<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-426474" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ONOSZGGUPNP5HM22PF7QSZKW3Y-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A signage at an entrance to the African Union (AU) Mission is pictured in Washington, D.C., U.S. December 15, 2020. Picture taken with a long exposure. REUTERS/Raphael Satter</figcaption></figure>



July 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Representatives from various African and Caribbean entities joined forces at a historic event this week in the capital of Barbados, Bridgetown, to demand reparations for slavery and its legacy in today&#8217;s society.



The University of the West Indies (UWI), the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (AU), Barbados&#8217; government, grant-making network Open Society Foundations and the Caribbean Pan African Network teamed up to &#8220;call for reparations for historical crimes&#8221;.



The meeting in Bridgetown, from Monday to Thursday, included strategy sessions and plenaries and marked the beginning of an &#8220;intercontinental campaign&#8221;, the UWI said in a statement, describing it as &#8220;ground-breaking&#8221;.



Attendees included ambassadors and representatives from AU member states and the Caribbean Community political and economic union (CARICOM).



&#8220;This is a historic moment&#8230; humanity cannot go forward with all the toxic interferences of colonisation,&#8221; Hilary Beckles, head of the CARICOM reparations commission, told a news conference on Thursday. &#8220;We have to clean up this mess to allow humanity to function.&#8221;



The CARICOM reparations commission, which was set up to seek reparations from former colonial powers such as the United Kingdom, France and Portugal, &#8220;sees the persistent racial victimisation of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today&#8221;, it said in its 10-point reparation plan.



Outcomes of the meeting include a proposal for a roadmap for cooperation between the AU and CARICOM, the UWI statement said.



&#8220;It is crucial to recognise how slavery, colonialism and racism intersect and impact the lives of Black people around the world,&#8221; said AU official Youssouf Mandoha.



From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by European ships and merchants and sold into slavery. Those who survived the brutal voyage ended up toiling on plantations under inhumane conditions in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while others profited from their labor.



Barbados, where the meeting took place, received 600,000 enslaved Africans between 1627 and 1833, who were put to work in sugar plantations, earning fortunes for the English owners.



The Caribbean island ditched Britain&#8217;s late Queen Elizabeth as head of state in 2021 and renewed its campaign for reparations.



The idea of paying reparations or making other amends for slavery has a long history but the movement is gaining momentum worldwide.



The EU said earlier this month that Europe&#8217;s slave-trading past inflicted &#8220;untold suffering&#8221; on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a &#8220;crime against humanity&#8221;.



(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

A signage at an entrance to the African Union (AU) Mission in Washington

African, Caribbean nations join forces to call for reparations for slavery

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-426119" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gabon-President-Bongo-to-run-for-re-election-in-Augus-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, April 19, 2023. Ken Ishii/Pool via REUTERS/File photo</figcaption></figure>



LIBREVILLE, July 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Gabon President Ali Bongo will run for re-election in August, he said on Sunday, in a bid to extend his family&#8217;s 56-year grip on power in the Central African country.



&#8220;Because nothing matters more than your success, I am announcing today that I am a candidate&#8221;, Bongo told a small crowd of cheering supporters.



Elections are scheduled for Aug. 26.



Bongo, 64, has been president of the oil-producing nation for two seven-year terms since succeeding his father Omar, who died in 2009 after ruling since 1967. Gabon has no constitutional term limits.



Both of Bongo&#8217;s election wins were disputed by the opposition, who said he won fraudulently. His 2016 victory triggered deadly clashes between police and protesters during which the parliament building was gutted by fire.



Bongo&#8217;s re-election bid was thrown into doubt when he suffered a stroke in October 2018 and was flown to Morocco for medical treatment. He spent three months abroad but returned shortly after a coup attempt was thwarted in his absence. (Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Gabonese President Ondimba and Chinese President Xi meet in Beijing

Gabon President Bongo to run for re-election in August

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="504" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/R5PDAQY7GFKIPDZUWR3J54RCKM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425858" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/R5PDAQY7GFKIPDZUWR3J54RCKM.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/R5PDAQY7GFKIPDZUWR3J54RCKM-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/R5PDAQY7GFKIPDZUWR3J54RCKM-130x90.jpg 130w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO; Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking during a press conference as he gives an update on the progress made in the six months since he introduced the Illegal Migration Bill under his plans to &#8220;stop the boats&#8221;, at Western Jet Foil in Dover, Britain. Picture date: Monday June 5, 2023. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, June 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government would appeal to the UK&#8217;s top court after its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was deemed unlawful in a major blow to his pledge to stop asylum seekers arriving in small boats.



Under an initial 140 million pound ($177 million) deal struck last year, Britain planned to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrive on its shores a distance of more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to the East African country.



The government argues the plan would smash the business model of human traffickers but critics say the policy is inhumane and will not work. On Thursday the Court of Appeal concluded by a majority of two to one that Rwanda could not be treated as a safe third country.



&#8220;While I respect the court I fundamentally disagree with their conclusions,&#8221; Sunak said in a statement, adding the government would seek to overturn the decision in the UK Supreme Court.



&#8220;The policy of this government is very simple, it is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And I will do whatever is necessary to make that happen.&#8221;



The ruling comes as a huge blow for Sunak, grappling with high inflation, rising interest rates and declining public support amid growing pressure from his party and the public to tackle rising numbers of asylum seekers costing 3 billion pounds a year to accommodate.



Sunak has made &#8220;stop the boats&#8221; one of his five top priorities, and hopes a fall in arrivals might help his Conservative Party, trailing by about 20 points in opinion polls, pull off an unexpected win at the next national election.



The first planned Rwanda deportation flight was blocked a year ago in a last-minute ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which imposed an injunction preventing any deportations until the conclusion of legal action in Britain.



In December, the High Court ruled the policy was lawful, but that decision was challenged by asylum seekers from several countries such as Syria, Iraq and Iran, along with human rights organisations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inhumane-treatment">&#8216;INHUMANE TREATMENT&#8217;</h2>



The appeal court ruled deficiencies in Rwanda&#8217;s asylum system meant there were substantial grounds for believing that those sent there would be returned to their home nations where they face &#8220;persecution or other inhumane treatment&#8221;.



&#8220;The result is that the High&nbsp;Court&#8217;s&nbsp;decision that Rwanda was a safe third country is reversed and that unless and until the deficiencies in its asylum processes are corrected removal of asylum-seekers to Rwanda will be unlawful,&#8221; Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett said.



