SITUATION REPORT – HORN OF AFRICA No. 440, 30 May 2023

Situation in Sudan (per 30 May)

• A five-day extension of the ceasefire was agreed between the fighting parties Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Monday 29 May. 
• The extension follows a week in which the earlier one-week cease-fire was breached. 
• The US and Saudi Arabia called on both parties to extend the cease-fire and to respect it.
• Clashes between SAF and RSF were reported in El Fasher, North Darfur, and in El Obeid, North Kordofan.
• The fighting in El Fasher led to civilian casualties, looting and new displacements, according to  UNHCR coordinator Toby Harward
• 510 people have been killed in El Geneina in Darfur, according to the Ministry of Health in Sudan. 
• Babies were reported to be dying in the Maygoma Orphanage in Khartoum due to malnutrition, dehydration, lack of (medical) care and long power outages. More than 320 are in critical conditions and 40 orphans are reported to have died.
• 250,000 people in West Darfur have been internally displaced and 90,000 people from West Darfur have fled to Chad.
• The governor of Darfur, Minni Minawi, called on civilians to arm themselves to defend their properties.
• The Sudanese central bank reverted to manual systems for processing some transactions, as technical systems failed. Services can take several days longer than usual.
• The conflict in Sudan is expected to lead to an increase in cross-border weapons smuggling. This could lead to an increase in the breakdown of general law and order as weapons fall into the wrong hands.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that its activities may come to a stop if it is not able to bring in essential supplies and personnel. 
• MSF’s surgical team in Khartoum has been operating non-stop for 10 days straight. Remaining humanitarian staff are working under extreme pressure. 
• MSF’s supplies have diminished due to looting and attacks on healthcare facilities. 

Situation in Tigray (per 30 May)

• Resuming food aid in Tigray “remains a priority“, warns UNOCHA. It is working with small and non-traditional partners to organise targeted food assistance while the main partners have stopped distribution. 
• Around 100 schools in Tigray and Amhara are not used as learning facilities, due to these being used by  armed groups as well as schools being used as shelters for IDPs.
• In Shire and surrounding areas, 50% of schools have re-opened.
• TPLF chairperson Debretsion Gebremichael stated elections should be held in Tigray as soon as possible, as the duration of the interim government should be limited.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 30 May)

• The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have trained 800 militia to fight FANO and Amhara Special Forces refusing to disband in Gojjam, Amhara region. The training reportedly took just 20 days.
• Dire humanitarian situations continue in various parts of Ethiopia.
• In Amhara, high malnutrition rates are coupled with a lack of food supplies due to shortages.
• Approximately 859.000 people have been displaced from Western Oromia. Poor health services cause high mortality and morbidity, and the protection needs are high.
• Unseasonal flooding has caused displacement and increased humanitarian needs across the Somali, Oromia, Southern Nations Nationalities & Peoples’ (SNNP), and South West Ethiopia Peoples’ and Afar regions. 

Regional Situation (per 30 May)

• President Isayas is visiting Russian President Putin, after a visit to president Xi of China last week. The visit is a 4-day state visit. The delegation includes Eritrea Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Commissioner for Culture and Sports, Ambassador Zemede Tecle.
• The African Union Peace and Security Commission adopted the AU Roadmap for the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan, which includes six elements to ending the conflict.
• The elements include a coordination mechanism for international actors, a permanent cessation of hostilities, humanitarian response, protection of civilians, strategic roles for neighbouring states and resumption of a political transition process in Sudan. 
• The AU called on the fighting parties in Sudan to resume “the political transition process culminating in the conduct of elections, towards a democratic, civilian-led government”.

International Situation (per 30 May)

• The EU supports the Saudi and US role in the negotiations around the ceasefire in Sudan, but there needs to be “an African component”, states EU Horn of Africa envoy Anette Weber. 
• General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to ask for the removal of UN Special Envoy Volker Perthes on Friday.
• Guterres was shocked by the letter and reaffirmed full confidence in the Special Envoy.
• US Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer will travel to Ethiopia and Djibouti between 31 May and 6 June, among others to participate in the East Africa Security Forum. 
• A festival organised by PFDJ, Eritrea, at Event Plaza in The Netherlands, Rijswijk, was cancelled on Sunday. The festival was organised to celebrate independence day. Multiple people were injured.
• Experts have called for an investigation, especially into the weapons available at the festival.
• Hundreds of human rights defenders were protesting against the festival, warning it was a tool to put pressure on Eritrean refugees in The Netherlands.
• The pressure includes paying financial contributions to the Eritrean regime which reportedly also checks during festivals on the loyalty of refugees towards  the Eritrean regime. 
• The refugees had written to the mayor to say they felt threatened and that the event was organised by people trained in Sawa military camp in Eritrea.