Sudan Nashra: Floods kill at least 200 across Sudan | Cholera outbreak among RSF troops in Khartoum | Military build up continues in Fasher

As Sudan’s ongoing war, now in its 17th month, continues to reshape the country, this year’s rainy season has added a new layer of suffering for the Sudanese people. While military operations have been slowed by severed routes, unprecedented floods and heavy rains continue to wreak havoc across Sudan, particularly in the north and east. 

Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed, along with critical infrastructure, including bridges, roads, water reservoirs and government facilities. The devastation has led to around 200 deaths, displaced thousands and triggered widespread outbreaks of disease.

In the capital, Khartoum, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated as cholera spreads rapidly among its residents and even the ranks of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a medical source told Mada Masr. This has forced new waves of displacement, with many seeking refuge in safer neighborhoods in eastern Khartoum city.

On the political front, there is little progress. However, several sources within the Transitional  Sovereignty Council and the Sudanese General Intelligence Service told Mada Masr that during his meeting with Egyptian General Intelligence Service head Abbas Kamel on August 16, Transitional Sovereignty Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan expressed openness to new rounds of Egyptian-mediated consultations between Sudan and the United States.

The sources also said that the heads of Sudanese and Egyptian intelligence services held a separate meeting to address the security situation along the shared borders of Sudan, Egypt and Libya, in the Jebel Uweinat area.

Meanwhile, military confrontations are intensifying in Sennar State in the southeast and North Darfur in the west. These regions hold crucial strategic significance for the warring factions, where escalation can either lead to significant military advances or result in substantial defeats. North Darfur’s Fasher remains the last stronghold of central authority in the Darfur region, while Sennar serves as a key border region and a strategic entry point to central Sudan, including the Khartoum, Gezira and White Nile states.

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Sudanese military encircles Jebel Moya

The Sudanese military is intensifying its operations in Sennar State, as it continues to advance along the Jebel Moya axis and through the southern villages. 

A field source told Mada Masr that the military regained control of several villages in southern Sennar on August 23 and the 24th, coinciding with their advance toward Jebel Moya from which they are now only 4 kilometers away, according to another field source from the Sudanese General Intelligence Service’s military wing.

The second source added that the military has encircled the Jebel Moya area, confining the RSF to the northern part. 

A local resident told Mada Masr that the military’s siege, even if it does not force the RSF to surrender, could at least curtail their ongoing violations. This could potentially allow residents to return to their farms and resume the agricultural season’s work, a dire need for the state and country as a whole, which has faced significant disruptions in crop production due to the war.

Simultaneously, a source in the General Command told Mada Masr that Major General Rabie Abdallah, the head of operations in Sennar State, was relieved of his duties and replaced by Major General Abdel Moneim Abdel Basset. Abdel Baset was also appointed commander of the Fourth Infantry Division in Damazin, the Blue Nile region’s capital. The source said that these changes are part of the military leadership's strategy to prepare for further military advances.

Abdallah was appointed commander of military operations in the Gezira and Sennar states in January, but failed to secure significant advances. His strategies led to the RSF’s capture of Sennar’s capital city, Singa, in June. 

Meanwhile, the RSF continues to attack villages south of Sennar city, assaulting more than five villages between August 24 and the 27th, and forcing most residents to flee their homes, according to a source from the state's government secretariat.

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Military mobilization in North Darfur as RSF continues artillery shelling of Fasher

In western Sudan, several locations in Darfur’s capital, Fasher, remain under intense artillery shelling by the RSF, resulting in the deaths of over 150 people between August 24 and the 29th.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello stated on Thursday that the RSF is amassing troops in Fasher for a new attack on the city. Perriello added that the Sudanese Armed Forces’s “bombing continues to inflict civilian casualties,” urging both parties to order their troops "to stand down to prevent further atrocities and devastation in this famine-stricken area."

A source from the military’s Sixth Infantry Division in Fasher told Mada Masr that the armed forces conducted several airdrops of weapons this week to bolster the unit’s offensive capabilities, describing it as a significant shift. The source said that the specialized weaponry provided would allow military leadership in Fasher to take preemptive action, potentially launching a wide-scale assault on the RSF locations surrounding the city.

The joint force — the military-aligned unit composed of members from the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement — also continues to ramp up its military mobilization in North Darfur, a field source told Mada Masr. Though the source did not disclose the areas of mobilization, they said that the rainy season has paused military operations behind RSF rear lines in the war over supply routes which had been ongoing since May, escalating in June.

