Two weeks since clashes erupted in Khartoum and around Sudan, the humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) April 30, 2023
At the request of @antonioguterres, I'm on my way to the region to see how we can bring immediate relief to the people impacted. https://t.co/dCE9ekPb0R
Sunday, April 30, 2023
UN: Humanitarian crisis in Khartoum & around Sudan
Arab League to convene on Sudan 1 May upon Egypt's request, the current president of the League's council
Report from MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
Sunday 30 April 2023 3:01:59 PM - full copy:
Arab League Permanent Representatives To Convene On Sudan Mon.
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) CAIRO, April 30 (KUNA) -- The Arab League announced Sunday holding an extraordinary meeting at the permanent representatives level on Monday, tomorrow, to discuss the latest developments in Sudan, upon Egypt's request, the current president of the League's council.
The League's Secretariat General received an official letter from Egypt's permanent mission, calling for resuming the extraordinary session of the League held on April 16, an Arab League source said in a press statement.
The statement issued during the last meeting's permanent representative stipulates that the session is still held to follow up the developments in Sudan, according to the source.
The last meeting called for an immediate stop of all the armed clashes in Sudan to halt the bloodshed, and maintain safety and security of civilians as well as Sudan's properties, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The last gathering warned against increased violence in Sudan that is associated with dangerous repercussions. (end)
mfm.rg.hm
View original: https://menafn.com/1106144013/Arab-League-Permanent-Representatives-To-Convene-On-Sudan-Mon
[Ends]
Sudan: Trilateral Mechanism (UN, AU, IGAD) calls on Burhan & Hemeti to extend non existent ceasefire
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The Arab League is holding a special meeting tomorrow to help stop the two mad Killers of Sudan slaying more civilians in Sudan. See full report in next post to follow.
The Trilateral Mechanism calls on Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti” to agree to another extension of the 72-hour ceasefire and ensure its full implementation by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
— UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan (@UNITAMS) April 30, 2023
🔗 https://t.co/ByKhs2El5h pic.twitter.com/rnPtrkybfW
What wasn't in Sudan peace talks before April 15?
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I'm in love with Cameron Hudson's brain.
Here is another link to the above video: https://twitter.com/_hudsonc/status/1652661922624405508I spoke to @cnni last night about the potential for a permanent ceasefire and a mediated settlement. Pardon my scepticism, but there is nothing happening on the ground anywhere in #Sudan that gives me reason to believe the parties are sincere about anything but fighting. pic.twitter.com/I7Px1YiS3q
— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) April 30, 2023
Sudanese fleeing Khartoum couldn't handle 2 weeks of what Darfuris have endured over the past 20 years
Tom Bateman @tombateman: But Hosna says she must find nearly US$500 per ticket, as the men running the routes from Khartoum to the border have raised the fares 20-fold due to the demand to escape. Now the poorest are being left behind, the most likely to pay with their lives. 2/2Those Sudanese who have fled had the means - this highlights the fate of those who don't have the money https://t.co/vAzrsGUucA
— Vauldi Carelse (@vauldicarelse) April 30, 2023
UK: Evacuation flights have ended at Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan
The RAF planes used until yesterday took off from Wadi Seidna Air Base, but tomorrow’s flight will leave from Port Sudan International Airport (Picture: Royal Navy)
Report from the METRO
By Craig Munro
Sunday 30 April 2023 4:07 pm BST UK - full copy:
The UK is to run an additional flight to evacuate British citizens from Sudan after announcing an end to the operation yesterday.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: ‘The UK has now airlifted over 2,100 people to safety from Sudan, in what has been the largest and longest evacuation of any western country. I want to thank all of those working to deliver this evacuation and ensure as many people as possible are brought to safety.
‘Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan.
‘We continue to do everything in our power to secure a long-term ceasefire, a stable transition to civilian rule and an end the violence in Sudan.’
View original: https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/30/uk-to-run-extra-sudan-evacuation-flight-as-rescue-efforts-continue-18698712/
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Sudan: ICRC’s first international shipment of humanitarian aid arrives in Port Sudan
News and photos released from
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Sunday 30 April 2023 - (SW Ed: yellow highlighting is mine) - full copy:
Sudan: ICRC’s first international shipment of humanitarian aid arrives in Port Sudan
Geneva (ICRC) - Life-saving medical material departed from Amman, Jordan to Port Sudan today as part of emergency operations by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan.
