in southern Khartoum. Residents also reported clashes near an army camp in South Kordofan State, where a large rebel force that is not clearly aligned with either of the factions fighting in Khartoum has been mobilising. The ceasefire was the latest of several truce deals brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks in Jeddah.

Persons: Witnesses, autocrat Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Gerry Doyle, Alex Richardson Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Residents, U.S ., Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Nile, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Sudan's, Darfur, South Kordofan State, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, U.S, Sudan

"It was a collective decision of the people of El Geneina to leave", one resident told MSF from Chad. "Most of them fled on foot heading northeast of El Geneina but many of them were killed on this route." RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said on Tuesday his force would investigate events in El Geneina. Sultan Saad Bahreldin, leader of the Masalit tribe, the largest bloc of El Geneina residents, said there had been "systematic" killing in recent days. Villages on the road from El Geneina to Adre used to be Masalit, but had been settled by Arab tribes since 2003, Ibrahim said.

Persons: El Geneina, Ibrahim, El, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Sultan Saad Bahreldin, Adre, Al Hadath, Eyewitnesses, Abdel Nasser Abdullah, Black, Nafisa Eltahir, Maggie Michael, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Medical, MSF, Sunday, Thomson Locations: El Geneina, CAIRO, Darfur, Chad, Khartoum, Adre, El, West Darfur, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Cairo, Dubai

"Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region," Guterres told a fundraising conference hosted by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations. "I appeal to you all today to provide funding to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions," Guterres said. Germany announced on Monday that it was pledging 200 million euros to Sudan and the region until 2024, the United States pledged $171 million, and Qatar pledged $50 million. Before the donor conference, a U.N. appeal for $2.57 billion for humanitarian support within Sudan this year was about 17% funded, a U.N. website showed. More than half of that came from the United States, with the European Commission in second place with about 10% of the total.

Persons: Saba Kareem, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Volker Turk, Turk, Geneva Hassan Hamid Hassan, Filippo Grandi, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Baghdad International, REUTERS, GENEVA, United Nations, United, Rapid Support Forces, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Sudan, Iraqi, Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Darfur, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, United States, Jeddah, West Darfur, Geneva, Kuwait, Dubai

The Dar Masalit report accuses the RSF and allied Janjaweed militias of the killings and other crimes, as published by the sultanate. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) said Monday that two more members of the organization have been killed in West Darfur by the RSF and their militias, without specifying the day of the reported killings. The report cited the neighborhoods that came under the most fire, including Al Jamarek, Al Buhaira, Al Thawrah, Al Tadamon, Al Madaris, Al Mansoura, and Al Jabal among others. CNN cannot independently verify all incidents as outlined in the Dar Masalit report. But CNN has confirmed and reported on thousands of civilians fleeing Geneina and West Darfur.

Persons: CNN —, El, Dar, ”, –, Masalit, Health Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Khamis Abbaker, Tariq Hassan Yaqoub Al, Malik, Sadiq Muhammad Ahmed Haroun, El Geneina, Abdel, Rahman Gumma, “, Gumma, General Antonio Guterres, Al Jamarek, Al Buhaira, Al Thawrah, Al Tadamon, Al Madaris, Al Mansoura, Jabal, CNN geolocated, El Geneina “, …, Geneina, haven’t Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Darfur Victims Solidarity Association, Strategic Initiative, Women, Health, West Darfur, Darfur Bar Association, Al, United Nations Mission, Twitter, UN Human Rights, Dar, US Locations: Darfur, Sudan, North Darfur, North Darfur’s, West Darfur’s, El Geneina, West Darfur, Chad, “, Horn of Africa, Saudi, Khartoum, West, El, Geneina, ”, Dar, Chadian, Adré, Saudi Arabia

There, under his calming gaze and soft-spoken reassurances, Sudanese refugees and returning South Sudanese wait as aid workers and local women ladle through steel pots filled with lentils and porridge. Kueaa Darhok fled Khartoum with his family when fighting broke out and is now a community leader at the Renk transit camp near the South Sudan border. CNNSet up a week into the fighting in Sudan, when desperate families arrived seeking shelter, the Renk transit camp near the border of South Sudan and Sudan was not supposed to hold more than 3,000 people. Now at least 800,000 South Sudanese have been driven back by the fighting in Sudan. CNNUN appeal for aidTo respond to the Sudan crisis, the UN needs $253 million, with the South Sudan response alone in need of $96 million.