Burnett himself disagreed with the other two judges, a fact highlighted by Sunak.&nbsp;However, even if the government&nbsp;were to be&nbsp;successful with an appeal to the UK&#8217;s top court, deportation flights are very unlikely to begin this year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">&#8216;UNWORKABLE, UNETHICAL&#8217;</h2>



Political opponents said the government had no plan on how to deal with the migrant issue, saying Sunak should now scrap the policy which they dismissed as a gimmick.



&#8220;The Rwanda scheme is unworkable, unethical and extortionate,&#8221; said Yvette Cooper, the home affairs spokesperson for the main opposition Labour Party.



Sending each asylum seeker to Rwanda would cost on average 169,000 pounds ($213,450), the government said this week.



Opponents also say the&nbsp;government&#8217;s&nbsp;policies were about driving political support and would not solve underlying issues.



They argue there are currently no legal routes for most asylum seekers fleeing war or persecution to apply for refugee status to enter Britain, so many see the dangerous small boat crossings as their only option.



Last year, a record 45,755 people came to Britain in small boats across the Channel, mainly from France. More than 11,000 have arrived this year, a rate similar to the first half of 2022.



Meanwhile, the Rwandan government said that while the matter was one for the British courts, it took exception to the judges&#8217; conclusions.



&#8220;Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world and we have been recognised by the UNHCR and other international institutions for our exemplary treatment of refugees,&#8221; said government spokesperson Yolande Makolo.



($1=0.7903 pounds)



(Additional reporintg by Philbert Girinema in Kigali; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Christina Fincher, Clarence Fernandez, Alexandra Hudson)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking during a press conference at Western Jet Foil in Dover

UK PM Sunak dealt blow as court rules Rwanda deportation plan unlawful

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="554" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-820x554.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425561" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-820x554.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 17, 2023. Ramil Sitdikov/Host photo agency RIA Novosti via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



MOSCOW, June 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Kremlin said on Monday&nbsp;that Russia&nbsp;would continue to talk to a group of African countries seeking to mediate in the conflict with Ukraine, notably at a Russia-Africa summit next month, and that some of their ideas were workable.



President Vladimir Putin on Saturday gave the seven-country African delegation that had come to see him in St Petersburg a list of reasons why he believed many of their proposals were misguided, pouring cold water on a plan already largely dismissed by Kyiv.



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that talks with the delegation would continue nonetheless as some of its suggestions could in theory be implemented. He did not say which proposals he was referring to.



&#8220;In general, the dialogue with the Africans will continue,&#8221; said Peskov.



&#8220;There are certain themes in the ideas outlined during the talks by members of the delegation which could be implemented, as President Putin said.



This work will continue, including at the Russia-Africa summit to be held in a month in St. Petersburg,&#8221; Peskov added.



(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

GK2G6FDD6VKWDBK4W6YVBGIDOM-1

Russia to stay in touch with African peace mission, some ideas workable – Kremlin

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425227" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FNDGQ6HNRRP55OC3M6VZGVKRCA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Russia&#8217;s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with the United Arab Emirates&#8217; Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa June 2, 2023. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, June 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senior officials from over a dozen countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran were&nbsp;in talks on closer links with the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies on Friday&nbsp;as it met to deepen ties and position itself as a counterweight to the West.



BRICS, which now consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is considering expanding its membership, and a growing number of countries, mostly from the global South, have expressed interest in joining.



Once viewed as a loose association of disparate emerging economies, BRICS has in recent years taken more concrete shape, driven initially by China and, since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, with added impetus from Russia.



In remarks opening Friday&#8217;s discussions, host South Africa&#8217;s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor spoke of the bloc as a champion of the developing world, which she said was abandoned by wealthy states and global institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.



&#8220;The world has faltered in cooperation. Developed countries have never met their commitments to the developing world and are trying to shift all responsibility to the global South,&#8221; Pandor said.



Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan all sent representatives to Cape Town for so-called &#8220;Friends of BRICS&#8221; talks, an official programme showed.



Egypt, Argentina, Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau and Indonesia were participating virtually.



BRICS heavyweight China said last year it wanted the bloc to launch a process to admit new members. And other members have pointed to countries they would like to see join the club.



However, officials said on Thursday there was still work to be done and appeared mindful of the need to proceed carefully.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-brics-ministers-meet-in-push-to-establish-group-as-counterweight-to-west">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2023/brics-ministers-meet-in-push-to-establish-group-as-counterweight-to-west/">BRICS ministers meet in push to establish group as counterweight to West</a></h3>



&#8220;BRICS is a history of success,&#8221; Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said. &#8220;The group is also a brand and an asset, so we have to take care of it.&#8221;



Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Thursday&#8217;s talks had included deliberations on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of what an expanded BRICS bloc would look like.



&#8220;This is still work in progress,&#8221; he added.



India&#8217;s foreign ministry has previously emphasised the need for a common policy for such an expansion, rather than the consideration of candidacies on an individual basis.



South Africa&#8217;s Pandor said the foreign ministers were aiming to complete work on a framework for admitting new members before BRICS leaders meet at a summit in Johannesburg in August.



Preparations for that summit are going forward under a cloud of controversy due to the possible attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the target of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).



As an ICC member, South Africa would face pressure to arrest Putin were he to travel to the summit.



Pretoria has said it is still considering its legal options for hosting the Russian president.



(Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg and Krishn Kaushik;Editing by Joe Bavier and Mark Heinrich)

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet in Cape Town

BRICS meet with ‘friends’ seeking closer ties amid push to expand bloc

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425194" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A sign of the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS countries is pictured at its headquarters in Shanghai, China, May 30, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, June 1 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Foreign ministers from the BRICS countries are meeting in South&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;from Thursday as the five-nation bloc seeks to forge itself into a counterweight to Western geopolitical dominance in the wake of Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine.



The talks are a prelude to an August summit in Johannesburg that has already created controversy because of the possible attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the target of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.



It accused him in March of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Moscow denies the allegations. South&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;had already invited Putin in January.



South&nbsp;African authorities confirmed that foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, and South&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;are attending Thursday&#8217;s meeting in Cape Town. A deputy minister is representing China.



No agenda has been made public, but analysts said discussions would aim to deepen ties among existing members and consider an expansion of the group.



&#8220;BRICS is positioning itself as an alternative to the West and as a way to make space for emerging powers,&#8221; said Cobus van Staden of the South&nbsp;African Institute of International Affairs.



Once viewed as a loose, largely symbolic association of disparate emerging economies, BRICS has in recent years taken more concrete shape, driven initially by Beijing and, since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, with added impetus from Moscow.



