SAF advances in North, West Darfur | Hilal rejects RSF attempt to impose civil administration in Fur territories | Cholera, dengue continue to spread

In Sudan’s far west, the Sudanese Armed Forces-allied joint force has made significant advances in recent weeks, capturing several RSF-held sites in Darfur. Intense clashes continued this week in North and West Darfur states, with the RSF falling back.

Simultaneously, the military’s air force bombed Geneina Airport in West Darfur on Tuesday, according to a source in the joint force who spoke to Mada Masr.

A different dimension of the conflict is also unfolding in Darfur, where tensions among local tribal communities have intensified. The RSF, with the support of its deputy commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo, brought in residents from Chad and the Central African Republic to establish a new settlement in Central Darfur State — a Fur territory. This move faced strong resistance by the leader of the Mahariya clan, from which many RSF leaders hail.

The plan was also opposed by prominent tribal leader and former government official Musa Hilal, who is a staunch opponent of the RSF despite sharing the same social background as its leaders.

On the political front, the Civil Front for Democracy criticized the African Union Peace and Security Council’s statement on Sudan issued on Monday, accusing it of trying to legitimize what the front described as the Port Sudan de facto government. Speaking to Mada Masr, the front’s spokesperson, Bakry al-Jack, said that efforts to validate the de facto authorities were not surprising, especially with Egypt holding the chair of the Peace and Security Council, whether this push came directly from Cairo or was mere coincidence, as he put it.

On Monday, the Peace and Security Council called on African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki to reopen the union's liaison office in Port Sudan, a move seen as a step toward re-engagement with Sudan after the country was suspended from all AU activities in June 2019 until the formation of a civilian-led transitional government.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s health crisis continues to worsen, with cholera and dengue fever devastating several regions, particularly in Sennar State, while around 70 to 80 percent of health facilities nationwide had gone out of service due to the ongoing war.

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SAF joint force captures RSF site north of Fasher

Military operations continue across several fronts in the Darfur region, with the military-allied joint force launching extensive campaigns around Geneina, the capital of West Darfur State, as well as in North Darfur State.

A field source told Mada Masr that during a targeted operation conducted by the Sudanese Armed Forces on Tuesday, the military joint force secured significant gains at the Malit gate and the Jadeed al-Seil military camp, north of Fasher, expelling the Rapid Support Forces from both locations.

Jadeed al-Seil is a fortified RSF site used for storing military equipment and supplies. The military joint force seized an ammunition and weapons depot at the camp, along with a large truck loaded with food supplies and provisions.

A military source in Fasher told Mada Masr that the joint force also captured two fully equipped military vehicles and destroyed four combat vehicles. They pursued RSF forces, the source said, combing large areas in the northern part of the city, pushing them to the outskirts of Um Marahik, near the state border.

Military strikes Geneina Airport, joint force advances in West Darfur

The joint force is also increasing pressure on the RSF in West Darfur State, backed by air support. 

A source in the joint force told Mada Masr that the military targeted Geneina Airport with around ten barrel bombs on Tuesday. The RSF had been preparing the airport to receive cargo planes, the source said.

On Thursday, intense clashes erupted on the outskirts of Jebel Awm in West Darfur, a strategic location connecting land routes to Chad and the Central African Republic. The joint force seized control of the area on October 11, while the RSF is now attempting to reclaim some positions to secure smuggling routes they use for military supplies.

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Musa Hilal opposes RSF-formed civil administration in Fur territories

As fighting escalates in Darfur, tensions between Arab and African communities have resurfaced after the RSF set up a local administration in the Fur territories of Central Darfur State.

The new settlement initiative, spearheaded by RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo, has been met with resistance from influential tribal leader Musa Hilal, who is widely respected across Darfur’s social elements. Fur’s tribal leadership also condemned the move, vowing to resist it.

A local source in Saraf Omra in North Darfur State told Mada Masr that Musa Hilal, the former leader of the Border Guards and a figure implicated in human rights violations during the 2003 Darfur conflict, is expected to lead a broad alliance opposing the RSF’s forced establishment of civil administrations in Fur territories.

A Fur tribal source also told Mada Masr that the RSF's creation of these administrations and the confiscation of Fur lands is a violation of the tribes' rights, stating they would not allow it. The RSF has been burning villages and towns, another local source said, forcibly displacing local residents and handing their farmlands and villages over to residents from Chad and the Central African Republic affiliated with groups who have alliances with the RSF.

A local source in South Darfur State told Mada Masr that disputes have flared within the leadership of the Rizeigat tribe, particularly between tribal leader Gomaa Musa and Mahariya clan leader Mostafa al-Dood. Dood opposes recent arrangements to establish a new civil system in Darfur, the source said, while Musa’s views are aligned with Abdel Rahim Dagalo’s settlement plans.

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Cholera, dengue fever spread across several states

Sudanese citizens are grappling with critical health crises in several states as epidemics and seasonal diseases continue to spread amid the widespread collapse of the healthcare sector. With many hospitals shut down and people’s inability to access sufficient food supplies, the situation has become increasingly dire.