Persons: Kueaa Darhok, Chinua Achebe, instil, ” Darhok, Darhok, Charlotte Hallqvist, Hallqvist, it’s Organizations: South Sudan CNN, South Sudanese, CNN, Sudanese, CNN Fighting, UN, Sudan’s Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, CNN UN, Sudan, United Nations, African Union, European Union Locations: South Sudan, Sudan, Darhok, Khartoum, Republic of Sudan, Renk, Arab Republic of Egypt, Federal Republic of Germany, State, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

☆ Start of truce period brings lull in fighting to Sudan's capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Several previous truces have failed to stop the fighting. In the hours before the truce period began witnesses reported clashes and air strikes in several areas of Khartoum and Omdurman, one of two adjoining cities that make up the wider capital at the confluence of the River Nile. It has also appealed for nearly $500 million for the refugee crisis caused by the conflict. More than 500,000 people have fled into countries neighbouring Sudan, in addition to nearly 1.7 million who have been internally displaced. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Salaheldin Ahmed, autocrat Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Monday DUBAI, Rapid Support Forces, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Khartoum, Saudi, U.S, Darfur, Sudan, Omdurman, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, Germany, Qatar, Egypt

☆ Air strikes hit Sudanese capital, killing 17 including 5 children
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI/CAIRO, June 17 (Reuters) - Air strikes killed civilians and pummeled multiple parts of the Sudanese capital on Saturday, residents said, as mediators pushed the warring factions towards a new ceasefire. Fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is entering its third month with neither side gaining a clear advantage. On Friday and Saturday the army appeared to ramp up air strikes, hitting several residential neighborhoods. Air strikes in central and southern Omdurman continued from Friday into Saturday, impacting homes and killing one person, according to the local committee in the Beit al-Mal neighborhood. Residents said three members of a family were killed in the Sharq el-Nil district after an air strike on Friday.

Persons: Yassir Al, Atta, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Omar Abdel, Mark Heinrich, David Holmes Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, United Nations, AIR, Air, Residents, Nafisa, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, CAIRO, Saturday, Darfur, Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahri, Mayo, al, Mal, West Darfur, Chad, United States, Jeddah, Saudi, Dubai, Razek, Cairo

☆ Airstrike in Sudan’s capital kills 17 people, including five children, hours before US and Saudi Arabia broker ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq Alaa Elassar Aaron Pellish | Mohammed Tawfeeq | Alaa Elassar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —At least 17 people were killed, including five children, after an airstrike hit a residential area in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Saturday, according to the country’s health ministry, hours before the United States and Saudi Arabia announced a 72-hour ceasefire. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the airstrikes on the Mayo, Yarmouk and Mandela neighborhoods in Khartoum, RSF said on social media. Earlier Saturday, the US and Saudi Arabia announced the two warring factions have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan, the US Embassy in Khartoum and the Saudi foreign ministry said in a joint statement. The joint statement suggested that peace talks facilitated by the US and Saudi Arabia could be disbanded if the ceasefire isn’t honored. Out of 130 hospitals in Khartoum, about 40 hospitals are currently operating, but the rest have stopped due to ongoing deadly clashes.

Persons: RSF, Saudi Arabia “, haven’t, Haitham Ibrahim, “, Ibrahim, al, – Sudan’s, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Dagalo Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, US, ” SAF, RSF, Sudan ’ Health, Saudi, Hadath, Forces, United Nations, Refugees Locations: Sudan’s, Khartoum, United States, Saudi Arabia, Yarmouk district, Mayo, Yarmouk, Mandela, Sudan, Saudi, a.m, West Darfur, tatters, Darfur

☆ Sudan: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nima Elbagir Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis Gianluca Mezzofiore Pallabi Munsi Ingrid Formanek Saskya Vandoorne | Nima Elbagir | Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“I sat next to her in the car,” said Butheina Nourin, describing her perilous escape from Sudan’s Darfur region alongside the dead woman. A months-long CNN investigation uncovered an increase in Wagner supplies to the RSF that began in the run-up to Sudan’s conflict. Reports of atrocities committed by RSF fighters and their allied militias, clearly identified by their uniforms, are consistent across dozens of testimonies. Then-President Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in relation to the Darfur conflict. “Nobody in Sudan has more blood on their hands than Hemedti,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves.

