Situation in Sudan (per 23 February)
- The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed to have captured the city of Al-Tina near the Chad border this Saturday in a message posted on social media accompanied by video footage showing armed men celebrating.
- However, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Joint Force state they quickly recaptured the border town of Al-Tina in North Darfur after repelling the RSF assault the same day.
- According to Chadian and Sudanese sources, the RSF attacked a Chadian army camp, destroying military vehicles and killing at least 13 Chadian soldiers.
- Chad closed several crossings with Sudan, including Adré near El Geneina in West Darfur,following the attack and the fighting between SAF and RSF at Al-Tina.
- Three aid workers were killed and four injured in a drone attack by the RSF on an aid convoy. The convoy of trucks was travelling through the Kartala area in South Kordofan state on Thursday.
- 3 killed and 7 injured in a drone strike by the RSF at Al-Mazmoum Hospital in Sudan southeastern Sennar state last week.
- A landmine explosion killed nine people, including three children, in Kordofan on Sunday.
- A drone strike by the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) which targeted residential areas and disabled a local flour mill in Al-Kurmuk killed at least one civilian and wounded several others.
- The Sudanese provisional government condemned Ugandan President Museveni for meeting with RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), saying the visit violated international norms.
- RSF leader Hemedti said his visit to Uganda was the result of previous talks with the Ugandan President. He added that the RSF supports the mediation led by the African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development, while rejecting the Saudi-US Jeddah track.
Situation in South Sudan (per 23 February)
- Over a dozen civilians, including women and children, were killed after being lured out of their homes by the promise of being registered for humanitarian aid by fighters allied to the South Sudanese government, reports AP. The killings took place on Saturday morning in the village of Pankor.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 23 February)
- Commander-in Chief of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) Tadesse Werede rejected any speculations of talks or negotiations between Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) and the Ethiopian federal government or the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) on local media on Saturday.
- The threat of war in Tigray has caused a steep increase in prices for fuel, food and other essentials.
- The TIA has dismissed reports that the federal government would have ordered the ENDF to enter Tigray and that the TIA would have agreed for the ENDF to settle in the former Northern Command camps.
- Three former senior commanders of Tigray forces have fled Tigray to Addis Ababa.
- Ethiopia’s House of Federation has removed five districts in Tigray from Tigray regional oversight for the upcoming general elections until “ownership claim is resolved”. It concerns the Humera and Adi Remets in western Tigray, Tselemti in northwestern Tigray, and Korem Ofla and Raya Alamata in southern Tigray.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog will visit Ethiopia on 24-25 February to meet President Taye Atske Selasssie and PM Abiy Ahmed.
- 20 human rights organizations warned that Ethiopia faces renewed large-scale conflict in Tigray, Oromia, and Amhara, citing reported abuses documented by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
- An AFP journalist was impeded from flying to Tigray at the Addis Ababa airport because he lacked authorisation from the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs according to an alleged new rule, of which airport security staff did not provide any further proof.
International and regional situation (per 23 February)
- The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Sudan’s health system is near collapse after repeated attacks on medical facilities, including in Kordofan and at Al-Mazmoum Hospital in Sennar.
- Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE) reports that Eritrean refugees face mass arrests, torture, sexual violence and deportation risks in Egypt. They estimate that over 3,000 Eritrean refugees are currently detained in Egypt.
- New evidence assembled by investigators from the Code for Africa’s African Digital Democracy Observatory shows that Kenyan agencies are recruiting their own citizens to fight in the Russian-Ukrainian war via promises of overseas employment, only for them to be deployed at the frontlines of the battlefield.
- A Somaliland minister stated that Somaliland is prepared to offer the United States access to its minerals and military bases.
- The World Food Programme repeated its warnings that aid in Somalia is about to run out within weeks amidst funding shortages. A national drought emergency was declared.
- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is preparing to deploy a mobile court to bring justice to victims of crimes in difficult-to-reach communities. The work of the court is expected to start next month.
Links of interest
Three aid workers killed, 4 wounded in RSF drone attack in Sudan’s Kordofan
3 killed, 7 injured in RSF drone strike at hospital in Sudan’s Sennar State
Landmine explosion in Sudan kills 9, including 3 children
Soudan: les paramilitaires revendiquent la prise d’une ville frontalière au Tchad
Chad closes border crossings with Sudan after deadly RSF attack
“Affront to humanity”: Sudan slams Uganda for hosting RSF paramilitary boss
Sudanese army recaptures border town of Tina
Drone strike hits Sudan’s Al-Kurmuk near Ethiopian border, official says
UN Humanitarian Chief visits South Sudan
South Sudan villagers killed after being lured from homes with promise of aid, witnesses say
AFP journalist blocked from flying to Ethiopia’s Tigray region
WHO warns collapse of Sudan Health System
Eritrea – Urgent Protection Alert: Mass Arrests, Alleged Torture and Deportation
Blood Money: Kenyan Agencies Named in Damning Dossier Trafficking Thousands to Ukraine War Zone
News: Tigray Interim Administration dismisses claims of ENDF deployment, relocation to Northern Command camps
News: Three former senior Tigray Forces commanders flee to Addis Abeba amid mounting tensions
Human Rights Groups warn Ethiopia to be in a brink of conflict
Turkiye and Ethiopia deepen energy partnership
Somaliland willing to give US access to minerals and military bases, says minister
WFP warns of catastrophic shortfalls in Somalia with millions at risk of deepening hunger crisis
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