Sudan Nashra: Dengue outbreak in Khartoum, medical sources say capital still unprepared | Measles outbreak causes daily deaths in North Darfur displacement hubs | Mahamid RSF commander, forces defect to the military | RSF-SPLM-N shelling kills 6 in Dalang, military foils new offensive

On the third anniversary of the war, Khartoum — recaptured by the military last year and held up as a symbol of a return to the seat of power —is once again confronting a dengue fever outbreak it appears ill-equipped to contain. Over the past year, the state has pushed a “voluntary return” campaign, urging, and forcing, residents to come back on the promise of restored services and stability. But a year of flawed policies has backfired, as efforts have focused more on accelerating repopulation than on rebuilding the systems needed to sustain it. Now Khartoum looks little different from when dengue broke out last year, only with about a million more people. Medical sources speaking to Mada Masr point to persistent deficiencies in waste and water management services, alongside uneven access to medicines. With the rainy season approaching, they fear conditions are in place for the outbreak to worsen significantly. Across from Khartoum, in Sudan’s west, the Rapid Support Forces-led administration is failing to respond to its own outbreak of measles sweeping displacement camps in North Darfur already struggling under a near-total collapse of humanitarian services. Residents and sources in the emergency rooms of the Tawila and Kabkabiya localities describe daily child deaths amid what they say is an almost complete absence of healthcare services and resources. The areas have been overwhelmed by repeated waves of displacement, particularly after the fall of Fasher and the ongoing fighting elsewhere in the state. With aid access inconsistent and official intervention absent, families are relying on community solidarity networks. Recent arrivals in Kabkabiya have fled the violence in Kutum, where clashes continue between the RSF and defected fighters aligned with Al-Nour “Gubba” Adam, an RSF commander from the Mahamid tribe who, according to military and tribal administration sources, has recently switched sides to the military. A military source said the Sudanese Armed Forces has, since early March, been providing cover for Gubba’s forces in their confrontations with the RSF, coordinating with the Revolutionary Awakening Council armed group led by Musa Hilal, the military-aligned Mahamid leader. Gubba had facilitated Hilal’s escape to the military-controlled Northern State during the RSF’s late-February assault on the tribal leader’s stronghold in Mostariha. On top of monthslong tensions with the RSF leadership, Gubba’s opposition to the Mostariha operation — and his assistance in Hilal’s escape — was the breaking point. RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo subsequently ordered his capture, setting off the fighting around Kutum, where some of Gubba’s forces are stationed. A field source in the military said Gubba’s defection could deal a significant blow to the RSF’s mobilization capacity in Darfur, given his extensive ties to influential tribal networks in the region. *** Mahamid RSF commander, forces defect to the military RSF fighters catch members of Al-Nour “Gubba” Adam’s forces as they attempt to flee RSF-controlled areas, April 16. Courtesy: Military-aligned Telegram channel @sport6780. Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, a field commander in the RSF from the Mahamid tribe and a central figure in recruitment efforts in North Darfur, has defected to the military, according to a source close to him, military sources and a member of North Darfur’s tribal administration who spoke to Mada Masr. After departing from North Darfur’s Kutum, Adam, known as Al-Nour “Gubba” Adam, arrived recently in the city of Dabba in military-controlled Northern State, a military source in the Dabba military zone said, declining to disclose the day of arrival. Some of his forces from the Mahamid have also arrived in Dabba, according to the source. Back in North Darfur, others have joined the military command near the border town of Tina, a source in the joint force of the military-allied armed movements told Mada Masr, anticipating their involvement in attacks targeting RSF gathering points and supply convoys in the coming days. Gubba’s defection comes after months of escalating tensions with the RSF leadership. The rift traces back to the fall of Fasher in late October but came to a head in late February, when RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo ordered an attack on Mostariha — the stronghold of Musa Hilal, the military-aligned tribal leader of the Mahamid branch of the Rizeigat tribe and head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council. Gubba, himself a member of the Mahamid, opposed the operation, triggering a sharp confrontation with Abdel Rahim, the tribal administration source said. The situation escalated further when, during the raid, RSF fighters burned parts of the town and killed Hilal’s son, Haidar, they added. The assault on Mostariha had followed weeks of mounting friction between Hilal and the RSF leadership. Since the war began, Hilal has openly aligned himself