SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: DW - Russia's military presence in Sudan boosts Africa strategy

16/6/2024: DW - Russia's military presence in Sudan boosts Africa strategy, by Kersten Knipp

DW’s feature piece on Sudan’s agreement to allow Russia to build a naval base on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons carried insights from analysts.

Political scientist Andreas Heinemann-Grüder from the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies said it is unknown what weapons Russia has offered, noting Russian skepticism when the Sudanese army previously wanted fighter aircraft and air defence missiles .

Hager Ali of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies said “Russia holds good card in the negotiations,” as “the longer the conflict lasts, the more weapons [the army] needs. That is particularly true of the Sudanese air force, which has to operate in remote regions”.

Ali adds that the same applies to diesel fuel, which has long been in short supply, noting that Russia may now deliver it through its base in Sudan rather than through Chad via the Wagner militia.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: NBC - Fire used as 'weapon of war' in Sudan as entire towns and villages burned to the ground

16/6/2024: NBC - Fire used as 'weapon of war' in Sudan as entire towns and villages burned to the ground, by Gabe Joselow and Michael Fiorentino

NBC reported on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) use of fire as a weapon of war around Al-Fashir.  

Centre for Information Resilience open-source investigator Mark Snoeck said over 50 settlements have burned repeatedly, suggesting “intent” and possible forced displacement.

Ex-foreign minister Omer Ismail, now a researcher for the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, said the current  RSF atrocities are unprecedented in Sudan’s history, after the lab concluded the militia has been “systematically destroying civilian dwellings” in areas that have a significant population of Zaghawa.  

Dr. Gillian Burkhardt, who worked with Medicins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Al-Fashir said there is no food or access to healthcare in the city, with her husband, MSF logistics team leader Paul Clarke, saying moving humanitarian supplies into the city is immensely difficult amid the lack of functioning airports meaning that trucks filled with ready-made meals from neighbouring Chad take a month to reach Al-Fashir.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AFP - Water crisis batters war-torn Sudan as temperatures soar

16/6/2024: AFP - Water crisis batters war-torn Sudan as temperatures soar

AFP report on the water crisis in Sudan.

An anonymous diplomat warned that hundreds of thousands will go without water in Al-Fashir as water stations will stop working if the Rapid Support Forces prevent fuel going in.

In Khartoum, entire neighbourhoods have been without water since the war began after the Soba water station – which supplies water to much of the capital – going out of service. People are buying “untreated water off of animal-drawn carts, which they can hardly afford and exposes them to diseases”.  

Similarly, in Port Sudan - which depends on one inadequate reservoir - measures to prevent contamination are hindered by displacement with hundreds of thousands fleeing to the city.

Cholera has become a “year-round” disease, the diplomat said, noting that the collapse of healthcare in Sudan means that “people are drinking dirty water, they are hungry and will get hungrier, which will kill many, many more”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: UN World Food Programme – Sudan: Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment Summary Q1

16/6/2022: UN World Food Programme – Sudan: Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment Summary Q1

The UN World Food Programme’s Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment for Sudan offered policy solutions to combat food insecurity confronting 34% of Sudan’s population, including:

·      Creating sustainable and stable livelihood opportunities, especially for the most vulnerable groups.

·      Improving agricultural productivity, food availability and employment by supporting financial services and agricultural inputs to farmers.

·      Reducing food loss and addressing the structural lack of storage capacities by promoting initiatives such as the WFP’s hermetic storage bag, increasing storage capacity and investing in strategic silo system to avoid food shortages.

·      Investing in productive infrastructure such as the Peace Roads initiative to connect the most food insecure areas such as Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile which cannot be accessed by the main transport corridors, thereby generating income generating opportunities, trade,  and more opportunities for people to meet their basic needs, alongside connecting small farmers connect to functioning  markets. 

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – UN World Food Programme: One-third of Sudanese facing acute food insecurity

16/6/2022: Multiple sources – UN World Food Programme: One-third of Sudanese facing acute food insecurity

One-third of Sudan’s population, at least 15 million people, are facing acute food insecurity, according to the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA) released by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The WFP attributed the food insecurity to the economic and political crises, rising costs, conflict and displacement, climate shocks including droughts and floods, with the conflict in Ukraine “driving up food and fuel prices in Sudan, which is dependent on food imports as over half of Sudan’s wheat imports come from the Black Sea region”.