Persons: wailed, “, ”, Butheina Nourin, Fatima, I, Nourin, Zohra Bensemra, Abdul Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner, General Burhan, entrenching, –, Omar al, Bashir, Hemedti, Sergey Lavrov, Hussein Haran, ” Haran, Khamis Abbakar, Kholood Khair, ” Khair, Gen, Mahmoud Hjaj, Hala, SIHA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalos, Hussein Malla, ” “, Gueipeur Denis Sassou, Eric Reeves, Al Jazeera, Karib, “ It’s, RSF –, Wagner –, Yeveny Prigozhin, Sudan ”, Hussein Organizations: CNN, ” Fighters, Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Central African, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, UN, Strategic Initiative, Women, International Criminal Court, ICC, United Arab, United Nations, SIHA, Getty, European, US State Department, State Department Locations: Chad, Sudan, Sudan’s Darfur, Darfur, Borota, Latakia, Libya, Bangui, Central African Republic, Moscow, Ukraine, Khartoum, el, Geneina, Horn of Africa, State, Sudan’s, Yemen, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Daman, AFP, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Europe, EU, ”, Africa

☆ Brutal Killing of Governor Heralds New Round of Violence in Darfur
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The killing of a powerful governor in Darfur, in western Sudan, has heightened worries that fighting between the country’s warring military factions is pushing a region blighted by genocide two decades ago into a new ethnic civil war. Since April, Sudan’s military has been battling the Rapid Support Forces, a well-armed paramilitary group that until recently was part of the national armed forces. The fighting has razed parts of the capital, Khartoum, and also engulfed Darfur. Peace talks led by American and Saudi diplomats have failed to broker a durable cease-fire. The United Nations mission to Sudan said in a statement that “compelling eyewitness accounts attribute this act to Arab militias and the Rapid Support Forces.”

Persons: Khamis Abdullah Abakar, ” Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, American, United Nations Locations: Darfur, Sudan, Khartoum, Saudi, West Darfur

Summary Fighting, which has plunged millions into hunger, expands westwardAssassination of West Darfur governor threatens further fightingDiplomatic peace efforts face pushbackCAIRO/DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - The conflict in Sudan hit the two-month mark on Thursday with no sign of a resolution as diplomatic peace efforts hit roadblocks and the risk of a broader ethnic war rises. It has shut down the economy, plunging millions of Sudanese into hunger and dependence on foreign aid, and shattered the health system. EL GENEINA ASSASSINATIONOn Wednesday, the governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abbakar, accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of carrying out a genocidal attack in El Geneina. Hours later, Abbakar was killed, and the Sudanese Alliance armed group he led blamed the RSF for killing him while in their custody. The RSF has denied responsibility and says that criminals and Bashir loyalists have been known to steal uniforms.

Persons: pushback, autocrat Omar al, Bashir, Khamis Abbakar, Abbakar, Hamit, Saboura Ahmed, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Waleed Adam, RSF, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Maggie Michael, Adam Makary, Dawit, Nick Macfie Organizations: Darfur, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Alliance, Sudanese Transparency, Unit, Thomson Locations: pushback CAIRO, DUBAI, Sudan, U.S, El Geneina, West Darfur, Chad, Darfur, Kordofan, El, Chadian, sudanese, Sudan's Darfur, Sudanese, Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahri, Jeddah, East, Kenya, Ethiopia, East Khartoum, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Addis Ababa

☆ Sudan's western cities under fire as war spreads
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CAIRO, June 14 (Reuters) - Fighting rocked several vulnerable cities in western Sudan on Wednesday in an expansion of the country's almost two-month-old war as the number of people who have fled their homes rose above two million. The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, as well as major cities in the Kordofan and Darfur regions. In a statement, the RSF called the fighting in El Geneina a tribal conflict, blaming the country's former regime for fanning the flames. The city of El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, has been quieter but has seen a wave of displacement from RSF-controlled Kutum. Meanwhile in El Obeid, a hub between Khartoum and Darfur in North Kordofan, residents said the army had begun launching air and artillery strikes against RSF positions.

Persons: Khamis Abbakar, General Antonio Guterres, Volker Perthes, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Salah Alamin, Abdelaziz al, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Maggie Michael, William Maclean Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, UN, U.S . State Department, REUTERS, Darfur Bar Association, Sudanese Doctors Union, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Sudan, Khartoum, Kordofan, Darfur, El, West Darfur, El Geneina, United States, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum North, DARFUR, Nyala, South Darfur, Zalingei, Central Darfur, El Fashir, North Darfur, El Obeid, North Kordofan, Kadugli, South Kordofan, Omdurman, Port Sudan, Mecca, Cairo, Dubai

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, June 13 (Reuters) - Sudan's warring factions are not taking advantage of talks facilitated by the United States and Saudi Arabia meant to yield a permanent ceasefire as they originally agreed, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday. "We think we've given them every shot. "They are clearly not taking advantage of the format that we've given them. Talks in Jeddah have failed to permanently halt fighting and clashes intensified as soon as a frequently violated ceasefire pact expired on Sunday. A second senior State Department official told reporters there was a "dawning realization" among the parties to the conflict that there is no acceptable military solution.

