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With Washington’s revised ceasefire initiative drawing cautious engagement from Khartoum and diplomatic activity around Sudan intensifying, much of the week’s political maneuvering both abroad and at home revolved around preparing for a possible new phase of negotiations.
In Asmara, Transitional Sovereignty Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan held lengthy talks on July 17 with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, one of his closest regional allies.
Ceasefire proposals dominated the meeting. Burhan reiterated Khartoum’s insistence that any truce must be preceded by a Rapid Support Forces withdrawal from cities, a position Afwerki doubled down on, a Sudanese diplomat informed of the discussions said. The two leaders have long aligned around preserving state institutions and rejecting political arrangements that elevate armed groups alongside them.
Security cooperation followed. The two sides agreed to deepen military and intelligence coordination, a Sudanese security source said. They also discussed Red Sea security as concerns grow that the United States-Iran war could spill into the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Ethiopia also featured in the security talks. Afwerki warned that mounting domestic pressures on Addis Ababa could intensify its push for Red Sea access, an Eritrean source close to the presidency said. Burhan showed interest in the assessment because of its implications for eastern Sudan and the broader Horn of Africa.
Burhan’s next stop could be Kampala. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has invited the Sudanese leader for talks expected to focus on South Sudan’s fragile transition, as Uganda tries to prevent Sudan’s political influence in Juba from derailing the country’s first post-independence elections in December.
The proposed visit would also test whether direct contacts between Burhan and RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo could be reopened, a source close to the TSC said. Khartoum has responded cautiously, insisting that any engagement must remain within a formal state-to-state framework and not confer any political legitimacy on the RSF.
If those stringent conditions are met, Sudan hopes to use the visit to secure stronger Ugandan commitments against the use of its territory for RSF logistical activity, a second TSC source said.
At home, Burhan is also trying to get ahead of the next phase of diplomacy by accelerating the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue he has long championed — a state-led and Burhan-curated dialogue positioned as an alternative to internationally sponsored talks.
With the Quintet mechanism — comprising the African Union, United Nations, Arab League, European Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development — expected to resume consultations with Sudanese actors at the end of the month, Burhan has intensified meetings with political groups and community leaders in an apparent bid to strengthen his hand ahead of any formal talks over the war.
The Democratic Bloc is among those adjusting to the push. Once the military’s undisputed civilian ally, the coalition met internally before talks on Monday with Burhan to coordinate its position and to try and mend internal rifts that undermined its leverage over the past months. According to a political source, its leadership is now recalibrating the bloc’s political agenda around Burhan’s dialogue initiative to find a place for itself in any future political process.
On the battlefield, North Darfur emerged as the main flashpoint this week as the rainy season has the military in Blue Nile switching from pushing forward to securing its newly captured ground.
After the joint force of military-allied armed movements reinforced its positions in North Darfur last week, its fighters launched a series of ambushes against an RSF convoy carrying fuel and military equipment from the Sudan-Libya-Egypt border triangle toward North Darfur, according to two military sources.
To the west, along the border with Chad, both the RSF and the joint force are amassing troops around the strategic border town of Tina, raising expectations of an imminent battle, a former West Darfur official said.
As the buildup continued, the RSF intensified drone strikes on Tina locality, killing 21 people at a water point where civilians and herders had gathered on Tuesday, according to a Zaghawa tribal leader. A day earlier, another drone crossed into neighboring Chad, striking civilian sites in the Bamina area opposite Tina and injuring children, killing livestock and destroying vehicles, Chadian officials said in a circulating video.
North Darfur’s past also returned to the spotlight this week after the International Criminal Court ended its 15-year case against former Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Abdallah Banda.
Judges approved on Thursday prosecutors’ request to withdraw war crimes charges linked to the 2007 attack on the African Union peacekeeping base in North Darfur’s Haskanita, concluding that the available evidence no longer met the threshold to proceed.
A former Sudanese diplomat said the ruling reflects the growing difficulty of prosecuting crimes committed in Darfur nearly two decades ago, as years of conflict have eroded witness testimony and evidence.
The now-former ICC suspect once pursued over crimes in Darfur has been fighting alongside military-allied armed movements against the RSF in the region during the current war.
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Burhan in Asmara, ceasefire initiative tops agenda
Transitional Sovereignty Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan meets with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Asmara. July 17. Courtesy: Sudan News Agency
As Washington presses ahead with a revised ceasefire proposal for Sudan, Transitional Sovereignty Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan traveled on July 17 to Eritrea, one of the Sudanese military’s closest regional backers and a key security partner, for a meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.
