Thousands of people are trying to leave Port Sudan on boats to Saudi Arabia
Here is the situation on Tuesday, May 9, 2023:
Fighting
• Air raids again shook Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Monday while the latest truce talks in Jeddah yielded no progress, and a Saudi diplomat said both sides consider themselves “capable of winning the battle”.
• Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said on Monday the army was seeking a peaceful solution but that there could be discussions about a lasting settlement only “after we reach a permanent ceasefire in Khartoum” with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Humanitarian situation
• Thousands of people are trying to leave Port Sudan on boats to Saudi Arabia, paying for expensive commercial flights via Sudan’s only working airport, or using evacuation flights.
• Rooms in Port Sudan are going for as much as $100 a night, too much for many of the refugees who are forced to sleep rough in public parks, under trees and outside government buildings.
• Clinics run by the Sudanese Red Crescent in Port Sudan see about 400 cases a day, mainly Syrians and Yemenis, volunteer doctor Rawan Abdelrahman said. They are running short of medicines, supplies, and staff, she added.
• The IRC said, “334,000 have been displaced within Sudan itself, with almost 65,000 estimated to have moved over borders as refugees”.
Diplomacy
• There has been no word on the progress of the talks, which began on Saturday between the army and the RSF in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.
• The combatants have said they would try to tackle only a ceasefire and humanitarian issues like safe passage.
• While not commenting directly on the Jeddah talks, US Ambassador John Godfrey said, “Our immediate priority is to reach a durable ceasefire” and enable humanitarian assistance.
• UN aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Jeddah for the talks to engage on humanitarian issues, but is not engaging directly with either of the warring parties, his spokesperson said.
• The African Union – which suspended Sudan following a coup in 2021 – and the East African regional bloc IGAD are pushing for discussions mediated by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.
