Situation in Sudan (per 9 March)

  • Clashes in Sudan’s Kordofan region killed at least 51 people between Wednesday and Thursday last week, with intense artillery and drone strikes hitting Dilling and Al-Mojlad, as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) recaptured the strategic city of Bara on the road to Khartoum.
  • An army drone strike on a fuel market in Ed Daein, capital of the RSF-controlled East Darfur state, killed at least six civilians and wounded more than 12 others, triggering fires and explosions that completely destroyed the market.
  • Drone strikes on markets in Abu Zabad and Wad Banda in RSF-controlled West Kordofan killed at least 33 civilians and wounded 59 others.
  • The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N) accused the Sudanese army of a drone strike on a crowded market in Jald village, Dilling County, killing at least 17 civilians including eight women and six children.
  • The UN warns that 33.7 million people will need humanitarian aid in Sudan in 2026, with 29 million facing severe food insecurity and 23 areas being at risk of famine.
  • The SAF announced plans to integrate allied irregular fighters into its formal military and security services, with senior general Yasir al-Atta stating that fighters meeting military standards could join the army while others would be absorbed into police or security services.
  • Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with tribal leader Musa Hilal, who recently survived an RSF drone strike in Mistariha, with both pledging to continue military operations until the RSF is defeated. The meeting also addressed alleged RSF violations against civilians in North Darfur.
  • Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum announced partnering with 30 private sector companies organised into five joint consortiums to secure national supplies until at least April to prevent fuel shortages amid rising global prices driven by escalating Middle East tensions.

Situation in South Sudan (per 9 March)

  • Thousands of civilians fled the opposition stronghold of Akobo in eastern South Sudan after the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) issued an ultimatum demanding evacuations ahead of a planned military assault.
  • The SSPDF ordered the UN peacekeeping mission, all humanitarian agencies, and civilians to evacuate Akobo County within 72 hours ahead of a planned offensive to flush out Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) opposition forces.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 9 March)

  • Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated his country does not want war, even as Tigray authorities warned that federal forces are massing around the region, with the TPLF’s second-in-command  Amanuel Assefa accusing the federal government of preparing to wage war against Tigray.
  • PM Abiy arrived in Dire Dawa to visit development projects in the city, which serves as a major commercial and transportation hub linking Ethiopia to Djibouti and hosts one of the country’s largest industrial parks.
  • Amnesty International released a research briefing documenting cases of conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls in the Oromia region since the beginning of the conflict in 2019 on Friday.
  • According to the briefing, women and girls in Ethiopia’s Oromia region have been subjected to rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery during the armed conflict between the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and Ethiopian government forces since 2019.
  • Fighters often targeted women because male relatives were associated with government forces, using rape, threats, and burning of homes to force families, especially women and children, to flee their communities, Amnesty states.
  • On International Women’s Day, an Ethiopian Airlines flight landed in Windhoek with an all-female crew, a moment that Namibian president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah praised as evidence of women’s growing role in technical and leadership fields.

International and Regional situation (per 9 March)

  • A UN inquiry found that Uganda helped South Sudan to carry out joint airstrikes targeting civilian-populated areas in opposition-affiliated Nuer communities, involving improvised incendiary devices, with flight tracking data linking a Ugandan army aircraft to at least one attack.
  • Uganda continues to deny participating in combat operations or targeting civilians.
  • Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem declared solidarity with Arab nations at a virtual Arab League ministerial meeting, supporting “any legitimate measures” to protect territorial integrity in relation to Iranian missile and drone attacks in the region.
  • UNICEF condemned the attack in Abiemnhom County, Ruweng Administrative Area, in South Sudan where violence on March 1 killed at least three children and injured 13 others.
  • The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) completed the withdrawal of all peacekeepers and national monitors from its team sites in the contested regions of Tishwin and Abu Qussa/Wunkur between Sudan and South Sudan due to deteriorating security conditions, temporarily relocating the Joint Border Verification Mechanism headquarters to Abyei.
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed Horn of Africa security in a phone call, with Abdelatty stressing Somalia’s territorial integrity, rejecting any recognition of Somaliland, and reaffirming Egypt’s plans to deploy troops to Somalia as part of the reconfigured African Union mission in the coming weeks.
  • A French geopolitical analysis report suggests Ethiopia could become an increasingly important strategic actor in Red Sea security dynamics, with Israeli President Herzog’s recent visit to Addis Ababa seen as part of a strategic rapprochement aimed at countering Iranian influence.

Links of interest
Sudan: army claims recapture of Bara, at least 51 dead in fighting

Six killed in army drone strike on East Darfur fuel market

Drone attacks on Sudan markets kill at least 33

SPLM-N says army drone strike kills 17 in South Kordofan

UN warns Sudan’s food security at risk despite government reassurances
Sudan to integrate allied groups into military, al-Atta says
Army chief Burhan, Musa Hilal vow to fight until RSF defeated
Sudan regulates fuel imports to secure supply amid regional conflict
Thousands flee Akobo after South Sudan army issues forced evacuation order
South Sudan army orders evacuation of UN peacekeepers ahead of offensive operations

Ethiopia does not want war: PM
PM Abiy Ahmed Arrives in Dire Dawa City
Ethiopia: ‘No One Came To My Rescue’: Gang rape, sexual slavery, and mass displacement of women in Oromia, Ethiopia

All‑female Ethiopian crew marks Women’s Day in Namibia
UN report says Ugandan troops helped South Sudan with deadly airstrikes

Sudan backs Arab measures against Iranian attacks, foreign minister says
UNICEF Condemns Deadly Attack in South Sudan That Killed Children
UNISFA completes withdrawal from its bases in Tishwin and Abu Qussa/Wunkur
U.S. and Egypt hold talks on Somalia and Red Sea stability
Ethiopia emerging as strategic player in Red Sea amid Israel–Iran tensions, French journal reports

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