The lengthy talks in Asmara covered three tracks: the latest ceasefire efforts and Khartoum’s conditions for a political settlement; security and military coordination along the shared border and in the Red Sea; and shifting political balances across the Horn of Africa, particularly the impact of neighboring countries’ internal crises on both states, according to a Sudanese source informed of the visit.
But most of the talks were devoted to the ceasefire initiatives, a Sudanese diplomatic source familiar with the discussions said.
The discussions came after Washington introduced revisions to its truce framework following months of diplomacy in which Saudi Arabia played an influential role, Sudanese sources and Sudanese former diplomats in the Gulf told Mada Masr last week. The changes shifted the proposal put forward last month away from elevating political arrangements that sideline the military ahead of security issues.
The revised proposal calls for a general withdrawal of forces without identifying areas that could remain under RSF civilian control — unlike previous drafts — and places less emphasis on immediate power-sharing arrangements, giving Khartoum greater political space to engage with the initiative, the sources said.
In Asmara, Burhan laid out Sudan’s position in detail, insisting that any truce must first be preceded by the RSF’s withdrawal from cities and public and civilian facilities and build on commitments reached during the 2023 Jeddah talks concerning civilian protection and the restoration of state institutions, the diplomatic source said.
The Eritrean leadership backed Burhan’s position, arguing that any agreement that allows parallel centers of authority would only prolong the conflict, according to the source.
Afwerki told Burhan that regional experience over recent decades had shown that recognizing armed entities outside the framework of the state opens the door to reproducing the conflicts with greater complexity, the source said.
For that reason, they added, the Eritrean president stressed that preserving the unity of Sudan’s armed forces and restoring state institutions are a key entry point for any durable political settlement before moving into governance arrangements, saying the sequencing of those steps would determine whether any regional or international initiative succeeds.
That sequencing remains the central point of contention despite Washington’s revisions to its proposal. While the new framework gives greater weight to security arrangements, Khartoum insists the RSF must first withdraw completely from cities under enforceable guarantees before any truce takes effect. Washington, by contrast, continues to argue for a reciprocal process in which a truce and phased withdrawals proceed in parallel, according to the Sudanese sources who spoke to Mada Masr last week.
Security coordination was the second major pillar of the Asmara talks, with discussions focusing on the security landscape in eastern Sudan and across the Horn of Africa, a senior Sudanese security source said.
The two sides agreed to deepen coordination between their military and intelligence services by expanding information-sharing on armed groups, smuggling networks and irregular migration, while strengthening joint monitoring of their shared border, the source said. According to the source, those issues have grown more pressing as Sudan’s war continues to drive cross-border displacement.
The talks also addressed security developments in the Red Sea amid the escalation between Iran and the US and concerns that the conflict could spill into the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the source added.
According to the source, both sides agreed that safeguarding security in the Red Sea is a core national security interest for its coastal states and stressed the need to prevent the waterway from becoming an arena for international confrontation or great-power rivalry, given the consequences for regional trade and broader stability.
The discussions also turned to Ethiopia’s internal political and economic pressures and the security implications for Sudan and Eritrea, an Eritrean political source close to the presidency said.
According to the source, Isaias argued that mounting domestic challenges could prompt Addis Ababa to intensify its campaign for maritime access. The source said the issue has remained one of the region’s most sensitive flashpoints since Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland in early 2024 granting it access to the Gulf of Aden, an agreement that ultimately collapsed under international pressure.
Ethiopian officials have continued to insist on what they call the country’s “legitimate right” to sea access, repeatedly pointing to Eritrea’s port of Assab on the Red Sea — a port an Ethiopian military official described as “our survival interest worth paying any price for.”
During his talks with Burhan, Isaias stressed that any unilateral attempt to alter the maritime balance in the Horn of Africa would reverberate across the region, making sustained coordination between Khartoum and Asmara on border security, the Red Sea and relations with neighboring countries essential, the source close to the Eritrean presidency said.
Burhan, the source added, expressed interest in that assessment, given the close link between stability in eastern Sudan and the broader security balance across the Horn of Africa.
The Sudan-Eritrea partnership has been growing since the Sudanese war broke out. Asmara has emerged as one of the Sudanese military’s strongest regional backers, with both governments converging around a preference for enforced stability and preserving state institutions to avert a descent into open-ended chaos in the region, Sudanese officials told Mada Masr late last year.
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Museveni invites Burhan to Uganda over South Sudan elections, Hemedti-Burhan channel
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during their previous official meeting at State House, Uganda. September 16, 2023.
As South Sudan prepares for its first presidential and parliamentary elections since independence, Uganda is stepping up diplomatic efforts to prevent Sudan’s war and unresolved disputes with Juba from derailing the fragile process.