with the military — a position that a former RSF source described as a direct challenge to RSF authority in Darfur. According to the source close to him, Gubba facilitated Hilal’s escape from Mostariha during the raid, arranging safe passage to Dabba. In response, Abdel Rahim ordered his forces to detain Gubba for trial. Gubba had served under Hilal in the Border Guards formed and backed by ousted President Omar al-Bashir. In 2017, the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, stormed Mostariha as Bashir replaced Hilal with Hemedti and the Border Guards were integrated into the RSF. According to a former military source, Gubba was a prominent field commander in both the Border Guards and, later, the RSF, where he played a central role in managing deployments across North Darfur. His extensive tribal networks made him an influential actor in the early stages of the current war. The source explained that Gubba relied on traditional loyalty networks to recruit fighters, particularly in areas with cross-border tribal ties extending into Chad and Niger, where the Mahamid are spread across a wide belt. This enabled him to move combat units quickly and facilitate the flow of military supplies, they added. Tensions with the RSF leadership began to surface after Fasher fell, the source close to Gubba said, when the paramilitary appointed Geddo “Abu Shouk” Hamdan — an RSF commander from the Rizeigat’s Mahariya clan , to which the Dagalos belong — as governor of North Darfur. Gubba opposed the decision, viewing the move as an attempt by Abdel Rahim to sideline him, and subsequently withdrew to Kutum, the source said. From there, the situation steadily deteriorated. The RSF’s deadly advance into Mostariha marked a turning point. And with the detention order out, direct clashes around Kutum erupted in late February, according to a local source, with the locality facing intermittent sieges and confrontations into April. The RSF also carried out drone strikes targeting movements associated with Gubba’s forces, in what the source said were attempts to stop these forces from moving north into Northern State or establishing new positions. A military source told Mada Masr that the military has been providing cover for Gubba’s forces in coordination with the Revolutionary Awakening Council armed group since Hilal’s arrival in Dabba. The coordination includes monitoring desert roads and securing new deployment areas. The military’s aim, according to the source, is to form a force to counter the RSF in North Darfur and in areas adjacent to Northern State. Hilal himself might have played a part in creating the conditions for Gubba’s defection to the military, according to a source in the Mahamid tribal administration. Before the Mostariha takeover, Hilal had been reaching out to civilian and military members of the tribe in the RSF — describing them as “misled” in a mid-February speech — to rally the Mahamid around a unified, pro-military position. Gubba, the source said, was among them. A field source in the military said Gubba’s defection could deal a significant blow to the RSF’s mobilization capacity in Darfur, given his deep ties to influential tribal networks in the region. Hilal also stands to benefit from the move. The source in the Mahamid administration said that with Gubba on the military’s side, the tribal leader has greater room to maneuver politically and within the tribal sphere in North Darfur as he seeks to roll back RSF influence in parts of the state. A Mahamid source in North Darfur told Mada Masr in February that Hilal’s enduring tribal authority among the Mahamid, particularly in North Darfur, gives him leverage over allegiances within the very social base on which the RSF depends for recruitment and mobilization. With Hilal openly aligned with the military, he is capable of influencing RSF-aligned tribal leaders to reconsider their backing at a time when the paramilitary group is locked in a protracted war of attrition, the source said. *** Dengue outbreak in Khartoum, medical sources say capital still unprepared One year after the military’s recapture of Khartoum and the launch of a “voluntary return” campaign promising the restoration of services, the capital is once again confronting a dengue fever outbreak it appears ill-equipped to contain. Khartoum today looks much like it did during last August’s outbreak: waste continues to accumulate, drainage systems remain blocked and the health sector is still unable to cope. But the pressure is far greater now. At the time, only around half a million residents had returned. Today, Khartoum is accommodating 1.4-1.6 million returnees, nearly half of all those returning nationwide. Unlike last year, when heavy rains drove the spread of dengue, infections are now rising even before the rainy season begins. Medical workers are bracing for worse to come. A source at the Health Ministry’s Emergency Operations Center said 400 cases were recorded in a single week, warning that the real figure is likely much higher due to widespread reliance on home treatment. Three medical sources attribute the resurgence to structural and policy failures. The influx of returnees, combined with persistent deficiencies in sanitation, water management and waste services, has