SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Egypt deports more Sudanese, as bureaucracy makes asylum ‘nearly impossible’

18/6/2024: Radio Dabanga - Egypt deports more Sudanese, as bureaucracy makes asylum ‘nearly impossible’

Radio Dabanga report that Egyptian authorities in Aswan deported hundreds of Sudanese people, sending them back to Sudan.

The deportees reportedly faced harsh humanitarian conditions during the journey, with high temperatures and insufficient food and drink exacerbating their suffering, with many having chronic diseases. 

Radio Dabanga noted bureaucratic challenges to entering Egypt legally, seen as a “deliberate attempt to limit the influx of Sudanese refugees”.

Obtaining security approval for entry into Egypt is financially burdensome for many Sudanese given the obligation to use EgyptAir to reach Egypt via Cairo Airport, which is unsuitable for those arriving by land. While registration with the UNHCR theoretically prevents deportation, long waiting periods, sometimes exceeding five months, complicate this.

Another issue is the 960km distance between Aswan and Cairo, where the UNHCR headquarters are located, as Sudanese arriving through Aswan may be stopped and asked for entry visas before reaching Cairo.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan accuses UAE of fuelling war with weapons to RSF

18/6/2024: Multiple sources - Sudan accuses UAE of fuelling war with weapons to RSF

•   Reuters, by Michelle Nichols

• AP, by Edith M. Lederer

•   Sudan Tribune

•   Voice of America

In a UN Security Council session, Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, Al-Harith Idriss, accused the UAE of providing weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

"The military aggression launched by the RSF, supported with weapons by the Emirates, is deliberately and systematically targeting the villages and cities," Idriss said.

"The UAE must stay away from Sudan! That is the first requirement that will allow for stability in Sudan. It must stop its support,” Idriss added.

Idriss accused the UAE of assisting RSF forces through militias in Chad, southern Libya and central Africa, adding that Sudan has submitted copies of a half dozen UAE passports found on the battlefield in Khartoum to the council to back up their claims of Emirati interference. He also said that wounded RSF fighters are being airlifted to Dubai for medical treatment.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Ethiopian Fano militia kills Sudanese woman in refugee camp

18/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - Ethiopian Fano militia kills Sudanese woman in refugee camp

Sudan Tribune report that a Sudanese woman was killed by the Ethiopian Fano militia in the Awlala camp, which houses around 6,000 Sudanese refugees who fled the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudanese refugees are facing the risk of death and armed attacks by Fano militiamen, who are targeting them inside the Awlala forest in the Amhara region.

Several refugees told Sudan Tribune that the attack occurred while a group of Sudanese women were fetching water from a well near the camp.

Eight other women were injured in the attack, which involved heavy gunfire.

Around 1,700 cases of assault, looting, and theft against Sudanese refugees have been reported in the area. Multiple sources have confirmed to Sudan Tribune that Ethiopian authorities have lost control over the area, leaving it vulnerable to lawlessness and violence perpetrated by Fano militias.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - North Darfur death toll climbs as health crisis worsens amid ongoing conflict

18/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - North Darfur death toll climbs as health crisis worsens amid ongoing conflict

Sudan Tribune report that the humanitarian crisis in North Darfur continues to worsen as the death toll and number of injuries rise following weeks of fierce fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), allied groups, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The Director General of the Ministry of Health in North Darfur, Ibrahim Abdallah Khater, told Sudan Tribune that at least 346 people have been killed and 2,182 injured since the conflict erupted on May 10th. Khater warned that these figures are likely underestimates, as many casualties in outlying areas and recent clashes in the Al-Nasr and Abu Shouk neighbourhoods remain unaccounted for.

He further condemned the RSF’s indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, including residential neighbourhoods, shelters, markets, and hospitals, as a major contributing factor to the dire humanitarian situation.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Pompeo blocks inclusion of Saudi Arabia on US child soldiers list

18/6/19: Reuters - Pompeo blocks inclusion of Saudi Arabia on US child soldiers list

 Reuters reports that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blocked the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on a list of countries that recruit child soldiers, dismissing his experts’ findings that a Saudi-led coalition has been using underage fighters from Sudan in Yemen’s civil war, according to four people familiar with the matter.

 Instead of adding Saudi Arabia to the list, Sudan will be reinstated after being removed last year, three of the sources said.

 A spokesman for Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has contributed fighters to the Yemen war, said the force is affiliated with Sudan’s military. “Based on Sudanese laws, it does not recruit minors,” he said. He did not directly respond to a question on who controlled Sudanese forces in Yemen.