Latest news with #Darfur
Arab News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Sudan crisis worsens as violence escalates in Kordofan and Darfur
CAIRO: Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region that has killed hundreds and ongoing violence in Darfur — the epicenters of the country's conflict — have worsened Sudan's humanitarian crisis, with aid workers warning of limited access to assistance. The UN said more than 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed during the weekend of July 12 in attacks in villages surrounding the town of Bara in North Kordofan province. 'The suffering in Kordofan deepens with each passing day,' Mercy Corps Country Director for Sudan, Kadry Furany, said in a statement. 'Communities are trapped along active and fast-changing front lines, unable to flee, unable to access basic needs or lifesaving assistance.' Sudan plunged into war after simmering tensions between the army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated to fighting in April 2023. The violence has killed at least 40,000 people and created one of the world's worst displacement and hunger crises. In recent months, much of the fighting has been concentrated in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. On Thursday, the UN human rights office confirmed that since July 10, the RSF has killed at least 60 civilians in the town of Bara, while civil society groups reported up to 300 people were killed, the office said. A military airstrike on Thursday in Bara killed at least 11 people, all from the same family. Meanwhile, between July 10 and 14, the army killed at least 23 civilians and injured over two dozen others after striking two villages in West Kordofan. An aid worker with Mercy Corps said his brother was fatally shot on July 13 during an attack on the village of Um Seimima in El-Obeid City in North Kordofan. Furany said that movement between the western and eastern areas of the Kordofan region is 'practically impossible.' The intensified fighting forced Mercy Corps to temporarily suspend operations in three out of four localities, with access beyond Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, now being in 'serious doubt,' Furany said, as a safe sustained humanitarian corridor is needed. Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the Norwegian Refugee Council who is often based in Port Sudan, said that fighting has intensified in North Kordofan and West Kordofan over the past several months.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
How gold has become the lifeblood of Sudan's war economy
As the civil war in Sudan rages on, the devastation is increasingly measured in troy ounces and metric tonnes. Before the conflict began, the country officially produced 87 tonnes of gold annually, a figure that plummeted to just 2 tonnes within five months of fighting. Yet this collapse masks a more sinister reality; an estimated 100 kg of gold now vanishes each day across Sudan's borders — approximately 60 tonnes since April 2023. This illicit flow is not incidental leakage, it is the engineered financial architecture of a seemingly unstoppable war machine. Consider the mechanics of this deadly economy. Miners, often working in perilous conditions under the coercive control of armed groups, extract the ore. Each gram that is extracted, from artisanal pits in Darfur or industrial concessions along the Nile, converts directly into imported artillery, foreign drones, and militia salaries. Control over mining sites, particularly those concentrated in specific geographical zones, is fiercely contested, as vital as possession of any strategic city. The Sudanese Armed Forces, which holds key production areas, imposes taxes and levies, funneling the proceeds through state-adjacent structures. Its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, operates extensive parallel networks, utilizing cross-border connections to move and monetize its share. A significant portion of the gold moves through neighboring countries, often under murky arrangements involving state actors, or at least tolerated by them. The final destinations are international markets, via a major global hub that acts as a financial clearinghouse for both sides. There, the conflict gold is refined, legitimized and sold, its origins obscured. The proceeds are then cycled back, often through complex financial channels or purchases of essential war materiel. Weapons, fuel, and even food supplies for fighters are procured abroad using these funds, shipped back across borders, sometimes through the same neighboring countries, and distributed to the front lines. This transnational flow transforms Sudanese gold into tangible instruments of death and displacement within Sudan itself. With official exports from SAF-controlled territories generating $1.6 billion in 2024 alone, and more than 60 percent of production from key mining states being smuggled, gold becomes the grease for a devastating conflict 'economy' that has displaced nearly 9 million people. Moreover, the commodity's path through free-trade zones of neighboring countries and foreign refineries demonstrates the ways in which regional commercial policies actively incentivize predation. Duty exemptions and tax reductions in neighboring countries have transformed cross-border smuggling from an ancillary activity into the core revenue strategy for both of the primary belligerents in the conflict, locking the nation into a self-perpetuating cycle in which mineral wealth finances state collapse. The mineral wealth that could rebuild the nation remains its curse, fueling a conflict measured in graves rather than grams. Hafed Al-Ghwell The profound tragedy lies in the complicity and enabling environment created by influential external actors. Key regional powers, driven by short-term economic gain and competing strategic agendas, have become indispensable patrons. One state, acting as the indispensable partner of the Sudanese Armed Forces, processes vast flows of illicit gold through its territory. Reports indicate 80-90 percent of Sudanese gold bypasses official channels, draining state revenues