Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of universities, research organisations, civil society, and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and across Africa. The Situation Reports can be found here. To receive the situation report in your e-mail, click here. You can unsubscribe at any moment through the link at the bottom of each e-mail.
Situation in Tigray (per 17 March)
- General Tadesse Werede has taken over the leadership of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA) following negotiations in Addis Ababa with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Debretsion Gebremichael, Getachew Reda and Tadesse Werede.
- Part of the TIRA delegation has already travelled back to Tigray. However, uncertainties and tensions remain high.
- Debretsion’s TPLF faction took control over the mayor’s office in Mekelle and the Mekelle FM radio station on Thursday.
- New interim President of TIRA Tadesse Werede reportedly dismissed the accusations that Debretsion’s TPLF faction is working with Eritrea.
- Rumors of Eritrean troop movements towards Adigrat last week were proven incorrect.
- An increased push for mobilisation in the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) was reported last week, including the call for demobilised fighters to re-join.
Situation in Sudan (per 17 March)
- Intense fighting is ongoing in Khartoum, Sudan, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) risk being encircled by advancing Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
- RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) ordered his troops not to give up Khartoum, including the presidential palace, in a pre-recorded speech sent out on Saturday. This indicates that RSF will likely not organise an imminent retreat.
- Hemedti also threatened that his forces would target Port Sudan, and that countries that supported the SAF would pay the price.
- SAF took control of several key locations in Khartoum’s city centre, pro-SAF media reported. Commander of the Al-Baraa bin Malik Battalion, Al-Misbah Abu Zaid, stated SAF is determined to reach the palace.
- At least four people were killed and 30 wounded in the shelling of the Karari area north of Omdurman. State media blamed RSF for the attack, which hit residential areas.
- Police in Khartoum reported that they found 11 bodies, including women and children, and the bottom of a well in Fayhaa neighborhood of Khartoum. SAF regained control over the area earlier this month.
- Government buildings and infrastructure in El Daein (East Darfur) and Nyala (South Darfur) were targeted by missile strikes. The government headquarters in El Daein were reportedly completely destroyed. Nyala International Airport was also targeted.
Situation in South Sudan (per 17 March)
- An airstrike hit the town of Nasir in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State on Sunday night, local authorities and witnesses report.
- A military aircraft dropped several bombs on the city’s airstrip and surrounding areas, states Nasir County Commissioner Gatluak Lew Thiep. The bombs have caused significant fires to break out and killed at least 21 civilians, including two children.
- South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) were accused by witnesses of being behind the bombardments.
- Officials in Nasir report that the bombardment continued today in Ngueny Boma in Koat Payam. The mobile network is reportedly down in the area.
- Civil society in South Sudan called for increased engagement by the international community to restore peace in South Sudan.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 17 March)
- The freezing of US aid has left critical gaps in humanitarian operations across Ethiopia, states ACAPS. Even organisations covered by the funding freeze waivers have not received funding until the end of February, creating a liquidity crisis.
- The sudden nature of the funding freeze has left programmes unable to ethically close down, risking permanent harm to communities. Programmes partially hit by the funding freeze have also experienced serious impacts.
- Ethiopia’s Gambella region is dealing with a rapidly spreading outbreak of cholera, warns Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Around 1,500 people have gotten sick, of which 31 have died. The arrival of refugees from South Sudan’s escalating crisis has worsened the situation.
Regional Situation (per 17 March)
- Sudan has banned all imports from Kenya amidst tensions over Kenya’s hosting of the RSF and allied forces, who signed a charter there to form a parallel government. The ban is effective immediately.
- Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, warned on social media that Ugandan troops have started operations in South Sudan. He stated that the White Army must surrender, and warned that those who try to fight the Ugandan forces will die.
International Situation (per 17 March)
- Refugees have raised the alarm over escalating violent rhetoric against refugees in Libya. The local population threatened violence against refugee communities if Libyan authorities did not remove them.
- Refugees in Libya fear that violence may escalate following the end of Ramadan and call for the international community to help.
- The UN Security Council met on the situations in Sudan and South Sudan. UN and humanitarian leaders emphasized the need for immediate intervention.
- An estimated two-thirds of Sudan’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance this year, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned. Famine is already occurring in five locations in Sudan. The impending rain season threatens to worsen this crisis if aid is not increased.
- Both SAF and RSF are not only failing to protect people but actively contributing to their suffering, Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of MSF, stated. He calls for the international community to organise a new compact on humanitarian aid and increase funding.
Links of interest
Rival forces seize mayor’s office in key Ethiopian town amid fears of new conflict
Hemedti orders his troops not to surrender the presidential palace
RSF leader vows new escalation in Khartoum and Port Sudan
Army advances in central Khartoum, tightening siege on RSF
Sudanese police accuse RSF paramilitaries after 11 bodies found at bottom of a well in Khartoum
Shelling in Omdurman kills four, wounds dozens, mostly children – officials
Missile strikes hit government buildings in Sudan’s El Daein and Nyala
Bombing reported in Nasir, escalating tensions
UPDATED: Airstrike kills 21 civilians in Nasir
Civil society calls for international support to actualise peace in South Sudan
Ethiopia: implications of the US aid freeze & terminations
MSF warns of ‘rapidly spreading’ outbreak as cholera kills 31 in Ethiopia
Sudan bans all Kenyan imports after it hosted RSF
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at UN Security Council meeting on Sudan
MSF briefs UN Security Council on “war on people” in Sudan
UN Security Council confronts Sudan’s worsening crisis
Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.