Situation in Sudan (per 13 June)

  • The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gained reportedly control of Um Dafuq, a Sudanese town at the border region with the Central African Republic (CAR), yesterday. There were no reports of fighting, which seem to suggest that the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) surrendered without a fight.
  • The RSF already had a presence in CAR, where they are involved in gold mining. There is speculation in social media that taking control of this border point facilitates potential deliveries by the Wagner group .
  • There are reports that men wearing RSF uniforms have been targeting the homes of Eritrean and Ethiopian female refugees in Omdurman and Khartoum.
  • There are accusations of ethnic targeting taking place in West Darfur against ethnically African residents.
  • Residents of el Geneina have been targeted repeatedly, sources say. The Jeddah Agreement that RSF signed making provision for safe passage was not adhered to, as residents remain trapped inside the city and many who fled by car and on foot were killed.
  • Sources further state that the residents that have remained in the city were forced to relocate to the northern neighbourhoods, cramming thousands of people into 5 km squared.
  • Similar actions were undertaken by the RSF in Kutum and the Kassab IDP camp in North Darfur.
  • The Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in Darfur, Mujeeb Rahman Muhammad Yaqoub, stated the occurrence of genocide, displacement, rape, murder and mutilation of corpses inside el Geneina.
  • There are enforced disappearances, elderly are being killed and people are being denied access to water sources, the West Darfur Doctors Union stated. An unknown number of  medical staff, activists, and journalists have been killed.
  • 1,100 people have been killed in el-Geneina since 24 April.
  • The West  Darfur Doctors Union compared the intensity of the violence with massacres that took place in Rwanda in 1994.
  • Aid from the government and international actors has not been reaching the different states of Darfur.
  • In the social media concern is expressed that narratives are emerging hat “el-Geneina should be” “cleansed” of the “zurga” (meaning black) after which the city would become the regrouping point, concerned social media sources stated.
  • The parts of Khartoum controlled by the RSF undergo regular raids, looting of houses, and taking of hostages by RSF soldiers. Children are also being recruited to fight for the RSF.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 13 June)

  • The former Ethiopian Airlines board chairman Girma Wake has left the company, the reasons for this are still unclear. He is replaced by Yilma Merdesa, the Commander of the Ethiopian Air Force.
  • The Ethiopian Federal High Court will deliver a ruling on 30 June on the case against Ethiopian Airlines for blocking Tigrayans from travelling to local and international destinations.

Situation in Tigray (per 13 June)

  • The fate of up to thousands Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) fighters and prisoners of war (also of Tigrayan ethnicity) that were detained during the war, is still unclear.
  • Human Rights organisations have little information on how many people are still detained or are missing.
  • The conditions in the prison camps were horrific, with many dying of starvation, diarrhoea, medical neglect and torture.
  • The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) declined a request asking NEBE for the registration certificate of the TPLF as a regional political party. The request was deemed invalid as a new party could not be created with the same name as a previously existing party, as this would “confuse voters”.

Situation in Eritrea (per 13 June)

  • Eritrea resumed its membership in IGAD after nearly 16 years, when it pulled out as a response to IGAD’s support of the Ethiopian military intervention backing the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia.

Regional Situation (per 13 June)

  • At the conclusion of the IGAD assembly yesterday, the president of the republic of Djibouti took over the Chairmanship after Sudan’s term came to an end.
  • During the Assembly it was decided that leaders of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia will attempt to meet face to face with Generals Al-Burhan and Daglo, to speak on behalf of IGAD with the aim of stopping the war.
  • 80 Members of a Ugandan cult that had travelled to Ethiopia in preparation for the end of days and fasted for 40 days, have been deported back to Uganda to be reunited with their families.
  • A 4-day meeting on Somalia’s debt relief process started in Nairobi yesterday. The meeting consists of Somali government agencies and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

International Situation (per 13 June)

  • The University of Manchester has started a scholarship programme for people fleeing conflict and persecution.
  • A panel webinar at SOAS in London on: “The Conflict in Sudan and the Politics of Revolutionary Change” will be taking place on 14 June.
  • The Friends of Sudan group stated their support to the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy and head of UNITAMS, Volker Perthes, and denounced the decision of the Sudanese government to declare him persona non grata.

Links of interest

Ethnic violence in Sudan raises genocide alarm as war rages on

More than 1,100 dead in besieged El Geneina, West Darfur

Reign of terror in parts of Sudan capital – witness

Ethiopian Airlines board chairman Girma Wake leaves company, reasons remain unknown

Ethiopian Airlines fights Tigrayans discrimination suit

Fate of jailed fighters still unknown months after Ethiopia truce

News: Election board declines new request for TPLF as regional party

IGAD twitter

Ruto to lead Igad direct talks with Sudan generals

Ethiopia: How Missing Cult Members Fearing Doomsday Were Duped to Go Ethiopia to Meet Jesus

The Conflict in Sudan and the Politics of Revolutionary Change

Friends of Sudan express support for UN special envoy

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