Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of universities, research organisations, civil society, and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and across Africa. The Situation Reports can be found here. To receive the situation report in your e-mail, click here. You can unsubscribe at any moment through the link at the bottom of each e-mail.
Situation in Sudan (per 7 September)
- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied forces captured Hamrat al-Wiz in North Kordofan on 6 September, expelling the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and securing a key supply corridor to Khartoum. The army is now reportedly preparing to advance on Sodari.
- Fighting erupted in Blue Nile as an alliance between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the RSF advanced toward Ed Damazin after seizing bases in Kurmuk and Geisan.
- The SAF repelled an assault near Kurmuk while reinforcements arrived from Khartoum, Gezira and Sennar. The SAF also intercepted one-way attack drones targeting Ed Damazin on 4 September.
- More than 11,000 people remain registered missing in Sudan, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including over 9,000 since the war began.
- The ICRC is holding confidential talks with both warring parties, having resolved just 613 cases in 2026 while over 20,000 bodies lie unidentified in Khartoum alone.
- An independent Sudanese preparatory panel is scheduled to meet Quintet envoys (UN, AU, IGAD, EU, Arab League) in Khartoum this week to build support for a civilian-only political dialogue, explicitly excluding the warring generals, though several key coalitions have already rejected the initiative.
- UN envoy Pekka Haavisto arrived in Khartoum on 5 September for de-escalation talks with Quintet representatives due to join him on 8 September to discuss an inclusive political process.
- Haavisto met with SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on 6 September to discuss a prisoner exchange and civilian protections. Sudanese Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim met separately with Haavisto, rejecting proposals to expand the Darfur arms embargo nationwide.
- A UN Panel of Experts report found RSF commanders ordered rape and killings during the October 2025 capture of El Fasher, naming deputy commander Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo atop the command chain.
- Two of the RSF commanders named in the report, Major General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam “Al-Qubba” and Brigadier General Ali Rizeigallah “Al-Savana”, have since defected to the SAF.
- The report further outlined crimes including escalating shelling and drone strikes between August and October 2025 killing at least 4,400 inside the city and 1,600 fleeing, following over 6,000 deaths in the assault’s first 72 hours.
- Fighters executed men at checkpoints, ran six detention facilities where women faced sexual violence, held over 4,000 men in open fields, and ran a kidnapping-for-ransom network charging between $300 and $10,000 per captive, with $88,000 in tracked payments.
- A UN fact-finding mission for Sudan reported that foreign supply networks, including UAE-linked arms transfers and up to 2,000 Colombian contractors backing the RSF, are driving strikes that may amount to war crimes, having killed over a 1,000 civilians since January.
- Sudanese civil society groups urged the UN Security Council on 4 September to extend Darfur’s arms embargo nationwide, citing the UN fact-finding mission findings.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 7 September)
- Amnesty International renewed calls on 1 September for Ethiopian authorities to investigate the enforced disappearance of photographer and human rights defender Filmon Gebrehiwot Hagos, who has been missing since 10 August 2025.
- Ethiopian Electric Power announced measures to tighten dam water management amid a summer rain deficit raising concerns over hydropower generation capacity, as the utility seeks to balance domestic supply needs against reduced inflows into the country’s reservoir system.
- The Tigray People’s Liberation Front has rejected Olusegun Obasanjo’s mediation efforts as insufficiently independent, arguing that they lack clear proposals, transparency and a credible route to negotiations and calling for an impartial mediator.
International and regional situation (per 7 September)
- A UN fact-finding mission for Sudan reported that fighters of Ethiopian nationality are among foreign personnel serving the RSF in Sudan’s war, mostly in frontline rather than technical roles, and urged Ethiopian authorities to engage with investigators.
- Kenyan President Ruto ordered foreign nationals operating small retail and street-vending businesses to shut down from 7 September or face sanctions, citing protection of local traders. Civil society groups warned the directive is unconstitutional and risks discrimination.
- Ahead of the adoption of the directive, at least 10 Eritreans and Ethiopians have been arrested in Jamhuri Estate, Nairobi.
- The US is increasing air operations and military presence in Puntland, Somalia, building a new base that will serve as a hub for combat and surveillance operations against ISIS and Al-Shabaab. On 3 September the US carried out airstrikes on ISIS strongholds in the Al-Miskad mountains.
- The abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich in Kenya has sparked condemnation and concern from the Kenya Editors Guild, Media Owners Association and Amnesty Kenya, on the safety of journalists in Kenya.
- South Sudan’s VP Taban Deng Gai revived a territorial claim over the Ilemi Triangle, an undisputed territory between Kenya and South Sudan, calling it South Sudanese land, complicating construction of the World Bank-backed Eldoret-Juba highway and forcing traders onto longer routes via Uganda.
- SAF chief Al-Burhan visited Eritrea on 6 September for his second round of talks with President Isaias Afwerki in two months continuing efforts to secure regional backing amid the ongoing war with the RSF.
- Eritrean civil society groups in the diaspora have urged UN Human Rights Council Member States to exercise their vote for a Special Rapporteur on Eritrea carefully, considering the substantive country expertise that is needed to understand the complex political, legal and human rights context in Eritrea.
Links of interest
Sudanese army advances in North Kordofan, captures Hamrat al-Wiz
Clashes erupt in Sudan’s Blue Nile as rebel alliance advances toward Ed Damazin
Over 11,000 registered missing in Sudan, Red Cross says
Sudan civilian dialogue panel to meet international envoys, excludes military
UN envoy visits Khartoum for Sudan de-escalation talks as fighting flares
Sudan army chief, UN envoy discuss prisoner swap, civilian safeguards
UN experts say Sudan’s RSF commanders ordered rape, killings in El Fasher
Sudan civil groups urge UN to extend arms embargo nationwide
Fuelling Sudan’s conflict: weapons, fighters and external support networks
Ethiopia: Artist’s disappearance must be investigated: Filmon Gebrehiwot Hagos
News: Ethiopia to regulate dam water use as rain deficit raises power-generation concerns
Kenya wants to kick out small foreign shopkeepers: risk of social bombshell
US Building Military Base in Bosaso as Airstrikes Against ISIS Escalate
Renewed clashes erupt in southwestern Somalia between government and militias
KTN Reveals Faces of Four Men Who Abducted Alex and Abandoned Him Near Masinga Dam
Kiprotich abduction puts spotlight on safety of journalists in Kenya
Ilemi dispute threatens vital Kenya-South Sudan highway link
Sudan army chief visits Eritrea for second round of talks in two months
Letter to the Distinguished Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council
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.