Situation in Sudan (per 5 June)
- An aid convoy delivering essential supplies to North Darfur was attacked on Monday night, resulting in the deaths of five humanitarian workers and injuring many others. The killed humanitarian staff were working for World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF as contractors.
- WFP, UNICEF and the broader international community condemned the assault and called for unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and protection of humanitarian workers.
- An airstrike by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on a market in Al-Koma Locality, North Darfur, on Sunday resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians and left many more injured. The exact number of casualties is not yet known.
- SAF has “used unguided air-dropped bombs on residential and commercial neighborhoods in Nyala, South Darfur in early February”, indiscriminately killing and injuring many civilians, reports Human Rights Watch (HRW) after analysing witness interviews and satellite imagery.
- Residents of Wadi Halfa in Northern State have staged protests demanding an end to the recent power cuts which have disrupted water supply and forced local businesses to close.
- Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), head of Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has refused to engage in further negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and intends to escalate military actions instead. His announcement coincides with intensified fighting in West Kordofan, where the RSF has gained ground.
- Hemedti has threatened attacks on key locations while asserting that the SAF must withdraw from contested areas before any talks can resume.
- Twenty children died due to malnutrition in Tawila, North Darfur, between April and May, with a further 500 children and pregnant women suffering from malnutrition in the area, according to the Displaced Persons and Refugee Coordination spokesperson.
Situation in South Sudan (per 5 June)
- South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has removed Warrap State Governor Lt. Gen. Magok Magok amid recurring violence in the region, and appointed Bol Wek Agoth as his successor. Magok was in the Governor’s office for only three months and no official reason for his removal was given yet.
- Airstrikes by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, supported by the Ugandan military, resumed on Monday forcing residents in Fangak County, Jonglei State, to flee. Local sources report that though the bombings targeted opposition forces, the civilian population has been affected.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 5 June)
- The Ethiopian federal government claims it has regained control over nearly all districts in the Amhara region, with only two of the 265 woredas remaining outside government authority, according to Ethiopia’s Minister of Peace, Mohammed Endris.
- Fano forces dispute these claims stating that they have maintained control over larger parts of Amhara.
- Flooding from Lake Turkana and the Omo River in South Ethiopia which began on 2 June affected multiple kebeles around Omorate town displacing over 8,000 people in the Dasenech district.
- The Ethiopian cabinet approved a 31% budget increase for a new fiscal year 2025/2026 starting in July bringing the total budget to nearly 2 trillion Ethiopian birr (about 12.8 billion EUR).
- The budget, which still needs to be approved by the parliament, aims to enhance national security, boost production, and assist those affected by disasters.
Situation in Eritrea (per 5 June)
- The human rights situation in Eritrea remains critical with ongoing indefinite national service, states Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, in his annual report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).
- The Rapporteur highlighted systematic arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, absence of accountability, restriction of freedom of conscience, religion or belief as well as repression of civic space.
- The report further talks about ongoing violations by the Eritrean Defence Forces in areas of Tigray including “extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, sexual and gender-based violence, kidnappings, forced displacement of civilians”.
- The Report will be discussed during the fifty-ninth session of the HRC scheduled for 16 June–11 July.
Regional & International Situation (per 5 June)
- The US president, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order, reviving his first-term travel ban, restricting entry to people from 12 countries including Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Libya, citing the need “to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people”.
- An Ethiopian delegation travelled to Port Sudan and met with Sudanese counterparts delivering a message from Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed to the head of SAF, Lt Gen Abdelfattah Al-Burhan.
- The Ethiopian delegation included the Director General of the National Intelligence and Security Service Redwan Hussein, and Advisor on PM’s East African Affairs, Getachew Reda.
Refugee and Migration Situation (per 5 June)
- More than 4 million people have fled Sudan since the onset of the civil war in April 2023, with more than 800,000 crossing into Chad and with about 290,000 refugees remaining stranded at the border areas. The UN called for funding which requires $553.7 million to provide adequate assistance to refugees.
- More than 165,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the past three months due to escalating violence in South Sudan, states the UNHCR. About 100,000 refugees crossed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda seeking refuge.
- A Berlin court has ruled that Germany must follow the EU’s Dublin procedure when rejecting asylum seekers at the border, stating that such rejections are unlawful unless the proper legal steps are taken.
- This decision poses a challenge to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s new migration policy, which had allowed police to turn back irregular migrants, and stems from a case involving three Somali nationals who were sent back to Poland despite expressing their intention to seek asylum in Germany.
Links of interest
Five humanitarians killed in ‘horrendous’ attack on aid convoy in Sudan
Airstrike kills dozens in Darfur market
Sudan: Armed Forces Airstrikes in South Darfur
Protests erupt in northern Sudan over power cuts
Sudan’s ‘Hemedti’ rules out further Jeddah talks, vows escalation
Twenty children die from malnutrition in Sudan’s North Darfur
South Sudan: Kiir fires Warrap governor
Renewed airstrikes force civilians to flee in Fangak
Ethiopian Government Claims Near-Complete Retake of Amhara Districts from Rebel Forces
Ethiopia’s cabinet approves 31% budget increase for 2025/26
Donald Trump announces US travel ban on 12 countries, restrictions on seven
Ethiopian intel. chief visits Port Sudan
UNHCR warns crisis reaching breaking point as Sudanese refugee numbers triple in Chad
More than 4 million people have fled Sudan since start of civil war
Escalating conflict in South Sudan forces many thousands to flee just as aid dwindles
German court rules turning away asylum seekers unlawful
Delayed medical care leaves dozens of asylum-seeking children with serious health damage
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.
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.