Discussions of BRICS&#8217; New Development Bank, which stopped funding projects in Russia to comply with sanctions, were expected on Thursday, a South&nbsp;African foreign ministry source said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-oil-producers-join">COULD OIL PRODUCERS JOIN?</h2>



Amid the growing geopolitical polarisation resulting from the war in Ukraine, BRICS leaders have said they are open to admitting new members, including oil producing countries.



Venezuela, Argentina, Iran, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are on a list of those who have either formally applied to join or expressed interest, officials said.



&#8220;If they can bring in the oil producer countries that will be key, given the petrodollar system,&#8221; said William Gumede, a South&nbsp;African political analyst who has written extensively on BRICS.



South&nbsp;Africa, though the bloc&#8217;s smallest member, is among its biggest champions.



Its preparations for the Aug. 22-24 summit, however, have been complicated by the ICC announcement on Putin.



As an ICC member South&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;would face pressure to arrest Putin, were he to attend the meeting in Johannesburg.



Putin has not confirmed his plans, with the Kremlin only saying Russia would take part at the &#8220;proper level&#8221;.



South Africa&#8217;s position is unclear. Pretoria has said it will honour its obligations under its ICC membership, but the government is still weighing the possibility of hosting Putin or even moving the summit to China.



Independent political analyst Nic Borain said the government was caught between its support for BRICS and friendship with Russia on one side and the looming backlash from vital Western economic partners on the other.



&#8220;Obviously, the best solution for South&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;is if Putin decided not to come.&#8221;



(Reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg Editing by Joe Bavier and Grant McCool)

FILE PHOTO: A sign of the New Development Bank (NDB) is pictured at its headquarters in Shanghai

BRICS ministers meet in push to establish group as counterweight to West

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424972" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SQIYISEN6VIOVHDEH5LIWCZ53U-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Ukraine&#8217;s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (not pictured), in Berlin, Germany, June 9, 2021. John Macdougall/Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



KYIV, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ukraine&#8217;s foreign minister began a tour of African countries this week, stepping up wartime Kyiv&#8217;s diplomatic push to challenge Russian influence in the &#8220;Global South&#8221; and cement the vision laid out by Ukraine as the only path to peace.



Top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba said his main priority was to get African countries to endorse President Volodymyr Zelenskiy&#8217;s peace plan as he travelled to Morocco on his second tour of Africa since Russia invaded in February last year.



&#8220;Important negotiations lie ahead with African leaders and business,&#8221; he wrote on Instagram, saying he aimed to win support for the uninterrupted flow of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea and secure new openings for Ukrainian business.



The tour follows three days of diplomacy by Zelenskiy at the Arab League of Nations on Friday and then at a Group of Seven summit in Japan. As well as G7 leaders, he met those of India, Indonesia, Iraq and the Saudi crown prince during his travels.



Political analysts say Ukraine is accelerating its push to court the Global South &#8211; a term meaning Latin America, Africa and much of Asia &#8211; and that the effort has taken on greater importance as rival peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine have popped up in other capitals.



China, which has touted its own peace plan,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N37C076&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sent a top envoy to Kyiv</a>, Moscow and European capitals to discuss a &#8220;political settlement&#8221; this month. South Africa&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N37D3DO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said last week</a>&nbsp;Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to discuss a peace plan with African leaders. The Vatican also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N37H0EB&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fleshed out</a>&nbsp;a peace mission this month.



&#8220;The urgency is because of these peace plans which are popping up,&#8221; said Alyona Getmanchuk, a political expert who heads the New Europe Center, a think-tank in Kyiv.



&#8220;At some point, Ukraine realised that it had under-performed in the Global South for many, many years,&#8221; said Getmanchuk.



JULY PEACE SUMMIT?



Ukraine says Zelenskiy&#8217;s 10-point &#8220;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N33I08O&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">peace formula</a>&#8220;, which envisages the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian land, must be the basis for any settlement of the war launched by Russia.



Speaking at the G7 over the weekend, Zelenskiy proposed holding a global peace summit in July to promote the formula. Denmark&#8217;s foreign minister&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N37J0M2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said on Monday</a>&nbsp;that Copenhagen would be prepared to host it.



The minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said it would be &#8220;necessary to build interest and involvement from countries like India, Brazil and China.&#8221;



While the West has poured military, financial and humanitarian aid into Ukraine, Russia has bolstered its relations with Global South powers during the war, including by selling more of its energy to India and China.



Russia has been nurturing ties in Africa for years and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N367285&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plans to hold</a>&nbsp;an Africa-Russia summit in St Petersburg in July. Moscow&#8217;s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, toured the continent last year and visited at least twice this year.



&#8220;There&#8217;s a growing realisation in Europe and Ukraine that there&#8217;s a risk that this war will come to be seen as essentially a European conflict that other countries don&#8217;t need to be concerned about and don&#8217;t need to condemn,&#8221; said Nigel Gould-Davies, an expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.



&#8220;What we have here is Europe and Ukraine responding to Russia&#8217;s concerted efforts to create a narrative in the world about the war that does not condemn the war and seeks to maintain a relationship with Russia,&#8221; he added.



Kuleba did not say which countries he would visit on his latest tour of Africa.



His first tour last October took him to Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Kenya before it was cut short when Russia launched a campaign of missile and drone strikes targeting critical infrastructure in the run-up to winter.



(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Christina Fincher)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas meets his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Berlin

Ukraine courts Africa and ‘Global South’ as peace plans proliferate

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="525" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-820x525.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424887" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-820x525.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-300x192.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-1536x984.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a signing ceremony following talks of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich/Kremlin via</figcaption></figure>



MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Kremlin said on Thursday that a delegation from&nbsp;African countries hoping to present&nbsp;an&nbsp;initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine would visit Moscow.



Several countries have offered to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, including China, whose special envoy began touring Europe this week in a bid to promote Beijing&#8217;s plan.



Details of the&nbsp;African plan have not been publicly revealed, but South&nbsp;African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russia&#8217;s Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N37D3DO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African leaders</a>.



&#8220;A group of countries will indeed send a delegation, which will also be in Moscow,&#8221; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding the exact dates were yet to be agreed.



&#8220;We have already said that we are ready to listen with great attention to any proposals that will contribute to resolving the situation in Ukraine,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Caleb Davis, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

C7VY35TG3ZP2NLGYS37QAH2E2E-1

Kremlin says African Ukraine peace delegation will visit Moscow

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424855" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HPBGECXM2RM4DJT5RIFPZCG5KU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GENEVA, May 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United Nations humanitarian response plan is seeking $2.56 billion to help people affected by the crisis in Sudan, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday, while the U.N. refugee agency is also seeking more funding to assist those forced to flee.



