Sudan: Half a million flee El Fasher, North Darfur as Zamzam camp is obliterated by Janjaweed RSF militia and its leader Hemeti declares formation of rival govt

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This is heartbreaking. Sudan is still the world's largest humanitarian crisis. 12.7m have been forcibly displaced. 25m face famine and extreme hunger. One in three Sudanese are displaced. One in six internally displaced persons (IDPs) globally come from Sudan. 

On April 15, day of London Sudan Conference, half a million IDPs fled to El Fasher and Tawila, N Darfur as Zamzam camp was obliterated by the Janjaweed RSF militia and RSFs chief, Sudan's gold thief Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagalo, declared the formation of a rival government to Sudan's armed forces. Said his group is "building the only realistic future for Sudan".

___________________________

Report from Radio Dabanga
Wednesday, 16 April 2025 22:19 EL FASHER - full copy:

North Darfur: Half a million people flee ‘final catastrophe’ as Zamzam camp ‘obliterated’

Analysis of satellite imagery collected between 11 and 14 April 2025 of the Zamzam IDP Camp shows thermal scarring and damage to structures in an IDP tent location and market within the camp 14 April 2025 

(Source: Yale Humanitarian Research Lab / Planet Labs)

Escalating hostilities and attacks in North Darfur over the past week have effectively obliterated Zamzam camp for internally displaced people, 15 kilometres from the North Darfur capital El Fasher, forcing all of its 500,000+ inhabitants to flee. Untold hundreds have died, thousands injured, in what commentators have termed ‘the final catastrophe’ for the camp.

Between the evening of April 10 and the morning of April 14, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), “using overwhelming military resources”, effectively destroyed Zamzam camp for internally displaced people, multiple sources have confirmed. As reported by Radio Dabanga on April 13, an RSF ground offensive on Zamzam camp forced ‘tens of thousands’ of the inhabitants of Zamzam and Abou Shouk camps to flee to the adjacent North Darfur capital El Fasher.

Zamzam camp was established in 2004 to accommodate thousands of people displaced by the war in Darfur, and especially since the outbreak of the current hostilities two years ago, has seen its population swell to approximately 500,000 people.

Analysis of VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) Fire layer shows active fire events at central and south Zamzam on the 13 and 14 April (Source: Yale Humanitarian Research Lab / https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov)

While communications from the area are unreliable and sporadic, as connections with mobile networks and even Starlink were unavailable, images and videos that have reached social media paint a horrific picture. Graphic evidence is provided in a report published today by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health.

‘There can be no overstating the brutality and destructiveness of the RSF assault on Zamzam…’ 

– Sudan researcher and analyst, Prof Eric Reeves

A member of Team Zamzam provides treatment for a malnourished child

(Archive photo: Prof Eric Reeves @Sudanreeves)

Speaking to Radio Dabanga today, prominent Sudan researcher and analyst, Prof Eric Reeves, who is also cochair of the Team Zamzam project, a group of women who provide counselling to victims of sexual violence in the camp, describes the latest developments as “the final catastrophe”.

Between arson, shelling, and automatic gunfire, the RSF has cleared the camp of most of its more than 500,000 residents, killing many, including nine humanitarian aid workers—medical personnel—from Relief International.

RSF Force Presence, Zamzam IDP Camp, 13 April 2025
(Source: HRL_MMC_088 has been redacted for security reasons)

“The camp population has in the main fled in two directions: to El Fasher (capital of North Darfur), 14 kilometres to the northeast and the Tawila area to the west in the direction of Jebel Marra,” Reeves confirms.

“Since the RSF controls most of the road from Zamzam to Tawila roughly 50 kilometres, many have been forced to flee off-road through the bush. Already weakened by lack of food and water, many—perhaps most—will die,” he laments.

“While El Fasher remains inaccessible, the Tawila area is the site of relief efforts by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Reeves says.

Regarding the member of his own Team Zamzam, he says that “while the fate of only one of the counsellors is known (she survived and is in El Fasher), it is highly likely that some of them will make it to the Tawila area, and my effort—in partnership with my colleague of five years, Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen—will be to reconstitute a “Team Zamzam in Exile,” he pledges, “for these women bring with them an extraordinary knowledge of the camp’s population and will be able to conduct highly effective surveys of the people who do manage to reach the Tawila area. They are particularly skilled in responding to those girls and women traumatized by sexual violence, a population that has been steadily rising during the course of the current two-year war.”

