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Situation in Sudan (per 9 September)
- A market in the city of Sennar in southeast Sudan was bombed on Sunday, killing at least 21 people and wounding 70. The Sudan Doctors Network stated that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are responsible for the shelling.
- RSF renewed its assault on Sennar on Sunday, shelling the market and several other parts of the city, killing at least 31 civilians in total.
- Videos from the immediate aftermath of the execution of civilians in Sudan, part of the massacre of at least 73 people in Kutum and Kassab in June 2023, show that the killings committed were ethnically motivated.
- The killings were committed by Arab militiamen affiliated with the RSF, who celebrate the killings in the videos as a victory for the Arabs.
- Protests broke out in Kassala, Sudan, after a 25-year old man died in the custody of the General Intelligence Service (GIS) due to injuries sustained in his torture. He died hours after his arrest.
- The protesters blocked major Kassala roads and organised a sit-in at the public prosecutor’s office, demanding a thorough investigation into the incident.
- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allies state that they have repelled a large-scale drone attack on El Fasher, North Darfur, on Sunday. A spokesperson for the joint forces states that 30 drones, some carrying image equipment and some with ammunition, were shot down.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 9 September)
- The Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested 49 agency owners in relation to an investigation into human trafficking operations. The agencies functioned as brokers, both domestically and internationally, for Ethiopians to leave the country.
- NISS states that around 15,000 Ethiopians left the country through such unauthorised channels between August 2023 and June 2024.
- The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) denies accusations that it is not committed to the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.
- The TPLF spokesperson also called for the establishment of a democratic government in Tigray, following up the interim administration of Tigray currently in place.
Regional Situation (per 9 September)
- An Eritrean delegation including President Isaias Afewerki and Foreign Minister Osman Saleh met with Sudanese leader General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and Foreign Minister Hussein Awad in Beijing, China, at the sidelines of the Forum of Africa-China Cooperation.
- The delegations discussed the situation in Sudan, bilateral ties and regional events.
- Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reportedly refused to meet Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed at the sidelines of the Forum on Africa-China Cooperation.
- Ethiopian PM Abiy issued a general warning that anyone planning to invade Ethiopia should “think 10 times”, because Ethiopia “usually embarrass[es] and repel[s] those who dare try to invade us.” The comment comes amidst rising tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia and Egypt.
- The US Embassy in Kenya issued a warning over the call for protests at Kenyan universities, following the fire at a school dormitory which killed at least 21 students in Hillside Endarasha Academy, in Nyeri county.
- 17 students are reportedly still unaccounted for, raising fears that the death toll may still rise.
International Situation (per 9 September)
- The UN Fact Finding Mission on Sudan released its report, stating that it has found severe violations of human rights by both sides in the conflict which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- The report recommends that “an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians” is deployed without delay to stop the crimes against civilians.
- The UN experts further find that the culture of impunity for human rights abuses and war crimes is one of the “root causes” of Sudan’s civil war.
- The experts of the mission recommend that the Sudanese government should hand over ousted President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court, and all others indicted in past impunities.
- The experts also recommend a comprehensive transitional justice process.
- Sudan’s foreign ministry released a statement on Sunday in which it rejected the UN Fact Finding Mission report in its entirety, calling the UN “a political and illegal body”, and stated that the recommendations of the mission’s report were “a flagrant violation of their mandate”.
- Newly acquired foreign-made military equipment is used in the war in Sudan, according to a new report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Videos and photos taken of the equipment suggest that at least some of the equipment entered the country after the outbreak of the conflict.
- In some incidents investigated by HRW, the equipment was used in unlawful attacks against civilians.
- The findings “highlight the inadequacy of an arms embargo exclusively focused on Darfur, not Sudan as a whole,” states HRW.
- US President Biden extended the executive order which allows the implementation of sanctions against Ethiopia for another year. Biden stated that the situation in Ethiopia continues to pose a threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
- Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church of Sudan called for peace in Sudan, and urged church-based relief organisations to join in the aid efforts.
- The Archbishop also called on countries to stop supplying the warring parties with weapons.
- Following the Forum on Africa-China Cooperation, President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea visited various companies in the Shaanxi Province of China. He also met with the Governor of Shaanxi Province.
Links of interest
RSF paramilitaries kill 31 in Sudanese city of Sennar, activists say
Sudan: Videos prove ethnic crimes committed by Rapid Support Forces-affiliated militias in Darfur
Torture victim’s death sparks protests in Eastern Sudan
Sudan army repels ‘largest drone attack’ on El Fasher
News: NISS reports detention of 49 agency owners, implicates gov’t, embassy personnel in human trafficking investigation
News: TPLF slams ‘defamatory’ claims, reaffirms commitment to Pretoria peace deal
Yemane G. Meskel on X
Ethiopia warns against invasion amid regional tensions
Demonstration Alert: Calls for Protests at Universities in Kenya on Monday, September 9
UN panel says end impunity, hand over Bashir
Sudan rejects UN experts’ call for ‘impartial’ force to protect civilians
Fanning the Flames: Sudanese Warring Parties’ Access To New Foreign-Made Weapons and Equipment
US extends Ethiopia sanctions programme for another year
Sudanese archbishop pleads for peace, as humanitarian agencies warn of catastrophic hunger crisis
Eritrea: President Isaias Afwerki Visits Various Strategic Enterprises
Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.