Sudan’s Supreme Emergency Health Committee told Mada Masr that dengue fever and cholera have spread in several states, killing hundreds and infecting thousands.

The Sudanese Health Ministry said on Thursday that around 702 people in total have died from cholera since the outbreak, while thirteen others have died due to dengue fever. The ministry’s emergency center recorded 85 new cases of cholera on Wednesday, including one death, and 143 cases of dengue fever, with no deaths on Wednesday. 

The dengue epidemic has spread across five states, the ministry said, with a cumulative total of 2,520 infections, while cholera cases reached 25,037. The numbers continue to rise, especially in the Gezira, Sennar, and White Nile states, according to the source. Health authorities have taken several measures to address the crisis, the source said, including launching a public awareness campaign to combat mosquito-borne diseases and delivering medical supplies and equipment to affected areas.

The Health Ministry announced the purchase of disease control equipment funded by the Finance Ministry at a cost exceeding 4 billion Sudanese pounds, including spray machines and insecticides. The ministry source said that the government will urgently deliver these tools to Sennar and Gezira states. 

A medical source in Sennar told Mada Masr that hospitals still in operation are receiving many cholera patients and that the number of deaths has noticeably increased recently, pointing to shortages in medical supplies, including IV fluids and fever treatments, and medical staff, stressing the urgent need for intervention to save lives, deliver medicine, and launch preventative campaigns.

The situation is deteriorating further in RSF-held areas in the capital, Khartoum, and other states like Gezira, Kordofan, and Darfur due to the lack of supplies and government health teams’ inability to access these areas to conduct campaigns and provide treatment.

A member of the East Nile’s Khartoum emergency room told Mada Masr that the health situation has drastically deteriorated after the seasonal rains, leading to the spread of malaria and other fevers, with several deaths reported.

Hospitals and health centers still operating in East Nile are grappling with severe shortages of life-saving drugs, injections, and malaria treatments, as well as a lack of medical staff, the source said.

The source also noted that Al-Ban Jadid hospital in East Nile locality was previously forced to close due to the high number of cholera cases admitted, which have also affected areas like Soba and Greif East.

Two of the source’s family members died from seasonal fevers. The source attributed the outbreaks to widespread pollution caused by the accumulating garbage and its unregulated burning, as well as water and electricity cuts, which have worsened the health crisis and further undermined the healthcare sector, according to the source.

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Civil Front for Democracy criticizes AU Peace and Security Council’s statement

Speaking to Mada Masr, Civil Front for Democracy spokesperson Bakry al-Jack criticized the African Union Peace and Security Council's (PSC) Monday communique as unbalanced, particularly for its apparent rush to legitimize the authority in Port Sudan by insisting on referring to it as the "government" and describing Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in points 11 and 12 of the communique as the head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council. 

The most concerning aspect, Jack said, is the idea that the mere formation of a government, labeled as “civilian,” by Burhan could be viewed as a return to the path of democratic civilian transition.

And while the statement mentioned RSF violations, Jack said it failed to reference the extensive violations committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces, such as the use of airstrikes, as noted in a report from the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission.

“It is perhaps unsurprising that attempts to legitimize the de facto authority are happening under Egypt’s leadership of the Peace and Security Council, whether instigated by Egypt or coincidental,” Jack said. “Egypt’s official stance, reiterated by its officials, emphasizes the preservation of state institutions, which implicitly means maintaining a role for the armed forces in any future political arrangements.”

In the communique issued on Monday, the PSC stated that it will engage Sudanese government officials in discussions regarding two proposals presented by Burhan — the first on ending the war and establishing consensually agreed assembly points, and the second on restoring a civilian-led democratic transition.

The council also requested that the African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki reopen the AU liaison office in Port Sudan to allow the union’s engagements with stakeholders in Sudan at all levels.

"It is also plausible this move could be portrayed as an attempt to assist the African Union in engaging with a broader spectrum of Sudanese citizens to understand their needs,” Jack said, commenting on the request.  However, he still believes that any AU presence in Port Sudan “would only serve to hear the narrative of the de facto authorities, the National Congress Party, and remnants of the Bashir regime."

The council said it “takes note of Sudanese authorities and stakeholders’ concerns” over the suspension of Sudan's participation in AU activities and bodies, emphasizing “the need for more engagement and communication by the AU with the Sudanese authorities and stakeholders.” It also said it “looks forward to informal discussions between the council and representatives of the Sudanese government.”

The council further called on Faki to provide technical support to Sudan through the AU’s Peace Fund and its Crisis Reserve Facility.

It also urged him to urgently mobilize humanitarian assistance for Sudan through relevant AU institutions, such as the AU Center for Disease Control, the AU Development Agency, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, and the Permanent Representatives Committee’s Subcommittee on Refugees. The council said that Faki is to submit a report within ten days “due to the urgent nature of the situation.”