Resumption of Sudan Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia?

 Agence France Presse published on 15 July 2023 an article titled "Sudan Army Returns to Talks in Saudi as War Enters Fourth Month."

Sudanese Army representatives have returned to Saudi Arabia for peace talks with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has not yet commented on returning.  Expectations for successful talks are low.  

A Long War Looming in Sudan

 The International Crisis Group (ICG) posted on 7 July 2023 a 47 minute podcast titled "A Long War Looming in Sudan" hosted by Richard Atwood with ICG staff Shewit Woldemichael and Alan Boswell.  

The podcast provides an update and analysis of fighting in Darfur, southern Sudan, and the Khartoum capital region.  The current situation suggests it will be a long war and could be a civil war.  There are increasing parallels in Sudan to Somalia of 30 years ago.  The outlook for mediation is dismal.  

Sudan's Sad History Repeats Itself

 Just Security published on 26 June 2023 a commentary titled "Sudan Today Follows Decades of Justice Denied" by Tirana Hassan.

The brutality Sudanese civilians are enduring today feels like history repeating itself when in the 2010's the military used indiscriminate aerial bombing of populated areas in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.  It is essential to hold those responsible for past crimes to account to deliver a better future for Sudan.  

Sudan's Juba Peace Agreement

 The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 23 February 2021 an analysis titled "The Rebels Come to Khartoum: How to Implement Sudan's New Peace Agreement."

The 2020 Juba Peace Agreement signed by Sudan's transitional government and rebel groups in Darfur and the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile) is a good step forward but the two most powerful rebel groups have not yet signed.  Nevertheless, the agreement will help Sudan move to a more stable and representative government.  

Obstacles to Sudan's Peace Deal

 African Arguments published on 12 October 2020 an analysis titled "The Obstacles to Sudan's Landmark Peace Deal" by Yaseen Mohmad Abdalla, journalist and researcher.

The government of Sudan recently signed in Juba a peace agreement with 3 armed groups: the Justice and Equality Movement, Sudan Liberation Movement, and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.  Two other important armed groups refused to endorse the pact, which puts in question its ability to bring peace.  

Keeping the Hotline Open between Sudan and South Sudan

The International Crisis Group published on 13 April 2018 a commentary titled "Keeping the Hotline Open Between Sudan and South Sudan."

A set of cooperation agreements between Sudan and South Sudan has largely held and has formed the basis of their bilateral relations ever since. The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism are largely responsible for this development. The International Crisis Group urges that they remain in place.

The Gold Sector in Sudan

The Sudan Democracy First Group recently published a study titled "The Politics of Mining and Trading of Gold in Sudan: Challenges of Corruption and Lack of Transparency" by Elfadil Elsharief Elhashmi.

The author concludes that the gold sector in Sudan operates in the context of widespread corruption and a state that has organized itself around the theft of national resources.

Sudan and US Sanctions

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 29 September 2017 a commentary titled "A New Roadmap to Make U.S. Sudan Sanctions Relief Work."

The United States will decide by October 12 whether to lift permanently economic and trade sanctions that the Obama administration suspended in January 2017. The ICG concludes that lifting the sanctions is the wiser course. If the US declines to lift sanctions, it risks losing considerable future leverage with Sudan and reinforces Khartoum's belief that Washington cannot be relied upon to honor its commitments.

Sudan and the Peace Process

The Kampala, Uganda-based Sudan Democracy First Group (SDFG) posted on 17 February 2017 a commentary titled "Can a Peaceful Political Process in Sudan be Revitalized through the AUHIP? Challenges and Opportunities."

The SDFG suggests ways the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki can revitalize the Sudan peace process.

Sudan over the Past Year

The Rift Valley Institute published on 25 May 2016 an overview titled "This Year in Sudan" by Douglas Johnson and Guma Kunda Komey. It summarizes key political and economic developments in Sudan over the past year.

Janjaweed Armed by Sudan to Fight Rebels

Foreign Policy published on 19 May 2016 an article titled "'The Shrapnel Finds Us Wherever We Hide': Sudan's Janjaweed Are Back. Only This Time They're Better Armed" by Tom Rhodes, managing editor of Nuba Reports, and Musa John, freelance journalist.

