Sudan Forms New Joint Force to Maintain Security in the Capital, Nationwide

An internally displaced Sudanese family poses for a photograph outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. (Reuters)
An internally displaced Sudanese family poses for a photograph outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. (Reuters)
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Sudan Forms New Joint Force to Maintain Security in the Capital, Nationwide

An internally displaced Sudanese family poses for a photograph outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. (Reuters)
An internally displaced Sudanese family poses for a photograph outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. (Reuters)

Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council has announced a plan to create a joint force to “crack down on insecurity” and consolidate the state’s authority in the capital and across the country.

The peace agreement signed between the Sudanese government and the armed movements (the Revolutionary Front) in Juba on Oct. 3 last year stipulated the formation of a force to protect civilians in Darfur, consisting of 12,000 soldiers, to replace the withdrawing international peacekeeping forces (UNAMID).

However, in wake of the tensions that erupted in al-Junaynah area in West Darfur, where dozens of people were killed in tribal conflicts, the parties decided to increase the force to 20,000 soldiers.

A statement issued by the media branch of the Transitional Sovereign Council stated that the joint force would consist of “armed forces, Rapid Support Forces and police officers, in addition to the General Intelligence Service, the representative of the Attorney General, and representatives of the parties to the peace process.”

The statement asked the governors of Sudanese states to coordinate with the relevant military and security agencies, including state and regional security committees, to form similar forces.

Khartoum has witnessed lately several security incidents, including looting, kidnapping and road blocking in neighborhoods driven by alleged revolution purposes, which the prime minister described as attempts to destabilize security.

Tribal conflicts intensified in some areas of the country, in particular Darfur and eastern Sudan. Dozens of people were killed and others injured, especially in West Darfur and Red Sea states.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.