Sudan Fighting enters 26th day: Here’s the situation on May 9

Sudan in North Africa has been reeling from a deadly conflict since April 15. Intense clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have caused over 500 deaths, severe injuries and widespread displacement.

Here was the situation on May 9, Tuesday.

Intense Fighting

• Air raids consumed the capital, Khartoum, on Monday as the latest negotiations in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah yielded no progress.
• A Saudi diplomat said both parties involved in the clashes consider themselves “capable of winning” the war.
• On Monday, SAF chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the military was searching for a peaceful solution to the crisis but that there could be talks over an effective settlement only after a permanent truce has been established with the RSF.

Humanitarian Situation

• More than 700,000 people are now feared to be internally displaced in Sudan since April 15. Before the clashes erupted, there were already 3.7 million people displaced in the country, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Paul Dillon said.
• Scores of people are trying to leave Port Sudan on boats to Saudi Arabia, boarding expensive commercial flights from Sudan’s only operating airport, or using evacuation flights.
• Rooms in Port Sudan are now priced around $100 a night, too expensive for a number of refugees who are compelled to sleep rough in public parks, outside government buildings and under trees.
• Clinics operated by the Sudanese Red Crescent in Port Sudan are seeing roughly 400 patients per day, particularly Yemenis and Syrians, doctor Rawan Abdelrahman said. She raised concerns over depleting supplies of medicines and a shortage of staff.
• According to the IRC, 334,000 people have already been internally displaced within Sudan and almost 65,000 are estimated to have crossed borders.

Negotiations and Ceasefires

• The discussions in Saudi Arabia aren’t known to yield any progress. While not commenting directly on the talks, US Ambassador John Godfrey said the immediate priority is to enable humanitarian assistance and to establish a durable ceasefire.
• Meanwhile, the African Union – which suspended Sudan after a military coup in 2021 – and the East African regional bloc IGAD are pushing for negotiations mediated by Salva Kiir, president of neighbouring South Sudan.