created ideal conditions for disease transmission. Authorities have continued to promote returns as evidence of stability, yet this push has not been matched by adequate preparation of health and service infrastructure, nor by an official acknowledgment of the city’s post-war challenges, one of the medical sources said. Since March 2025, when the government launched the return campaign following its takeover of Khartoum, efforts have focused more on accelerating repopulation than on rebuilding the systems needed to sustain it. Officials have framed returnees themselves as central to the recovery effort. In late 2025, the office of Khartoum’s governor, speaking to Mada Masr, acknowledged that the government lacks the capacity for large-scale repairs, describing a reliance on returning residents to guide and lead rebuilding efforts — effectively shifting the burden onto people returning to neighborhoods heavily damaged and largely devoid of basic services. As a result, the gap between population growth and institutional response has widened. According to a second medical source, the influx into areas still lacking sewage systems and essential infrastructure has created fertile ground for dengue. As Khartoum braces for the rainy season, the burden of the current outbreak — and any that may follow — is unlikely to be shared equally. After a year in which restoration efforts were largely directed toward middle-class neighborhoods, many parts of the capital remain far more vulnerable. In July, the Transitional Sovereignty Council established a committee tasked with preparing Khartoum for residents’ return and the restoration of its role as the seat of government. Headed by Ibrahim Gaber, then-assistant commander-in-chief of the military and TSC member, the body was granted sweeping authority over the capital’s planning and services. Gaber openly acknowledged that the scale of destruction far exceeded available resources, limiting efforts to provide the most basic services. In reality, even those minimal interventions failed to reach many parts of the sprawling capital. Residents in some parts of Khartoum and health officials in outlying localities told Mada Masr in late 2025 that entire neighborhoods were without essential services. By late February, even the committee’s limited progress had come to a near halt. A former Cabinet source said that despite criticism over its overlapping mandate and selective approach, the committee had delivered tangible improvements by closely monitoring implementation and accelerating decision-making. These efforts led to partial restoration of water and electricity in some areas, the reopening of hospitals, and attempts to resolve operational challenges, often by bypassing state and federal structures. But the committee’s authority clashed with that of Prime Minister Kamel Idris, who insisted on retaining control over the capital’s administration as part of the executive’s mandate. According to the source, these disputes ultimately led to the committee’s suspension in late February. What followed was a sharp decline in momentum. According to the source, work on restoring key services such as water and electricity stalled, as decision-making slowed and Idris failed to allocate the necessary budgets. The source described the dispute as one that came “at the expense of the city and its residents,” accusing the prime minister of prioritizing formal mandates over the urgent realities facing residents. A third medical source in Khartoum State warned that the consequences of this institutional disruption are likely to become more apparent with the outbreak. The gap is already substantial, reflected in uneven access to medicines and essential medical supplies, they said. *** Measles outbreak kills daily in North Darfur displacement hubs amid humanitarian collapse A baby suffers from measles in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, April 11. Courtesy: The Kabkabiya Emergency Room via Facebook. A rapidly worsening measles outbreak is sweeping through displacement hubs in North Darfur, as the localities of Tawila and Kabkabiya struggle under the weight of successive waves of displacement and a near-total collapse of humanitarian services. In the Tawila camp, Fatma Abdallah lost her five-year-old son days ago to measles. Speaking to Mada Masr, she said his condition deteriorated quickly as the family struggled to access medical care, given the absence of health services and resources. “He was suffering in silence until he passed away,” Abdallah said. She described a widespread outbreak in the camp, calling for urgent access to vaccines and treatment to protect other children from the same fate. Tawila has grown into the largest displacement hub in North Darfur since the fall of Fasher in late October, according to a source in the locality’s emergency room. The camp now shelters more than 650,000 people, most displaced from Fasher and nearby areas over the past two years. The source said displacement surged after the city’s fall and has continued since, overwhelming already fragile conditions marked by severe overcrowding, inadequate shelter, water and food shortages, and deteriorating health services. In Kabkabiya, Amina Adam said her child has been suffering from acute