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Egypt’s intelligence head in Port Sudan

For the first time since his January 2023 visit to Khartoum — during which he proposed an Egyptian initiative to resolve the political crisis that preceded the war — Egyptian General Intelligence Services Director Abbas Kamel arrived in Port Sudan on August 23.

During his hours-long visit, Kamel met with Burhan to discuss several issues, notably Sudan’s stance on the Sudan-US Cairo-mediated talks, which were called off earlier this month. The meeting also addressed the delivery of  humanitarian aid, with Burhan noting that rebel groups have historically exploited the issue in previous wars, a sovereignty council source told Mada Masr.

The source said that Kamel explained to Burhan the reasons behind the cancellation of the Cairo consultations. Burhan, for his part, explained Sudan’s position regarding recent statements by the head of the US delegation, Perriello, who, the source said, insists on referring to the Sudanese government as "Port Sudan."

The source said that Burhan views Perriello’s comments as an alignment with the RSF’s political narrative and its commander’s use of the term to deny the legitimacy of the transitional government and its new administrative capital.  

However, Burhan did not rule out the possibility of holding consultations with the US, the source added. Burhan stressed that these talks could take place whenever Cairo decides, in consultation with other parties. However, Burhan noted that, given current indicators, he did not expect the US to fulfill any commitments, according to the source. 

Kamel also held a separate meeting with Sudanese General Intelligence Service Director Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal. According to an informed source within Sudanese intelligence, the meeting addressed the threats both institutions face in the flow of weapons along the Sudanese-Egyptian border and the potential emergence of armed groups outside state control in areas near the Sudanese-Egyptian-Libyan border at Jebel Uweinat.

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Dire humanitarian situation amid devastating rainy season

This week saw a wave of unprecedented heavy rains and floods that led to the destruction of more than 50,000 homes and hundreds of schools. According to a source in the Sudanese Civil Defense, the death toll has reached around 200 across the country.

Moreover, a cholera outbreak has stricken Khartoum city, spreading not only among residents but also fighters.

A medical source in Khartoum told Mada Masr that an outbreak among RSF ranks has led to a security breakdown, disrupting their military units and causing widespread disorder as commanders have fallen ill.

The outbreak also saw waves of displacement from several unsafe neighborhoods to Burri al-Lamab in eastern Khartoum, with most evacuees being orphans and widows, the medical source said. 

In western Sudan, the humanitarian corridor opened by the Sudanese government last week via the Adre border crossing has proven ineffective due to the floods, which have made travel along roads impossible. Trucks coming from Chad are struggling to reach Geneina and other cities in Darfur. Farming remains challenging as access to agricultural lands is severely hindered. A source in the Darfur regional government told Mada Masr that famine now threatens about 21 areas in the region.

After it had been closed for nearly six months, the Adre border crossing with Chad was reopened, Sudanese authorities announced on August 15, to allow the delivery of aid into the Darfur region.

In Geneina, the capital of West Darfur State, floods and rains have cut off the road connecting the border crossing with the city, with three of the main bridges leading to the rest of Darfur’s states collapsing, isolating West Darfur and halting the flow of aid to displaced persons and affected families across the region.

Daba road in the Northern State is being considered as an alternative route for aid delivery to Darfur, to ease pressure on the Adre crossing, especially after the collapse of infrastructure in West Darfur. 

In the Northern State, more than 60 villages have been either partially or completely destroyed, with six deaths reported in the Merowe locality.

Water has submerged several neighborhoods in Merowe city and surrounded nearby villages, affecting several towns around Dongola as well. The national road connecting Dongola to Karima and the Argeen crossing has also been cut off, disrupting commercial traffic between Sudan and Egypt.

To the east, 20 kilometers from Port Sudan, the Arbaat Dam, the main water source for the city, has collapsed.

Geological engineer Ashraf Abdel Aziz told Mada Masr that the dam's edges initially crumbled, leading to erosion and eventual collapse. Speaking to Mada Masr, engineering consultant Marawn al-Zaki attributed the dam's collapse to several factors, notably the lack of regular maintenance and the accumulation of clay in the dam, which Zaki said had been “a time bomb.”

South of Port Sudan, the seasonal flooding of Khor Baraka swept through the city of Tokar on August 24. According to a medical source in the Tokar locality, the flood killed 30 people, with the number of those missing still undetermined. The Tokar Executive Unit Director Amin al-Sheikh told Mada Masr that the flood affected 20,000 homes across all of the city’s neighborhoods. Sheikh expects the Khor Baraka flood to continue in the coming period due to the large volume of water flowing from the Eritrean highlands.