&#8220;Today, 25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, need humanitarian aid and protection. This is the highest number we have ever seen in the country,&#8221; said Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and director of the Coordination Division.



&#8220;The funding requirements of nearly $2.6 billion is also the highest for any humanitarian appeal for Sudan.&#8221;



The plan, a revised version of the annual humanitarian plan for 2023, is designed to target 18 million people in need.



The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region, displacing more than 700,000 people inside Sudan and forcing about 200,000 to flee into neighbouring countries.



The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), making a joint appeal with the aid agency on Wednesday, said it was seeking $472 million to assist more than 1 million people over the next six months.



&#8220;Sadly, we need once again to call on countries and individuals with the means to step up for innocent people who have lost everything through no fault of their own,&#8221; said Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR.



(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Christina Fincher)

FILE PHOTO: United Nations in New York City

UN seeks nearly $2.6 bln for humanitarian needs in Sudan

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424685" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3NGTQIFBQZPC7OQKUM2VW2PENI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sudanese refugees, who fled the violence in their country, wait to receive food supplies from a Turkish aid group (IHH) near the border between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad May 7, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra</figcaption></figure>



GOUNGOUR, Chad, May 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;When a power struggle between Sudan&#8217;s rival military leaders shattered a tenuous peace in her village in Sudan&#8217;s western region of Darfur, Halime Yacoub Issac&#8217;s first instinct was to take her five children and run.



But four days after seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad &#8211; a country with its own dire humanitarian crisis &#8211; she had yet to receive any assistance and was just hoping they wouldn&#8217;t starve.



&#8220;We&#8217;re entirely dependent on food Chadian families give us,&#8221; Issac told Reuters, sitting in a rare patch of shade near the border village of Goungour with other newly arrived women and children, some of them orphans.



Nearby, hundreds of families were camped out under trees or had built flimsy shelters out of sticks and bedsheets that swayed in the wind.



The battles between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that erupted in the capital Khartoum in mid-April have now engulfed large parts of Sudan, killing hundreds, wounding thousands and unleashing a humanitarian disaster that could not have come at a worse time.



Africa&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AFRICA-HUNGER/lgpdkknwlvo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was already facing</a>&nbsp;a deepening set of crises – from drought to floods and a growing list of armed conflicts – that has seen demand surge for life-saving humanitarian assistance.



Now, according to an internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters, 5 million additional people in Sudan will require emergency assistance, half of them children.



By October, some 860,000 people are expected to flee to neighbouring countries including Chad, placing additional strain on nations already facing some of the world&#8217;s most under-funded humanitarian crises. (For a FACTBOX please click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3740DW&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>)



Yet a Reuters analysis of United Nations funding data for&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;shows financial support from key donor governments is dropping off.



Securing additional money is a long shot, 12 aid workers, diplomats and donor government officials told Reuters. More likely, they said, funding gaps will grow as Europe focuses on Ukraine, post-Brexit Britain turns inward, and some lawmakers in the United States, the world&#8217;s largest donor, target budget cuts.



&#8220;There is going to be less funding this year,&#8221; the World Food Programme&#8217;s (WFP) new executive director, Cindy McCain, told Reuters during a visit to Somalia this month. &#8220;I pray that there won&#8217;t be. But the reality of it is that there is going to be less.&#8221;



Every day, hundreds of Sudanese trek across the desert scrubland and dry riverbeds that make up large sections of the country&#8217;s 1,400-km (870-mile) border with Chad. Some 30,000 have arrived so far, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, which expects it will need to establish five new camps to accommodate them.



Aid agencies are rushing to distribute emergency food and register new arrivals, but resources are tight. Even before the latest crisis, U.N. humanitarian appeals for&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;faced a $17-billion funding gap this year, risking leaving millions without lifesaving assistance.



Desperation is growing among the refugees. Chadian soldiers used whips on Sunday to beat back dozens of women who had started grabbing bags of provisions in Koufroune, another border village, when they saw that supplies brought by a Turkish aid group were running out.



&#8220;You&#8217;ve got this huge arc of misery across this part of&nbsp;Africa, and Sudan is just the latest crisis to be added to that in humanitarian terms,&#8221; Andrew Mitchell, Britain&#8217;s minister of state for development and&nbsp;Africa,&nbsp;said during a trip to Kenya this month.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-donors-pull-back">DONORS PULL BACK</h2>



Between 2020 and this year,&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s needs reflected in U.N. appeals grew nearly 27%. But as wealthy countries began looking inward to shield their citizens from the COVID-19 pandemic, many cut back on humanitarian activities abroad.



Britain, for example, announced in 2021 it would temporarily reduce its aid budget to 0.5% of gross national income from 0.7% to pay for the pandemic response. Last year, it spent a third of its overseas aid budget housing refugees inside the UK, a British aid watchdog said in March.



&#8220;There&#8217;s no question that very large amounts of money have been lost,&#8221; Mitchell said, asked about Britain&#8217;s aid budget.



Between 2020, when the UK was the third-biggest contributor to U.N. humanitarian appeals in&nbsp;Africa, and 2022, its contribution dropped by 55%.&nbsp;Mitchell declined to say how much the UK would contribute for 2023.



Funding for U.N. appeals does not reflect all donor money for&nbsp;Africa, but relief agencies and government officials say it is indicative of broader contribution trends.



Britain isn&#8217;t an outlier &#8211; and Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine last year has accelerated the exodus, humanitarian officials say.



Between 2021 and 2022, the continent&#8217;s humanitarian needs rose by nearly 13%. But leading donors, including Canada, Sweden, Japan, Norway, and the Netherlands, all scaled back funding for&nbsp;Africa, the U.N. data showed.



The United States has in recent years stepped in to fill gaps. Washington nearly doubled its contribution for the U.N.&#8217;s&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;appeals between 2020 and 2022. Last year, it provided nearly $6.4 billion, or over 56% of all funding.



That looks set to change, however.



Most of Washington&#8217;s added support has come via supplemental budget appropriations from Congress, initially for pandemic relief and last year to mitigate fallout from the Ukraine war.



But U.S. lawmakers are now embroiled in a fight over the debt ceiling, with many Republicans focused on cutting budgets, not expanding them.



