Here is the situation on Tuesday, May 9, 2023:
Fighting
- Air raids again shook Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Monday while the latest truce talks in Jeddah yielded no progress, and a Saudi diplomat said both sides consider themselves “capable of winning the battle”.
- Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said on Monday the army was seeking a peaceful solution but that there could be discussions about a lasting settlement only “after we reach a permanent ceasefire in Khartoum” with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Humanitarian situation
- The International Organization has announced that there are now more than 700,000 people internally displaced by the fighting in Sudan since April 15. Before the fighting, there were 3.7 million people already displaced in Sudan, IOM spokesperson Paul Dillon said.
- Thousands of people are trying to leave Port Sudan on boats to Saudi Arabia, paying for expensive commercial flights via Sudan’s only working airport, or using evacuation flights.
-
Rooms in Port Sudan are going for as much as $100 a night, too much for many of the refugees who are forced to sleep rough in public parks, under trees and outside government buildings.
-
Clinics run by the Sudanese Red Crescent in Port Sudan see about 400 cases a day, mainly Syrians and Yemenis, volunteer doctor Rawan Abdelrahman said. They are running short of medicines, supplies, and staff, she added.
- The IRC said “334,000 have been displaced within Sudan itself, with almost 65,000 estimated to have moved over borders as refugees”.
Diplomacy
- There has been no word on the progress of the talks, which began on Saturday between the army and the RSF in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.
- The combatants have said they would try to tackle only a ceasefire and humanitarian issues like safe passage.
- While not commenting directly on the Jeddah talks, US Ambassador John Godfrey said, “Our immediate priority is to reach a durable ceasefire” and enable humanitarian assistance.
- UN aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Jeddah for the talks to engage on humanitarian issues, but is not engaging directly with either of the warring parties, his spokesperson said.
- The African Union – which suspended Sudan following a coup in 2021 – and the East African regional bloc IGAD are pushing for discussions mediated by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.
