Peace remains a distant hope as Sudan’s battle lines shift

Special Peace remains a distant hope as Sudan’s battle lines shift
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The Sudanese regime led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan has operated from Port Sudan since fighting broke out in April 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 10 February 2025
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Peace remains a distant hope as Sudan’s battle lines shift

Peace remains a distant hope as Sudan’s battle lines shift
  • As Sudanese military advances in Khartoum, civilians fear more bloodshed and reprisals in light of recent experience
  • With the RSF retreating to Darfur and Kordofan, the country may face prolonged fragmentation and suffering

LONDON: When two shells exploded 100 meters from Al-Nau Hospital in the Sudanese city of Omdurman last week, medical staff felt the explosion and feared the worst.

A few days earlier, a blast at a busy market nearby killed 54 people and injured 158. Medics had battled to treat the dozens of bloodied casualties brought through the doors.

This time the explosions killed six people, including a hospital volunteer.

Even within the devastation of Sudan’s war, two such deadly attacks taking place within days of each other shocked those working at the hospital.

The shelling came amid an escalation in fighting across the heavily populated Khartoum state as the Sudanese army (SAF) and its allies attempt to retake full control of the capital from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

If successful, it would be a victory that reshapes the conflict but, analysts say, is unlikely to bring it to an end.

Jean-Nicolas Armstrong Dangelser, Sudan emergency coordinator for the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), was in Al-Nau Hospital’s emergency room at the time of the two attacks.

 

 

“The map of the conflict is changing literally by the hour,” he told Arab News. “It’s obviously coming with a big increase of violence, because there is fighting now spreading on multiple front lines.

“The hospital staff are seeing the direct impact of the conflict with the war wounded coming in and a lot of civilians being affected.”

The market attack and shelling near Al-Nau Hospital was blamed on the RSF as it rapidly withdraws from greater Khartoum, which includes Omdurman.

When the war broke out in April 2023 as part of a power struggle between Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, SAF’s leader and Sudan’s de-facto ruler, and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the militia seized control of much of Khartoum, along with large swaths of the vast country.

The military-led government relocated to Port Sudan as fighting raged, killing tens of thousands of people, displacing almost 12 million and leading to famine in several parts of the country.

Late last year, SAF mounted a comeback after sourcing more weapons, including drones, and carrying out a recruitment drive. After months of fighting, there was a major breakthrough in January when they seized Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazirah state.




Sudanese people celebrate with passengers of passing vehicles in Meroe in the country's Northern State on January 11, 2025, after the army announced entering key Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani, held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. (AFP)

Since then, the army has launched offensives from multiple directions into the outskirts of Khartoum, getting the upper hand in the adjacent cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North, also known as Bahri, which make up greater Khartoum.

On Friday, the army said it had retaken Kafouri district in Khartoum North, an important base for the RSF in what would be one of its most significant defeats so far.

The expulsion of RSF fighters from Wad Madani was followed by allegations of summary executions and reprisals against those accused by SAF soldiers of being RSF informants or collaborators. These reports are a cause for concern for Khartoum residents who have lived through months of RSF control over their neighborhoods.




Caption

Retaking the whole of Khartoum seems inevitable and would undoubtedly be a major symbolic and strategic victory for the army.

But hope that it may usher in an end to the conflict, either militarily through a defeat of the RSF or through a negotiated settlement, remains highly unlikely.

The RSF still holds sway in much of western Sudan, which includes the Darfur region, where Dagalo and many of his fighters come from.




In this November 5, 2017 photo, General Mohammed Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces display sacks of hashish that they captured in the state of South Darfur a week earlier by ambushing a gang of smugglers that was transporting the drugs to Khartoum. (AFP)

Ahmed Soliman, a senior research fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House, says the RSF’s full retreat from Khartoum would not mean that the militia had been defeated.

“It would be a significant setback for the RSF, but we have to keep that in context also to what the RSF has been able to do during this war, which is to capture very substantial amounts of territory,” he told Arab News.

The RSF controls four of the five states in Darfur and has ramped up its siege of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. It also controls gold mines in other parts of Darfur and holds large parts of the Kordofan region.

“The RSF is very focused also on maintaining supply lines to the border areas with South Sudan, particularly the southwest,” Soliman added.




A picture taken on May 1, 2023 shows an abandoned hospital in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, as deadly fighting continued in Sudan between rival generals' forces. (AFP/File)

If the army can consolidate power in Khartoum, it is unsure whether there would be enough incentive for the RSF to enter ceasefire talks given the “substantial amounts of territory and resources” it controls.

