SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Khartoum oil refinery engulfed in flames as firefighting resources dwindle

21/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - Khartoum oil refinery engulfed in flames as firefighting resources dwindle

Sudan Tribune report that a devastating fire raged for two days at the Khartoum Oil Refinery, which is currently under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Reports indicate that firefighting materials used by the Civil Defence have been depleted.

Since November of last year, the refinery, located in the Al-Jaili area approximately 70 kilometres north of Khartoum, has been subjected to shelling.  

Civil activists have voiced concerns about the environmental consequences of the intensifying oil storage fires in the region, calling for the evacuation of workers and their families from the housing adjacent to the refinery.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Chatham House - A strong civilian coalition is vital to avert Sudan’s disintegration,

21/6/2024: Chatham House - A strong civilian coalition is vital to avert Sudan’s disintegration, by Dame Rosalind Marsden

For the Taqadum coalition to counter accusations that it is the political wing of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, ex-UK ambassador to Sudan Dame Rosalind Marsden calls for Taqadum’s leadership to maintain consistent messaging in condemning violence by both sides of Sudan’s conflict.  

Marsden notes that the accusations have gained traction among many Sudanese in the context of heinous atrocities committed by the RSF.

Adding that Sudan needs an alternative to the warring parties and their supporters, Marsden also calls for Taqadum to “broaden alignment with others in the anti-war civilian camp,” deepen outreach to grassroots civil society actors, “including youth-led resistance committees, women’s rights groups, unions and professional associations”.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudanese authorities arrest Ethiopian female snipers

21/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - Sudanese authorities arrest Ethiopian female snipers 

Sudan Tribune report that authorities in Al-Gadarif state bordering Ethiopia apprehended six Ethiopian women accused of serving as snipers for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

This development further substantiates claims by the Sudanese military that foreign nationals are being recruited as mercenaries. Sources revealed to Sudan Tribune that these women had been operating within the RSF for over a year, leveraging their specialized sniping expertise gained in Ethiopia.

Their alleged involvement in operations against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and security agencies is supported by images of military engagements and weaponry found on their phones. The women were reportedly intercepted while attempting to flee to Ethiopia through the Amhara region following escalating violence in Khartoum.  

These arrests follow earlier reports of captured South Sudanese nationals fighting alongside the RSF.

Also, a video released by the RSF fighters after the capture of El-Fula shows an Ethiopian raising the flag of their country.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Mada Masr - Sudan Nashra

21/6/2024: Mada Masr - Sudan Nashra, by Hassan Alnaser, Mashair Idris, Mohamed Alagra and Omar al-Faroug

Three summaries

Khartoum

Mada Masr report on the Battle for Khartoum amid clashes between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support militia (RSF) around the Armoured Corps in southern Khartoum.

A senior military officer said that the RSF’s media footage of its attack highlighted issues including ammunition shortages, poor combat tactics and an insufficient number of RPG-armed soldiers needed for an assault on a military camp.

The officer also confirmed that the army’s capabilities have improved since the start of the war and that it is poised to retake the military’s General Command HQ given the favourable outcomes of the military’s siege strategy around Khartoum in recent months which has significantly disrupted RSF supply operations and lowered its troops’ morale, especially after the defeats they suffered in al-Fasher and Darfur at large.

Al-Jazira 

In Al-Jazira State in central Sudan, the military recaptured the town of Huda in the Managil locality.

Since December 18, the RSF has maintained control over Al-Jazira’s capital, Wad Madani, and later extended its presence to various villages. Since April, the military has been amassing troops to retake the state along three axes, and it has received substantial reinforcements.

Military experts anticipate a simultaneous offensive across Al-Jazira’s fronts. A field source told Mada Masr that the military believes that the advances in the Managil and Fao axes will be easier than expected. The source explained that the onset of the rain season is likely to aid these operations, as the RSF is expected to regroup in more accessible areas near supply points, facilitating confrontation. 

North Darfur desert

Mada Masr report that Sudan’s war has entered a new phase as it expands into the desert regions along the Sudanese-Libyan-Chadian border, in a “desert war” over supply routes crossing through the Zurug and Wadi Ambar areas.

The aforementioned desert border regions are critical for the RSF’s military operations, as control over these areas means dominance over fuel smuggling routes from Libya. The militia has also transformed its dominance over these routes into revenue sources and used it to establish networks across central and western Africa.

Thus, these battles are crucial as they aim to cut off the RSF’s military supplies, depleting their resources and affecting their capabilities on multiple fronts. However, a military source warned that this may lead the militia to launch suicidal offensives to gain control of strategic areas for loot or political leverage, especially since it does not employ defensive tactics.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Washington Post - Sudan’s military has shut down the Internet to crush a popular revolt. Here’s how it could backfire

21/6/19: Washington Post – Sudan’s military has shut down the Internet to crush a popular revolt. Here’s how it could backfire, by Claire Parker

 Claire Parker argues that the internet blackout in Sudan might have the “paradoxical impact of fueling protests, especially since economic grievances sparked the uprising in the first place,” with a Sudanese newspaper estimating that the blackout would cost Sudan upward of $1 billion or nearly 1 percent of Sudan’s GDP.

 Parker states that the Sudanese internet blackout “represents a particularly severe application of [the] wider phenomenon” of government-initiated internet shutdowns in order to quell protest movements.