Sudan Nashra: Military destroys RSF’s largest stronghold in Darfur | Flooding displaces tens of thousands in White Nile | UN declares famine in 5 areas

In the desert of North Darfur, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)’s Zurug military base — the largest RSF stronghold in northwestern Sudan — was significantly damaged due to a major days-long operation by the Sudanese Armed Forces and its allied armed movements.

The desert clashes broke out in June between the RSF and the military-allied armed movement’s joint force, who were attempting to cut off RSF supply lines to the Zurug base near the Sudan-Chad-Libya border area, which, informed sources told Mada Masr, has been a crucial launchpad for the RSF’s attacks on the city of Fasher. 

Fasher has been contested in clashes that have surged and waned throughout the now over 20-month war in Sudan.

Fasher itself is grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis. According to a medical source, RSF shelling has rendered the city’s sole functioning hospital inoperative. Meanwhile, artillery shelling on the Zamzam displacement camp near Fasher has killed 30 people this week. 

The RSF has intensified drone strikes on civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, aiming to make life in Fasher unbearable, a military intelligence source from the city’s Sixth Division told Mada Masr last week. 

Conversely, an RSF combat source accused the military of conducting airstrikes on villages and populated areas in North Darfur — claims that a military source in the control and operations command refuted, asserting that the strikes had targeted RSF military equipment in deserted areas already emptied of residents due to forced displacement.

In the south of the city of Bahri, part of the tri-city capital of Greater Khartoum, the military continues its advance toward the Signal Corps camp on the northern bank of the Blue Nile to secure an access point to the General Command in Khartoum. The military also targeted the Salha area in southern Omdurman, the northwestern city making up greater Khartoum. Salha is the RSF’s second-to-last stronghold in the city, besides limited areas in western Omdurman.

Meanwhile, the first humanitarian aid shipment since the outbreak of the war reached the southern region of the war-torn capital on Thursday, carrying tons of medical supplies and food. Hunger and disease has spread through the city amid an absence of supplies.

On a broader scale, the United Nations famine review committee has declared famine in five regions of Sudan, warning food insecurity is expected to spread further between December and May.

On the humanitarian front, flooding from the RSF-held Jabal Awliya dam over the week has devastated the White Nile State, displacing tens of thousands of people. The dam’s closed gates pushed water southward, with the Aba Island being the hardest-hit area. Speaking to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, a government source said the dam should be opened.

On the economic front, citizens have begun to form long queues in the eight states that are enforcing the Central Bank of Sudan (CBS)’s decision to replace the 500 and 1,000 Sudanese pound banknotes with a newly designed 1,000-pound bill. 

As the December 30 deadline approaches, citizens told Mada Masr that the move, rejected by the RSF, is driving dual pricing in shops and causing a surge in automotive and real estate prices, while brokers are exploiting consumers by charging additional fees.

The CBS stated the move aims to mitigate the war’s economic impact and combat counterfeit currency. However, economist and leader in the Sudanese Communist Party Kamal Karar told Mada Masr that, rather than salvaging the economy for the public, the campaign aims primarily to increase cash flow for the Finance Ministry, which is leaning heavily on the central bank as a financier given its loss of revenue streams due to the war.

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Military, joint force destroy RSF’s Zurug base as desert war rages on in North Darfur

The RSF’s Zurug base in North Darfur was dealt significant infrastructure losses and damage at the hands of the military and its allied armed movements’ joint force this week.

Two informed sources speaking to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity noted that the base is the largest RSF site in the northwestern governorate and a launch pad from which the paramilitary has attacked Fasher, which has been contested since the early days of the war and where subsequent clashes have surged periodically.

The military and its allied joint force launched a three-day assault on the Zurug base on Saturday, aiming to neutralize short-range drone launch platforms from which the RSF has targeted Fasher and destroy the command center, according to an informed field source.

The second, an intelligence source, likewise said that the base coordinates combat operations in Fasher, describing it as the RSF's largest in Darfur, stocked with extensive weaponry and logistical supplies.

The three-day assault damaged the base's airstrip, fuel depots and artillery ammunition stores, according to a military source from Fasher’s Sixth Infantry Division. Specialized engineering units are working to repair malfunctioning rocket launchers captured during the operation. The source added that other military equipment, believed to have been transferred from Chad and supplied by the United Arab Emirates, was seized, including UAE-marked weapon crates.