Museveni has invited Burhan to Kampala, where South Sudan is expected to dominate the agenda, sources in the TSC and Sudanese Foreign Ministry told Mada Masr.
The invitation follows South Sudan’s decision to include the disputed Abyei region in its electoral constituencies — a move that drew a formal protest from Khartoum and reinforced Ugandan concerns that tensions over the territory could complicate an already precarious election, the sources said.
Kampala, an influential African Union member, also hopes the visit could create an opening for renewed talks between the Sudanese military and the RSF.
Uganda’s external intelligence chief Joseph Ocwet, who orchestrated Dagalo’s visit to Entebbe earlier this year, delivered the invitation and the talking points of the proposed sit down during a series of high-level meetings with Sudanese officials in Khartoum earlier this month, a Sudanese intelligence source told Mada Masr.
South Sudan’s upcoming vote had already taken center stage in those meetings. Uganda considers the elections critical not only for Juba but for stability across the Nile Basin and the Horn of Africa, a senior South Sudanese diplomatic source told Mada Masr at the time. Museveni fears that another postponement and a renewed political vacuum could set off another cycle of instability.
Those concerns are amplified by Sudan’s longstanding influence in South Sudan, where decades of political ties, shared security interests and economic interdependence have left Khartoum with significant sway in Juba.
South Sudan is only one part of Kampala’s proposed agenda. Among the initiatives Musevini wants to put on the table is opening a direct channel of communication between the Sudanese military leader and Hemedti, according to a Sudanese source close to decision-making circles in the TSC.
The Burhan-Hemedti talks are intended to test whether preliminary understandings can be reached before formal negotiations begin, the source said. Museveni, they added, sees the initiative as a way to overcome the political and security obstacles that derailed previous mediation efforts.
Khartoum has treated the proposal as a formal state-to-state initiative and has laid out several conditions before any visit can be scheduled, according to the source. Chief among them is that any contacts occur within an official, publicly declared framework grounded in previously agreed political reference points, with any political progress tied to the implementation of existing security commitments, in reference to the 2023 Jeddah agreement.
Sudan also insists that the process must not confer any political legitimacy on the RSF or create arrangements that undermine the legal status of the state’s institutions, the source said.
According to a second TSC source, these conditions are intended in part to clarify Uganda’s position after two years of persistent questions over its relationship with “actors involved in the war.”
Uganda has repeatedly been mentioned in international investigations into regional logistics networks linked to the RSF. The UN Panel of Experts on the Sudan has called for inquiries into cargo flights that passed through Uganda from Abu Dhabi before continuing to Um Jaras airport in Chad, while other reports have pointed to aircraft allegedly transporting RSF military supplies through Entebbe.
The Ugandan government has repeatedly denied any official role in transporting weapons or providing military assistance to either side.
If the visit is greenlit, Khartoum hopes it will provide an opportunity for Uganda to reaffirm its commitment to preventing its territory or facilities from being used for any activity that could provide military or logistical support linked to the war, the second TSC source said. Sudan also wants to strengthen intelligence and security coordination with Uganda in an effort to build trust and curb any cross-border activity that could affect the course of the war, the source added.
Beyond the proposed Burhan-Hemedti contacts, Sudanese sources said the visit is expected to focus heavily on South Sudan.
Kampala views the elections scheduled for December as a pivotal moment for both Juba and the wider region, according to the source close to decision-making circles in the TSC.
Nearly eight years after the 2018 peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar ended a brutal five-year civil war, South Sudan remains mired in a fragile transition. The country has repeatedly postponed what would be its first post-independence elections as the political rivals failed to complete security reforms or draft a constitution. The delays have been compounded over the past year by renewed violence and Machar’s detention and trial on treason charges, stoking fears among regional and international actors that the country could spiral back into civil war.
According to the source, the discussions will focus on ensuring Sudan remains outside South Sudan’s internal political rivalries, particularly given Khartoum’s longstanding ties with several South Sudanese political leaders, most notably Machar.
Ugandan officials believe preserving stable relations between Khartoum and Juba will be critical if the elections are to proceed on schedule, the source added.
That is why Abyei is expected to feature heavily on the agenda if Burhan and Museveni meet, according to a Sudanese Foreign Ministry source.
The disputed territory, which straddles the Sudan-South Sudan border, remains one of the last major issues left unresolved by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Under the accord’s Abyei Protocol, the area was granted a special interim status pending a referendum on whether it would join Sudan or South Sudan, in a vote that has yet to take place.