&#8220;With this Congress, it&#8217;s unlikely there will be more supplemental funding,&#8221; said one U.S. official involved in humanitarian response, who was not authorised to speak to the media.



Without it,&nbsp;overall&nbsp;U.S. humanitarian spending will fall by nearly 20% to $10.5 billion in 2023, with a further decline to $8.5 billion next year.



The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



For aid agencies, that&#8217;s meant belt-tightening.



WFP has cut rations in Nigeria, Central&nbsp;African Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Without additional financing, the agency told Reuters, it will halt all assistance for over 700,000 refugees and internally displaced people in Chad this month.



Sudan was hosting over 1 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Syria, before the outbreak of fighting last month. A third of Sudan&#8217;s own 46 million citizens also relied on aid,&nbsp;according to the U.N.



But the lack of funding has forced WFP to cut back on nutrition interventions for mothers and young children since last year. Now, the violence has brought some humanitarian operations to a standstill.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36O3PT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aid workers have been killed</a>, food&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3712OL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aid looted</a>, and WFP says it&#8217;s running out of stocks.



UNHCR is appealing for an additional half billion dollars for Sudan. But the U.N.&#8217;s joint appeal for the country &#8211; a request for $1.75 billion that predates the latest violence &#8211; is only 15% funded.



&#8220;I&#8217;ve been briefing our donors constantly since day one,&#8221; said one international aid official, who asked not to be named for fear of antagonising benefactors. &#8220;They all say it&#8217;s great that you&#8217;re committed to helping the Sudanese people, but it stops there.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">&#8216;CATASTROPHICALLY UNDERFUNDED&#8217;</h2>



Humanitarian agencies are rushing to reallocate resources to Sudan fallout. With record numbers of&nbsp;Africans already going hungry, it&#8217;s a zero-sum game.



Aid workers off-loaded jugs of cooking oil and sacks of grain onto the dusty ground in eastern Chad last week, as crowds of Sudanese refugees waited patiently nearby.



But that food had been earmarked to help needy Chadians make it to the next harvest and will need to be replenished. Just 4.6% of Chad&#8217;s own U.N. appeal has been financed this year.



WFP says it has scraped together enough provisions to support 20,000 new refugees for one month, but it&#8217;s expecting five times that number.



Food prices in local markets are sky-rocketing due to demand from refugees, and malnutrition admissions at health centres have spiked.



&#8220;It&#8217;s an extra strain on the entire Chadian population,&#8221; said Pierre Honnorat, the WFP director in Chad. &#8220;It&#8217;s becoming very, very hard.&#8221;



A similar scenario is playing out in South Sudan, where some 35,000 people have arrived from Sudan. Most are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3716X7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">South Sudanese who fled north</a>&nbsp;to escape their own country&#8217;s violence.



&#8220;We left our homes in South Sudan. We left our homes in Sudan. We&#8217;ve left our homes everywhere to come sit in a desert like this,&#8221; said Suzan William, who had been working as a nurse in Khartoum when the fighting broke out and was waiting for food near the border.



Elsewhere in&nbsp;Africa, other disasters, including a looming&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36Z3TR&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">famine</a>&nbsp;in Somalia, are also vying for money.



Concerned about support from traditional donors, aid agencies are courting new sources &#8211; notably Gulf States &#8211; but they are struggling.



&#8220;I&#8217;m really worried for 2023, honestly,&#8221; Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters.



&#8220;The only fully funded operation in the world now is in Ukraine. All other operations are catastrophically underfunded.&#8221;



(Joe Bavier reported from Washington and Emma Farge from Geneva; Additional reporting by Zohra Bensemra in Koufroune, Chad, Denis Elamu in Renk, South Sudan, Aidan Lewis in Cairo, David Lewis in Nairobi, Edward McAllister in Dakar, and Ayenat Mersie in Mogadishu;Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Daniel Flynn)

Fleeing Sudanese seek refuge in Chad

Sudan deepens crisis in Africa as UN sees 5 million more needing aid

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-424655" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone.jpeg 929w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Drone footage shows clouds of black smoke over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan, in this May 1, 2023 video obtained by REUTERS Social Media | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



The International Rescue Committee anticipates “a secondary humanitarian crisis” as refugees pour into neighboring countries escaping the escalating conflict in Sudan.



The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) entered its 24th day on Monday as yet another cease-fire fell by the wayside earlier in the week.



U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a Senate hearing on Thursday that fighting is “likely to be protracted as both sides believe that they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table.”



Around 45 million people remain in Sudan, facing acute shortages of fuel, food, water and medical access. Multiple ceasefires have quickly dissolved into further violence, making it difficult for international bodies and NGOs to get humanitarian aid into the vast, sprawling country.



The IRC estimated that as of Wednesday, the conflict had displaced around 334,000 people within Sudan itself, while almost 65,000 were estimated to have moved over borders as refugees to neighboring countries.



“These countries are already of course struggling following ongoing conflict, and the failure of six rainy seasons in the Horn of Africa, which has already left many people food insecure or malnourished,” Madiha Raza, IRC senior global communications officer for Africa, told CNBC.



According to the IRC, 30,000 refugees have crossed the border from the Darfur region in western Sudan into Chad since April 15.



A further 15,000 have fled to South Sudan, many of whom are returnees that had previously fled their own country’s conflict south of the border, while several thousand have also crossed into Ethiopia.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="405" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107236306-1683291060248-GettyImages-1252565485.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424656" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107236306-1683291060248-GettyImages-1252565485.jpg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107236306-1683291060248-GettyImages-1252565485-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107236306-1683291060248-GettyImages-1252565485-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">DARFUR, Sudan &#8211; May 2, 2023: People inspect a destroyed medical storage in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province, as deadly clashes between rival generals’ forces have entered their third week. -/AFP via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“These countries are refugee hosting communities and countries that need more support from the international community to be able to take and support the refugees that are coming over in the thousands,” Raza added.



The U.N. Refugee Agency has planned for a figure of 800,00 refugees if the conflict continues as expecting. These numbers include those traveling in dire conditions to neighboring Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia.



“People are coming over traumatized, hungry. It’s extremely hot, and there’s an acute lack of water in those areas. It’s about 50 degrees centigrade (122 Fahrenheit). People are arriving extremely dehydrated and thirsty,” Raza said via videolink from Nairobi, Kenya.



She said a lack of fuel, food and pharmacy equipment has further driven up prices in a country that was already struggling before the escalation of violence.



“People within the country that are trapped inside don’t have the means or the access to get very basic provisions, so absolutely, we were anticipating a secondary humanitarian crisis,” Raza said.



