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 19 March)
- The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the strategic city of Bara in North Kordofan and the border town of Karnoi in North Darfur in a major offensive.
- 12 civilians, including six women, were killed by the RSF in the Shuraim Mima area north of Bara, reported the Sudan Doctors Network.
- 17 people were killed and 66 left seriously wounded due to the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF, in Tine town on the Sudan-Chad border on Tuesday.
- Another drone attack attributed to the RSF killed at least 15 people at a funeral gathering on the Chadian side of the Al-Tina town on Wednesday.
- The RSF reportedly burned a commercial convoy transporting sorghum and peanuts near El Nahud in West Kordofan after allegedly luring truck owners into a trap by charging protection fees.
- Save the Children delivered a 30-ton shipment of medicines and nutrition supplies to Tawila, North Darfur, which is expected to support about 80,000 children and 57,000 adults in the area.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 19 March)
- At least 333 internally displaced persons (IDPS) have died in the Hitsats IDP center, Tigray region, since May 2025 due to severe shortages of humanitarian assistance, according to the camp officials.
- Adwa IDP centers reported 125 deaths since October 2025 across multiple sites where food shortages also severely affect maternal health.
- An Ethiopian delegation led by Finance Minister Ahmed Shide held consultations in Rome with Italy’s Mattei Plan task force to advance financing and implementation of several infrastructure projects, including the Koysha Hydropower Project and the Bishoftu International Airport Development Project.
- Alleged arbitrary detentions in Addis Ababa and restriction of media space have been raising concerns in Ethiopia, states a new report by Human Rights First, calling on authorities to address the issue.
- Ethiopia’s federal government announced measures to address surging fuel prices driven by Middle East tensions and the Strait of Hormuz closure, including increased subsidies, additional petroleum purchases, and a national crackdown on illegal fuel trade.
International and regional situation (per 19 March)
- Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby ordered his military to retaliate against any Sudanese forces attacking Chadian territory and placed the army on maximum alert following a drone strike that killed at least 16 civilians during a Ramadan Iftar gathering in the border town of Mabrouka.
- UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) chief Nicholas Haysom died on Thursday. Haysom has led the UNMISS since 2021.
- Save the Children warned that $600,000 worth of essential medicines stranded in Dubai due to Middle East conflict could leave around 90 Sudanese government-run clinics serving 400,000 patients without supplies.
- Somalia warned against alleged Israeli plans to establish a military base in Somaliland, cautioning that its territory should not be dragged into external confrontations.
- Somalia’s South West state suspended all cooperation with the federal government in Mogadishu, accusing it of arming militias and attempting to take down the state’s president.
- The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Russia’s use of human trafficking networks to coercively recruit African nationals into its military, luring low-income individuals through false promises of employment or education before stripping them of identity documents and forcibly conscripting them.
- UNMISS and South Sudan’s State High Election Committee held an electoral preparedness workshop in Yambio, Western Equatoria, bringing together police, civil society, journalists, disability rights advocates, and election officials to strengthen coordination and civic education ahead of the country’s elections.
Refugee and Migration Situation (per 19 March)
- An estimated 100,000 people fled from South Sudan’s Jongelei State to Ethiopia, after the recent attacks, during which 28 health and nutrition facilities have been destroyed or looted this year, reports UNICEF.
- Thousands of Sudanese refugees have been stranded and caught in a humanitarian limbo after Chad’s closure of the Adre border crossing in February.
- 76% of Sudanese refugee households in Chad reported their children had dropped out of school since fleeing the conflict, shows a survey by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), adding that 84% of respondents experienced human rights abuses during their escape, and 87% arrive without identity documents.
- The humanitarian situation across Sudan’s neighboring countries is deteriorating rapidly, with nearly 4.5 million people having fled Sudan to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda, warned the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
- The UNMISS conducted a protection patrol at Makpandu refugee camp in Western Equatoria following a recent deadly attack on a Sudanese refugee. Refugees in the camp report fear due to the lack of security with armed people often entering the camp.
- Nine African refugees and migrants, mostly Ethiopian, died after their boat capsized off Yemen’s Shabwa coast, as 150 persons arrived on the Al-Juwairi shoreline, with local police reporting that 4,396 Ethiopians have arrived on Shabwa’s coastline in the past two months alone.
Links of interest
RSF seizes strategic city in Sudan’s North Kordofan, town on Chad border
Sudan doctors say RSF killed 12 civilians in North Kordofan
At least 17 dead in fighting on Sudan’s border with Chad
Drones expand the deadly front lines of Sudan’s devastating war
Sudan drone attack kills at least 15 in Chad
RSF burns agricultural convoy in Sudan’s West Kordofan
Sudan arrests prominent Islamist leader after pro-Iran remarks
Ethiopia Consults Italy’s Mattei Plan Task Force on Strategic Infrastructure Projects
Ethiopia urges fuel saving amid Middle East-driven price surge | Africanews
Report warns of arbitrary detentions, growing restrictions on media in Addis Ababa
Chad’s Deby orders military to retaliate against attacks from Sudanese belligerents
UNMISS chief Haysom dies amid South Sudan’s fragile transition
Sudan clinics could run out of supplies in weeks due to Middle East war, warns NGO
Somalia warns against Israeli military base plans in Somaliland | Africanews
Somalia’s South West state says it has severed ties with the federal government | Reuters
South Sudan: United Nations (UN) supported training aims to boost electoral readiness | Africa24 TV
New UNICEF Flash Update for South Sudan reveals worsening situation for children in Jonglei state
Sudanese refugees stranded as Chad shuts border over security fears
UNHCR: 76% of Sudanese refugee children in Chad out of school – Dabanga Radio TV Online
IFRC warns: Sudan crisis spills across borders as humanitarian crisis worsens
UN mission patrols South Sudan refugee camp after deadly attack | Africanews
9 African Migrants Die After Smuggling Boat Capsizes Off Yemen’s Coast
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.