The territory borders Sudan’s West Kordofan and East Darfur states to the north and northwest, both now largely under RSF control, and South Sudan’s Warrap, Unity and Northern Bahr el-Ghazal states to the south.
Khartoum argues that South Sudan’s decision to include Abyei in its electoral constituencies violates the territory’s internationally recognized interim status, which remains governed by agreements between the two countries pending a final settlement, the Foreign Ministry source said.
Sudanese officials view Abyei as one of the country’s most sensitive sovereignty disputes, warning that any unilateral steps affecting the territory’s administration or electoral status could have direct consequences for bilateral relations and security along the shared border, the source added.
Sudan plans to press the issue in upcoming regional meetings while insisting that the existing legal framework remain in place until both sides reach a negotiated settlement, according to a senior source in the TSC.
The dispute has also acquired a new wartime dimension. A former Sudanese diplomat familiar with relations between Khartoum and Juba said the RSF’s political outreach and logistical networks in South Sudan have turned Abyei into part of the strategic competition surrounding the war.
According to the former diplomat, Hemedti’s interest in Abyei predates the war. In the years prior, the RSF commander cultivated ties with South Sudanese political and tribal figures through a series of meetings on border issues and Abyei. The outreach was intended to build an independent network of influence inside Juba outside Sudan’s official diplomatic channels, the source said.
Those contacts expanded after the war began. Nairobi hosted several undisclosed meetings bringing together figures close to the RSF leadership and prominent South Sudanese personalities, including diplomat Francis Deng, a prominent authority on Abyei given his status as the son of a Ngok Dinka tribal leader from the region, according to the source.
At the same time, military developments were increasing the strategic value of the border area. As the RSF consolidated control across large parts of Darfur, routes leading toward Northern Bahr el-Ghazal, Warrap and Western Bahr el-Ghazal became increasingly important logistical corridors for the RSF.
Sudanese security agencies have recorded growing movement across the Abyei border since the early months of the war, according to a Sudanese security source. Some arrivals joined combat operations alongside the RSF, while others were involved in transportation and securing movement along cross-border supply routes, the source said.
As a result, the source said, the border with South Sudan is not just a bilateral issue, but a central security and political variable in regional settlements.
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Burhan accelerates state-led dialogue plan amid renewed truce push
Democratic Bloc coalition convenes a meeting in Khartoum ahead of their meeting with Burhan. July 19. Courtesy: Sudan Tribune
Months after announcing a Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue to be held inside the country, Burhan is moving quickly to assemble the political backing needed to launch it.
The push follows months of maneuvering in which Burhan sought to reshape the government’s civilian support base, restore dormant state institutions and secure political cover should the military ultimately engage in negotiations over ending the war.
Now, as diplomatic momentum builds around international proposals and new consultations under the Quintet mechanism expected in Addis Ababa at the end of the month, Burhan, according to a political source, has launched a flurry of meetings in recent weeks with political forces, tribal leaders and national figures, in an apparent attempt to strengthen his hand before any formal talks over the war.
Burhan meets with tribal leaders in Khartoum. June 28. Courtesy: Transitional Sovereignty Council on Facebook
Among those scrambling to secure a place in that process is the Democratic Bloc, the military’s main political ally, whose relationship with Burhan has grown increasingly fraught after months of signals that he was prepared to broaden, or even replace, his political coalition.
Preparations for the Addis consultations, meanwhile, remain bogged down by disagreements over participation, after rival camps refused to meet in person during the forum’s last round of talks in June.
Burhan’s meetings in recent weeks are part of consultations designed to prepare the political groundwork for a state-led dialogue, an informed political source said. Burhan views the dialogue as the vehicle through which state institutions can be rebuilt and transitional arrangements completed, the source added, with the political outreach running alongside institutional steps, including the recent reactivation of the constitutional court.
This effort reached the Democratic Bloc on Monday. Coalition leaders met Burhan behind closed doors amid uncertainty over their role in the political process, the source said.
For months, Burhan has been signaling that he wants a broader civilian coalition, privately expressing frustration with the Democratic Bloc’s failure to help rebuild state institutions or strengthen the government’s political legitimacy. In response, he has courted military-aligned revolutionary groups and other civilian actors in an effort to present, to international and domestic audiences alike, a process less tied to a single political camp.
The Democratic Bloc, in turn, has tried to shore up its own position, aware that its role in any future transition is no longer guaranteed.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting with Burhan, the bloc’s leaders held internal discussion to reassess their position within the emerging political process, coordinate their stance and address internal rifts that have undermined the coalition’s influence, according to a second political source. The bloc’s leadership is now working to reshape its political agenda around the military’s push for a dialogue, the source said.