“There can be no overstating the brutality and destructiveness of the RSF assault on Zamzam,” Reeves laments. “The camp that has existed since 2004 is no longer, even as it had grown to more than 500,000 people, with some informed estimates of the population much higher.

‘As much killing and destruction as we have already seen—and there are no truly reliable figures—the real dying has only just begun…’ – Sudan researcher and analyst, Prof Eric Reeves

“As much killing and destruction as we have already seen—and there are no truly reliable figures—the real dying has only just begun. Nearly the entire population of Zamzam has fled, and in all directions the threat of RSF violence remains. This creates insecurity of a sort that prevents humanitarians from reaching these scattered people,” Reeves told Radio Dabanga, warning that “tremendous numbers will die either from RSF violence or the lack of food, water, and shelter.”

He concludes that “the death toll will in the end be measured in tens of thousands of innocent civilians, primarily women and children. This, too, amounts to blood on the hands of the RSF.”

Satellite imagery

Today’s HRL report assesses that the RSF “continue to raze Zamzam camp through intentional arson attacks”. Highlighting that “between 11-16 April 2025, a total of 1.719 square kilometres of Zamzam has been destroyed, equivalent to 24.21 standard FIFA football pitches”.

‘Mass atrocities, including mass killing, torture, and conflict-related sexual violence, are likely ongoing in Zamzam…’ – Yale HRL

Through analysis of satellite imagery from 16 April 2025, the Yale HRL report identifies multiple active fires widespread across Zamzam and Ammar Gedid, a community immediately northwest of Zamzam. Analysis of satellite imagery from 14-16 April 2025 shows thermal scarring to 0.536 square kilometres of Zamzam, in addition to the approximately 1.183 square kilometres previously assessed as destroyed between 11-14 April 2025.

Imagery collected on 11 April 2025 shows approximately 200 light technical-type vehicles, most observed mounted with weapons on the back, are seen at the Zamzam IDP Camp (Source: Yale Humanitarian Research Lab / Maxar Technologies / Close-up images enhanced with MGP Pro HD image enhancement)

According to analysis of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data, active fires have been present every day in the IDP camp since RSF’s assault — which resulted in the capture of Zamzam — began on 11 April 2025. Yale HRL also assesses the presence of RSF troops equivalent in number to a regular infantry-sized large brigade to a small division force in and around Zamzam.

‘An armed RSF force of this size and proximity poses a significant threat to El Fasher…’ – Yale HRL

This includes approximately 350 vehicles in the eastern region and at least 50 vehicles in other areas of the camp. RSF force strength, based solely on a count of vehicles visible in satellite imagery, has at least doubled between 11 and 16 April 2025. The majority of vehicles visible in satellite imagery appear to have mounted weapons. An armed RSF force of this size and proximity poses a significant threat to El Fasher, which has been under RSF attack and siege since at least May 2024.

Activity consistent with civilian displacement from Zamzam through analysis of satellite imagery from 16 April 2025, corroborating reports reviewed by Yale HRL. Vehicles are positioned around Zamzam’s perimeter, including all four major access points to the camp, likely limiting civilian freedom of movement for those attempting to escape. UN OCHA reported on 15 April 2025 that RSF are “preventing those who remain inside, especially young people, from leaving.”

Yale HRL notes that “while an ongoing communication blackout has limited information from Zamzam, assesses that mass atrocities, including mass killing, torture, and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), are likely ongoing in Zamzam.”

Radio Dabanga has approached the RSF for comment on these allegations and reports.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/north-darfur-half-a-million-people-flee-final-catastrophe-as-zamzam-camp-obliterated#google_vignette

________________________________

Sudan Watch Editor's quick picks from web

BBC - Tues 15 Apr 2025

Sudan 'pathway to peace' talks in London bring together EU, UK …

1 day ago · A high-level international conference is under way in London to find "a pathway to peace" in Sudan, in the words of one of the hosts, the UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Radio France Internationale - Wed 16 Apr 2025

Rebel rival government in Sudan 'not the answer': UK

The UK on Wednesday denounced a move by Sudan's rebel paramilitary force to install a rival government in the war-torn ...