The authors report that the government of Sudan has armed the infamous Janjaweed from Darfur to fight SPLA-N rebels in the Nuba Mountains.

Sudan's Conflict Gold Trade

Enough published in March 2015 a commentary titled "Fool's Gold: The Case for Scrutinizing Sudan's Conflict Gold Trade" by Akshaya Kumar. 

Gold from Sudan originates in conflict-affected Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.  In North Darfur and Blue Nile, the mining areas have been both the sites and the objects of conflict.  In South Kordofan, the mining benefits the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.  The report argues that unless gold from Sudan can be verifiably traced to a conflict-free mine, it should be flagged as high risk during audits and excluded from responsible buyers' supply chains.

Sudanese Official Has Meetings in Washington

The Sudan Tribune published an article on 11 February 2015 titled "Sudanese Official Begins Meetings in Washington".  It reports on the visit to Washington by Sudanese presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour, who had meetings at the State Department, National Security Council, and with think tanks.   

Sudan and South Sudan's Merging Conflicts

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 29 January 2015 a report titled "Sudan and South Sudan's Merging Conflicts."  It analyses the cross-border alliances that have formed and argues that strong measures are required by the UN Security Council as well as more strategic engagement by the wider international community in support of mediation efforts by the regional bodies, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the African Union. 

Sudan: South Kordofan Needs Assessment

The Enough Project published on 20 November 2014 a report titled "Life under Siege: South Kordofan Needs Assessment."  The study was conducted in August 2014 by anonymous researchers with access to rebel-held parts of Sudan's South Kordofan state.

Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) have been in armed conflict in Sudan's South Kordofan state for more than three years.  The assessment provides a picture of the humanitarian needs in South Kordofan. 

Mobilization of Sudan Armed Forces in Nuba Mountains

The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) published on 25 April 2014 a warning concerning the mobilization of Sudan Armed Forces in the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan.  SSP suggests the mobilization is designed for an assault on Sudan Revolutionary Front bases in the Kauda Valley. 

Sudan's Tortured Peace Process

The Enough Project published on 1 April 2014 a commentary titled "Sudan's Tortured Peace Process" by Omer Ismail and Akshaya Kumar.  They argue the current effort that continues to support fragmented negotiations for each of Sudan's regional conflicts is counterproductive.  What is needed is a holistic approach

U.S. Policy toward Sudan and South Sudan

The House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations held a hearing on 26 February 2014 titled "U.S. Policy toward Sudan and South Sudan."  The hearing, chaired by Chairman Smith, examined the need for a more unified, wider- ranging and proactive policy that can advance long-term U.S. goals in Sudan and South Sudan. 

The full text of the opening statements of each witness is available by clicking the name of the witness.  The witnesses included Donald Booth, special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, U.S. Department of State; John Prendergast, co-founder, Enough Project; Walid Phares, co-secretary general, Transatlantic Group on Counter Terrorism; and Adotei Akwei, managing director for government relations, Amnesty International US. 

Life in the Nuba Mountains

The Enough Team published in October 2013 a report titled "Life in the Nuba Mountains: Humanitarian Needs in Sudan's South Kordofan State."  The report offers an assessment of humanitarian needs in South Kordofan State based on field research conducted in July-August 2013 by researchers who have asked to remain anonymous.  An independent humanitarian expert, Steven Hansch, has endorsed the methodology of the study, which deals with a region where internationals are not given permission to enter. 

Sudan-South Sudan Border and Grazing Conflict

The border between Sudan and South Sudan is not fully delimited or demarcated.  It is highly militarized by numerous armed groups.  All along the border there is confusion about which administrative levels should control grazing routes.  Joshua Craze, PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, just released a paper titled "Dividing Lines: Grazing and Conflict along the Sudan-South Sudan Border" that looks at the issue through the lens of the 2011-2012 grazing season, the first since South Sudan's independence.  Seasonal pastoralist movements through the border regions are one of the central reasons for tension between the two states.