A senior TSC official stressed Burhan’s consultations are not intended to produce immediate executive decisions, but rather to shape a political vision for the next phase and build consensus around rebuilding state institutions.
The dialogue Burhan envisions, however, is not all inclusive. Announcing the initiative in May, he said invitations would be extended to “national forces,” while excluding “those whose hands are stained with the blood of the Sudanese people,” effectively ruling out RSF-aligned political forces.
The question of who belongs at the table is likewise proving contentious for the Quintet.
Quintet officials are expected to use this month’s Addis Ababa consultations to discuss a roadmap for launching a political process and the formation of a preparatory dialogue committee. But disagreements within the forum have delayed decisions on who should be invited, according to a third informed political source.
The source said mediators remain divided over how broad participation should be and which political alliances qualify for inclusion. Some Sudanese civilian groups oppose inviting factions aligned with the current regime or serving as fronts for the former one, while others within the mediation effort argue that the process will only gain legitimacy if it includes the widest possible spectrum of Sudanese political and social actors, they added.
Among those preparing to engage in the Addis Ababa consultations is the Declaration of Principles Forces , the coalition led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur’s Sudan Liberation Movement that brings together the opposition Sumud alliance, led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and other political parties.
Following a three-day meeting in Nairobi this week in preparation for the Quintet talks, the coalition adopted a joint political vision and a three-month action plan that includes humanitarian, political, diplomatic and public engagement tracks, a senior source in the coalition said. Participants endorsed the US-led Quad and international mediation efforts while stressing that any political process remain Sudanese-owned and led, according to the source.
However, the alliance also drew clear lines over participation. The Nairobi meetings reaffirmed that no future political process should include the former ruling National Congress Party, the Islamist current or affiliated groups, the source said.
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Drop in Blue Nile flows revives Sudan’s GERD concerns
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam during construction. September, 2024
A sudden reduction in Blue Nile flows that Sudan attributed to lower water releases from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) disrupted drinking water supplies in parts of the capital and raised concerns over irrigation for the summer agricultural season, according to two sources in the Irrigation and Water Resources Ministry.
The development has prompted Sudanese officials to renew diplomatic contacts over a permanent mechanism to coordinate dam operations, sources in the Foreign Ministry and the TSC told Mada Masr.
Border monitoring stations recorded a “temporary decline” in Blue Nile inflows over recent days due to reduced releases from the GERD, Sudan’s Irrigation Ministry said in a technical statement on July 16.
The ministry said the lower inflows disrupted operations at the Roseires and Sennar dams, affecting irrigation, drinking water supplies and electricity generation.
The latest drop in river levels is another example of the risks Sudan has warned about since the GERD began operating in 2020, a senior Irrigation Ministry official said. The problem, the source said, is not the existence of the dam itself but the operation of a project of that scale without a daily mechanism for sharing data.
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have spent more than a decade negotiating rules for filling and operating the GERD, with talks repeatedly stalling over the question of whether the arrangement should be legally binding. Sudan and Egypt argue that coordinated releases and data-sharing are essential for managing downstream dams, while Ethiopia says the project is a sovereign development initiative that it argues helps regulate river flows and reduce flood risks.
Since the GERD began operating, Sudan has been managing a far more complex water system, the senior Irrigation Ministry official said. Reservoir management has become increasingly tied to Ethiopian operating decisions rather than the Blue Nile’s natural seasonal cycle, they added.
Sudan’s dams rely on accurate information about the timing and volume of releases to balance irrigation, hydropower generation and drinking water supplies, the official stressed. Any sudden change in flows, they added, has immediate consequences across all three sectors.
According to ministry data, average daily inflows into the Roseires reservoir fell from about 207 million cubic meters to 129 million cubic meters over recent days. Water levels declined by 1.08 meters in Khartoum’s monitoring station, 1.6 meters in Wad Madani’s and 1.5 meters at Roseires, prompting authorities to revise operating schedules for reservoirs and pumping stations.
Several drinking water stations that draw directly from the Blue Nile were forced to temporarily suspend some pumps after water levels fell below operational thresholds, reducing supplies in parts of southern Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri while authorities tried to stabilize the network, a second ministry source told Mada Masr.
The disruption is also complicating Sudan’s summer agricultural season, particularly in irrigated schemes that depend on tightly scheduled water deliveries, the source said. Sudden fluctuations in river levels force authorities to revise irrigation schedules and redistribute water allocations, driving up operating costs and potentially affecting yields of several strategic crops. Reliable and predictable water supplies remain one of the most important conditions for a successful growing season, the source added.
