Sudan Nashra: Burhan agrees to week-long humanitarian truce in Fasher Armed groups' ministerial quotas derail PM's technocratic vision Hemedti makes first field appearance in two years, strikes conciliatory tone toward Egypt, armed groups

Mada

14 hours ago

Amid a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in North Darfur's Fasher — besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for over a year — Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) Chair and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan agreed on Friday to a humanitarian truce proposed by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres during a phone call between the two. North Darfur Health Ministry General Director Ibrahim Khater told Mada Masr that an air bridge is expected to be deployed soon to deliver aid to the city.
On the political front, Prime Minister Kamel Idris is facing mounting obstacles in his bid to form a nonpartisan technocratic government — a key pledge he made upon taking office a month ago. In his consultations with the TSC and armed movements signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement, Burhan offered recommendations that effectively made regional representation a key criterion in the selection process, while armed movements are insisting on retaining the ministerial quotas granted to them under the deal. Both demands undermine Idris's promise.
Across Sudan's western border with the Central African Republic, the UN Security Council raised alarm over RSF incursions into the neighboring country and its cooperation with local armed groups.
Domestically, internal rifts within RSF ranks are emerging in West and North Kordofan, as well as in Nyala, South Darfur, amid an increasingly volatile security landscape in RSF-controlled areas.
In Bara, North Kordofan, clashes broke out between Sudanese RSF fighters and mercenaries, followed by sweeping raids on villages across the state. In West Kordofan, tensions escalated between members of the Messira and Rizeigat tribes after discriminatory treatment of those wounded in last week's assault on Babanusa.
Meanwhile in Nyala, South Darfur, RSF groups attacked two RSF prisons in an attempt to release detainees. Infighting among RSF factions continues in the city's neighborhoods, alongside widespread looting and detentions.
In his first field appearance among his troops in nearly two years, RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemedti' Dagalo struck a conciliatory tone toward Egypt, proposing a political dialogue to resolve tensions. His comments came less than two weeks after the RSF took control over the strategic border triangle between Sudan, Egypt and Libya, in the far northwest of Northern State.
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PM's vision for technocratic cabinet runs into political, regional quotas
During consultations with the TSC and armed movement signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement, Prime Minister Kamel Idris's plan to form a fully nonpartisan technocratic cabinet ran into interference.
TSC Chair and SAF Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan offered recommendations that push regional representation to be a key criterion in the selection process, while armed movements are insisting on retaining their ministerial positions without change.
A former cabinet official told Mada Masr that Idris is under a lot of pressure from the armed groups, especially the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which is not only insisting on keeping certain ministries but is also lobbying for the reappointment of former ministers.
In a statement issued Tuesday, JEM spokesperson Mohamed Zakaria reaffirmed the group's commitment to the Juba Peace Agreement, including the executive positions it guarantees. The group's leader, Gibril Ibrahim, has served as finance minister since 2021.
Signed in October 2020 between the transitional government and several armed groups led by the Sudan Revolutionary Front, the deal granted these movements representation across transitional institutions — three seats on the TSC, five unspecified ministerial posts in the executive cabinet and 75 seats in the transitional legislative council. The five ministries they ultimately came to occupy are finance, minerals, labor and social development, administrative reform and federal governance.
Meanwhile, though Idris had hoped to avoid entrenched regional divisions in his Cabinet, Burhan's recommendations effectively made regional representation a determining factor in the selection criteria, a senior official at the Cabinet secretariat told Mada Masr.
Sudan's transitional period has been marked by deepening ethnic and regional divisions — rifts that have only widened with the outbreak of war. These dynamics are mirrored in the makeup of the TSC, whose membership is structured around geographical representation.
Still, a senior TSC source told Mada Masr that the delay in forming the government does not constitute a serious obstacle. The purpose of the consultations with the armed groups and the TSC is to ensure the new government's success, the source said.
Amid the stall, Idris moved ahead with appointments outside the portfolios held by armed groups — though regionally weighted — issuing a decree on Tuesday naming Lieutenant General Hassan Dawoud Kabroun, from South Kordofan, defense minister, and Police Lieutenant General Babiker Samra, from the Red Sea State, as interior minister.
A source at the Defense Ministry described Kabroun as one of the military's most prominent commanders, credited with defending the General Command in central Khartoum during the two-year siege. Another military source noted that Kabroun maintains strong ties with military-aligned battalions and that his appointment was welcomed by combat units fighting alongside the military.
As for Samra, a source at the Interior Ministry said he has held several senior leadership roles within the ministries, including as director of the criminal investigations and intelligence department and of general inspection department, as well as head of administrative and planning affairs. He has also completed advanced training in Sudan and abroad, notably in Egypt, and has participated in programs on strategic studies and migration control, according to the source.
Some ministers in the Cabinet that was dissolved upon Idris's appointment are expected to retain their posts. Three informed sources in the TSC said Energy Minister Mohie Eddin Naim and Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim may be reappointed, following praise from Burhan and other council members for their performance. Both are independent figures with no ties to political parties or armed groups.
Consensus has also been reached between the TSC and Idris over the nomination of diplomat Badr Eddin al-Geifry as the new foreign minister, a senior diplomatic source told Mada Masr.