The 8 tonnes of humanitarian cargo includes surgical material to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society (SRCS) who are providing medical care to people wounded in the fighting.
“Health-care workers in Sudan have been doing the impossible, caring for the wounded without water, electricity, and basic medical supplies,” said Patrick Youssef, ICRC’s regional director for Africa. “The logistics needed to bring in supplies amid an active conflict are extremely difficult, and we’re relieved to get this medical material into the country.”
The medical shipment includes anaesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material that can treat thousands of people who may have been wounded by weapons. With hostilities still ongoing, ICRC teams will need guarantees of safe passage from the parties to the conflict to deliver this material to medical facilities in locations with active fighting, such as Khartoum.
Since commercial flights in Sudan were discontinued and civilian airspace became inaccessible, the ICRC has been working to overcome logistical and security challenges to help civilians in need who are trapped in the fighting. Delivering medical supplies to hospitals and helping them restore water and power lines remains its urgent priority.
The ICRC is grateful for the support of the authorities in Jordan -- where the ICRC has a major logistics hub -- who rapidly made an aircraft available to deliver this medical cargo. We also appreciate the cooperation shown by the civilian Sudanese authorities in charge of facilitating the arrival of aircraft with humanitarian goods and personnel on board.
The ICRC is sending a second airplane carrying additional ICRC medical supplies and emergency personnel.
The ICRC reminds the parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to facilitate the work of medical and humanitarian personnel, treat detainees humanely and take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of life among civilians and damage to civilian objects and infrastructure.
Note to editors:
The ICRC has been present in Sudan since 1978 helping people affected by the conflict in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The ICRC’s work today, independently or in cooperation the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, includes supporting hospitals and health facilities with equipment and supplies, working with local water authorities on improving people’s access to clean water and supporting the authorities in providing rehabilitation services for people with disabilities.
Media contacts:
Alyona Synenko, ICRC Nairobi,
+254 716 897 265, asynenko@icrc.org
Crystal Wells, ICRC Geneva,
+41 77 963 75 74, cwells@icrc.org
Jessica Moussan ICRC Dubai,
+971 504 254 091, jmoussan@icrc.org
Fatima Sator, ICRC Geneva,
+41 79 848 49 08, fsator@icrc.org
Imene Trabelsi, ICRC Beirut,
+961 3 13 83 53, itrabelsi@icrc.org
Alaa Nayel, ICRC Kuwait,
+965 966 73614, anayel@icrc.org
Matthew Morris, ICRC London,
+44 7753 809471 mmorris@icrc.org
Galina Balzamova, ICRC Moscow,
+7 093 545 3534, gbalzamova@icrc.org
Frédéric Joli, ICRC Paris,
+33 6 20 49 46 30, fjoli@icrc.org
Yuriy Shafarenko, ICRC New York,
+1 917 631 1913, yshafarenko@icrc.org
Elizabeth Shaw, ICRC Washington DC,
+1 202 361 1566, egormanshaw@icrc.org
View original: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/sudan-first-international-shipment-humanitarian-aid-arrives-port-sudan
View Arabic version here: https://www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/ar/2052/sudan-icrc-s-first-international-shipment-of-humanitarian-aid-arrives-in-port-sudan
السودان: وصول أول شحنة مساعدات إنسانية دولية للّجنة الدولية إلى بورتسودان
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Saturday, April 29, 2023
Job vacancies at International Criminal Court (ICC)
ICC seeks job applicants from countries such as Japan, Brazil, Germany, and Republic of Korea. Click here for the full country list
Learn more about ICC internships
Learn more about ICC visiting professionals
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⚖️ Interested in working for justice?
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) April 29, 2023
Apply for an internship or a Visiting Professional position at the ICC and join us in building a #morejustworld
Available positions ➡ https://t.co/hHnKEZFvci#WorkingforJustice pic.twitter.com/ZYPxN68r6V
Pictures emerge after violence in Darfur, Sudan
Sat 29 Apr 2023 14:03 BST UK
We've just seen new pictures from the city of El Geneina, where violence is reported to have been particularly bad.
The city in the region of Darfur in western Sudan is said to have suffered looting, and the torching of markets, aid warehouses and banks due to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and militias linked to the paramilitary group.
Pictures taken today acquired by the Getty photo agency show people walking among scattered objects in the city's market.
Yesterday, the UN warned it was extremely worried about food supplies and the deteriorating situation across all of Darfur.