Even without a truce, taking the capital would certainly change the dynamics of the conflict along with the calculations of the two sides, Soliman said.

For the military and its supporters, which include the political elites from the regime of deposed President Omar Bashir, reinstating the government in Khartoum may feel like “mission accomplished” in the conflict.

That would still leave the RSF in control of huge areas and effectively lead to a fragmented Sudan with different regions of de-facto governance, Soliman added.

“The preservation of Sudanese unity may be at stake,” he said.




Despite being ousted from the capital, Khartoum, General Mohammed Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces still hold sway in much of western Sudan, which includes the Darfur region, where Dagalo and many of his fighters come from. (AFP)

A clue as to how the military’s retaking of Khartoum might affect Sudan’s future came on Saturday when Burhan announced plans to form a transitional government.

He said the administration’s main objective would be to “accomplish the remaining military tasks … and cleanse all of Sudan” of the RSF, AFP news agency reported. It would also prepare for a broader political transition and eventually elections.

While the uncertainty over the direction of the conflict will do little to reassure Sudanese over their futures, the recapturing of areas near Khartoum has allowed some to return to their homes or gain access to medical help.

 

 

Over the weekend, MSF assisted the health ministry to set up mobile clinics in North Khartoum in areas recently retaken by the army.

Populations there have spent nearly two years struggling to find food, clean water and medicine, Armstrong Dangelser said.

Their condition, however, is evidence of the suffering the conflict has inflicted.

The MSF-supported hospitals are dealing with injuries related to shelling and airstrikes, but there are also the health effects of people living without clean water to wash and drink, no electricity and a lack of food.

INNUMBERS

10,000+ People suffering from famine in Khartoum alone.

12m+ People displaced by Sudan’s conflict since April 2023.

28,700+ Conflict’s death toll as per ACLED records.

They have dealt with cholera outbreaks and other diseases associated with not having access to basic services, and malnutrition is rife.

Disturbingly, Armstrong Dangelser said they had recently seen a surge in stabbing wounds and close-range gunshots, something he associated with outbreaks of looting as the RSF flees the areas they controlled.

There have also been widespread reports of reprisal killings in areas taken over by the army. The violence is in keeping with the level of brutality meted out by the two sides throughout the war.

The US accused the RSF last month of committing genocide and placed sanctions on its leader, Dagalo, who is known as “Hemedti.” Washington also sanctioned Al-Burhan for killing civilians and targeting schools and hospitals.




An image grab taken from a handout video posted on the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) page on X on July 28, 2023 shows its commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo addressing RSF fighters at an undisclosed location. (AFP/File)

Al-Burhan and Dagalo led a coup together in October 2021 that overthrew a transitional government before the two men fell out spectacularly and led the country into war.

This latest phase has led to a sharp rise in civilian deaths, the UN said on Friday, with 275 civilians killed between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5 by shelling and airstrikes.

For aid workers dealing with the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, a new front has also emerged in recent weeks — President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend foreign aid.

As of September, the US had provided nearly $2 billion to the emergency response in Sudan since the conflict started, making it by far the biggest provider of aid to the country.

"What we are seeing now with the US funding cuts is truly devastating for a lot of people," Armstrong Dangelser said.

Whatever direction the conflict takes next, the suffering of the Sudanese is set to continue.

 

 


UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP

UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP
Updated 42 sec ago
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UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP

UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP
  • Head of House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee: Two-state solution is the ‘only way’
  • Emily Thornberry: ‘The Israelis can’t continue just to say no and not have any credible alternative’

LONDON: Former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry has called on the UK government to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Thornberry told the BBC on Monday that there needs to be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a long-term political solution to the crisis.

“The only way through this is for there to be an Israeli state that’s safe and secure, alongside a Palestinian state that’s recognized,” she told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program.

Thornberry, who heads the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, was speaking following the state visit of Emmanuel Macron to London.

France’s president, whose country will co-host an international conference on Palestine at the UN, told British MPs that a two-state solution is the “only way” forward. The UK is expected to attend the conference.

Thornberry said the UK and France “are the two parties to that ancient treaty more than 100 years ago, the secret Sykes-Picot agreement that carved up the Middle East in the first place.

“I think there is some kind of political significance to those two countries coming together again.”

She added: “If we recognize a Palestinian state, I think we show ourselves to be a country that wants to be involved, that wants to be an honest broker, that wants to be a force for good, and we think a way forward is two states and we’ve always thought that.”

