Sudan

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday on ethnic fighting that has left at least 155 people dead in the Darfur region of Sudan, diplomats said.

Ethiopia has accused Sudanese forces of pushing further into a contested border region that has been the site of deadly clashes in recent weeks, warning that its “peaceful” approach to the dispute “has its limit”.

Sudan signed the "Abraham Accords" paving the way to normalising ties with Israel on Wednesday, alongside an aid deal to access $1 billion annual World Bank financing, during an unprecedented visit by the US treasury chief.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Volker Perthes of Germany as his new Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). Mr. Volker Perthes brings to this position over 25 years of experience in academia, research, international relations and diplomacy, including with the United Nations, as well as deep expertise in conflict resolution and regional geopolitics.

One year after its inception, the transitional government of Sudan, born out of the protests that brought down the 30-year regime of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, continues to face grave challenges at domestic and international level.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has hit out at the country’s military over its vast business interests, at a time of heightened tensions within the civilian-military transitional administration.

Sudan took a major step back into the international fold on Monday when the United States formally removed it from a list of nations that sponsor terrorism, ending a 27-year period of isolation that left the vast African country a diplomatic pariah, hobbled its economy and blocked access to financial aid that it now urgently needs.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok briefly visited Addis Ababa Sunday for talks on Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region, where fighting has caused tens of thousands of people to flee to neighboring Sudan. … Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says the violence in Tigray has stopped and that there is no need for Sudan’s offer to broker a cease-fire.

Russia has signed an agreement with Sudan to build a naval base on the country’s Red Sea coast, in Moscow’s latest push into Africa as it seeks to renew its geopolitical clout. The deal, published on the Russian government’s website Tuesday, will see Moscow establish a “logistical support center” in Port Sudan where “repairs and resupply operations” can take place.

International support for Sudan is critical as the country continues on the path to democratic transition, amid challenges that include political disagreements, economic decline, and the COVID-19 pandemic, UN political affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.