View original by BBC News here.
UN chief says Sudan collapsing. 'Alarming' conditions in Darfur where society is falling apart, tribes arming
The latest three-day ceasefire is due to expire at midnight Sunday (2200 GMT). It was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted
In West Darfur state, at least 96 people were reported to have been killed in the city of El Geneina this week, the UN said
“What’s happening in Darfur is terrible, the society is falling apart, we see tribes that now try to arm themselves," said UN chief Guterres
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there were reports of widespread looting, destruction, and burning of property, including at camps for displaced people
MSF said the fighting has forced the agency to stop almost all its activities in West Darfur
The UN said Friday its last international staff had been evacuated from Darfur
UN chief says Sudan is collapsing
He threw his support behind African-led mediation efforts
“My appeal is for everything to be done to support an African-led initiative for peace in Sudan," he told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya
Full story from News18.com
By Agence France Press (AFP)
Dated Saturday 29 April 2023, 16:59 IST
Sudan Fighting Enters Third Week as UN Says Country Collapsing
Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum on Saturday as fierce fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries entered a third week, violating a renewed truce.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“There is no right to go on fighting for power when the country is falling apart," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Al Arabiya television.
Burhan and Daglo have agreed to multiple truces since the war began, but none has effectively taken hold as the number of dead civilians continues to rise, thousands flee the country and those without the means to escape face an increasing struggle to survive.
The latest three-day ceasefire is due to expire at midnight Sunday (2200 GMT). It was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.
Dozens more have died over the past week since the United States announced that the warring sides had agreed to an initial truce, on April 24.
“We woke up once again to the sound of fighter jets and anti-aircraft weapons blasting all over our neighbourhood," a witness in southern Khartoum told AFP.
Another witness said fighting had continued since the early morning, especially around the state broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.
Residents across Khartoum — home to five million people — have largely sheltered at home despite supplies of food and water dwindling to dangerously low levels, and a lack of electricity.
Some managed to sneak out only during brief lulls in fighting to buy desperately needed supplies.
- Trading blame -
As battles raged on the ground, the two rival generals — who seized power in a 2021 coup — took aim at each other in the media, with Burhan branding the RSF a militia that aims “to destroy Sudan", in an interview with US-based TV channel Alhurra.
Daglo denounced the army chief in an interview with the BBC, saying he was “not trustworthy" and a “traitor".
Guterres threw his support behind African-led mediation efforts.
“My appeal is for everything to be done to support an African-led initiative for peace in Sudan," he told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya.
The violence has so far killed at least 512 people and wounded 4,193, according to the health ministry, but the death toll is feared to be much higher.
About 75,000 have been displaced by the fighting in Khartoum and the states of Blue Nile, North Kordofan, as well as the western region of Darfur, the UN said.
Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled into neighbouring countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan, while foreign countries have carried out mass evacuations of their nationals.
On Saturday a ferry with around 1,900 evacuees arrived at King Faisal Naval base in Jeddah after crossing the Red Sea from Port Sudan, in the latest sea evacuation to the kingdom.
Britain said it would end its evacuation flights on Saturday, after airlifting more than 1,500 people this week.
The UN said Friday its last international staff had been evacuated from Darfur.
The World Food Programme has said the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people — one-third of the population — already need aid to stave off famine.
About 70 percent of hospitals in areas near the fighting have been rendered out of service and many have been shelled, said the doctors’ union.
- ‘Alarming’ conditions in Darfur -
In West Darfur state, at least 96 people were reported to have been killed in the city of El Geneina this week, the UN said.
“What’s happening in Darfur is terrible, the society is falling apart, we see tribes that now try to arm themselves," said Guterres.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there were reports of widespread looting, destruction, and burning of property, including at camps for displaced people.
Sylvain Perron, MSF’s deputy operations manager for Sudan, said the fighting has forced the agency to stop almost all its activities in West Darfur.
“We are incredibly worried about the impact this violence is having on people who have already lived through waves of violence in the previous years."
Darfur is still reeling from a war that began in 2003 when then hardline president Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militia, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, to crush ethnic minority rebels.
The scorched-earth campaign left at least 300,000 people dead and close to 2.5 million displaced, according to UN figures, and saw Bashir charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Criminal Court.
The Janjaweed later evolved into the RSF, which was formally created in 2013.