The war in Gaza has been raging since October 2023, with health authorities in the Palestinian enclave saying around 60,000 people have died.

Thornberry said: “Too many people have been killed. There has to be peace. Peace can only be achieved through political conversation, through negotiations.”

The UK Foreign Office has refused to be drawn on when or if the government will recognize a Palestinian state, but Thornberry said: “It’s just a question of when.”

She added that the UK needs to use its relationship with the US to move the situation on Palestinian statehood forward, and clarify to Israel that continued settlement expansion in the West Bank is illegal, and individuals responsible would be sanctioned.

“We’ve been a force for good when it comes to Ukraine, but I do think we should also be saying to (US) President (Donald) Trump: ‘We need you. You have the power of 100 presidents. You can do what all the other presidents couldn’t do,’” Thornberry said.

“But the Israelis have to come onboard, and they can’t continue just to say no and not have any credible alternative.”


UN chief warns development goals will fail if wars continue to rage, condemns killings in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (File/AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (File/AFP)
Updated 24 min 35 sec ago
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UN chief warns development goals will fail if wars continue to rage, condemns killings in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (File/AFP)
  • Speaking at High-Level Political Forum on Monday, UN secretary-general calls on nations to transform ‘sparks of progress into a blaze of transformation’
  • Only 35% of SDG targets are on track, while nearly half are moving too slowly, 18% regressing

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned Israel’s killing of civilians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza over the weekend, calling it “an atrocious and inhumane act,” and demanded an immediate ceasefire along with the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and unimpeded aid access to the starving enclave.

“These were people seeking UN assistance for their families,” Guterres said in remarks opening the High-Level Political Forum in New York.

“We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access as a first step toward achieving a two-state solution,” he added.

Guterres also called for the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold and reiterated his call for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, rooted in the UN Charter, international law, and UN resolutions. He urged an end to the conflict in Sudan and pointed to continued violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, the Sahel and Myanmar, warning that war and instability are “pushing the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach.”

The secretary-general linked these conflicts directly to the core development agenda, stressing that “sustainable peace requires sustainable development.” He warned that the world is far off track to meet the SDGs by 2030 and said the erosion of peace and rising geopolitical tensions are among the biggest threats to that progress.

The UN chief’s address came at a time of growing frustration among developing nations and civil society groups over the lack of progress toward the SDGs, a set of 17 global targets adopted in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and promote peace and prosperity by 2030.

While the world has seen gains, such as increased access to electricity, internet, and education, only 35 percent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, according to UN data. Nearly half are moving too slowly, and 18 percent are regressing.

“We cannot sugarcoat these facts,” Guterres said. “But we must not surrender to them either.”

He linked peace and development, arguing that sustainable peace is impossible without sustainable development. Despite multiple setbacks, Guterres pointed to recent multilateral breakthroughs as evidence that international cooperation can still deliver results.

He cited three key achievements: the adoption of a Pandemic Agreement in Geneva aimed at building a fairer global health system; new ocean protection commitments made in Nice to fight pollution and illegal fishing; and the so-called Seville Commitment, a financial pact aimed at expanding fiscal space for developing countries, improving access to capital, and reforming the global financial architecture.

“This shows that transformation is not only necessary — it is possible,” he said.

The HLPF, held annually at UN headquarters, is the central platform for reviewing progress toward the SDGs. This year’s forum spotlights five interconnected goals: health, gender equality, decent work, marine ecosystems, and global partnerships.

On health, Guterres urged governments to invest in universal care and prevention, particularly for the most vulnerable. On gender equality, he acknowledged persistent barriers but noted growing grassroots momentum, and called for real financing, accountability, and rights-based policies to drive systemic change.

On decent work, he warned that over 2 billion people remain in informal employment and youth joblessness is high. But he cited the UN’s Global Accelerator initiative as helping countries create jobs and expand social protections, especially in green industries.

Guterres also emphasized the need to reform the global financial system, which he said no longer reflects current geopolitical or economic realities. The Seville Commitment, he said, sets out concrete steps: strengthening domestic resource mobilization through tax reform, improving debt relief frameworks, and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks.

Guterres urged greater investment in science, data, and digital tools, including artificial intelligence, as well as deeper partnerships with civil society, the private sector, and local governments.

With five years remaining to meet the 2030 deadline, he called on nations to transform “sparks of progress into a blaze of transformation,” saying: “Let’s deliver on development — for people and for the planet.”