The disruption has renewed Sudan’s diplomatic push for a legally binding framework governing the GERD, a Foreign Ministry source and a TSC source said.
Khartoum is assessing both the immediate impact of the lower releases on its water resources as well as the diplomatic implications, as it continues to press for a permanent mechanism to exchange operational data and coordinate responses during droughts and other emergencies.
At the same time, Sudan has been working to strengthen its own resilience. Authorities are upgrading monitoring and early-warning systems and improving the ability of the country’s dams to respond to sudden operational changes upstream, the TSC source said.
Despite increasingly strained ties with Ethiopia over Sudan’s public accusations that Addis Ababa has facilitated drone attacks and allowed the RSF and their allies to operate through Ethiopian territory, diplomatic contacts over the GERD have continued, the Foreign Ministry said. The matter remains on the agenda of both bilateral and multilateral discussions, they added, because cross-border water management is bound up with food security, energy security and regional stability.
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International Criminal Court ends 15-year case against Abdallah Banda, withdraws Darfur war crimes charges
Abdallah Banda and Saleh Mohamed Jerbo appear before the International Criminal Court. June 17, 2010. Courtesy: AFP
A 15-year International Criminal Court case against former JEM leader Abdallah Banda came to an end on Thursday after judges approved prosecutors’ request to withdraw war crimes charges stemming from the 2007 attack on the African Union peacekeeping base in Haskanita, North Darfur.
Prosecutors told the court that the available evidence no longer provided “substantial grounds to believe” Banda bore responsibility for the crimes, leaving no sufficient legal basis to continue the proceedings.cdxfx
The ruling lifts the arrest warrant issued against Banda and formally closes the case, though judges stressed it could be reopened if new evidence emerges.
The September 29, 2007 attack on the African Union’s mission, in which 12 peacekeepers were killed, others wounded and military vehicles and equipment looted and destroyed, was the deadliest ever carried out against peacekeepers in Darfur and became a defining moment in the conflict, triggering international condemnation and efforts to prosecute those responsible.
The decision comes nearly a year after the ICC handed down its first conviction for crimes committed in Darfur, finding former Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Banda was one of five Sudanese political and military figures sought by the court over atrocities committed during the 2003 conflict. After former President Omar al-Bashir’s ouster in 2019, repeated attempts to secure the surrender of the remaining suspects yielded little progress.
Banda has been fighting the RSF during the current war alongside military-allied armed movements in Darfur.
The ICC opened its Darfur investigation after the UN Security Council referred the Sudan file to the court in 2005, making Darfur the first case ever referred to the ICC by the council.
Prosecutors charged Banda and fellow JEM commander Saleh Mohamed Jerbo in 2009, accusing them of planning the Haskanita attack. Two years later, judges confirmed charges of murder, intentionally directing attacks against peacekeepers and peacekeeping equipment and pillaging, all classified as war crimes.
Banda appeared voluntarily before the court during the pretrial stage, but proceedings stalled after he failed to attend subsequent hearings. The ICC issued an arrest warrant in September 2014 to secure his appearance.
Proceedings against Jerbo, meanwhile, were terminated in 2013 after the court received credible information that he had been killed in Darfur, leaving Banda’s case in limbo for more than a decade as investigators struggled to bring him before the court.
Prosecutors said their decision to withdraw the charges followed a review that found the evidentiary basis for the case has weakened over time. New witness accounts have emerged that could exonerate Banda, while testimony from several key witnesses could no longer be relied upon, leaving no realistic prospect of securing a conviction under the court’s legal standards.
While granting the prosecution’s request, the judges noted that prosecutors have not conclusively demonstrated that the evidentiary basis has completely collapsed since charges were confirmed in 2011. But while expressing regret over the prosecution’s decision to abandon the case, they concluded that allowing proceedings to continue after prosecutors had declared they would no longer present evidence would be incompatible with the requirements of a fair trial. The chamber stressed that the decision does not amount to an acquittal and does not prevent prosecutors from bringing new charges if additional evidence emerges.
A former Sudanese diplomat said the ruling carries implications beyond Banda’s individual case, reflecting the challenges the ICC has faced investigating crimes committed in Darfur nearly two decades ago. The passage of time, the deaths of some witnesses, the inability to reach others and the continued armed conflict have all complicated evidence gathering and witness protection, the diplomat said.
The diplomat added, however, that the decision also shows that the court remains actively engaged in its other Darfur cases against Bashir, former Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein and former South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun. Ali Kushayb remains the only senior Sudanese suspect to have stood trial before the ICC.