Burhan and Daglo’s coup in 2021 derailed Sudan’s transition to democracy established after Bashir was ousted following mass protests in 2019.
But the two generals later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
View original: https://www.news18.com/world/sudan-fighting-enters-third-week-as-un-says-country-collapsing-7676221.html
Sudan fighting: IRC chief says 20,000 Sudanese displaced into neighbouring Chad need support
Report from BBC News Live Reporting
Dated Thursday 27 April 2023; c.10-11am BST UK - full copy:
Neighbouring Chad under pressure as refugees arrive
Copyright: International Rescue Committee
Image caption: International Rescue Committee staff in Chad helping arrivals from Sudan
Thousands of Sudanese people are on the move, with many travelling to take refuge in neighbouring Chad.
David Miliband, president and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, says his organisation is helping people who have fled to Chad.
“The situation in Sudan has regional ramifications with nearly 20,000 Sudanese displaced into neighbouring Chad. Chad has been generously welcoming in Sudanese refugees, but Chad itself is a low-income, crisis-affected country which will struggle to maintain this generosity unless they receive immediate economic support."
He added that while "European leaders are focused on evacuating their citizens... there is no time to waste in shifting focus on supporting and protecting those who remain".
View original here.
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Operation Kaveri: Indians evacuated from Sudan thank PM Modi, hail Indian jawans as 'real heroes'
Over 1,700 Indian nationals have been evacuated from the conflict zones in Sudan and the government is focused to get every citizen out of the harm's way as soon as possible, according to foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra.
Around 3,400 Indians had contacted the government either though registering online or keeping in touch with the embassy in Khartoum
A total of 495 Indians are currently in Jeddah, while another 320 are in Port Sudan. More Indians are being moved in buses from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Two C-130J medium lift aircraft of the IAF stationed in Saudi Arabia and naval warships will make sorties across the Red Sea to take the Indians arriving in Port Sudan to Jeddah
Read full story in report from HindustanTimes.com
Thursday 27 April 2023 03:13 PM IST - full copy:
Indians evacuated from Sudan thank PM Modi, hail Indian jawans as 'real heroes'
After arriving to safety, those who were evacuated from violence-hit Sudan chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Indian Navy zindabad’ among other slogans
The Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft has brought back 246 Indians from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, after they were evacuated from strife-torn Sudan's Khartoum region. On Wednesday, the first batch of 360 Indians were carried in a chartered flight and brought to Delhi.
.jpeg)
IAF carries 246 Indians from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah.(HT)
Similarly, several Indian nationals are still being carried to Jeddah on naval warships from Port Sudan after they are being brought there in busses from the internal parts of the northeast African nation.
After arriving to safety, those who were evacuated from violence-hit Sudan chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Indian Navy zindabad’ among other slogans in the presence of Union minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan, who was overlooking the India's flagship evacuation mission – Operation Kaveri.
One of the evacuees, who was onboard the heavy-lift aircraft en route to Mumbai, thanked the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi while explaining how their evacuation took place from the capital of Sudan. “We reached Jeddah and our jawans, who are our real heroes, provided us with complete hospitality and service. Now we are going to Mumbai, our home. We all are very grateful of the Prime Minister and the entire country,” the evacuee said before the C-17 Globemaster left for India.
IAF's C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft has brought back 246 Indians from #Jeddah, after they were evacuated from strife-torn Sudan's #Khartoum region.
“It's good to see you coming back from Sudan,” the Union minster said while addressing the group of Indians who were brought to the port in Jeddah. He also met with the Indians on board the military transport aircraft.
Over 1,700 Indian nationals have been evacuated from the conflict zones in Sudan and the government is focused to get every citizen out of the harm's way as soon as possible, according to foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra. Around 3,400 Indians had contacted the government either though registering online or keeping in touch with the embassy in Khartoum.
A total of 495 Indians are currently in Jeddah, while another 320 are in Port Sudan. More Indians are being moved in buses from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Two C-130J medium lift aircraft of the IAF stationed in Saudi Arabia and naval warships will make sorties across the Red Sea to take the Indians arriving in Port Sudan to Jeddah.
