Sudanese army gain 'a moral victory' in Sudan's civil war
Dallia Abdelmoniem, a political commentator & civil society activist, explains the recent advances the Sudanese army has made in Khartoum, as the Rapid Support Forces fortify positions in Darfur. After two years of war, is Sudan at a turning point?
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Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Al Jazeera
‘Corpses rotting in the Nile' as cholera tears through Sudan
After Sudan's army recaptured the national capital region of Khartoum in March, tens of thousands of people returned to check on their homes and reunite with loved ones. The joy of returning was tempered by the shock of seeing the damage caused during nearly two years under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), recognised by many Sudanese and the UN as the de facto authority in Sudan, since April 2023. In a region whose hospitals and food and medicine stores had been systematically plundered by the RSF, many returnees started falling sick. Many of the returnees had settled in Omdurman, one of the national capital's three cities, where living conditions were slightly better than in the other cities. This is because several localities in Omdurman never came under the RSF's control, insulating it from heavy clashes, pillaging, and looting. Omdurman quickly became overcrowded, with 'thousands of people [returning] from Egypt alone', according to Dr Dirar Abeer, a member of Khartoum's Emergency Response Rooms, neighbourhood committees spearheading relief efforts across the country. The crowding, Dr Abeer said, meant an accelerated spread of cholera, an acute, highly contagious diarrhoeal infection that is endemic to Sudan and can be fatal if not treated. 'In areas south of the Nile in Omdurman, there are a lot of corpses rotting next to [or in] the Nile, and this has [partially] caused the spread of infection,' said Badawi, a volunteer in Omdurman who declined to give his full name due to the sensitivity of speaking in a warzone. Cholera has become an epidemic in Sudan, spreading in several states, including White Nile and Gadarif, and killing hundreds in the last two weeks. As in Khartoum, the spread was fuelled by overcrowding and a lack of essential services in these regions. The waterborne disease could be stopped with basic sanitation and provisions, said Fazli Kostan, the project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF. 'But that's not really possible right now,' he told Al Jazeera, referring to a lack of electricity to pump water since Omdurman's electricity grids went down on May 14. The RSF had fired a barrage of suicide drones that day, which took out major power stations and grids, consequently shutting down water treatment plants and causing a sharp rise in cases. Deprived of safe drinking and bathing water, people have resorted to drinking contaminated water from the Nile, as well as scooping up water from the ground after it rains, Badawi said. The SAF-backed Ministry of Health (MoH) reported a huge surge in daily cholera cases in the national capital region between May 15 and May 25, with at least 172 people dying between May 20 and May 27. The UN says daily cases spiked from 90 to more than 815 in the latter half of May. Those who contract the disease often rush to the nearest hospital, further straining an already overwhelmed and ill-equipped health sector. However, local volunteers said many people do not experience life-threatening symptoms and that they would be better off staying at home and isolating themselves. The overcrowding at hospitals has further exacerbated the spread of the disease and overstrained the already collapsing health sector, they explained. 'We do not have enough medication or medical tools, and the rate of people coming to the hospitals is far more than we can handle,' said Kareem al-Noor, a medic at al-Nao hospital in Omdurman. 'The [remaining hospitals] are at full capacity and people are also waiting for treatment, crowded on the streets,' al-Noor added. Dr Abeer feels the SAF-backed health authorities are not doing enough to tackle the epidemic. While she acknowledged that the health sector was largely destroyed by the RSF, she believes the current health authorities could be doing more. Al Jazeera submitted written questions to Dr Montasser Towarra, the MoH spokesperson, asking him what measures the ministry is undertaking to help volunteers and to provide basic provisions. He had not answered by the time of publication. Sudan is also suffering an acute hunger crisis. Since the civil war, millions of Sudanese have struggled to feed their families due to spoiled harvests, the systematic looting of markets and food aid and the destruction of homes and livelihoods. According to the UN, about 25 million people – more than half the population – currently suffer extreme food shortages. Hunger can weaken bodies and lead to an acute increase in contagious diseases, according to Alex De Waal, an expert on Sudan and famine. He noted that civilians – especially children – have always been more likely to die from diseases if they are also on the brink of starvation. 'We could see an excess of hundreds of thousands of deaths [due to these factors] over the next year,' warned De Waal. The UN has also warned that up to one million children could die from cholera unless the spread is thwarted quickly. The only way to thwart the health crisis is to repair basic provisions such as electricity and sewage systems to improve sanitation, said De Waal. However, he believes that repairing essential services is not a priority for the army, which remains the de facto authority. Al Jazeera sent written questions to SAF spokesperson, Nabil Abdullah, to ask if the army is planning on repairing vital resources such as bombed electricity grids. Abdullah said, 'These questions are not for the army, but for the Ministry of Health.' Tawarra from the MoH also did not respond to these questions. De Waal suspects the army is prioritising combat operations against the RSF. 'My sense is the army is too stretched financially and organisationally to prioritise anything other than fighting the war,' he told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera
29-05-2025
- Al Jazeera
Sudan reports 70 cholera deaths in Khartoum in two days
A cholera outbreak in Sudan's Khartoum has killed at least 70 people in two days, local health authorities said. The health ministry in Khartoum state reported on Thursday 942 new infections and 25 deaths the previous day, following 1,177 cases and 45 deaths the day before. The outbreak is centred around the capital city, Khartoum, which has been devastated by more than two years of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The city lost access to water and electricity earlier this month following drone attacks blamed on the RSF. The army-backed government announced last week that it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last bases in Khartoum State, two months after retaking the heart of the capital from the paramilitaries. The city remains devastated with health and sanitation infrastructure barely functioning. According to the federal health ministry, 172 people died of cholera in the week to Tuesday – 90 percent of them in Khartoum state alone. Aid workers say the scale of the outbreak is being worsened by the near-total collapse of health services, with about 90 percent of hospitals in key war zones no longer operational. 'Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale public health disaster,' said Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan country director for the International Rescue Committee. 'The combination of conflict, displacement, destroyed infrastructure, and lack of clean water is fuelling the resurgence of cholera and other deadly diseases,' she told AFP. Since August 2024, Sudan has reported more than 65,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 1,700 deaths across 12 of its 18 states. Khartoum alone has seen 7,700 cases and 185 deaths, including more than 1,000 infections in children under five. The spread of disease is expected to worsen with the upcoming rainy season, which is likely to further restrict humanitarian access. Aid groups warn that unless urgent action is taken, the death toll could soar. According to the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, more than one million children are at risk in cholera-affected areas of Khartoum. 'We are racing against time … to provide basic healthcare, clean water and good nutrition,' said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF's representative in Sudan. 'Each day, more children are exposed to this double threat of cholera and malnutrition.' The war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
Qatar Tribune
17-05-2025
- Qatar Tribune
34th Arab Summit reaffirms categorical rejection of Palestinian displacement
BAGHDAD: The Final Communique of the 34th Arab League Summit, convened in Baghdad, Iraq, unequivocally rejected the forced displacement of the Palestinian people and underscored the imperative of ensuring the immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The communique further called on the international community to step up pressure to halt the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring the flow of urgent humanitarian aid into the enclave. It appealed to the United Nations Security Council to take essential measures to implement the two-state solution and set a deadline for this process. The Israeli occupation is weaponizing food as a tool of war in the Gaza Strip, in an unconscionable violation of all international laws and conventions, the communique read. It reaffirmed the categorical rejection of any forced displacement of the Palestinian people, holding the international community, particularly the influential powers, morally and legally responsible to exert meaningful pressure and halt the bloodshed and to guarantee the urgent and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid to all afflicted areas across Gaza. The communique welcomed the lifting of US sanctions on Syria, underscoring the support for the unity of the Syrian territories and condemning the unrelenting Israeli assaults against them. It confirmed its support for Lebanon in confronting the challenges, maintaining its security and stability, supporting the unity of the Lebanese territories, and protecting its borders against any potential assaults. Regarding Yemen, the communique expressed its full solidarity with Yemen, in addition to backing its efforts to achieve security and stability and ending the state of war and division. On the Sudanese issue, the communique underscored the imperative of reaching a comprehensive political solution that brings the conflict in Sudan to an end, while safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. It called on all Sudanese parties to engage constructively in initiatives aimed at resolving the crisis, foremost of which is the Jeddah Declaration. Furthermore, the communique declared full support for Libya and for resolving the crisis through an inclusive national dialogue that safeguards the unity of the Libyan state. It unequivocally pushed back on all forms of meddling in Libya's internal affairs and underscored the imperative of the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libyan territories. The final communique further called upon the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State to promptly expedite the enactment of electoral laws. The summit officially convened Saturday in Baghdad under the theme 'Dialogue, Solidarity, and Development', with deliberations centering on urgent regional files, chief amongst which were the Palestinian cause, the crises in Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, and other pressing challenges engulfing the Arab region.