“The longer this goes on, the longer it’s going to take to recover from economic shocks in countries which are susceptible to extreme instability.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-darfur-in-the-crossfire-again">Darfur in the crossfire again</h3>



According to the IRC, most of the refugees crossing into Chad are women and children and are from Darfur. The organization is providing mobile health clinics, nutrition, protection and water, with many hospitals in the western region having been attacked or looted.



“People from farther afield are not actually able to cross because they’re getting attacked, killed or injured,” she added.



Darfur has been in the crossfire of conflict since 2003, after non-Arab groups rose-up against the Arab-led government of now-deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir. In response, Bashir sent in brutal Arab militias, known as the “Janjaweed.”



The Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” emerged from the Janjaweed militia, and various Arab groups have seized on the instability created by the conflict in the country’s capital Khartoum to launch violent attacks.



The RSF has been in conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, since April 15, after a fragile power-sharing agreement between the two military factions broke down.



The two generals had been overseeing a planned transition back to civilian rule following a military coup in October 2021 that ousted civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and dissolved the country’s government.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-424657" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sudanese refugees from the Tandelti area who crossed into Chad, in Koufroun, near Echbara, sit near temporary shelters on April 30, 2023 for an aid distribution. Gueipeur Denis Sassou | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Sudanese trying to escape the country cannot cross into Chad through Darfur because the area is currently held by different armed groups, explained Raza, meaning the movement of people into Chad from Sudan has “slowed down just because people from further afield are not able to make that journey.”



Fighting in Khartoum has also spread to other regions around the city such as Bahri and Omdurman.



Decades of conflict in Sudan has stifled the country’s growth, and pushed over half the population into poverty.



Several bloody civil wars hit Africa’s third-largest country, then overseen by Bashir, who ruled the country for over 30 years.



Both leaders now vying for control of the state’s military capabilities were generals under the Bashir regime, and rose from the ashes of his leadership after a coup unseated Bashir in 2019 following months of protests.

107233218-1682935652205-gettyimages-1252457207-AFP_33E82DM

‘Secondary humanitarian crisis’ expected in Sudan as refugees pour into neighboring countries

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424629" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/RLYRZDLMXJP6ZLMSEIW7X63ZIQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: President of Sudan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



KHARTOUM, May 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan pledged to take Sudan to civilian rule, but after going to war last month with his former partner in a military coup, that looks a distant promise.



As his warplanes rain strikes on the capital and his troops battle the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of rival general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, Burhan has shown no inclination to compromise.



&#8220;There is no other option but the military solution,&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N35N0DP&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">he said</a>&nbsp;five days into fighting that he was believed to be initially directing from a presidential guesthouse near the airport.



The war comes after Burhan had already turned Sudan&#8217;s fortunes upside down twice by removing veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir during a popular uprising in 2019 and then by halting a democratic transition in 2021 by ousting a civilian government.



A career soldier in his 60s who served Bashir loyally for decades, Burhan rose through the ranks in wars in South Sudan and Sudan&#8217;s Darfur region. Few expected he would one day rule as head of a &#8220;Sovereign Council&#8221; established after Bashir fell.



Hemedti, whose powerful RSF had operated alongside the army during the war in Darfur, stepped in as Burhan&#8217;s deputy on the council. Despite occasional tensions, they presented a united front and in 2021 dissolved government in a coup.



Their relationship, never close, fell apart as they&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36V25J&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">jostled</a>&nbsp;for an upper hand, squabbling over the terms of a promised transition to democracy and the RSF&#8217;s merger into the regular armed forces, which Burhan wanted to accelerate.



With ties worsening before clashes broke out on April 15, Burhan was already making preparations for war as his air force scoped out bombing targets, military sources have said.



No reconciliation seems possible.



&#8220;We will get to you and hand you over to justice, or you die just like any other dog,&#8221; Hemedti said of Burhan the day fighting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36I0DX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">began</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-dissent">NO DISSENT</h2>



The 2021 military takeover made Burhan the latest in a long line of coup leaders to rule Sudan for most of its history since independence from Britain in 1956.



As he headed the ruling council with Hemedti as his deputy, Burhan was still vowing to hand over power, telling Reuters civilian rule was the &#8220;natural situation&#8221; and repeating a commitment as recently as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UN0S2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">February</a>&nbsp;to hold elections this year.



But pro-democracy activists were always sceptical. They accuse him and other military leaders of killing protesters and say his coup was aimed at prolonging army rule, charges he denies.



In July 2022 he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AC6N2WP01J&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">removed</a>&nbsp;the five civilian members of the Sovereign Council, saying the army would not participate in internationally led efforts for a dialogue with them on the way forward.



Those who have met Burhan describe him as terse and quick-tempered. His language betrays a vehement aversion to criticism. In April 2022 he threatened to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2W007J&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expel</a>&nbsp;the U.N. envoy, who had recently commented on the country&#8217;s political turmoil, accusing him of &#8220;lying, blatant lying&#8221; and saying &#8220;we will kick you out&#8221;.



After Bashir loyalists had staged a protest in November 2022 he said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32906R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">speech</a>&nbsp;at an army base: &#8220;We&#8217;ll cut out the tongue of anyone who speaks against the military&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SERVICE IN DARFUR</h2>



Born in 1960 in a village north of Khartoum neighbouring Bashir&#8217;s home village, Burhan studied at a Sudanese army college, then in Jordan and at Egypt&#8217;s military academy.



Analysts say his attitudes to governing were shaped by his 41 years of army service. For much of that time, Sudan was a pariah to the West and on a U.S. terrorism list under Bashir, who hosted Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes.



During a war against rebels in Darfur, Burhan held the rank of brigadier general and worked in a district that saw fierce fighting, getting to know Hemedti.



In a grim precursor to their new conflict against each other, the army and RSF are accused of grotesque war crimes including massacres and rapes during the Darfur war.



When Bashir was overthrown in 2019, Burhan was only the fourth most senior figure in the military and holding an administrative position, yet he was among the generals who went to confront him, he has said.



&#8220;I told him the leadership of the armed forces had decided the situation was getting out of hand and therefore he should step down,&#8221; he told the BBC.



During Bashir&#8217;s last year in power, Burhan began to develop ties with foreign states that could be important as the conflict develops. He was at the forefront of tentative moves to normalise ties with Israel, a move applauded by Gulf states.



And in March 2021, he received Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Khartoum, solidifying a relationship with Cairo that remains his strongest outside alliance.