Read more:
Over 1,700 Indians moved out of conflict zones in Sudan, 600 sent home
‘Still very scared’: Indians share ‘horrifying’ experiences from Sudan as they land at Delhi airport
View original: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news
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China evacuates its citizens out of Sudan
China has evacuated the majority of its citizens out of Sudan
More than 1,500 Chinese citizens were in Sudan at the start of this month’s conflict
Over 1,300 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Sudan, some by warship
A small number of Chinese nationals remain outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum
Reports have claimed that the Sudanese army is seeking to buy Chinese J-10C fighter jets to boost its military in case of war with Ethiopia
While China also worked closely with the U.S. and other Western countries to help facilitate peace talks between Sudan and South Sudan in 2013, it remains unlikely that Beijing will choose to reprise its role in the current conflict — despite its vested interests
Full story from TheChinaProject.com
By Nadya Yeh
Published Thursday 27 April 2023
China evacuates its citizens out of Sudan
Over 1,300 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Sudan, some by warship. The conflict between two rival local factions is raging on, but Beijing is unlikely to reprise its role as a mediator, despite its oil interests in the region.
China has evacuated the majority of its citizens out of Sudan, as violence continues to wreak havoc in the northern African country.
“As of today, more than 1,300 Chinese nationals have been brought to safety. Some have left Sudan by Chinese warships and boats and some are on their way out of the country,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Máo Níng 毛宁 said at a press conference today. China’s Ministry of Defense confirmed in a statement that the Chinese military yesterday sent naval vessels to Sudan to evacuate Chinese personnel.
A small number of Chinese nationals remain outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum, Mao Ning added. China’s Foreign Ministry estimated that more than 1,500 Chinese citizens were in Sudan at the start of this month’s conflict. No Chinese fatalities have been reported.
On April 15, fighting broke out between two rival factions — the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group battling for control of the country, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Escalating violence has led to at least 459 deaths as of April 25, the World Health Organization reported, with at least 4,072 people injured.
Shootings and bombings have destabilized Khartoum, disrupting the supply of energy and internet services, as well as blocking safe access to food and water. Sudan’s main airports remain closed, as foreign ministries rush to evacuate their citizens using truck convoys.
“So far, we’ve helped the nationals of five countries to leave Sudan by Chinese ships,” Mao Ning said.
The third attempt at a 72-hour cease-fire fell apart with the sounds of gunfire and fighter jets on Tuesday. The U.S.-brokered truce, which started on April 24 to honor the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, was aimed at opening up routes for civilians to escape. The refugee agency UNHCR estimates that some 270,000 people could flee into South Sudan and Chad alone. Some Sudanese are fleeing by foot.
Sudan was the gold standard of China’s engagement with Africa
China is one of the biggest investors in Sudan, particularly in oil. China established relations with Sudan as early as 1959. Cooperation took off in the 1990s due to Beijing’s keen interest in tapping the country’s vast oil resources. Chinese entities signed oil exploration deals with Sudan in 1994. Two years later in 1996, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation acquired a 40% majority stake in Sudanese oil consortium the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co.
China had sought to become a viable alternative to many Western nations, which refused to build relations with certain countries in Africa due to rampant corruption and human rights abuses: While China was strengthening its presence in Sudan’s oil sector under its “non-interference” foreign policy, the United States added Sudan to its list of states sponsoring terrorism in 1993. Those sanctions have since been lifted.
“Engagement with Sudan was a hallmark of an earlier phase of Chinese engagement with Africa. As a latecomer, Chinese actors frequently had little choice but to work in high-risk environments because they were crowded out by competitors in safer ones,” Cobus van Staden, managing editor of the China-Global South Project, told The China Project today. “At that time, China also wanted to secure supplies of oil and other commodities, and Sudan played an important role there.”
South Sudan cedes, and China’s interest in Sudanese oil drops
But in 2011, South Sudan seceded from Sudan to become an independent nation, taking about three-quarters of the oil fields with it. These fields still relied on pipelines through Sudan to export the oil. But oil production plummeted due to internal conflicts and widespread corruption in South Sudan.
“While Chinese companies remain invested there and China still contributes a significant number of peacekeepers to the UN operation in South Sudan, Sudanese oil is no longer the important issue for China that it once was,” David Shinn, a professorial lecturer in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, told The China Project today. “This development has almost certainly reduced the importance of Sudan as China contemplates its policies in the region.”
Prior to the split, China imported about 6% of its crude oil from Sudan. Today, China imports less than 1% of its oil from both South Sudan and Sudan, opting instead to get the majority of its energy resources from Russia and Saudi Arabia.
