Sudan's military govt returns to Khartoum, aims to improve services for the city's beleaguered residents

"Sudan's military-led government has returned to the country's capital after nearly three years of operating from its wartime base in the eastern city of Port Sudan.

Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris told reporters on Sunday that the "government of hope" was officially back in Khartoum and would begin efforts to improve services for the city's beleaguered residents." Read more.

From BBC News
By Wedaeli Chibelushi
Published Sunday 11 January 2026 - full copy:

Sudan's government returns to capital after nearly 3 years of war

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS. Image caption, The military's leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, visited Khartoum's presidential palace hours after it was recaptured last year

Sudan's military-led government has returned to the country's capital after nearly three years of operating from its wartime base in the eastern city of Port Sudan.

Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris told reporters on Sunday that the "government of hope" was officially back in Khartoum and would begin efforts to improve services for the city's beleaguered residents.

The military was forced out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) when civil war erupted between the two sides in 2023. The army recaptured it in a significant breakthrough last March.

Khartoum has been recovering from years of fighting. Roughly five million fled the city at the height of the conflict, according to the UN.

Those unwilling or unable to leave described a brutal RSF occupation, which included mass looting and fighters taking over civilian homes.

Huge swathes of the city lie in ruins. In October, UN official Ugochi Daniels reported that basic services were "barely functioning".

On Sunday, Idris said the government would work on improving electricity, water, healthcare and education in Khartoum.

He also declared that 2026 would be a "year of peace" for Sudan, where at least 150,000 people have died since the war erupt.

The UN has described the situation as the world's worst humanitarian crisis and around 12 million people have been forced from their homes.

The war began after the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah-al Burhan fell out with his deputy and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leading to a vicious struggle for power.

Both the RSF and the Sudanese military have been accused of committing atrocities throughout the conflict.

International efforts to broker peace have failed and both sides are backed by foreign powers who have poured weapons into the country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has come under particular scrutiny recently over allegations of supporting the RSF, which it strongly denies.

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgn5g90lggo

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Reuters Exclusive: Pakistan nears $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons, jets to Sudan, sources say

The deal includes attack aircraft and drones, sources say. Jets and drones could revive Sudan army's fortunes. Pakistan's weapons industry is on the rise. It was a "done deal", said Aamir Masood, a retired Pakistani air marshal who continues to be briefed on air force matters. Read full story.

From Reuters

By Saad Sayeed and Mubasher Bukhari

Published Friday 09 January 2026 1:35 PM GMT 

Updated 09 January 2026 - full copy:

Exclusive: Pakistan nears $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons, jets to Sudan, sources say

Pakistan Air Force's JF-17 Thunder jets fly past during the sea phase of Pakistan Navy's Multinational Exercise AMAN-23, in the North Arabian Sea near Karachi, Pakistan, February 13, 2023

Summary

• Deal includes attack aircraft and drones, sources say
• Jets and drones could revive Sudan army's fortunes
• Pakistan's weapons industry is on the rise

ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Pakistan is in the final phases of striking a $1.5-billion deal to supply weapons and jets to Sudan, a former top air force official and three sources said, promising a major boost for Sudan's army, battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Their conflict has stoked the world's worst humanitarian crisis for more than 2-1/2 years, drawing in myriad foreign interests, and threatening to fragment the strategic Red Sea country, a major gold producer.

The deal with Pakistan encompasses 10 Karakoram-8 light attack aircraft, more than 200 drones for scouting and kamikaze attacks, and advanced air defence systems, said two of the three sources with knowledge of the matter, who all sought anonymity.

It was a "done deal", said Aamir Masood, a retired Pakistani air marshal who continues to be briefed on air force matters.

Besides the Karakoram-8 jets, it includes Super Mushshak training aircraft, and perhaps some coveted JF-17 fighters developed jointly with China and produced in Pakistan, he added, without giving figures or a delivery schedule.

Pakistan's military and its defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A spokesman for Sudan’s army did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.

Assistance from Pakistan, especially drones and jets, could help Sudan's army regain the air supremacy it had towards the start of its war with the RSF, which has increasingly used drones to gain territory, eroding the army's position.

Sudan's army accuses the RSF of being supplied by the United Arab Emirates, which has denied supplying weapons.

POSSIBILITY OF SAUDI BACKING

The sources did not say how the deal was being funded but Masood said it was possible the finances would come from Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia may favour and support all the favourable regimes in Gulf for procurement of Pakistani military equipment and training," he said.

One of the sources said the Saudis brokered the deal but added there was no indication they were paying for the weapons. Another source said Saudi was not providing funds.

Reuters has reported that Islamabad is in talks with Riyadh for a defence deal that could be worth between $2 billion and $4 billion.

Masood said the weapons for Sudan could be included in such an agreement, without confirming discussions with Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are part of the U.S.-led quad grouping of nations that has tried to push Sudan's army and the RSF towards peace talks.

On recent visits, Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan requested Saudi assistance in the war, according to Sudanese and Egyptian sources.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are embroiled in a major feud sparked by recent events in Yemen.

The two most powerful countries in the Gulf have sharp differences on a range of volatile Middle East issues, from geopolitics to oil output.

Their difference burst into the open with an advance of UAE-backed southern Yemeni separatists in early December that brought them into conflict with Saudi-backed forces.

