Sudan

• The International Criminal Court announced Friday the issuance of an arrest warrant for General Ahmed Hassan al-Madibbo, a prominent Sudan Armed Forces commander, citing evidence of war crimes including extrajudicial killings and enforced displacement in Darfur since April 2023. • ICC prosecutors presented evidence of at least 127 documented extrajudicial executions of civilians and systematic attacks on refugee camps housing over 2 million displaced persons, with al-Madibbo alleged to have direct command responsibility. • Sudan's military government rejected the warrant and accused the ICC of bias toward the Rapid Support Forces militia; the announcement intensified international pressure on Khartoum to cooperate with the court's investigations.

• The United Nations reported that renewed fighting in South Sudan has displaced over 500,000 people in the past month, creating a humanitarian emergency affecting food security across the region. • The World Food Programme warned that without immediate intervention, famine conditions could emerge within 60 days, affecting approximately 8 million people across South Sudan and neighboring countries. • The US has committed an additional $150 million in humanitarian assistance, but aid organizations stress that security challenges continue to impede delivery of food and medical supplies to affected populations.

• Armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces expanded into Al Gezira state on April 17, displacing an estimated 250,000 civilians and blocking access to critical food supply corridors. • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports 18 million Sudanese now require humanitarian assistance—a 40% increase from January—with famine conditions already declared in parts of Darfur and South Kordofan. • International aid organizations warn that violence is obstructing delivery of medical supplies and vaccinations, raising risks of disease outbreaks in overcrowded displacement camps.

Donors exceed funding target at Berlin conference but prospects for ceasefire remain distantMore than £1bn (€1.15bn) has been pledged for war-ravaged Sudan at a conference in Berlin, eclipsing the funding target organisers had set to help mitigate the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.The financial commitments made on Wednesday will also help offset a chronic humanitarian funding shortfall in a country devastated by three years of conflict, where two-thirds of its population – 34m people – require assistance. Continue reading...

British aid to double as 19m people face acute hunger, but summit unlikely to end conflict amid Saudi-UAE tensions The British foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, will urge Sudan’s warring parties to “cease bloodshed” during a major conference on Wednesday, which analysts believe is unlikely to deliver a significant step towards peace.The talks in Berlin – held on the third anniversary of the start of Sudan’s ruinous war – are expected to help address a catastrophic funding shortfall that is compounding the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Continue reading...

A top UN official has criticised lack of global urgency as reports confirm the world’s largest humanitarian crisis is worseningEfforts to end Sudan’s catastrophic war have been criticised as “unacceptable” by the country’s top UN official as a series of new reports confirm that the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis is worsening.Speaking to the Guardian on the eve of the third anniversary of the war, Denise Brown expressed her concern over the apparent lack of political urgency to end a conflict that has forced 14 million Sudanese to flee their homes. Tens of thousands of people are missing. Continue reading...

• The UN's top aid official has warned that Sudan's humanitarian crisis is being abandoned as the war between rival militaries enters its fourth year, with attacks intensifying and humanitarian access shrinking following a deadly airstrike on a funeral gathering in West Kordofan. • Civilians caught in the conflict face mounting dangers as the situation deteriorates, with the UN condemning the escalating violence and calling for renewed international attention to the neglected crisis. • The warnings come as the global community grapples with multiple concurrent conflicts, raising concerns about resource allocation and diplomatic focus on overlooked humanitarian emergencies.