Troops fled the base, including Jumaa Dagalo, the uncle of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, along with other relatives overseeing RSF supplies from Chad, the Sixth Infantry Division source said.

The source said that following the operation, the attacking forces withdrew, having achieved their objectives.

Fighting in Fasher showed no signs of abating following the assault on Zurug base, however. The RSF expanded its targeting of civilian infrastructure, including the Saudi Hospital, which has been rendered completely inoperative after enduring eight months of continuous attacks.

A medical source in Fasher told Mada Masr that the hospital was the last facility in the region offering medical care, particularly to women and newborns. Another medical source in the Darfur regional government told Mada Masr that the RSF aims to destroy all healthcare facilities, power stations and shelters in the area.

The Zamzam displacement camp, Sudan’s largest, also came under intense RSF artillery fire last week, resulting in over 71 deaths and dozens of injuries, according to Fasher’s Coordination of Resistance Committees. 

Meanwhile, an RSF combat source told Mada Masr that the military had targeted populated villages in North Darfur's Tawila and Kabkabiya localities with barrel bombs on Monday and Tuesday. 

However, a source in the Sudanese Armed Forces’ control and operations command denied these claims, asserting to Mada Masr that the operations focused on destroying RSF military equipment used to attack Fasher and other parts of Sudan, and that the areas targeted were villages depopulated by the RSF’s forced displacement campaigns. Videos released by the joint force showed weapons and fuel depots.

Two sources from the military and the joint force told Mada Masr they seized weapons at Zurug and destroyed an airstrip they said was used in attacks on North Darfur’s capital, Fasher.

The RSF, meanwhile, intensified its drone attacks and is amassing troops along the borders of North Darfur, a military source from the western military region’s command told Mada Masr. The source warned that RSF offensives against Fasher are unlikely to cease. In response, the Sudanese military and allied forces in Fasher are preparing for large-scale operations deep within RSF-held territories, the source said.

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Bahri operation to reach Signal Corps camp continues, RSF downs military drone

The military continued this week its push to reach the Signal Corps camp in the city of Bahri, the northeastern part of Sudan’s tri-city capital of Khartoum.

Bahri has seen intense clashes as the military has escalated an offensive in which it aims to reach the Signal Corps camp on the banks of the Blue Nile, an access point to the strategically vital General Command in central Khartoum. 

This week, the military sought to advance along three main fronts. On the Kadro-Shambat axis, the military made significant advances, pushing into the heart of Bahri. After securing the Halfaya district, troops advanced southward along Maouna Street, according to a field source in the special operations forces engaged in this axis.

Progress on the Industrial Zone axis has seen slower. The special operations source told Mada Masr that the offensive began on Ingaz Street, moved through the Industrial Zone, and reached the outskirts of the thermal power station in Block 3 of the Kafouri neighborhood. Heavy clashes broke out in the area on the night of December 20. The advance has been hindered by landmines placed around houses that have been repurposed as military barracks and detention centers by the RSF, according to another source in the special operations forces. 

On the eastern Hajj Youssef axis, the military has been working to cut off RSF supply routes to Kafouri via the agricultural road, a field source in the Hattab military base told Mada Masr. The source said that the military has set up sand barricades along this route. 

Hajj Youssef is considered a strategic area due to its vast size, proximity to the East Nile villages, and the difficulty of maintaining full military control over it.

Meanwhile, an RSF field source told Mada Masr that their forces shot down a Shahed-6 drone operated by the military in Bahri on Wednesday.

To the west, in Omdurman, the military launched an unprecedented airstrike targeting RSF weapons and ammunition depots in the Salha area, a military source from the Wadi Sidna base told Mada Masr. The military used heavy artillery to target parts of Salha, where troops are advancing slowly due to the RSF's dense presence in the area, the source said.

During a military operation launched from the Engineers Corps camp, special operations forces secured a strategic advance on Thursday, capturing the Shigla neighborhood. According to a military source, the Shigla neighborhood is considered a key area, serving as a gateway to the Omdurman Islamic University — a significant RSF operational stronghold in western Omdurman. Securing control of this neighborhood marks a turning point in the military’s operations in the city, the source said, enabling advances into Salha and neutralizing RSF rocket launch platforms that have been targeting the Wadi Sidna military base.

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Govt source calls for opening of RSF-held Jabal Awliya dam as catastrophic floods displace tens of thousands in the White Nile State

Flooding from the White Nile river has displaced over 15,000 families in the White Nile State over the past week.