As political influence has already begun to shape the new transitional period, the prospects of a true technocratic, nonpartisan government that Idris pledged in his speech last week appears to be waning.
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemedti' Dagalo made his first public field appearance in two years, addressing his troops in a remote area outside Khartoum.
Hemedti had only made two public field appearances with his troops — first on Nile Street near the Presidential Palace on the war's first day, and again, months later, in southern Khartoum — before vanishing from the field and only appearing in pre-recorded video messages.
In a speech delivered Tuesday and filmed by a drone camera, Hemedti was flanked by masked guards and standing before thousands of RSF fighters, as he struck a defiant tone toward the military leadership while adopting a more conciliatory stance when speaking about the armed movements fighting against him and toward Egypt.
Hemedti expressed a desire to open a new chapter in relations with Egypt, voicing respect for the Egyptian people and emphasizing that disputes should be settled through dialogue.
Hemedti has repeatedly accused Egypt of directly participating in military operations against his forces. In May 2024, he told Asharq News that the Egyptian Air Force had targeted RSF troops in the Karrari locality in Omdurman. Later in October, he claimed Egyptian aircraft had bombed his forces at Jebel Moya during the battles that ended in the RSF's defeat. Again in early June 2025, he said Cairo supplied the military with eight aircraft.
His call for dialogue comes shortly after the RSF announced control over the strategic border triangle between Sudan, Libya and Egypt in mid-June, describing it as a step toward enhancing security and combating smuggling.
Hemedti also pledged to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to conflict-affected areas, saying the RSF would work to secure roads and access routes. Vowing a crackdown on what he described as criminals and outlaws in RSF-held regions, he instructed his troops in different states to enforce order. Among other pledges made during his speech, he promised to pay overdue salaries to RSF fighters.
Addressing residents of northern Sudan, where the RSF has expanded its operations in recent weeks, Hemedti insisted that forces deployed in the area included no looters — an implicit response to persistent accusations of abuse against civilians.
He also launched a scathing attack on the military, claiming it had been severely weakened and vowing to 'crush what remains' of it. At the same time, he struck a more conciliatory tone toward leaders of armed groups allied with the military — naming Darfur Governor and Sudan Liberation Movement leader Minni Arko Minnawi and JEM's Gibril Ibrahim — saying he would welcome their return to the RSF's side if they chose to do so.
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Sudanese, foreign RSF fighters clash in North Kordofan, civilians flee as RSF raids, loots villages across state
Clashes broke out on Monday in the city of Bara, North Kordofan, between Sudanese members of the RSF and foreign fighters aligned with them, resulting in casualties and a sharp deterioration in the area's security situation.
Fighting broke out between RSF fighters from the Messiria tribe and a group of mercenaries led by Stephen Buay, the rebel South Sudanese commander, a resident of Bara told Mada Masr. The confrontation was triggered by accusations from Messiria fighters that the foreign mercenaries were sowing chaos and looting civilians, according to the source.
Both sides sustained casualties before the RSF commander in the area, Mohamed Abdallah al-Naem, intervened to deescalate the situation, vowing to take action against the perpetrators, the source said. Still, the source described the situation in Bara and its surroundings as chaotic and dangerous, with residents fleeing toward safer areas.
On Tuesday, RSF fighters launched a wave of attacks in both northern and southern North Kordofan.
To the southwest of Bara, RSF fighters raided and looted several villages, killing or injuring residents who tried to defend their property, a second source from Bara said. The most violent assaults targeted the villages of Sunut and Um Tagar.
The same pattern unfolded on the same day in southern North Kordofan, where RSF fighters stormed the villages of Alhagouna and Lamina in Kazgil. According to three local sources, the fighters looted homes and attacked resisting residents, leaving more than 20 civilians killed or wounded.
The attacks coincide with RSF expansion in and around Bara on Monday and Tuesday. According to the second source in Bara, RSF units have taken positions in nearby areas including Um Gerfa and Um Sayala. Forces under the command of Ahmed 'Gogga' Adam — who led widespread atrocities in Gezira State and the Gamuia villages south of Omdurman — have been stationed in Um Lahm, outside Bara, and continue to pose a serious threat to local residents.
On Wednesday, the RSF announced they regained control of the town of Rahid al-Nuba, which the military had captured two weeks earlier. A field source told Mada Masr that the RSF dispatched 30 combat vehicles carrying troops to Rahid al-Nuba on Thursday in a bid to solidify their hold and block any renewed military advance.
Rahid al-Nuba is located along the western Saderat Road, a strategic route the military is working to secure as part of a broader push to reclaim northern parts of North Kordofan. A military source said the military deployed heavy reinforcements in the area on Sunday.
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Tribal rift ignites in RSF after disputed treatment of wounded fighters in West Kordofan
Heavy losses sustained by the RSF during their failed attempt last week to seize the military's command center in Babanusa, West Kordofan, have ignited internal tensions within RSF ranks.
The fallout from the battle took a distinctly tribal turn that went beyond disagreements, a tribal source told Mada Masr.
