Darfur

SUDAN: Sheikh El Tayeb Mohamed Ahmed, wearing what appeared to be a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) uniform and carrying a Kalashnikov, delivered a sermon at the Great Mosque in El Obeid calling for jihad against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)....

SUDAN: Sheikh El Tayeb Mohamed Ahmed, wearing what appeared to be a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) uniform and carrying a Kalashnikov, delivered a sermon at the Great Mosque in El Obeid calling for jihad against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

He went on a rant about historical Islamic battles against the Romans, invoking rhetoric about drinking their blood, before declaring that the Sudanese people were now “thirsty to drink the blood” of the RSF.

He also rejected peace negotiations, urged Sudan’s military leadership to retake El Geneina in Darfur and declared that “terrorism must be confronted with terrorism.”

(Btw both the SAF and RSF have been accused of committing serious atrocities against civilians during Sudan’s ongoing civil war.)

SUDAN WAR UPDATE: Sudan is sliding toward partition.

The army, led by Abdel Fattah al Burhan and supported by Muslim Brotherhood aligned militias, controls Khartoum and most of northern, eastern and central Sudan. The RSF, led by Hemedti, ...

SUDAN WAR UPDATE: Sudan is sliding toward partition.

The army, led by Abdel Fattah al Burhan and supported by Muslim Brotherhood aligned militias, controls Khartoum and most of northern, eastern and central Sudan. The RSF, led by Hemedti, controls most of Darfur and operates a parallel government from Nyala.

Sudan is especially important because it sits along more than 800 kilometers of Red Sea coastline, overlooking the shipping route connecting the Suez Canal with Bab el Mandeb and the Indian Ocean.

Kordofan is now the decisive front. The army (SAF) has recently advanced in North Kordofan, while the RSF still holds positions farther west and uses drones to strike deep inside government territory.

At least 59,000 people have been killed, although the real toll is likely far higher. Around 13 million have been displaced, while parts of Darfur and Kordofan face famine.

Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey support the SAF. The RSF has been reported to receive support through networks linked to the UAE, Chad and Libya. The UAE denies arming it.

Saudi Arabia wants to host a national dialogue, frustrating Burhan, who wants the process held inside Sudan under his control. Meanwhile, the U.S. is pushing to expand the Darfur arms embargo across the entire country, covering the RSF and SAF, combat drones and loitering munitions.

Neither side is close to total victory. The immediate danger is a permanent division between an army controlled east and an RSF controlled west.

The Civil Democratic Alliance (Sumud) warns that 34 million Sudanese need humanitarian assistance. 19.5 million face acute food insecurity. 135,000 are living in catastrophic famine conditions. 825,000 children are at risk of severe acute m...

The Civil Democratic Alliance (Sumud) warns that 34 million Sudanese need humanitarian assistance. 19.5 million face acute food insecurity. 135,000 are living in catastrophic famine conditions. 825,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. More than 80% of health facilities are either non operational or barely functioning.

After an 18 month siege, the RSF captured El Fasher, the last SAF stronghold in Darfur, in October 2025. Reports indicate the Sudanese army, which was meant to defend the city’s civilians, had largely abandoned them. Conservative estimates place the civilian death toll in El Fasher alone at around 30,000 massacred.

(The civil war between the RSF and the SAF receives almost no attention, for some odd reason, the focus is always about Gaza)