The Aba Island has been hit the hardest, with hundreds of homes destroyed, thousands displaced, and the dangers of an already deadly cholera outbreak intensifying. 

The flooding was caused by water withheld behind the closed gates of the RSF-held Jabal Awliya dam, southwest of Khartoum, with water bursting the river’s banks to submerge large areas of the state. 

Over 800 families from Aba Island have been displaced by the flooding, according to Adeeba Ibrahim al-Sayed, a member of the Omdurman branch of Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate preliminary committee. 

Sayed said the flooding caused many casualties, destroyed property and infrastructure, and devastated agricultural land, further worsening humanitarian conditions in the area. 

Fifteen thousand families have been impacted more broadly on the island, according to White Nile State Acting Health and Social Development Minister Al-Zein Saad. Speaking to Mada Masr, Saad described the scale of the damage as “immense,” appealing to federal institutions, humanitarian organizations and civil defense forces to muster urgent support to provide essential relief supplies, including shelter and food.

Displaced families from Aba Island are grappling with critical shortages of shelter, food, clean water and medicine, compounded by the cholera outbreak, Sayed said, warning of the heightened risk of infectious diseases due to overcrowding in shelter centers. She said that efforts are underway to survey cholera cases.

Over 70 confirmed cholera cases have been recorded both in and outside hospitals, according to a government source in the White Nile State who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.

The source called for the immediate reopening of all dam gates, including emergency outlets, and the suspension of all turbines generating electricity that rely on withholding water.

The White Nile flooding stems from the closure of the gates of the Jabal Awliya dam, which fell under RSF control in November 2023, along with the Jabal Awliya military camp, the Nugumi Air Base and all dam facilities. The RSF has converted the dam’s water-flow control rooms into military operations centers, an intelligence source told Mada Masr at the time.

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First humanitarian aid convoy since outbreak of war reaches southern Khartoum 

A humanitarian aid convoy, the first since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, arrived in southern Khartoum on Thursday. The convoy includes 28 trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies, part of a larger fleet of 34 trucks, with the remainder delayed en route, according to Khartoum Locality Emergency Rooms.

Member of the South Belt Emergency Room Negm Eddin Hago told Mada Masr that five of the trucks belong to UNICEF and are carrying tons of medical supplies. Another truck, operated by Médecins Sans Frontieres and Care is also included. The remaining 22 trucks, affiliated with the World Food Programme, are transporting around 750 tons of food, according to Hago.

Another member of the South Belt Emergency Room told Mada Masr that malnutrition cases have spiked. According to the source, the therapeutic nutrition department at Bashair Hospital is receiving over ten new cases of malnutrition daily. Many families in the area rely heavily on free communal kitchens and charity food markets for survival, but the suspension of several of these kitchens due to depleted food supplies and a lack of donations has left thousands in the area at risk of starvation, according to the source.

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Famine declared in 5 areas, government suspends participation in classification system 

A new UN report declared famine in five areas of Sudan on Tuesday, with five more areas projected to face famine between December 2024 and May 2025 and an additional 17 areas at risk.

The report, issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee, highlights an unprecedented escalation and expansion of Sudan's food and nutrition crisis. The crisis, driven by the ongoing war, has led to massive displacement, economic collapse, a breakdown of essential social services, severe societal unrest and limited humanitarian access.

The famine, first declared in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp in August, persisted and spread to the Salam and Abu Shouk camps, as well as the western Nuba Mountains, between October and November 2024. The report predicts that famine will further extend into areas of North Darfur, including Um Kadada, Malit, Fasher, Tawisha and Lait.

The report also warns of looming risk of famine in the central Nuba Mountains and areas likely to experience significant inflows of internally displaced persons in North and South Darfur.

Food insecurity levels are worse than anticipated, the IPC said, with 24.6 million people now facing acute food insecurity — an increase of 3.5 million from initial projections — accounting for over half of Sudan’s population.

A Sudanese Agriculture Ministry official told Mada Masr that the government suspended its participation in the IPC system before the latest report. In a letter to the famine review committee, the ministry accused the IPC of publishing unreliable reports that undermine Sudan’s sovereignty and the dignity of its people, according to the official.

While the official acknowledged the existence of famine in certain regions, they argued it is not as widespread as the IPC reported. The official attributed the crisis primarily to the RSF blocking food and humanitarian aid from reaching affected areas rather than a lack of food production.