DW - Tues 15 Apr 2025

EU and UK pledge millions in aid to war-torn Sudan

The EU and its member states pledged €522 million ($590 million) in aid for 2025. United Kingdom announced £120 million (€141 million) in funding for the coming year to deliver food for 650,000 people in Sudan, as the war unleashes widespread famine. 

https://www.dw.com › en › eu-and-uk-pledge-millions-in-aid-to-war-torn-sudan

What's In Blue - Tue 15 Apr 2025

Sudan: Closed Consultations

This afternoon (15 April), Security Council members will convene for closed consultations on Sudan, at the request of Denmark, Slovenia, and the UK (who is the penholder on the file). 

https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/04/sudan-closed-consultations-6.php

What's In Blue - 

Tue 15 Apr 2025

South Sudan: Briefing and consultations

Tomorrow morning (16 April), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom will brief on the Secretary-General’s latest 90-day report (S/2025/211), which was published on 7 April and covers developments from 16 January to 31 March

https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/04/south-sudan-briefing-and-consultations-27.php

Independent - Wed 16 Apr 2025 By Edith M Lederer UN envoy urges Security Council to try to prevent renewed civil war in South Sudan The top United Nations official in South Sudan is urging the U.N. Security Council to use its clout to prevent the world’s ...

FT.com - Tue Apr 15 2025
Sudan paramilitaries massacre hundreds of refugees in Darfur
Activists warn of unfolding genocide as UK and others host peace conference in London

Dabanga - Wed 16 Apr 2025

Hemedti: Sudan ‘Government of Peace and Unity’ to issue new currency and IDs

https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/hemedti-sudan-government-of-peace-and-unity-to-issue-new-currency-and-ids

FT.com - Tue 15 Apr 2025 By Tom Fletcher 

Do we have the humanity to meet the Sudan crisis?
After two years of brutal war and famine, a surge in international solidarity is needed

FT.com - 09 Apr 2025 By Abdalla Hamdok

There is no military solution in Sudan
Wars end when political will, diplomacy and collective action force a path towards peace

UNHCR - Tue 15 Apr 2025

High Commissioner's remarks at the Sudan Conference, London

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees remarks as delivered 

UNHCR knows Sudan well – we have been present there for 60 years. In fact, I started my UN career inside Sudan. The relentless pursuit of war is gradually extinguishing a resilient and generous nation ...

News24 - Wed 16 Apr 2025

'Ending the violence must be our top priority,' Mbeki tells London talks on Sudan

The Star - Wed 16 Apr 2025

Kenya roots for an all-inclusive dialogue to resolve Sudan crisis

“Kenya decried the undermining of the ongoing initiatives by the African institutions, leading to delays in the resolution of ...

Reuters - Wed 16 April 2025

G7 calls for immediate ceasefire in war in Sudan at two-year mark

Vatican News - Tue 15 Apr 2025

2 years of war in Sudan: World’s worst humanitarian crisis

Caritas and other organizations release a statement challenging the international community to take action because “without a concerted push for peace talks the conflict will only worsen.”

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2025-04/two-years-of-conflict-in-sudan-the-worlds-most-devastating-hum.html

Dabanga - Wed 16 Apr 2025

G7 joins int’l chorus for Sudan ceasefire amid North Darfur carnage

ONTARIO/PARIS/BERLIN/ROME/TOKYO/LONDON/WASHINGTON D.C.

The Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised nations has stressed the need for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Sudan https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/g7-joins-intl-chorus-for-sudan-ceasefire-amid-north-darfur-carnage#google_vignette

The Economist - Wed 16 Apr 2025

A new smash and grab for Red Sea ports

Though each crisis is driven by different, home-grown causes, “the question of who controls the Red Sea and who will ...

BBC Video report (50 minutes) - Tue 15 Apr 2025

Inside Darfur: Siege and Massacres

Following the break-out of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023, a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, ...

Sky News - Wed 16 Apr 2025

Sudan war: Sky's Yoursra Elbagir witnesses the firsthand destruction brought by two years of conflict 

It's exactly two years since Sudan's civil war began, leading to what aid agencies have described as "the world's worst ...

WUSF Public Media - Tue 15 Apr 2025

Photos: Two years of war in Sudan

Sudan's catastrophic civil war is grinding into a third year. A conflict that continues to shatter a country that much of the ...