According to the source, friction has escalated between fighters who are members of the Mahariya clan and the broader Rizeigat tribe on one side, and those from the Messeria tribe on the other, over the treatment of the dozens of wounded fighters after last week's clashes.
While injured Mahariya and Rizeigat fighters were transferred to well-equipped hospitals in Daein, Messiria casualties were taken to under-resourced facilities in Muglad and Um Jack. The disparity sparked outrage among the Messiria, who viewed it as a clear act of discrimination. Speaking to Mada Masr, a resident in Muglad described it as a 'double humiliation in a moment of vulnerability.'
A source in the General Intelligence Service said the incident reveals the fragility of the RSF's internal structure, which has long relied on precarious tribal alliances. Such divisions could cause the RSF to fracture from within, the source said, triggering defections or rebellions, especially as it comes under mounting military pressure on multiple fronts. Rival armed groups or the military might then exploit such internal unrest to regain territories, according to the source.
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RSF factions launch prison raids in Nyala, South Darfur
Fighting broke out this week at two prisons in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, as RSF groups attempted to free detainees held at the facilities.
On Tuesday, clashes broke out between prison guards and RSF units loyal to Major General Essam Fadil — the RSF senior leader who had been detained by the group — at Dagris Prison, southwest of the city, a resident told Mada Masr. The prison houses a significant number of military officers and soldiers captured by the RSF.
The assault did not target the location where Fadil is being held.
A retired military officer from the Rizeigat tribe, Fadil was reinstated into the RSF several years before the current war erupted.
The prison raid came amid deteriorating conditions in Nyala, where the RSF launched a sweeping campaign of arrests targeting both military personnel and civilians suspected of collaborating with the military.
According to the source, RSF fighters tried to storm Dagris Prison to release detainees, but guards, bolstered by reinforcements, eventually regained control. Nonetheless, several detainees managed to escape. Simultaneously, another RSF group attacked Nyala's Kobar Prison, leading to the escape of dozens more detainees, the source added.
A military source told Mada Masr that Fadil has been held under heavy guard since November 2024, amid declining health. He was accused of communicating with the military and attempting to coordinate a surrender. At the time, Fadil appeared in a video denying he had defected from the RSF.
Fadil is regarded as the fourth highest ranking RSF leader after the Dagalo brothers and Operations Commander Osman Mohamed Hamid. Before the war broke out in April 2023, he served as assistant commander for administrative affairs and headed the RSF's committee tasked with combating negative phenomena.
In response to the prison attacks, head of the RSF-affiliated civilian administration Youssef Idris announced on Saturday the formation of a committee to investigate the incidents at both the Kobar and Dagris prisons.
Idris said that the committee's mandate is limited to establishing the facts surrounding this week's attacks on the two facilities.
Meanwhile, Nyala remains gripped by a sharp deterioration in security, as lawlessness and infighting between RSF factions continue to escalate.
Caption: Civilians in Nyala flee amid RSF clashes last week.
The source in Nyala said that RSF elements have been carrying out widespread looting, arbitrarily detaining civilians on charges of collaborating with the military, and demanding ransoms for their release. They have also been extorting traders and imposing fees on vehicles along main roads. Infighting has spilled into residential neighborhoods, and bodies of both military officers and civilians are left in the streets, according to the source.
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UN Security Council links RSF to cross-border armed activity in Central African Republic
As instability deepens along Sudan's RSF-held western border, the UN Security Council directly accused the RSF of collaborating with armed groups near the border with the Central African Republic.
In a statement on Tuesday, the council condemned the killing of a UN peacekeeper in a June 20 attack by what it described as 'suspected Sudanese armed elements.' It noted that this marked the third assault on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic since the start of 2025.
Council members voiced concern over the implications of Sudan's conflict for the humanitarian and security situation, pointing to 'incursions by the RSF in the territory of the Central African Republic and their cooperation with local armed groups.'
The statement also referenced multiple reports of illicit cross-border trafficking networks that 'continue to fund and supply armed groups in the Central African Republic.' The council called for the need to further investigate and combat these threats.
Burhan agreed on Friday to a humanitarian truce in Fasher, North Darfur, during a phone call with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Guterres called on Burhan to declare a one-week humanitarian truce in Fasher to support UN efforts and facilitate aid delivery to thousands of civilians trapped in the besieged city. Burhan agreed to the proposal and stressed the importance of implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The council adopted a resolution in June 2024 that calls for the RSF to end the siege on Fasher, and for the warring parties to ensure the protection of civilians and allow and facilitate 'the rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained passage of humanitarian relief.'
The Darfur regional government, in coordination with the military's Sixth Division in Fasher, is preparing to carry out airdrop operations to deliver humanitarian aid, a military source in the division said. North Darfur's Health Ministry General Director Ibrahim Khater also confirmed to Mada Masr that large-scale logistical efforts were underway to deliver relief supplies by air.
The truce and renewed aid deliveries come as the humanitarian crisis in North Darfur — particularly in Fasher — continues to deepen. The city has been under a tight RSF siege for months, cutting off supply routes and pushing it to the brink of disaster.
Airdrop operations had been suspended after an RSF attack brought down a military aircraft over Fasher in March, according to Khater.