With Sudan only producing enough cereal last year to cover the needs of less than two-thirds of the population, FAO’s Sudan representative in Sudan Babagana Ahmadu warned that food insecurity may rise to unprecedented levels and lead to more conflict and displacement unless agricultural inputs and livestock services support the agricultural season.  

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Al-Monitor –  US, Saudi Arabia broker talks to break Sudan's coup deadlock

16/6/2022: Al-Monitor –  US, Saudi Arabia broker talks to break Sudan's coup deadlock, by Marc Espanol

 Al-Monitor report that civilian-military dialogue jointly promoted by UNITAMS, the African Union and IGAD is being boycotted by the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), resistance committees and Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA).

The FFC criticised the UN-AU-IGAD mechanism for being dominated by pro-military groups and Islamists from the orbit of Omar al-Bashir’s regime, which political science professor Khalid Mukhtar said was “a mistake that turned the process upside down and made it similar to al-Bashir’s national dialogues”, adding that the process has deviated from its objective.

Meanwhile, with the FFC entering talks with the military, resistance committee member Muzna Al-Haj said the FFC are “the weakest link of all revolutionary forces” and are “easy to bring into deals that will grant bringing them back into power”. SPA spokesperson Mohaned Elnour said: “the FFC [are only occasionally] with the revolutionary forces [and] don’t believe in people’s power”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: New York Times – Sudan Ousted a Brutal Dictator. His Successor Was His Enforcer

16/6/19: New York Times – Sudan Ousted a Brutal Dictator. His Successor Was His Enforcer, by Declan Walsh

 Declan Walsh reports that Himedti “wants to present himself as Sudan’s saviour, not its destroyer,” amid international pressure following the June 3 massacre.

 In a “rare” interview with a Western journalist, Himedti said “If I did not come to this position, [Sudan] would be lost.”

Himedti denied “escaping the questions,” about his RSF troops allegedly committed the massacre, saying “I’m just waiting for the investigation.”

 Insisting that his troops were provoked, Himedti cited a protester allegedly waving his genitals at them. He also denied “scaremongering,” about his power, saying that it “comes from the Sudanese people.”

 Himedti also labelled the RSF’s description as Janjaweed as oppositional “propaganda.”

Walsh notes that Sudanese army officers “view him as an impudent upstart,” although dislodging may cause civil war.

 The Enough Project’s Suliman Baldo attributes Himedti “zero tolerance for civilian rule,” to acquired wealth due to corruption.  

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Independent - Murder wasn’t the only atrocity inflicted on Sudanese protesters – they were raped too

16/6/19: Independent - Murder wasn’t the only atrocity inflicted on Sudanese protesters – they were raped too, by Bel Trew

Bel Trew’s feature piece covers the mass rape that was committed by the RSF during the June 3 massacre, with dozens of women, men and children believed to be among the victims.

 Protester Fateh told Trew that he witnessed gang rapes, with RSF soldiers yelling that they came to rape.

 Trew notes that the military council said that these violations were “painful and outrageous,” but are rejecting protesters and US envoy Africa Tibor Nagy’s demands for an independent investigation.

 Protesters are said t fear that “this will all be swept under the carpet,” with Sara saying while accountability is needed, she feels that the international community – notably Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – support the army.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Guardian - If you want to help Sudan, amplify the voices of those suffering its horrors

16/6/19: Guardian - If you want to help Sudan, amplify the voices of those suffering its horrors, by Nesrine Malik

Nesrine Malik calls for readers to shame “the world into applying pressure on the regime and restraining the Gulf powers that support it,” to challenge the regime and its Arab allies attempts to normalise the killing and rape campaign following the June 3 massacre.

 Malik suggest s hat getting Sudanese people’s message out during the internet blackout will show that “the deaths and rapes have not worked…although they are still happening, people will not suffer in vain.”

 Therefore, Malik calls for readers to amplify the voices of those on the ground, fund verified medical support campaigns, and circulate accounts from journalists covering the trauma.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Al Bashir appears before prosecutor in first appearance since April

16/6/19: Multiple sources – Al Bashir appears before prosecutor in first appearance since April

 Sudan’s former President Omar Al Bashir appeared in public for the first time since his ouster two months ago, as he was led to a prosecutor’s office Sunday in a corruption investigation.

 A judicial official with the prosecutor’s office said al-Bashir was questioned over accusations that include money laundering and the possession of large amounts of foreign currency.

 He said the probe partly related to millions of dollars’ worth of cash in US dollars, euros and Sudanese pounds that were found in al-Bashir’s home a week after his ouster.