A source close to Banda described the ruling as “the justice Banda has been waiting for for 20 years,” saying he had consistently sought to prove his innocence by “cooperating with the court and allowing the investigation to run its course.” The source added that they do not doubt the ICC and hope it would also prosecute both past and ongoing crimes.
A source within the JEM said the movement has long supported allowing judicial proceedings against Banda to run their course. The source likewise said the ICC should now pursue accountability for crimes committed during the current war, just as it had for atrocities committed in Darfur in 2003.
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Joint force ambushes RSF supply convoy from Sudan-Libya-Egypt triangle
A series of ambushes carried out on July 17 and 18 by the joint force of military-allied armed movements targeted an RSF convoy transporting fuel and military equipment from the Sudan-Libya-Egypt border triangle toward North Darfur, according to two military sources who spoke to Mada Masr.
The convoy was heading to the towns of Malha and Malit to reinforce RSF units there before their planned deployment to Fasher, one of the sources said.
The ambushes took place in an area known as Joker Gate, a key transit point used by RSF supply convoys and commercial trucks arriving from Libya, the source said. Several RSF fighters were killed, equipment and fuel were seized, and two combat vehicles destroyed, according to the two sources.
In response, the RSF deployed reconnaissance units and blocked civilian traffic between the border triangle and Malha, according to the second military source.
The RSF seized the border triangle in June last year after the military withdrew. The area has served as a channel for supplies reaching the paramilitary group through eastern Libya.
Last week, two senior sources in the joint force told Mada Masr that over 300 military vehicles carrying fighters from the armed movements had reached North Darfur from the Northern State in the first major reinforcement since Fasher fell in October last year.
Part of their mission, the sources said, is disrupting RSF supply lines from Libya and carrying out attrition attacks against RSF positions and troop concentrations.
One of the sources told Mada Masr this week that preparations are complete to deploy fighters affiliated with military-allied Mahamid tribal leader Musa Hilal and former RSF commander Al-Nour Gubba, who recently defected, to the new fronts in North Darfur.
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Deadly RSF drone strikes along Chad border as forces prepare for possible battle over Tina
Vehicle engulfed in flames following RSF drone strikes on Tina. July 21. Courtesy: Sudan Tribune
Drone attacks hit the twin towns of Tina on the Sudan-Chad border this week, with one strike killing at least 21 people in North Darfur and another drone crossing into Chad where it struck civilian sites.
The attacks come as both the RSF and military-allied forces reinforce positions near Tina amid expectations of a confrontation over the strategic border crossing, according to a former West Darfur government official.
A leader in the cross-border Zaghawa tribe told Mada Masr that the RSF has intensified drone attacks on the Sudanese Tina locality this week. On Tuesday, one drone struck a gathering of civilians and herders at the Bir Andour water source, killing 21 people and injuring 30 others, they said.
The leader said the targeting of the water point is part of a broader RSF campaign against civilian areas and essential services across Zaghawa territory — the military’s last remaining foothold in Darfur — with the aim of forcing residents out and clearing the way for RSF control of the area.
Tina, a strategic crossing on the Chad-Darfur supply route, has remained on the front line since the fall of Fasher, with clashes and strikes repeatedly spilling across the border.
This happened again on Monday, when a drone crossed into Chad at around 5:30 pm and struck several locations in the Bamina area, including the market, a former joint force member who served in units securing the Sudan-Chad border told Mada Masr. The attacks caused casualties and extensive material damage, they said.
In a video recorded at one of the strike sites in Bamina, the Tina governor, a representative of the Chadian Tina Zaghawa community and Chadian military officials said the attack injured children, killed livestock and destroyed two cars, triggering panic among residents.
The officials stopped short of attributing the strike to any party to Sudan’s war and instead called on Chad’s government to provide greater protection for communities living along the border.
The attacks are the latest in a series of cross-border violence over the past year. Ground fighting and drone strikes have spilled into Chad on multiple occasions, and dozens of Chadian civilians have been killed and injured. In February, some RSF fighters crossed into Chadian territory during clashes and engaged Chadian troops, killing five soldiers and prompting N’Djamena to close the border except for limited humanitarian deliveries.
This week’s drone attacks coincide with what the former West Darfur government official described as preparations for a ground offensive. They said the RSF amassed hundreds of combat vehicles and mobilized thousands of fighters from Arab tribes in neighboring West Darfur’s Kulbus and parts of Jebel Moon, north of the state capital Geneina, ahead of an assault on Tina.
The military and the joint force have responded by reinforcing positions around West Darfur’s Bir Saliba and Gargira and defensive lines south and east of Tina, amid indications that fighting could break out within days, the source said.
