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German Foreign Minister Urges 'Pressure' on Sudan Warring Sides

A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)
A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)
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German Foreign Minister Urges 'Pressure' on Sudan Warring Sides

A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)
A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock set off for east Africa on Wednesday to push for sanctions to force Sudan's warring parties to start peace talks.

Baerbock will go to South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti, where she will also discuss ways to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthis.

Baerbock had been due in Djibouti on Wednesday but was delayed as her flight failed to receive clearance on time to overfly Eritrea.

No reason was provided for the refused approval, but Baerbock has already had ministerial flight problems. She was forced to cancel a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji last August because of a defective plane that only took her to the United Arab Emirates.

Baerbock had been due to meet her Djibouti counterpart as well as the leader of East African bloc IGAB on her arrival.

Ahead of her visit, she said Sudan would be a focus of talks.

Since April 2023, the war in Sudan pitting forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commonly known as Hemeti, who commands the Rapid Support Forces, has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced 7.5 million.

Images from Darfur have brought back grim memories of the genocide 20 years ago, Baerbock said.

"Together with my partners in Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan, I will explore possibilities to bring generals Burhan and Hemeti finally to the negotiating table, so that they don't drag the people in Sudan deeper into the abyss and destabilize the region any further," she said in a statement.

"For me it is clear that we must raise the pressure on both sides -- through sanctions, by holding them accountable for their violations against the civil population and by influencing their supporters abroad."

Previous mediation attempts have yielded only brief truces, and even those were systematically violated, AFP reported.

Beyond political talks, Baerbock will hold meetings with members of Sudan's civil society.

"Sudan will only find long-term peace with a civil democratic government," she said, emphasizing that the conflict should not become a "forgotten crisis".

Sudan's army-aligned government this month spurned an invitation to an east African summit organized by the IGAD East African bloc and subsequently suspended its membership in the group for engaging with Daglo, commander of the rival forces.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, torture and arbitrary detention of civilians.

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Sudan Arms Surge Raises Alarms Over Civilian Protection

Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
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Sudan Arms Surge Raises Alarms Over Civilian Protection

Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)

A surge in deadly violence has gripped the quiet northern town of al-Dabbah, exposing the growing threat posed by the rampant spread of weapons across Sudan in the absence of effective state control.

At least eight people were killed over just two days, four in tribal clashes and four others in a street fight within the town.

The latest bloodshed comes amid a broader climate of insecurity, where gunfire has become a common soundscape. In nearby Omdurman, social media users circulated graphic footage of a young man shot dead in cold blood after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone.

Reports of killings and injuries from arguments and brawls settled with bullets have flooded social platforms, painting a grim picture of lawlessness. Armed robbery gangs are said to roam freely, terrorizing civilians with no security forces in sight.

As Sudan’s brutal conflict enters its third year, guns have become as commonplace in towns and villages as household items. What was once settled with fists or sticks is now resolved through the barrel of a gun.

Tens of thousands of civilians have reportedly armed themselves, citing the need for self-defense amid state collapse and the disintegration of law enforcement.

Even before the war erupted, estimates suggested around 2.2 million firearms were circulating in Sudan’s conflict zones. Since then, the figure is believed to have ballooned, with unofficial estimates placing the current number at nearly six million, most acquired privately or informally.

In al-Dabbah, local authorities confirmed tribal clashes erupted between members of the Kababish and Hawaweer tribes, leaving four dead and others wounded before security forces intervened. The following day, a quarrel between vehicle drivers escalated into a gunfight, claiming four more lives.

Meanwhile, in the Omdurman district of Al-Hattana, gunmen fatally shot a man while attempting to snatch his phone, another grim scene that social media brought into public view.

Weapons have now flooded Sudan’s markets. Eyewitnesses and former security officials say that under the brief control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, firearms were openly sold on the street like vegetables, with prices starting at just 20,000 Sudanese pounds, roughly $10.

Security experts say this gun chaos is not a sudden phenomenon but the product of years of unchecked proliferation.

Under former President Omar al-Bashir, weapons were distributed to tribal militias to fight opposing groups. With the eruption of nationwide conflict, arms have spread from the traditional battlegrounds of Darfur and Kordofan to cities in Sudan’s north, east, and center.

Legal analyst Moaz Hadra warned of the growing dangers of “random arming,” saying some groups are being trained and armed outside Sudan to destabilize the country. “Why are these groups being trained abroad instead of within Sudan’s military institutions?” he asked when speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Officials Downplay Risk, Citing Self-Defense

Despite mounting violence, Sudanese security and military officials continue to downplay the threat. They argue that most weapons are held by civilians for self-protection against RSF attacks or roaming bandits. “Should a citizen wait helplessly while armed men storm his home?” one commentator asked rhetorically.

Brigadier General Fath al-Rahman al-Toum, a police spokesman, dismissed fears of total lawlessness, saying that gun crackdowns are ongoing and that firearms possession is being treated as an exceptional situation under extraordinary circumstances.

Others, like Brigadier General Saleh Abdullah, insist that once the war ends, collecting the weapons will be “very easy,” noting that most guns were distributed under strict regulations to reserve forces and can be retrieved using serial numbers registered to each piece. “The army has always managed its weapons according to clear protocols,” he said.

Major General Mujahid Ibrahim added that Sudan’s porous borders, particularly in the west, have made it easier for arms to enter the country unchecked, exacerbating the crisis. Still, military officials say weapons loaned to civilians can be recovered thanks to detailed logs and unique identifiers.

Yet, as al-Dabbah and Omdurman reel from fresh bouts of violence, the gap between official reassurance and on-the-ground chaos continues to widen. With Sudan’s civil war showing no sign of abating, the unchecked spread of guns threatens to tear apart what remains of the country’s fragile social fabric.