Dabanga - Wed 16 Apr 2025

Hemedti: Sudan ‘Government of Peace and Unity’ to issue new currency and IDs

The commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, has proclaimed a parallel Government of Peace and Unity, “a broad civil alliance that represents the true face of Sudan”, that will issue new currency and identity documents. This follows the signing of the founding charter for a parallel Sudanese government in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on February 22 by the RSF, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu, 22 smaller rebel movements, and political and civil society. However, Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Ali Yusuf counters that “no civilian government can be formed in Sudan before the RSF is defeated”.

https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/hemedti-sudan-government-of-peace-and-unity-to-issue-new-currency-and-ids

DTM Sudan Focused Flash Alert - Thur 17 April 2025

Al Fasher (Zamzam IDP camp), North Darfur

Between 13 and 14 April 2025, DTM field teams initially reported that between 60,000 and 80,000 households were displaced from Zamzam IDP camp. These figures represent approximately 70 per cent of total displaced households previously recorded at Zamzam IDP camp as of 12 March 2025. See original and map here: https://mailchi.mp/iom/dtm-sudan-focused-flash-alert-al-fasher-zamzam-idp-camp-north-darfur-update-007

End

Sudan: World's largest humanitarian crisis in terms of displacement. 12.7m forcibly displaced. 25m in famine

Presser | United Nations 
Friday, 11 April 2025 - full copy:

Sudan: World's largest humanitarian crisis in terms of displacement

Press Conference by Shaun Hughes, World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Crisis, on the situation in Sudan.

Senior World Food Programme (WFP) official in Sudan Shaun Hughes said, “By any metric, this is the world's largest humanitarian crisis in terms of displacement,” adding that “four out of every five people displaced are women and children.”

Hughes briefed reporters remotely from Nairobi today (10 Apr) on the situation in Sudan.

He said, “12.7 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Over eight million people displaced internally, and four million across borders arriving to countries that are already facing high levels of hunger and humanitarian needs.”

In terms of hunger, the WFP official said, “this is the only place in the world where famine is currently confirmed, and only the third famine to be classified this century.”

Hughes continued, “The scale of what is unfolding in Sudan threatens to dwarf much of what we've seen over previous decades. In the Zamzam camp alone, which has been under siege for several months. There are over 400,000 people.”

The Regional Emergency Coordinator added, “Across the country, nearly 25 million people, or half the population, face extreme hunger. Nearly five million children and mothers are acutely malnourished.”

“This is a man-made crisis, man-made because it is driven by conflict, not by drought or floods or earthquakes, and man-made because of the obstruction of access to humanitarian assistance by parties to the conflict,” the WFP official stressed.

Hughes highlighted that WFP’s goal is to scale up to reach seven million people by mid-year, “focusing primarily on those 27 areas that are classified as in famine or risk of famine.”

He continued, “we need to be able to quickly move humanitarian assistance to where it is needed, including through frontlines, across borders, within contested areas, and without lengthy bureaucratic processes.”

“We need to re-establish offices and staff presence across all areas of the country, including the Darfur and Kordofan states, so that we can be close to the people we serve and monitor assistance and the situation as it unfolds. We need to be able to obtain visas for staff and custom clearances for goods and equipment,” the WFP official added.

He stressed that humanitarian agencies alone don't have the influence to negotiate this, “it requires the world to pay attention and coherent and tenacious engagement from the international community, particularly countries that have influence on those waging war.”

The Regional Emergency Coordinator for Sudan Crisis, World Food Programme (WFP):

For the next six months in Sudan, in order to reach the objective of assisting seven million people, WFP has an 80 percent funding gap amounting to $650 million and another $150 million shortfall to take care of people that are fleeing across borders into Chad, into South Sudan, into the Central African Republic and elsewhere.

“Without funding, we're faced with the choice to either cut the number of people receiving assistance, or to cut the amount of assistance that people receive,” Hughes said.

He explained that the cut is already happening. “This month, we've reduced rations in famine areas to 70 percent of what people need, and in areas that are at risk of famine to 50 percent. The funding we need is not only for food assistance, but also for the joint services that we provide to the broader humanitarian response, including humanitarian air services and logistics services,” Hughes said.

Asked about the funding gap, the WFP official said, “none can be attributed to the broader cuts in US foreign assistance. Fortunately, all allocations that the US government has made to Sudan remain effective, for which we are grateful.”

“I think more broadly that the outlook globally for funding of humanitarian assistance is quite disastrous due to a number of changes in the approach by donors,” he concluded.