PAKISTAN'S DEFENCE AMBITIONS

The deal is another feather in the cap for Pakistan's growing defence sector, which has drawn growing interest and investment, particularly since its jets were deployed in a conflict with India last year.

Last month, Islamabad struck a weapons deal worth more than $4 billion with the Libyan National Army, officials said, for one of the South Asian nation's largest arms sales, which includes JF-17 fighter jets and training aircraft.

Pakistan has also held talks with Bangladesh on a defence deal that could includes the Super Mushshak training jets and JF-17s, as ties improve ties with Dhaka.

The government sees Pakistan's burgeoning industry as a catalyst to secure long-term economic stability.

Pakistan is now in a $7-billion IMF programme, following a short-term deal to avert a sovereign default in 2023. It won IMF support after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies provided financial and deposit rollovers.

Reporting by Saad Sayeed in Islamabad and Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Additional reporting by Ariba Shahid, Khalid Abdelaziz and Ahmed Shalaby; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

View original:  https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/pakistan-nears-15-billion-deal-supply-weapons-jets-sudan-sources-say-2026-01-09/

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UN has called for safe passage for trapped civilians out of el-Fasher North Darfur after RSF announced they had seized control of the army's main base there

UN Human rights chief Volker Türk warned that the "risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in el-Fasher is mounting by the day". 

Communication lines to el-Fasher have been almost completely cut off, while those who managed to flee are enduring harrowing hours filled with fear and uncertainty. 

The UN's top humanitarian official Tom Fletcher said he was deeply alarmed at the reports of civilian casualties. 

"With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified - shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare, or safety," Fletcher said in a statement.

Read more from BBC News

By Barbara Plett Usher, Africa correspondent 

and Richard Kagoe, Africa editor, BBC World Service

Published Monday 27 October 2025, 08:42 GMT - full copy:

UN pleads for safe passage for civilians trapped in war-hit Sudan city

IMAGE SOURCE, AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES. Image caption,

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes because of the conflict in Sudan

The UN has called for safe passage for trapped civilians out of the Sudanese city of el-Fasher after paramilitary fighters announced they had seized control of the army's main base there.

Sudan's military has not acknowledged loss of the site, which would be a significant victory for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war.

UN chief António Guterres said the latest fighting marked a "terrible escalation" in the conflict, adding that the suffering of civilians was "unbearable", AFP news agency reports.

El-Fasher is the last army foothold in the vast western region of Darfur, and has been besieged by the RSF and its allies for 18 months.

Heavy fighting has been reported since Saturday after RSF fighters captured the home of the North Darfur governor.

UN Human rights chief Volker Türk warned that the "risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in el-Fasher is mounting by the day".

The Sudanese Doctors' Network said the RSF had already carried out ethnically motivated killings of dozens of people in the city and had looted medical facilities and pharmacies.

Imran Abdullah, an adviser to the RSF commander, denied the group's fighters were targeting civilians.

"On the contrary, they are the sole guarantor and protector of all those fleeing conflict areas, particularly in el-Fashir," he told BBC Arabic's Middle East Lifeline radio programme.

Social media videos verified by the BBC now show RSF combatants celebrating the capture of the army's el-Fasher headquarters.

They claim to have seized full control of the city, but the army's local allies say fighting continues in some parts.

Communication lines to el-Fasher have been almost completely cut off, while those who managed to flee are enduring harrowing hours filled with fear and uncertainty.

"We've witnessed many of our relatives being massacred - they were gathered in one place and all killed. Now we have no idea what has happened to those who are still alive," one man told the BBC.

Another resident who fled said they were "extremely worried, as we still have no information about what has happened to the people inside el-Fasher - the children, the elderly, the wounded".

The RSF has been accused of targeting civilians in airstrikes and trapping nearly 250,000 people after encircling the city with an earth wall, leaving many on the brink of starvation.

The city is one of the worst battlegrounds of Sudan's civil war, leading the UN to call it an "epicentre of suffering".

The UN's top humanitarian official Tom Fletcher said he was deeply alarmed at the reports of civilian casualties.

"With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified - shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare, or safety," Fletcher said in a statement.

"Civilians must be allowed safe passage and be able to access aid," he added.

The US has also called for safe passage and is trying to negotiate a ceasefire.

Taking el-Fasher would be a crucial comeback for the RSF after defeat in Khartoum.

But it is likely a sign that the civil war will continue, not end.

Sudan has been ravaged by conflict since 2023, after top commanders of the RSF and Sudanese army fell out and a vicious power struggle ensued.

More than 150,000 people have died across the country and about 12 million have fled their homes, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises.

The army controls most of the north and the east, with el-Fasher being until now the last major urban centre in Darfur still held by government forces and its allies.

The RSF controls almost all of Darfur and much of the neighbouring Kordofan region.

The group has previously said that it hopes to form a rival government in el-Fasher when it assumes complete control.

Additional reporting by Natasha Booty, Damian Zane, Danai Nesta Kupemba and Peter Mwai

More BBC stories on Sudan:

Sudan's fertile region where food is rotting amid famine and war

A simple guide to the war in Sudan

Inside Khartoum, a city left in ruins after two years of war

'Our children are dying': Rare footage shows plight of civilians in besieged Sudan city

A pregnant woman's diary of escape from war zone: 'I prayed the baby wouldn't come'

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gw8w73lngo

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