The Civil Front for Democracy criticized the government’s withdrawal from the IPC classification system in a statement, calling it an "unethical approach" that prioritizes denial over addressing the plight of the Sudanese people.

The front warned that the withdrawal would lead to reduced international aid, as humanitarian organizations rely on IPC data to identify the most vulnerable areas. The lack of accurate, internationally recognized data could reduce aid allocations to Sudan, the statement warned.

Former Forces of Freedom and Change member and Haq Movement political bureau member Magdy Abdel Qayoum, who spoke to Mada Masr, criticized the front’s statement for being politically charged rather than data-driven.

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Long queues outside banks as deadline to exchange old banknotes for new 1,000 pound-bill looms

Members of the public across Sudan formed long queues this week outside banks and brokerages as the end of December nears and with it the Central Bank of Sudan’s deadline to exchange old 1,000 and 500 Sudanese pound banknotes for the new 1,000-pound bill.

The CBS extended the deadline for people to deposit the old 500 and 1,000 banknotes to December 30.

The bank has stated that the new banknote is being issued to protect the national currency and mitigate the adverse economic impact of the ongoing war, which it put down to widespread RSF-led looting of its facilities. This, the bank stated, led to the circulation of currency of unknown origin, increasing cash liquidity and driving price instability.

Economist and leader in the Sudanese Communist Party Kamal Karar told Mada Masr that the ongoing currency exchange process in Sudan is primarily intended to increase cash flow to  the Finance Ministry, rather than for economic objectives, arguing that the move would likely further depreciate the Sudanese pound and increase inflation.

Sudanese citizens who spoke to Mada Masr expressed frustration over challenges in depositing old currency notes and the emergence of brokers outside banks who charge high commissions for exchanges.

“Queues at banks are long, and time is running out despite the extension. This forces people to resort to brokers outside the banks, who charge commissions as high as 20 percent,” Mohamed Abdel Halim, a resident of Atbara in the River Nile State, told Mada Masr.

He also noted that some shops refuse to accept old currency, leading to dual pricing systems, one for the new notes and another, higher price for the old notes.

In the White Nile State’s Rabak, Sami Mahdy also reported long queues at banks as people rushed to exchange their money. Speaking to Mada Masr, he added that automotive and real estate markets have seen significant price hikes as some seek to dispose of cash by purchasing assets.

Mahdy also highlighted that some RSF-held areas are excluded from the exchange process, raising fears among residents about the future of their money.

Karar also noted that the central bank has effectively lost control over 12 of Sudan’s 18 states, thereby undermining the banknote issue campaign’s efficiency.

The RSF has rejected the initiative, calling it a step toward dividing the country and warning citizens against using the new 1,000-pound note. It insisted that the old currency would remain valid in areas under its control.

In response, the CBS reassured residents in excluded states that their needs and circumstances are being considered. It promised that all citizens, without exception, would be able to exchange their money in a manner that safeguards their rights and savings.

The new 1,000-pound note was introduced on December 10, with the exchange process now targeting eight states — Red Sea, Kassala, Gadarif, Sennar, White Nile, River Nile, Northern State and Blue Nile.

To expedite the process, the CBS streamlined account opening procedures and capped daily cash withdrawals at 200,000 Sudanese pounds while promoting electronic payments and banking applications.

The bank emphasized that the currency exchange program would proceed according to a precise and well-studied timeline, accounting for field and logistical challenges to ensure its success.

Karar, however, criticized the lack of transparency regarding the volume of money exchanged relative to the total cash supply, despite the process nearing its conclusion.

The Communist Party leader criticized the delay in currency exchange implementation for the past 19 months of war, during which CBS branches were looted and counterfeit money flooded the market. 

In May, the CBS governor justified withdrawal limits as a measure to curb the pound’s decline, citing expansive lending to the Finance Ministry as a major factor, according to Karar. Karar pointed out that since adopting International Monetary Fund policies after the December revolution, Sudan’s budget deficit has grown. 

Following the outbreak of war and the subsequent drop in revenues, the CBS has also become the primary financier for government expenditure.

He added that the war has fractured Sudan into zones controlled by the two warring factions, with both sides leveraging the economy as a weapon. He warned that unless the conflict ends, Sudan will continue to face devastating consequences for its currency, production and the livelihoods of its people.