Iran’s capital, surrounding province will shut for a day due to heat wave

A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP)
A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP)
Updated 34 min 46 sec ago
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Iran’s capital, surrounding province will shut for a day due to heat wave

A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP)
  • With temperatures in the capital exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the government has advised citizens to stay indoors during peak heat hours

TEHRAN: Iranian government offices, banks and businesses in the capital province of Tehran will shut down on Wednesday due to an intense heat wave and the need to conserve energy, state-run media reported.

With temperatures in the capital exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the government has advised citizens to stay indoors during peak heat hours.

IRAN daily on Monday quoted government spokesperson Fatemeh MoHajjerani urging residents to take measures to reduce electricity and water consumption. The report said that all governmental offices, banks and businesses in Tehran province will be closed on Wednesday.

In July 2024, Iran ordered one-day national holiday due to high temperatures, following a two-day holiday in 2023.

Borazjan in southern Bushehr province was the hottest city in the last 24 hours with a maximum temperature of 50 C (122 F).


UNRWA says some Gaza staff starving as malnutrition soars

Mother of Yahya Fadi Al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, mourns as she holds his body during the funeral.
Mother of Yahya Fadi Al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, mourns as she holds his body during the funeral.
Updated 21 July 2025
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UNRWA says some Gaza staff starving as malnutrition soars

Mother of Yahya Fadi Al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, mourns as she holds his body during the funeral.
  • UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times
  • Aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed “the entire population for over three months,” agency says

GAZA CITY: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday that it was “receiving desperate messages of starvation” from its Gaza staff, as the Palestinian territory experiences surging levels of hunger.

Gaza’s population of more than two million people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with doctors, the civil defense agency and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reporting a spike in malnutrition cases in recent days.

In a post on X, UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times, while the aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed “the entire population for over three months.”

“The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped,” it wrote. “Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale.”

After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May.

The civil defense agency on Sunday reported at least three infant deaths from “severe hunger and malnutrition” in the past week.

Eighteen reportedly died of starvation within 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, the ministry said.

“Infants under one year of age suffer from a lack of milk, which leads to a significant decrease in their weight and a decrease in their immunity that makes them vulnerable to diseases,” said Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

Israel on Monday said there was “no ban or restriction on the entry of baby formula or baby food into Gaza.”

COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that “over 2,000 tons of baby food and infant formula were delivered into Gaza,” without specifying the time frame.

“We urge international organizations to continue coordinating with us to ensure the entry of baby food and formula without delay. Our commitment remains firm: to support humanitarian aid for civilians — not for Hamas,” COGAT wrote on X.

The war was sparked by Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,029 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.


Jordanian field hospital begins operations in Gaza, treats over 1,000 patients

Jordanian field hospital begins operations in Gaza, treats over 1,000 patients
Updated 21 July 2025
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Jordanian field hospital begins operations in Gaza, treats over 1,000 patients

Jordanian field hospital begins operations in Gaza, treats over 1,000 patients
  • Facility boasts clinics for dermatology, orthopedics, pediatrics, maxillofacial surgery, internal medicine, gynecology
  • Hospital team this week supplied 11 trucks of humanitarian aid, relief items, medical supplies to support Gaza’s health infrastructure

LONDON: The Jordanian Field Hospital 7 in southern Gaza has started receiving patients and providing medical and therapeutic services as part of a humanitarian mission to support Palestinians in the territory.

Its field hospital director said that medical and nursing teams had treated over 1,000 patients in specialized clinics that operate round the clock to address various medical needs.

“We take pride in our presence in Gaza and our unwavering commitment to serve our Palestinian brothers and sisters with distinction and professionalism,” the hospital’s force commander told the Jordan News Agency.

The facility includes clinics for dermatology, orthopedics, pediatrics, maxillofacial surgery, internal medicine, and gynecology. It also provides neonatal intensive care and operates a mobile prosthetic limb support unit, in addition to offering facilities for general surgery, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and burns treatment.

The hospital team this week supplied 11 trucks of humanitarian aid, relief items, and medical supplies to support Gaza’s health infrastructure, as part of the Jordanian Armed Forces’ broader efforts to help Palestinians.

Jordan was among the first countries to conduct airlift missions in the early days of the conflict and has delivered relief to Gaza since late 2023.

It has partnered with several humanitarian organizations, including the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, and World Central Kitchen, to implement food and medical projects aimed at assisting Palestinians in Gaza.