Situation in Sudan (per 9 June)

  • Representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to a 24-hour countrywide ceasefire which will begin tomorrow on June 10 at 6:00 a.m. Khartoum time. The announcement was made by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
  • Sudan notified the UN that it has declared the special representative of the UN security-general in Sudan and head of UNITAMS, Volker Perthes, as persona non grata.
  • The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have captured the country’s largest ammunition depot and weapons factory in Yarmouk.
  • A video is circulating showing that a Chadian opposition leader is fighting within the RSF. 
  • Over the past two days, there has been intense fighting in El Geneina. Fighting has also intensified in Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman.
  • The Syndicate of Doctors of West Darfur State have stated that activists and journalists are being targeted in their homes by snipers, while others are dying of hunger, diseases and complications related to loneliness, arson, looting and destruction of properties.
  • The mobilisation of a large rebel force, SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, in South Kordofan has been reported. It is still unclear what position they will take in the conflict.

Refugee Situation (per 9 June)

  • Two Eritrean refugees in the Ethiopian Alem Wach camp in Amhara were killed by Fano troops after refusing to give them their money and mobile phones.
  • Refugees have been going to the market to receive transferred money from relatives. Fano troops started stopping anyone who had money or a mobile phone at hand. This is in part due to the government stopping the funding of Fano troops.
  • Many Eritrean refugees were never able to leave Khartoum and those that did, do not want to go to camps, as they are notorious for poor living conditions. Recently, there have been reports of kidnapping from the camps for human trafficking and of Eritreans being forcibly deported back to Eritrea.
  • Sources say that Jordan, Ethiopia and the UAE have stopped visas for Sudanese citizens. Egypt has also added restrictions, now requiring visas to enter Cairo, and lifting the previous exemption for people below 18 and above 49.
  • Sudanese refugees have recounted how they were targeted by soldiers as they fled to South Sudan, they were beaten, robbed of their belongings, and women and girls were raped.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 9 June)

  • USAID and Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign affairs will investigate further into the aid diversion and hold the perpetrators accountable, according to a joint statement.
  • Sources have stated that the food aid corruption involved the ENDF, 8 regional governments, and high-ranking figures of USAID and WFP.
  • It has been suggested that the population statistics of Ethiopia have previously been inflated from 100M to 120M in order to increase the volume of food aid.
  • Elders in Ethiopia are the most severely affected by the food shortages. In Borena, half of the population above 60 are malnourished. Elders get little support as aid agencies prioritise children and mothers, and Ethiopia’s drought response plan does not take elderly people into account.
  • In a meeting with Ethiopian deputy PM Demeke Mekonnen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked for progress on: the investigation in the diversion of food aid, the promotion of human rights, the advancement in the transitional justice process and resolving tensions in Amhara and Oromia.

Situation in Eritrea (per 9 June)

  • The UK government has informed that the Eritrean borders to Ethiopia and Djibouti have been closed and advises citizens to avoid those border areas.
  • The report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea was made available. It discusses the national military service and its impact, violations of civil and political rights, the situation of Afar communities who have been heavily discriminated against and the situation of Eritrean refugees.  
  • It was found that the human rights situation has been deteriorating in recent years.
  • There has been an intensification in conscriptions for the indefinite national service, in which conscripts are still systematically tortured, subjected to inhumane treatment, sexually assaulted, and have to carry out forced labour. The national service is still the main driver of forced migration from the country.
  • Since mid 2022, families that failed to produce their relatives for conscription were evicted from their homes, their belongings were locked and livestock confiscated. Some family members were also detained. Neighbours that tried to help were threatened by authorities.

Regional Situation (per 9 June)

  • Two Somali villages near the Ethiopian border were attacked by Al-Shabaab on 7 June. 17 people were killed. It is suspected that the attack was a response to the killing of an Al-Shabaab official in Ethiopia.
  • Somaliland has welcomed the statement from the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the cessation of hostilities, on creating conditions for peace, unhindered provisions of humanitarian assistance and stabilisation of the situation in Laascaanood.
  • Somaliland further expressed that the UNSC does not seem to be fully informed of the situation on the ground, stating that their security forces withdrew from Laascaanood on 26 February 2023, and that civilian casualties have been avoided.
  • This comes after the UNSC issued a strong statement urging the withdrawal of Somaliland forces.

International Situation (per 9 June)

  • A group statement by the Friends of Sudan group was published urging the RSF and SAF to adhere to the agreement they signed on 11 May to protect civilians in Sudan and to go back to the negotiation table to agree to an effective and sustainable ceasefire.

Links of interest

Cease fire agreement Sudan SAF – RSF

Sudan declares UN envoy Volker Perthes ‘persona non grata’

Sudan’s Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces Attack Weapons Factory

Rebel mobilisation in southern Sudan raises fears of conflict spreading

Help Eritrean Refugees in Sudan

Returnees fleeing war in Sudan accuse soldiers of robbery, rape

Joint statement USAID and Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs

‘They are overlooked by everybody’: elders in Ethiopia bear brunt of the climate crisis

Starvation in Tigray and the WFP-Ethiopia food aid diversion scandal

Foreign travel advice: Eritrea

Situation of human rights in Eritrea -Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker (A/HRC/53/20) [EN/AR/RU/ZH]

Hargeisa, Somaliland, June 8th, 2023 – Press Release on UN Security Council’s June 7th Statement.

Friends of Sudan Group Statement

Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.