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at video: https://youtu.be/UwQIXSImTGs

End

One in three Sudanese are displaced, one in six internally displaced persons globally are from Sudan

Press Conference | United Nations

Monday, 14 April 2025 - full copy:

Sudan: Massive violation of Human Rights 

A UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) official said that one in three Sudanese are displaced, and one in six internally displaced persons globally come from Sudan.

UNHCR’s Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Mamadou Dian Balde spoke to reporters today (14 Apr) via video link, on the humanitarian needs inside Sudan and in neighboring countries, as one of the largest displacement crises globally with nearly 13 million people forcibly displaced.

Balde said, “Countries have been hosting refugees. Regional countries, neighboring countries have not closed their borders. They've been receiving the refugees.”

“Communities that don't have enough have shared what they have. And that's really the true spirit of solidarity. And this is what we see happening in the region,” he highlighted

The UNHCR official also said, “as we speak today, over 70,000 have reached Uganda. Uganda has problem of its own, and Uganda has thankfully opened and kept these borders open despite receiving 1.8 million refugees as we speak, they have added to that 70,000 Sudanese refugees and, Libya over 200,000.”

Balde also stressed that only 10 percent of the Regional Refugee Response plan is currently funded.

He called for the support for the 111 partners who are part of the Plan.

The UNHCR official thanked the various partners who have contributed, stressing that however with only 10 per cent of the plan funded reaching the fifth month of the year, “the level of support to have food, to have water, to have protection services, education, shelter, housing, this level of support is going to be extremely, extremely low.”

Balde explained that request of the Regional Refugee Response plan is 1.8 billion US dollars to be able to serve 4.9 million refugees and immediate hosts in neighboring countries.

He added that the 111 partners that are coordinate aid, a third of them are national partners, “people who are closer to the realities, in addition to international NGOs as well as national NGOs and the UN organizations,” the UNHCR official said.

Balde reiterated the need for ceasefire stressing that us that the Sudanese refugees want “a normalcy so that they can return home and take care of themselves.”

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at video: https://youtu.be/oPAQ8yRx9Z0

End

The London Conference on Sudan 15th April 2025

Presidential Palace Khartoum 2012 by the author

Sudan - can the UK's "progressive realism" help?

Sir Nick Kay

Former Ambassador

April 11, 2025

The world’s worst humanitarian crisis and one of its most dangerous, complex, bloody wars gets a moment in the spotlight in London on 15 April. Foreign ministers and senior officials from international organisations will meet at Lancaster House to discuss Sudan. After two years of conflict, the UK is taking a diplomatic initiative that many believe long overdue given its historical ties and current responsibility at the United Nations Security Council to hold the pen on Sudan resolutions.

But is the conference likely to lead to anything positive for the Sudanese people? 

Expectations are understandably low. The de facto Sudanese authorities led by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have criticised the UK for not inviting them to the conference. They object strongly to the UAE being invited because they consider it an ally of the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and therefore a party to the conflict. On the ground both the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have pledged to continue the war until they achieve complete victory. No impartial observer thinks that possible. As the war drags on, Sudan suffers from political polarisation, fragmentation and continued external meddling.

It's too easy to look the other way and too easy to think this is just a messy, protracted struggle that will continue inconclusively. But the immediate future may not be a continuation of the last two years. 

Red warning lights are flashing. Sudan’s neighbour South Sudan is teetering on the brink of civil war and the Sudanese conflict is playing its part in destabilising South Sudan and vice versa. Other neighbouring countries are also vulnerable to fall-out from Sudan: Chad in particular. With any expansion of war in the region, the humanitarian consequences and political risks of spiralling conflict magnify. Within Sudan itself the increased presence of Islamist extremists, armed militia and potentially international terror groups is another flashing light. Geopolitical tensions - already existing - may escalate. The Sudan Armed Forces have been ostracised by western powers and have entered agreements with Russia and Iran in their search for arms. Both countries see establishing a presence on Sudan’s Red Sea coast as a prize. But such a move would be highly provocative for others, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Over the last two years efforts to broker ceasefires have failed, only limited progress has been made on improving humanitarian access and efforts to bring about a comprehensive political settlement between the various actors - the two military forces, political parties, armed movements and civil society actors - have all led to nought. Many have tried, including the UN, AU, IGAD, the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey but none has succeeded. These “track 1” efforts have been complemented by multiple “track 2” initiatives led by NGOs and peace foundations. But so far the willingness to give as well as take in any negotiation is sorely missing.