while financing the Sudanese Armed Forces' $1 million daily war expenditure. This smuggling pipeline, enabled by lax oversight and political complicity, directly subverts Sudanese sovereignty. Simultaneously, a second external actor functions as the financial engine for the Rapid Support Forces. By providing market access and liquidity, this patron transforms the Rapid Support Forces-controlled gold into immediate capital. Its gold refineries absorbed more than 46 tonnes of Sudanese gold in 2023 alone, worth about $2.8 billion at current prices, embedding conflict commodities into global markets. This is not passive trade, it is active conflict financing. The Rapid Support Forces' territorial losses from last year would have triggered financial collapse without this uninterrupted cash conversion. These dual pipelines create a perverse equilibrium. Gold generates more than $1 billion annually for the warring parties, ensuring military spending consumes resources needed for the 25 million Sudanese people requiring aid. While the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces deploy gold revenues to import drones, ammunition, and fuel, Sudan's healthcare system has collapsed to about 70 percent nonfunctionality, while civilian deaths mount, as a direct consequence of economically sustainable warfare. International responses and sanctions remain fundamentally inert against Sudan's conflict-gold architecture. The targeting of isolated entities, such as seven firms blocked by the US Treasury in June 2024, ignores the complex transnational system that is sustaining the war. This system operates through three integrated channels: smuggling corridors across Chad and Libya; sophisticated financial clearinghouses; and state-facilitated transit routes through neighboring countries, where 80-90 percent of the gold bypasses official scrutiny. In a nutshell, sanctions against individual commanders or shell companies constitute little more than policy theater. The resilience of the gold trade lies in its networked adaptability; routes shift within weeks, front companies regenerate, and regional banking systems enable instant gold-to-cash conversion. When the US sanctioned the Sudanese Armed Forces-linked firms in 2024, the Rapid Support Forces-aligned networks simply rerouted exports through South Sudan and the Central African Republic, demonstrating the immunity of the ecosystem to atomized pressure. Until policymakers dismantle the entire architecture — by demanding that regional trading hubs close beneficial ownership gaps in gold exchanges and sanctioning the refiners laundering conflict minerals — the war will continue. The language of strategic patience and alliance maintenance rings hollow when juxtaposed against the entrenched, billion-dollar illicit gold ecosystem sustaining Sudan's civil war, which is responsible for creating the massive humanitarian crisis we see today. More than simply a missed opportunity, this is an active choice, one that permits blood-soaked commerce to flourish in exchange for diplomatic comfort and regional ambiguity. To date, financial institutions and refineries downstream have barely flinched. There has been no sweeping divestment, no collapse in buyer confidence, no multilateral embargoes. Regulatory institutions have failed not because of lack of capacity but because of an unwillingness to act, constrained by politics not logistics. The international community must now confront the full supply chain — from the mines controlled by armed groups, through the smuggling routes across borders, to the foreign markets and financiers that launder its proceeds and facilitate the conversion into weapons — and impose coordinated, high-impact costs on all nodes, especially the external actors profiting from the chaos. Otherwise, Sudan's gold will continue to flow and the war will continue to burn. The mineral wealth that could rebuild the nation remains its curse, fueling a conflict measured in graves rather than grams. • Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. X: @HafedAlGhwell
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis Worsens amid Escalating Violence
Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region that has killed hundreds and ongoing violence in Darfur — the epicenters of the country's conflict — have worsened Sudan's humanitarian crisis, with aid workers warning of limited access to assistance. The United Nations said more than 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed during the weekend of July 12 in attacks in villages surrounding the town of Bara in North Kordofan province. 'The suffering in Kordofan deepens with each passing day,' Mercy Corps Country Director for Sudan Kadry Furany said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. 'Communities are trapped along active and fast changing front lines, unable to flee, unable to access basic needs or lifesaving assistance.' Sudan plunged into war after simmering tensions between the army and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated to fighting in April 2023. The violence has killed at least 40,000 people and created one of the world's worst displacement and hunger crises, according to humanitarian organizations. In recent months, much of the fighting has been concentrated in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. On Thursday, the UN human rights office confirmed that since July 10, the RSF has killed at least 60 civilians in the town of Bara, while civil society groups reported up to 300 people were killed, the office said. A military airstrike on Thursday in Bara killed at least 11 people, all from the same family, according to the UN office. Meanwhile, between July 10 and 14, the army killed at least 23 civilians and injured over two dozen others after striking two villages in West Kordofan. An aid worker with Mercy Corps said his brother was fatally shot on July 13 during an attack on the village of Um Seimima in El Obeid City in North Kordofan, Grace Wairima Ndungu, the group's communications manager told AP. Furany said that movement between the western and eastern areas of the Kordofan region is 'practically impossible.' The intensified fighting forced Mercy Corps to temporarily suspend operations in three out of four localities, with access beyond Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, now being in 'serious doubt,' Furany said, as a safe sustained humanitarian corridor is needed. Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the Norwegian Refugee Council who is often based in Port Sudan, told the AP that fighting has intensified in North Kordofan and West Kordofan over the past several months. 'A large number of villages are being destroyed, burned to the ground, people being displaced,' she said. 'What is extremely worrying about the Kordofan is that there is very little information and not a lot of organizations are able to support. It is a complete war zone there.' Marwan Taher, head of mission with humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, told the AP that military operations in Kordofan heightened insecurity, prompting scores of people to flee to Darfur, a region already in a dire humanitarian situation. The NRC said that since April, Tawila has already received 379,000 people escaping violence in famine-hit Zamzam Camp and Al Fasher. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration recently reported that over 46,000 people were displaced from different areas in West Kordofan in May alone due to clashes between warring parties. Taher said those fleeing El Fasher to Tawila walk long distances with barely enough clothes and little water, and sleep on the streets until they arrive at the area they want to settle in. The new wave of displacement has brought diseases, including measles, which began spreading in parts of Zalingi in Central Darfur in March and April as camps received people fleeing Kordofan. Aid workers also warned about ongoing fighting in Darfur. Vu said there have been 'uninterrupted campaigns of destruction' against civilians in North Darfur. 'In Darfur there's been explicit targeting of civilians. There's been explicit execution,' she said. Shelling killed five children Wednesday in El Fasher in North Darfur, according to UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay. Meanwhile, between July 14 and 15, heavy rains and flooding displaced over 400 people and destroyed dozens of homes in Dar As Salam, North Darfur. With a looming rainy season, a cholera outbreak and food insecurity, the situation in Darfur is 'getting worse every day and that's what war is,' said Taher.
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Sudan's humanitarian crisis worsens amid escalating violence in Kordofan and Darfur
Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region, which has killed hundreds, and ongoing violence in Darfur–the epicenters of the country's conflict–have worsened Sudan's humanitarian crisis, with aid workers warning of limited access to assistance. The United Nations said more than 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed during the weekend of July 12 in attacks in villages surrounding the town of Bara in North Kordofan province. 'The suffering in Kordofan deepens with each passing day,' Mercy Corps Country Director for Sudan Kadry Furany said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. 'Communities are trapped along active and fast changing front lines, unable to flee, unable to access basic needs or lifesaving assistance.' At least 60 were killed in Bara over the past week. Sudan plunged into war after simmering tensions between the army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces or RSF, escalated to fighting in April 2023. The violence has killed at least 40,000 people and created one of the world's worst displacement and hunger crises, according to humanitarian organizations. In recent months, much of the fighting has been concentrated in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. On Thursday, the UN human rights office confirmed that since July 10, the RSF has killed at least 60 civilians in the town of Bara, while civil society groups reported up to 300 people were killed, the office said. A military airstrike on Thursday in Bara killed at least 11 people, all from the same family, according to the UN office. Meanwhile, between July 10 and 14, the army killed at least 23 civilians and injured over two dozen others after striking two villages in West Kordofan. An aid worker with Mercy Corps said his brother was fatally shot on July 13 during an attack on the village of Um Seimima in El Obeid City in North Kordofan. Grace Wairima Ndungu, the group's communications manager, told AP. Furany said that movement between the western and eastern areas of the Kordofan region is practically impossible. 'The intensified fighting forced Mercy Corps to temporarily suspend operations in three out of four localities with access beyond Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, now being in serious doubt,' Furany said, 'as a safe, sustained humanitarian corridor is needed.' Fighting in Kordofan worsens displacement. Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the Norwegian Refugee Council who is often based in Port Sudan, told the AP that fighting has intensified in North Kordofan and West Kordofan over the past several months. 'A large number of villages are being destroyed, burned to the ground, people being displaced,' she said. 'What is extremely worrying about the Kordofan is that there is very little information and not a lot of organizations are able to support. It is a complete war zone there.' Marwan Taher, head of mission with humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, told the AP that military operations in Kordofan heightened insecurity, prompting scores of people to flee to Darfur, a region already in a dire humanitarian situation. Though exact figures are yet to be confirmed, Taher estimated that hundreds were recently displaced from Kordofan to Tawila in North Darfur province. The NRC said that since April, Tawila has already received 379,000 people escaping violence in famine-hit Zamzam Camp and Al Fasher. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration recently reported that over 46,000 people were displaced from different areas in West Kordofan in May alone due to clashes between warring parties. Taher said those fleeing El Fasher to Tawila walk long distances with barely enough clothes and little water and sleep on the streets until they arrive at the area they want to settle in. The new wave of displacement has brought diseases, including measles, which began spreading in parts of Zalingi in Central Darfur in March and April as camps received people fleeing Kordofan. Aid workers also warned about ongoing fighting in Darfur. Vu said, 'There have been uninterrupted campaigns of destruction against civilians in North Darfur. In Darfur there's been explicit targeting of civilians. There's been explicit execution,' she said. Shelling killed five children Wednesday in El Fasher in North Darfur, according to UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay. Meanwhile, between July 14 and 15, heavy rains and flooding displaced over 400 people and destroyed dozens of homes in Dar As Salam, North Darfur. With a looming rainy season, a cholera outbreak, and food insecurity, 'the situation in Darfur is getting worse every day, and that's what war is,' said Taher.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sudan's humanitarian crisis worsens amid escalating violence in Kordofan and Darfur
Sudan Kordofan Darfur CAIRO (AP) — Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region that has killed hundreds and ongoing violence in Darfur — the epicenters of the country's conflict — have worsened Sudan's humanitarian crisis, with aid workers warning of limited access to assistance. The United Nations said more than 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed during the weekend of July 12 in attacks in villages surrounding the town of Bara in North Kordofan province. 'The suffering in Kordofan deepens with each passing day,' Mercy Corps Country Director for Sudan,, Kadry Furany, said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. 'Communities are trapped along active and fast changing front lines, unable to flee, unable to access basic needs or lifesaving assistance.' At least 60 killed in Bara over the last week Sudan plunged into war after simmering tensions between the army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated to fighting in April 2023. The violence has killed at least 40,000 people and created one of the world's worst displacement and hunger crises, according to humanitarian organizations. In recent months, much of the fighting has been concentrated in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. On Thursday, the U.N. human rights office confirmed that since July 10, the RSF has killed at least 60 civilians in the town of Bara, while civil society groups reported up to 300 people were killed, the office said. A military airstrike on Thursday in Bara killed at least 11 people, all from the same family, according to the U.N. office. Meanwhile, between July 10 and 14, the army killed at least 23 civilians and injured over two dozen others after striking two villages in West Kordofan. An aid worker with Mercy Corps said his brother was fatally shot on July 13 during an attack on the village of Um Seimima in El Obeid City in North Kordofan, Grace Wairima Ndungu, the group's communications manager told AP. Furany said that movement between the western and eastern areas of the Kordofan region is 'practically impossible.' The intensified fighting forced Mercy Corps to temporarily suspend operations in three out of four localities, with access beyond Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, now being in 'serious doubt,' Furany said, as a safe sustained humanitarian corridor is needed. Fighting in Kordofan worsens displacement Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the Norwegian Refugee Council who is often based in Port Sudan, told AP that fighting has intensified in North Kordofan and West Kordofan over the past several months. 'A large number of villages are being destroyed, burned to the ground, people being displaced,' she said. 'What is extremely worrying about the Kordofan is that there is very little information and not a lot of organizations are able to support. It is a complete war zone there.' Marwan Taher, a project coordinator with humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, told AP that military operations in Kordofan heightened insecurity prompting scores of people to flee to Darfur, a region already in a dire humanitarian situation. Though exact figures are yet to be confirmed, Taher estimated that hundreds were recently displaced from Kordofan to Tawila in North Darfur province. The NRC said that since April, Tawila has already received 379,000 people escaping violence in famine-hit Zamzam Camp and Al Fasher. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration recently reported that over 46,000 people were displaced from different areas in West Kordofan in May alone due to clashes between warring parties. Taher said those fleeing Kordofan to Tawila walk long distances with barely enough clothes and little water, and sleep on the streets until they arrive at the area they want to settle in. The new wave of displacement has brought diseases, including measles, which began spreading in parts of Zalingi in West Darfur in March and April as camps received people fleeing Kordofan. Flooding and attacks worsen Darfur's already dire situation Aid workers also warned about ongoing fighting in Darfur. Vu said there have been 'uninterrupted campaigns of destruction' against civilians in North Darfur. 'In Darfur there's been explicit targeting of civilians. There's been explicit execution,' she said. Shelling killed five children Wednesday in El Fasher in North Darfur, according to U.N. spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay. Meanwhile, between July 14 and 15, heavy rains and flooding displaced over 400 people and destroyed dozens of homes in Dar As Salam, North Darfur. With a looming rainy season, a cholera outbreak and food insecurity, the situation in Darfur is 'getting worse every day and that's what war is,' said Taher.