Persons: It's, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Nafisa, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: U.S . State Department, U.S ., Rapid Support Forces, ., State Department, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, CAIRO, United States, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Africa, Washington, Jeddah, Khartoum, Cairo

Just after the ceasefire expired at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) witnesses said clashes and artillery fire resumed in the north of Omdurman. "The truce made us relax a bit, but the war and fear are returning today," said Musab Saleh, a 38-year-old resident of southern Khartoum. Fighting has been concentrated in the capital, much of which has become a war zone plagued by looting and clashes. 'LOOTING EVERYWHERE'Another affected city is El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan State southwest of Khartoum and on a major route to Darfur. The 24-hour ceasefire that began on Saturday morning was negotiated at talks led by Saudi Arabia and the United States in Jeddah.

Persons: Witnesses, Haj Youssef, Musab Saleh, Mohamed Salman, Khalid Abdelaziz, Mohamed Nureldin, Aidan Lewis, William Mallard, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Darfur Bar Association, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Egypt, KHARTOUM, Sudan's, Sunday, Haj, Bahri, Omdurman, Shambat, Darfur, El Geneina, Chad, El Obeid, North Kordofan State, Kordofan, Sudanese, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo

☆ Sudanese capital quiet as 24-hour ceasefire takes hold
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CAIRO, June 10 (Reuters) - The Sudanese capital Khartoum was relatively calm on Saturday morning as a U.S. and Saudi-brokered 24-hour ceasefire took effect, providing a window for humanitarian assistance and giving the public a break from the pressure of intense fighting. The short ceasefire follows a string of violated truces between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose power struggle erupted into violence eight weeks ago, sparking a humanitarian crisis. Previous ceasefires had allowed some humanitarian access, but aid agencies reported still being impeded by the fighting, bureaucratic control and looting. Sudan's army and the RSF, a parallel force that has operated legally since 2017, fell out over plans to integrate their troops and reorganise their chain of command as part of the transition. Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo and Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Omar al, Bashir, Sudan's, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, The U.S . State Department, UN, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Khartoum, U.S, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Bahri, Omdurman, Darfur, Kordofan, The, Sudan, El Geneina, Cairo, Dubai

☆ Sudan factions agree day's truce designed to 'break cycle of violence'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The conflict has displaced more than 1.9 million people, some 400,000 of whom have crossed into neighbouring countries. "There are heavy strikes near us and bullets from every direction in Al-Thawra neighbourhood in Omdurman," said Sanaa Ahmed, a 24-year-old resident. The army confirmed in a statement that it had agreed to the 24-hour ceasefire while asserting "its right to respond to any violations". The conflict in Sudan derailed the launch of a transition towards civilian rule four years after a popular uprising ousted strongman President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan's army and the RSF fell out over the chain of command and military restructuring plans under the transition.

Persons: Sanaa Ahmed, Omar al, Bashir, Sudan's, Khalid Abdelaziz Ahmed Elimam, Jana Choukeir, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Jon Boyle, Nick Zieminski, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Artillery, Rapid Support Forces, Medical, MSF, U.S, U.S . State Department's Bureau, African Affairs, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Food, El Obeid, DUBAI, Saudi, Sudan's, Khartoum, Darfur, Omdurman, Bahri, Al, Thawra, El, North Kordofan State, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Jeddah ., Jeddah, Sudan, U.S ., Dubai, Cairo

☆ Saudi Arabia and US announce a 24-hour ceasefire in Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Celine Alkhaldi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —Saudi Arabia and the United States announced a 24-hour ceasefire starting Saturday between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. The ceasefire is effective starting 6:00AM Khartoum time [12:00a ET Friday], the statement said. The two warring factions agreed to allow for the movement of humanitarian aid all throughout Sudan, the statement said. “Saudi Arabia and the US join the Sudanese people in their frustration over the non-commitment of the previous truces,” the statement said. Sudan’s foreign ministry did not clarify in the statement the reason behind the declaration.

Persons: Volker Perthes, ”, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, Perthes, ” Perthes, Omar al, Bashir, Weeks, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: Abu Dhabi CNN, United States, Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, Saudi Foreign Ministry, United Nations, UN, Reuters, UN Security Council, UN Security, Support Forces Locations: Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum, Sudan, Republic of Sudan, Perthes

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