Sudan’s civil battle noticed various developments on the battlefield in addition to in diplomacy and the humanitarian disaster.
Printed On 31 Aug 2025
Sudan’s civil battle between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the Fast Help Forces (RSF) paramilitary has produced the most important humanitarian disaster on the planet.
Estimates prompt tens of 1000’s of individuals have died from fight and 1000’s extra have perished from illness and starvation introduced on by the battle, now nicely into its third yr.
There have been many vital navy and political developments this month. Listed here are the important thing updates:
Combating and navy management
- The SAF is consolidating its management over the capital, Khartoum, which it took from the RSF in March. It additionally holds the central and japanese areas of Sudan, together with its wartime capital of Port Sudan on the Crimson Sea.
- The RSF controls many of the sprawling western area of Darfur and far of the Kordofan area to the south.
- The RSF continues to besiege North Darfur’s capital, el-Fasher, the place the SAF has its final Darfur garrison. If el-Fasher falls, the RSF will rule over a stretch of land roughly the dimensions of France in western Sudan.
- The RSF has escalated assaults on el-Fasher and on close by displacement camps, together with the Abu Shouk camp, the place 190,000 folks from round Darfur have sought shelter.
- It has additionally erected large sand berms round el-Fasher from the north, west and east, successfully making a “kill-box,” in keeping with latest satellite tv for pc imagery obtained by the Yale Humanitarian Analysis Hub.
- The RSF is working to broaden its management in Kordofan by working with a brand new ally, the Sudan Individuals’s Liberation Motion-North (SPLM-N), headed by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The 2 allied in February to counter the SAF on the battlefield.
- With the assistance of the SPLM-N, the RSF retains management over most of West and South Kordofan, giving them cross-border entry to South Sudan.
- SAF controls essentially the most strategic metropolis in North Kordofan, el-Obeid, which the RSF is besieging. The SAF wants to carry onto el-Obeid to maintain the RSF from threatening central Sudan.

Humanitarian disaster
- The RSF has trapped an estimated 260,000 civilians, together with 130,000 kids, in el-Fasher, turning town into an “epicentre of kid struggling”, in keeping with UNICEF.
- Most are surviving on animal fodder often called ambaz – the residue of pressed oil seeds, similar to peanuts, sesame, and sunflower – which they grind right into a paste; nevertheless, even that is working low.
- About one-third of the kids in Mellit, a metropolis the RSF controls close to el-Fasher, are severely malnourished, in keeping with figures obtained by Aid Worldwide and shared with Al Jazeera. That’s greater than double the World Well being Group’s threshold for a malnutrition emergency.
- A cholera outbreak is compounding the humanitarian disaster throughout the huge area of Darfur, in keeping with Adam Rojal, internally displaced folks spokesperson in Darfur. On August 30, he mentioned the water-borne illness killed 9 people who day and contaminated a complete of 9,143 folks, with 382 deaths, because the epidemic first began in June 2025.
- Meals convoys from the United Nations and different nongovernmental organisations hardly ever attain the uncared for area of Darfur as a result of street closures and bureaucratic impediments. Human rights teams and native activists accuse each side of weaponising meals.
- The World Meals Programme instructed Al Jazeera that it gives digital money help to weak folks in North Darfur, however no meals convoys have reached the area for greater than a yr.
- A UN meals convoy was hit by a drone strike in North Darfur on Friday, the second help convoy in three months to be focused. The RSF and SAF traded blame for the assault.
- There’s a related starvation emergency in South Kordofan as a result of an RSF siege on the cities of Dilling and Kadugli.
Diplomacy and political developments
- RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo was reportedly sworn in as president of the parallel “Peace authorities” on August 31 in South Darfur’s capital, Nyala. SAF hit town with a drone strike on the identical day.
- A secret assembly reportedly passed off in Switzerland between SAF Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and a United States adviser in mid-August, ostensibly to debate a plan to finish the battle, in keeping with Sudan consultants and media retailers. The US has not confirmed the talks.
- Every week after the key assembly, al-Burhan retired a number of senior navy officers, a few of whom reportedly belong to Sudan’s political Islamist motion, which dominated the nation for 30 years with former President Omar al-Bashir on the helm. Specialists consider al-Burhan is underneath exterior stress to dilute the affect of distinguished figures tied to the al-Bashir authorities.