(Writing by William Maclean and Angus McDowall; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

FILE PHOTO: World leaders address the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City

Veteran soldier leads Sudan’s army against rival general

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424614" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/World-Bank-board-elects-US-nominee-Ajay-Banga-as-president-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: U.S. nominee to head World Bank, Ajay Banga, stands with officials during his visit at the headquarters of Ivorian electricity company of Yopougon in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank&#8217;s board of governors on Wednesday elected former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to a five-year term as president, ushering in an Indian-born finance and development expert to revamp the lender to tackle climate change and other global crises.



Banga, 63, was nominated for the post by U.S. President Joe Biden in late February and was the sole contender to replace departing World Bank chief David Malpass, an economist and former U.S. Treasury official who served in the Trump administration. He starts the new job on June 2.



The election came after World Bank board members interviewed Banga for four hours on Monday. Malpass&#8217; last day at the bank will be June 1. The decision came in a vote by 24 of the board&#8217;s members, with Russia abstaining, instead of the usual consensus-based process, a source familiar with the process said.



Biden congratulated Banga on his &#8220;resounding approval&#8221; to run the World Bank, which he described as &#8220;one of humanity’s most critical institutions to reduce poverty and expand prosperity around the globe.&#8221;



&#8220;Ajay Banga will be a transformative leader, bringing expertise, experience, and innovation to the position of World Bank President,&#8221; Biden said. &#8220;He will help steer the institution as it evolves and expands to address global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction — including climate change.&#8221;



Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Banga brought the &#8220;right leadership and management skills&#8221; to the job, and would play a critical role in pushing forward with additional reforms, including by forging partnerships between the public and private sectors and nonprofit groups.



&#8220;Ajay understands that the challenges we face – from combatting climate change, pandemics, and fragility to eliminating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity – are deeply intertwined. He has effectively built a broad global coalition around his vision for the Bank over the course of his candidacy,&#8221; Yellen said in a statement.



Katie Malouf-Bous, interim head of Oxfam International’s Washington office, said the bank needed &#8220;serious reform&#8221; to tackle the widening gap between rich and poor, but that would require huge new public investments and &#8220;guardrails around private finance that has run riot for too long.&#8221;



One senior U.S. official said Banga&#8217;s election came at a critical moment marked by emerging debt distress in lower- and middle-income countries and ongoing problems in food and energy markets as a result of Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine.



&#8220;It is a challenging moment, but it&#8217;s a moment where the World Bank remains more vital than ever, and where getting the evolution of the World Bank is absolutely critical,&#8221; the official said.



The bank already loans out hundreds of billions of dollars to developing countries but is working to increase its lending to help them address overlapping global challenges such as climate change, conflict and brace for future pandemics.



&#8220;The Board looks forward to working with Mr. Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process … on all the World Bank Group’s ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries,&#8221; the bank said.



The World Bank has been led by an American since its founding at the end of World War Two, while the International Monetary Fund has been led by a European.



Banga, who was born in India and spent his early career there, has been a U.S. citizen since 2007.



Banga has met with officials from 96 governments since his nomination, the source said. He visited eight countries during a three-week world tour to meet with government officials, business leaders and civil society groups, flying a total of 39,546 miles (63,643 km). (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Mark Potter)

FILE PHOTO: US World Bank nominee Banga set for vote Wednesday after 4-hour interview

World Bank board elects US nominee Ajay Banga as president

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424580" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1252469522-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">OMDURMAN, SUDAN &#8211; APRIL 30: In this handout image provided by the Ministry of Defence, The final days of evacuations from Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan, sees the last evacuees and military personnel boarding an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, on 30th April, 2023 in Omdurman, Sudan. RAF flights are continuing between Wadi Seidna airport in Sudan to Larnaca International Airport, following three evacuation flights that took place late overnight between Tuesday 25 April and Wednesday 26 April. The UK government assisted by the British Military has evacuated British Citizens from Sudan. The Ministry of Defence has been working to support the Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office in evacuating civilian UK nationals from the airport. The operation involved more than 1,200 personnel from 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force. (Photo by MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



KHARTOUM, May 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Air strikes were heard in Khartoum on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said, even as warring factions agreed to a new seven-day ceasefire from Thursday, undermining chances for a lasting truce that would help ease a deepening humanitarian crisis.



United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths arrived in Port Sudan to &#8220;reaffirm&#8221; his commitment to the Sudanese people. His spokesperson said improving humanitarian access through guarantees of safe passage would be a priority.



The conflict has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36V347&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">created</a>&nbsp;a humanitarian crisis, with about 100,000 people forced to flee with little food or water to neighbouring countries, the United Nations said.



Aid deliveries have been held up in a nation where about one-third of people already relied on humanitarian assistance. A broader disaster could be in the making as Sudan&#8217;s impoverished neighbours grapple with the influx of refugees.



Previous ceasefire agreements between the army and a paramilitary force, whose power struggle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N36S2E8&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">erupted</a>&nbsp;into full blown conflict in mid-April, have ranged from 24 to 72 hours, but none have been fully observed.



Tens of thousands of people, like Omdurman resident Salma, have left Khartoum area and its adjoining cities, fearful of both airstrikes and soldiers from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).



She says she can hardly sleep at night.



South Sudan&#8217;s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that mediation championed by its president, Salva Kiir, had led both sides to agree a weeklong truce from Thursday to May 11 and to name envoys for peace talks. The current ceasefire was due to expire on Wednesday.



It was unclear, however, how army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo would proceed.



Army jets have been bombing RSF units dug into residential districts of the capital region.



Conflict has also spread to Sudan&#8217;s western Darfur region where the RSF emerged from tribal militias that fought alongside government forces to crush rebels in a brutal civil war dating back 20 years.



The commanders of the army and RSF, who had shared power as part of an internationally backed transition towards free elections and civilian government, have shown no sign of backing down, yet neither side seems able to secure a quick victory.



Fighting now in its third week has engulfed Khartoum &#8211; one of&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s largest cities &#8211; and killed hundreds of people. Sudan&#8217;s Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 550 people have died and 4,926 have been wounded.



Foreign governments were winding down evacuation operations that sent thousands of their citizens home. Britain said its last flight would depart Port Sudan on the Red Sea on Wednesday and urged any remaining Britons wanting to leave to make their way there.



