Situation in Sudan (per 13 April)
- The International Ministerial Conference on Sudan will take place on 15 April in Berlin, Germany. The conference is hosted by the German government together with France, UK, US, EU and AU, on the day which marks the 3rd anniversary of the outbreak of Sudan’s conflict.
- Foreign ministers from key countries as well as representatives from the UN, humanitarian organisations, international donors, and Sudanese civil society are expected to attend the conference. Representatives of the SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have not been invited to the conference.
- Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok confirmed that Sudanese civilian voices will be included in Sudan’s Berlin conference for the first time, marking a shift from earlier Paris and London meetings that failed to produce a ceasefire.
- The five-member international mechanism, composed of AU, UN, EU, Arab League, and IGAD, which is overseeing Sudan’s civilian track of the conference, warned that the Sudanese crisis has become international, spilling beyond Sudan’s borders.
- RSF and SPLM-N artillery struck a market in Dilling, South Kordofan, killing at least four people and wounding 13 others while destroying multiple shops.
- A drone strike on a wedding celebration in Kutum, North Darfur, killed at least 30 civilians including women and children, with local rights groups accusing the SAF of the attack.
- The Sudanese Ministry of Education launched secondary school exams for approximately 564,000 registered students across 3,333 centres in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
- In Gezira state, 76 teachers were reportedly excluded from exam duties for demanding unpaid wages.
- Millions of Sudanese, particularly in North Darfur and South Kordofan, are surviving on one meal a day or less, with some resorting to eating leaves and animal feed, states a new joint report by Action against Hunger, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Situation In South Sudan (per 13 April)
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused South Sudan’s military and opposition forces of issuing mass evacuation orders since late 2025, displacing at least 280,000 civilians across Jonglei and Upper Nile regions, including Lankien, Pieri, Akobo, Ayod, Nasir areas.
- Around 110,000 people from Akobo fled into Ethiopia, following the evacuation orders.
- Both sides also blocked humanitarian aid and committed abuses, killings, sexual violence, looting, which may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, reports HRW.
- South Sudan’s Cabinet discussed a proposal to merge the police, prison service, civil defence, and wildlife forces into a single Unified Police Force, which will be submitted to the National Legislative Assembly for ratification as part of broader reforms.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 13 April)
- The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has condemned the one-year extension of the mandate of the Tigray Interim Administration president, Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede, calling it a unilateral move without discussions with TPLF that violates the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA). The mandate was extended last week by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
- In response, the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s Office told the BBC that the extension of Werede’s term was legal since it was enacted in accordance with the law adopted following the CoHA.
- Three health workers were killed while treating a Fano militant in Hamusit town, North Gojjam Zone, while three others were kidnapped from Debarak Hospital, and one doctor was arrested amid escalating conflict targeting medics in Amhara. All three separate attacks occurred in March, reports BBC Amharic.
International and Regional situation (per 13 April)
- Satellite evidence analysed by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab indicates that Ethiopian National Defence Forces military base in Asosa, Benishangul-Gumuz region, reportedly supported logistics and vehicle deliveries assisting the RSF operations in Sudan.
- President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh has been re-elected as President of the Republic of Djibouti in the April elections, securing 97,8% of the votes.
- Approximately 14 million people, a quarter of the Sudanese population, have been forced to flee, with 9 million remaining displaced inside Sudan and over 4.4 million across borders, amid increased aerial bombing and drone attacks, said UNHCR representative Marie-Helene Verney.
- The Ethiopian Wegagen Bank has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to launch a USD 10 million trade finance guarantee facility aimed at expanding trade finance and supporting Ethiopian business access to cross-border markets.
- Disruptions in livestock exports to the Arabian Peninsula due to the crisis in the Middle East have left millions of cattle stranded at Somaliland’s Berbera port, affecting the livelihoods of thousands of herders across the Horn of Africa.
- Islamic State (IS) jihadists have established a stronghold in the Puntland region, Somalia, acting as a base for their operations in Africa and beyond, shows a report by France 24. Local authorities drove the IS fighters out of the occupied villages and forced them to retreat into the mountains, as daily clashes between both parties continue.
- Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki met with China’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Ambassador Hu Changchun on Friday to discuss existing bilateral strategic relations.
Links of interest
Sudan: High-income countries must use Berlin meeting to save lives as conflict hits three-year mark
Sudan’s ex-PM Hamdok says civilian presence at Berlin talks marks important shift | The National
IGAD envoy: Sudan crisis internationalized; Berlin conference to mobilize aid and de-escalate
Artillery fire kills four in Sudan’s Dilling market
Drone strike hits wedding in Darfur town, killing at least 30 people
Sudan secondary school exams to begin amid logistical hurdles and student displacement
Millions of people in Sudan surviving on one meal a day as food crisis deepens, NGOs say | Reuters
South Sudan: Both Sides Blocking Aid, Displacing Civilians | Human Rights Watch
Interior minister proposes unified police force to streamline security agencies – Sudans Post
News: TPLF oppose extension of Tigray Interim Administration, says “violates Pretoria Agreement”
From detention to murder: Doctors are being targeted in the Amhara region conflict
Djibouti : Ismaïl Omar Guelleh elected president with 97.8% vote
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
Ethiopia: Wegagen Bank and IFC Sign USD 10 Million Trade Finance Guarantee Agreement
Horn of Africa: Middle Eastern Crisis Threatens Livestock Trade
Somalia, the Islamic State group’s new front line in Africa
Chinese Special Envoy To Horn of Africa meets Eritrean President
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