Photo by Elize Bezuidenhout on Unsplash In the last days of August, Sudan’s two rival governments both held cabinet meetings which, in their different symbolisms, reflected very different visions for the future of their benighted country. Those different visions were best captured in the redesigned state coat of arms that hung on the wall behind…
Photo by sander traa on Unsplash The conflict in Sudan, which has been raging for well over two years, is no closer to a peace deal, and the humanitarian crisis deepens on a weekly basis, with famine, disease and displacement. One name comes up, often as a stumbling block, in any article that speculates on…
Photo by Maël BALLAND on Unsplash Last week in Sudan was more about what didn’t happen than did, although the violence continued unabated. A meeting of the Quartet (the United States plus three regional powers, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) seeking a resolution to the conflict, was called off at the last minute. Reasons…
Photo Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), made a legitimacy dash to Seville in Spain last week, to attend a UN international development summit, the first of its kind in a decade. Addressing the conference, he made sweeping claims about Sudan’s important steps toward ‘civilian-led democratic transition’, claims…
Photo by Mohamed Tohami on Unsplash The US State Department’s imposition of sanctions against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) over their use of chemical weapons suggests the beginnings of a shift in the international community’s engagement with the crisis in Sudan. Along with concerns over Iran and other nations supplying the arms that enabled the…
A nexus of chemical weapons, terrorist groups, and a threat to the Red Sea The US State Department notified Congress on Thursday of its determination on the use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), triggering sanctions to begin in 15 days. The sanctions include restrictions on US exports and financing to the…
Accusations have been levelled against the former chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. In a video published on social media last week, Sudanese army personnel are filmed and shown being ordered to pack boxes of ammunition and weapons, which are reportedly sent to Al-Fashaga for further transfer to Ethiopia. It…
The United States had been speeding up the long and complicated process of rolling back sanctions on Sudan – including its label as a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism – after Bashir was ousted in 2019. However, the seizure of power by the chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has changed everything. His…
In 2020 the Prime Minister of Sudan, Abdullah Hamdok, survived an assassination attempt that had targeted his convoy as he headed to work in Khartoum. Film footage posted online showed two damaged white vehicles used by Sudan’s top officials parked on a street. Another vehicle was badly damaged in the blast of the explosion, but…
The Central African Republic (CAR) has long been ravaged by armed conflicts between different armed groups. For about 10 years, the government and its allies have spared no effort to bring this confrontation to an end. However, at the precise moment when the situation seemed to have finally improved with the ascension to power of…