Proposals

Absent political will by the protagonists and their external backers, what can be achieved in London? 

Limited but important steps can be agreed in three areas: the humanitarian response, political process and international cooperation. 

On the humanitarian front, the key challenges remain both funding and access. In April 2024 at a conference in Paris, donors made generous pledges totalling USD $2 billion. Much of that has yet to be disbursed. London is not a pledging conference, but should be the opportunity for partners to live up to their past commitments and renew their determination to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance for the 11 million Sudanese forced to flee their homes— food, shelter, medicines and healthcare at a minimum. The challenges for humanitarians are enormous: Sudan’s domestic political and ethnic complexity compounded by the regional tensions with and between Sudan’s neighbours necessitate an enhanced international aid effort coordinated by a senior UN figure. 

A political process remains the missing element and in London agreement may be possible on how to deal with the most immediate challenge as well as on the essential elements for a future process. Since the SAF now control the capital Khartoum again, it is likely they will press ahead with their own political roadmap and appoint a civilian government subordinate to the military to take forward a transition towards eventual restoration of democracy. 

How should the international community respond to this - reject, ignore, embrace, or shape it? Given the risk of Sudan being partitioned into two warring regions - Darfur and the South controlled by the RSF and the North, East and centre being controlled by the SAF - no SAF-imposed roadmap is going to be the final word. Not only will it not include the RSF and its supporters, but also many of the political actors who supported the 2019 revolution, which overthrew General Bashir’s military rule, will have nothing to do with the SAF roadmap. So the challenge for the international community is to try to work within the new political reality on a temporary and tentative basis. The aim should be to shape the SAF’s actions in order to move towards a credible inclusive political transition. The London conference could agree criteria by which such a political process will be judged. Key questions will be: how inclusive is the process and what genuine efforts are made to ensure inclusiveness of all Sudan; how are civil and political rights protected; how will security, justice and reconciliation be achieved; what are the criteria for selection of members of a transitional administration; what real authority will the administration have over economic and budgetary affairs; what are the provisions and realistic timetable for an all-inclusive Sudanese national dialogue? Above all, how firmly enshrined is the commitment to full democratic and civilian rule in Sudan, for which Sudanese men, women and youth struggled and died over the years? 

These are difficult questions that have defied easy answers since 2019. Helping Sudanese actors address them will require substantial and coordinated international action. 

The third way the London conference could contribute is by setting out agreed principles and a framework for the international community. The Sudan crisis is of such a complexity and international nature that it requires a creative and collaborative approach. The conference could propose that an international panel of mediators be appointed, led by the African Union but comprising additional senior figures from beyond Africa. Rank is important and ideally the panel would be at former head of state or government level and mandated by a UN Security Council resolution. The panel’s focus should be on advancing a comprehensive political settlement. Early consultation with the SAF, RSF and Sudanese civil and political actors about the terms of reference will be essential. The conference could agree who should take forward this consultation and a time frame.

Conclusion

Foreign Secretary David Lammy convened the conference after seeing at first hand the devastating impact of the war on Sudanese women and children on the Chad-Sudan border. Just because the Sudan war is complicated and far from our TV screens, we cannot in all conscience ignore it. This is a moment to put the Foreign Secretary’s doctrine of “progressive realism” into action.

 [These are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of any organisation with which he is associated.]

CMI — Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation 

Diplomats without Borders 

View original: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sudan-can-uks-progressive-realism-help-sir-nick-kay-nc3be/

___________________________

Related 

Sudan Watch - 19 Nov 2010

British Ambassador in Khartoum Nicholas Kay is blogging the drama and scale of the change taking place in Sudan

The British government's Foreign & Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, has started a blog about the work of the British Ambassador to Sudan. The blog is authored by Nicholas Kay CMG, Her Majesty's Ambassador to Sudan. Mr Kay (pictured below) arrived in Khartoum to take up his role as HM Ambassador to Sudan on 29 May 2010. Here is a copy of his first two blog posts followed by several related reports.

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2010/11/british-ambassador-in-khartoum-nicholas.html

_____________

Sir Nicholas Kay KCMG
British Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan 2010 to 2012
https://www.gov.uk/government/people/nicholas-kay

_____________

End