“In the 2010s, China worked hard to diversify its supply of oil, and the development of the Belt and Road Initiative aided this goal. China’s intense subsequent diplomatic engagement with Russia and Saudi Arabia was part of this process of securing more diverse, efficient, and dependable oil supplies, as Sudan and South Sudan also never found a way of making their oil cooperation work,” van Staden told The China Project.
“Essentially, China moved on to the rest of the world,” van Staden added.
For China, there’s a lot more to Sudan than just oil
Despite losing its taste for Sudanese oil, China maintains a strong presence in Sudan. China’s ambassador in Khartoum, Mǎ Xīnmín 马新民, said last May that more than 130 Chinese companies are operating in the country.
“The China-Sudan relationship remains strong and enduring despite the fact that Chinese imports of Sudanese oil have dropped in recent years,” Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, told The China Project today. “China still has a stake in what happens in Sudan (and South Sudan) because Chinese firms continue to operate the oil infrastructure in the two countries.”
For China, what began largely as an interest in oil has expanded into a diverse trade partnership with Sudan. Sudan is a key partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative: China inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help build the Sudanese portion of a 3,200-kilometer (1,990-mile) railway link between the city of Port Sudan and N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, as part of a network of trade corridors spanning the African continent. Meanwhile, Chinese firms have tapped into Sudan’s mining, real estate, services, and agriculture sectors.
Sudan also purchases large quantities of Chinese weaponry, technology, and national security wares, including surveillance technologies like drones, Nantulya added. Reports have claimed that the Sudanese army is seeking to buy Chinese J-10C fighter jets to boost its military in case of war with Ethiopia.
Those military ties came under fire during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when Beijing was heavily criticized by international human rights groups and other organizations for selling weapons to the Sudanese military to be used in the Darfur conflict. China also continued to receive oil from Sudan throughout the Darfur conflict that began in the early 2000s, with imports hitting a record near $1 billion worth of Sudanese crude oil in 2010.
Beijing faces a more complicated diplomatic task in Sudan
Beijing has not taken sides in this month’s conflict in Sudan to date. Much of its focus has been on getting its citizens out of danger, and has shown little interest in taking up the role as a mediator in the conflict.
While China has stepped up its global diplomacy — Beijing brokered a landmark normalization agreement between archrivals Saudi Arabia and Iran last March — there are slim chances that Beijing will repeat that success in Sudan.
“Ending the fighting in Sudan is more complex and difficult than convincing the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iran to reestablish normal relations,” Shinn told The China Project. “China’s success in this case offers few lessons for the challenge posed by Sudan’s generals. In any event, China alone does not have the leverage to end the conflict, although it could join a much-broader international coalition to help bring this tragedy to a close.”
In June 2022, China’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Xuē Bīng 薛冰, organized a peace conference in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to mediate conflicts in the region. However, no tangible results have come from the conference.
“China has treaded very carefully among Sudan’s warring factions since the removal of Bashir…Beijing seems to be pursuing a cautious strategy of continuity, which means they will not be willing to antagonize any actor in Sudan, whether it is the warring generals or the civilians demanding for a return to the transitional process,” Nantulya told The China Project. “As such, I do not foresee Ambassador Xue Bing doing anything more than balancing between all sides and avoiding getting drawn into a complicated and unpredictable negotiations process. I expect him to sit this one out and watch from the sidelines.”
China has tried to mediate conflicts in Sudan in the past. In 2004, China made a significant but discreet diplomatic push to resolve the crisis in Darfur. Beijing’s behind-the-scenes efforts played an integral role in persuading the Bashir administration to allow international peacekeeping efforts into the country.
“Some serious high-level diplomacy was used to secure Sudan’s acceptance of these forces, including direct, face-to-face talks between then Chinese President Hú Jǐntāo 胡锦涛 and his Sudanese counterpart in Khartoum, at which Hu reportedly applied economic pressure on his host,” Nantulya told The China Project.
While China also worked closely with the U.S. and other Western countries to help facilitate peace talks between Sudan and South Sudan in 2013, it remains unlikely that Beijing will choose to reprise its role in the current conflict — despite its vested interests.
Nadya Yeh is a Senior Editor at The China Project. Nadya got her Master’s degree at the Global Thought program at Columbia University and her Bachelor’s at Williams College. She has previously done research at the China Institute. Read more
View original: https://thechinaproject.com/2023/04/27/china-evacuates-its-citizens-out-of-sudan/
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