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North Kordofan’s Rahad comes under drone attack, fighting breaks out to its south
Drone strikes hit North Kordofan’s Rahad this week as fighting flared in areas south of the town in what a military-allied commander said is an effort to put pressure on the state capital Obeid.
A drone strike on Monday killed six people, including two children, and wounded 26 others, according to UNICEF.
An activist in North Kordofan told Mada Masr that the attack involved three missiles fired from a drone. One landed in a residential neighborhood near the market, while the other two struck the main market, causing the casualties.
The following day, another drone targeted a girls’ school in the village of Hagina, west of Rahad, leaving one teacher with minor injuries, according to the activist.
South of Rahad, the RSF briefly took control of the village of Musalamiya on Sunday before military forces regained it the following day and launched clearing operations across nearby villages in the Jabal al-Dayer area, a field commander in military-allied mobilized civilian battalions told Mada Masr.
The commander said the RSF aims to use Rahad, located 70 km to the southeast of Obeid, as a gateway toward the state capital, seeking to increase its pressure on the city by controlling nearby towns and key roads.
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Military receives nearly 300 defecting RSF fighters in Omdurman
Defecting RSF fighters arrive in Omdurman to announce their joining of the military. 22 July. Courtesy: @atafmohamed3 on X
A force of 280 fighters who defected from the RSF arrived in Omdurman on Wednesday in 30 fully equipped combat vehicles, joining the military, a senior military officer told Mada Masr.
The fighters previously served under former RSF commander in North Darfur and Mahamid tribal leader Al-Nour “Gubba” Adam, who defected earlier this year. Arrangements are also underway to receive additional defecting forces, the officer said.
Gubba’s defection, first confirmed to Mada Masr in April by military sources and a source close to him, prompted many of his fighters in North Darfur to follow suit. While some left Darfur alongside him, others joined military positions near the border town of Tina, a source in the joint force of military-allied armed movements told Mada Masr at the time.
In comments to the press, the commander of the newly arrived force, Hussein al-Dodo, apologized to the Sudanese people for abuses committed by him and his fighters while serving with the RSF, announcing that the entire force has joined the military.
The latest arrivals follow a string of high-profile defections from the RSF in recent months, including Gubba, field commander Ali “ Savanna ” Rizgallah and Fares al-Nour , the political advisor to Dagalo and one of the RSF’s key handlers of sensitive political and negotiation files.
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Blue Nile front settles into rainy-season lull after military advances
The military is shifting from offensive operations to consolidating its gains in southern Blue Nile State as seasonal rains slow battlefield movement.
Having recaptured the strategic town of Kurmuk and pushed RSF forces back in neighboring Geisan, the military is strengthening supply lines and fortifying key positions before floodwaters make large-scale ground operations increasingly difficult, according to a military source.
The source said reinforcements were deployed on July 16 and 17 to areas along the border with Ethiopia, while troops repositioned on strategic high ground overlooking Kurmuk and the air force stepped up sorties to secure the area before the rains intensify.
Military units also redeployed around Yara and Dim Saad in Geisan, the source added, predicting that direct ground fighting would decline sharply over the coming months, leaving drone strikes and artillery exchanges as the primary form of combat.
Blue Nile’s terrain amplifies the seasonal slowdown. Kurmuk, Geisan and much of Bao locality are webbed with seasonal channels that can remain flooded for days after heavy rain, Sudanese journalist and Blue Nile native Al-Nazir Ibrahim told Mada Masr.
Dense forests, rocky hills and heavy clay soil that becomes nearly impassable once the rains set in add to the challenge, he said.
Rainfall can continue almost uninterrupted for as long as five days, leaving only residents accustomed to the terrain able to move with relative ease.
Because many of the military-allied fighters operating in the region are drawn from these local communities, Ibrahim said, they are better equipped to navigate the conditions, making familiarity with the landscape a potentially decisive factor in holding territory should fighting continue through the rainy season.
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The post Sudan Nashra: Burhan in Asmara, ceasefire initiative tops agenda | Museveni invites Burhan to Uganda over South Sudan elections, Burhan-Hemedti channel | Burhan accelerates state-led dialogue plan | Deadly RSF drone strikes along Chad border as forces prepare for possible battle over Tina first appeared on Mada Masr .
Sudan Nashra: Burhan in Asmara, ceasefire initiative tops agenda | Museveni invites Burhan to Uganda over South Sudan elections, Burhan-Hemedti channel | Burhan accelerates state-led dialogue plan | Deadly RSF drone strikes along Chad border as forces prepare for possible battle over Tina
Aggregated summary from an independent source. Read the original at MadaMasr.