measles symptoms for several days, with no access to treatment due to shortages of medicine and medical personnel. “The situation is getting worse by the day,” she told Mada Masr, appealing for urgent intervention from health authorities and humanitarian organizations to save affected children. A source from the Kabkabiya emergency room warned that the situation has reached “catastrophic levels,” with measles and whooping cough spreading rapidly. In just two days, 21 new cases were recorded, while child deaths have climbed to three per day. So far, 26 people have died, with 237 measles cases and 196 whooping cough infections reported, mostly among children. Saleh Bakhit, a resident of the Kabkabiya locality, said the area is grappling with a compounded displacement crisis, having become a major destination for people fleeing Fasher, Mostariha, Sarif and villages along frontlines. Its location west of Fasher and its rural routes linking it to Jabal Marra and Sarf Omra, has made Kabkabiya a first stop for tens of thousands of families seeking relative safety amid expanding fighting and collapsing services in surrounding areas. The first major influx came after the fall of Fasher, Bakhit said, followed by successive waves after the fall of Mostariha. Subsequent unrest in Kutum due to fighting between Al-Nour Gubba and Abdel Rahim Dagalo, as well as drone strikes by both the military and the RSF, pushed more families toward Kabkabiya. With the locality unable to provide adequate housing to accommodate those who have fled their homes, displaced families have filled the town of Kabkabiya’s neighborhoods, schools and public buildings, according to the source. A second source from the emergency room said the influx has sharply increased the cost of basic goods, rent and fuel, placing further strain on already fragile local markets. Many displaced families have lost their livelihoods and property and now depend on limited community support and solidarity networks, amid an inconsistent humanitarian response. Bakhit added that the fighting and displacement have also severely disrupted farmers’ access to their lands to prepare for the upcoming planting season, with shrinking cultivation areas leaving many residents dependent on aid from the United Nations. *** RSF-SPLM-N shelling kills six in Dalang, military foils new offensive Aftermath of a strike by the RSF and its allied SPLM-N-al-Hilu on a house in Dalang, South Kordofan, April 12. Courtesy: @SudanTrends via X. The military disrupted a planned RSF offensive on Dalang in South Kordofan, launching more than 20 airstrikes north and west of the city over two days, a field source told Mada Masr. Over 70 RSF combat vehicles and dozens of motorcycles advanced from the Barno area to the southwest on Monday, targeting the military’s defenses in Kuweik and Keiga Garro, the source said. Military airstrikes struck the force, scattering troops and destroying several vehicles, the source said. On Tuesday, additional airstrikes hit RSF positions in D alima, Kadr and Farshaya, north of Dalang. A senior military officer said reinforcements, including large quantities of ammunition and supplies, had been delivered to the city to bolster defenses against continued attacks by the RSF and its allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. In the days before the attempted advance, RSF-SPLM-N artillery fire struck Dalang’s main market and central neighborhoods on Friday and Sunday, a former local official said. The shelling killed two people and injured seven on Friday, while four were killed and several wounded in Sunday’s attack during peak market hours, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. The attacks also caused extensive damage to homes and shops, the former official said. Clashes returned to Dalang in early March, just weeks after the military lifted a years-long siege imposed by the RSF and the SPLM-N. Since then, the allied forces have continued to launch offensives against the city’s defenses, which the military has so far managed to repel. A former military source told Mada Masr last week that the frontline remains in a state of relative stalemate, with the RSF no longer making significant breakthroughs as its attention shifts to the Blue Nile front. The military, meanwhile, remains largely on the defensive due to logistical constraints in the area. Tribal affiliations are also a factor. A former SPLM-N source previously told Mada Masr that the RSF’s failure to secure gains in Dalang are partly linked to its recruitment of fighters from Arab tribes with a long-standing rivalry with the predominantly African Nuba, who make up most SPLM-N forces. During an attempted incursion in late March, many fighters refused to take part in ground operations alongside Arab groups against the predominantly Nuban Dalang, the source said. According to the source, that is why the RSF and its ally turn to artillery and drone strikes in South Kordofan. The post Sudan Nashra: Dengue outbreak in Khartoum, medical sources say capital still unprepared | Measles outbreak causes daily deaths in North Darfur displacement hubs | Mahamid RSF commander, forces defect to the military | RSF-SPLM-N shelling kills 6 in Dalang, military foils new offensive first appeared on Mada Masr .