FACTBOX-The struggle for power in Sudan<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2RL0D9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



ANALYSIS-Sudan risks long conflict as entrenched rivals struggle for control<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36V347&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



FACTBOX-Countries rush to evacuate foreign citizens from Sudan<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36V3B2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



FACTBOX-Sudan&#8217;s Bashir and allies out of prison<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36T3MM&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



INSIGHT-How Sudan&#8217;s military factions set path to war as mediation stalled<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N36S2E8&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, William Maclean)

Sudan Evacuation

Air strikes heard in Sudan’s capital after more truce pledges

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424560" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Drone footage shows birds in the foreground as clouds of black smoke billow over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan, in this May 1, 2023 video obtained by REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



Sudan&#8217;s <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36K23G&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warring military factions</a> agreed to a new and longer seven-day ceasefire from Thursday, neighbour and mediator South Sudan said, even as more air strikes and shooting in the Khartoum capital region undercut their latest supposed truce.



Previous ceasefire pledges have ranged from 24 to 72 hours but there have been constant truce violations in the conflict that erupted in mid-April between the army and a paramilitary force.



South Sudan&#8217;s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that mediation championed by its president, Salva Kiir, had led both sides to agree a weeklong truce from Thursday to May 11 and to name envoys for peace talks. The current ceasefire was due to expire on Wednesday.



It was unclear, however, how army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo would proceed.



On Tuesday, witnesses reported more air strikes in the cities of Omdurman and in Bahri, both on the opposite bank of the Nile River from Khartoum.



Al Jazeera television said Sudanese army warplanes were targeting RSF positions, and anti-aircraft fire could be heard from Khartoum.



India&#8217;s embassy in Khartoum was stormed and looted, Sudan&#8217;s army said in a statement, citing a report from the ambassador. Saudi Arabia&#8217;s foreign ministry said early on Wednesday that the building in Khartoum that houses its cultural mission was similarly vandalised and looted by an armed group. No casualties were reported.



Army jets have been bombing RSF units dug into residential districts of the capital region. Conflict has also spread to Sudan&#8217;s western Darfur region where the RSF emerged from tribal militias that fought alongside government forces to crush rebels in a brutal civil war dating back 20 years.



The commanders of the army and RSF, who had shared power as part of an internationally backed transition towards free elections and civilian government, have shown no sign of backing down, yet neither seems able to secure a quick victory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-region-at-risk">REGION AT RISK</h2>



<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36V347&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prolonged conflict</a>&nbsp;could draw in outside powers.



Fighting now in its third week has engulfed Khartoum &#8211; one of Africa&#8217;s largest cities &#8211; and killed hundreds of people. Sudan&#8217;s Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 550 people have died and 4,926 injured.



Foreign governments were winding down evacuation operations that sent thousands of their citizens home. Britain said its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36Z2FY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last flight</a>&nbsp;would depart Port Sudan on the Red Sea on Wednesday and urged any remaining Britons wanting to leave to make their way there.



The conflict has also created a humanitarian crisis, with around 100,000 people forced to flee with little food or water to neighbouring countries, the United Nations said.



Aid deliveries have been held up in a nation where about one-third of people already relied on humanitarian assistance. A broader disaster could be in the making as Sudan&#8217;s impoverished neighbours grapple with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36Z2WI&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">refugee influx.</a>



&#8220;The entire region could be affected,&#8221; Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in a Japanese newspaper interview on Tuesday as a Burhan envoy met Egyptian officials in Cairo.



The U.N. World Food Programme said on Monday it was resuming work in the safer parts of Sudan after a pause earlier in the conflict, in which some of its staff were killed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">&#8216;THE SITUATION IS A CALAMITY&#8217;</h2>



Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had delivered some aid to the capital from Port Sudan, a road journey of about 800 km (500 miles).



Some 330,000 Sudanese have also been displaced inside Sudan&#8217;s borders by the war, the U.N. migration agency said.



&#8220;The situation is a calamity,&#8221; Hassan Mohamed Ali, a 55-year-old state employee, said during a stopover in Atbara, 350 km (220 miles) northeast of Khartoum, en route to the Egyptian frontier.



&#8220;We suffer from power and water cuts, our children have stopped school. What&#8217;s happening in Khartoum is hell.&#8221;



Displaced Sudanese families have also made their way, sometimes on foot under scorching desert sun, hundreds of kilometres (miles) to Chad and South Sudan.



About 800,000 people could eventually leave, according to the U.N.



More than 40,000 people have crossed the border into&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36Z0GB&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Egypt</a>&nbsp;over the past two weeks but only after days of delays. Most migrants have had to pay hundreds of dollars to make the 1,000-km (620-mile) journey north from Khartoum.



It took Aisha Ibrahim Dawood and her relatives five days in a rented car to get from Khartoum to the northern town of Wadi Halfa, where the women and children crammed into a back of a truck that brought them to a queue at the Egyptian border.



&#8220;Our suffering is unprecedented,&#8221; she said.



EXPLAINER-What is happening in Sudan? Fighting in Khartoum explained<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36Z0GB&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



ANALYSIS-Sudan risks long conflict as entrenched rivals struggle for control<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36V347&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Cradle of Sudan&#8217;s uprising becomes transit point for those fleeing war<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36X0BE&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



In flight from Sudan, refugees in Chad give birth alone without shelter<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36X05F&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Sudan&#8217;s conflict&nbsp;<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3VmBUAO" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/3VmBUAO</a>



Syrians in Sudan flee war for second time<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N36Z4XW&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Mohamed Noureldin; Additional reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo, Emma Farge and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva, Duncan Miriri in Nairobi and Ayenat Mersie in Dollow, Somalia; writing by Angus McDowall, Mark Heinrich and Cynthia Osterman; editing by Nick Macfie, Andrew Cawthorne and Grant McCool)

Drone footage shows dense smoke rising from fires near capital Khartoum

Sudan’s warring generals extend theoretical truce but keep fighting

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424508" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Air-raids-tank-fire-shake-Sudans-capital-region-despite-truce-pledge-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Plums of smoke rise amidst clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army, in Bahri, Khartoum North (filmed from Omdurman), Sudan April 28, 2023, in this screen grab from a social media video. Video Obtained by REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



KHARTOUM, April 28 (Reuters) &#8211; Strikes from the air, tanks and artillery shook Sudan&#8217;s capital of Khartoum on Friday and the adjacent city of Bahri came under heavy bombardment, witnesses said, even though the army and a rival paramilitary force agreed to extend a truce by 72 hours.



Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands have fled for their lives in a power struggle between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted on April 15 and disabled an internationally backed transition toward democratic elections.



In persisting ceasefire violations that the United States called worrying, heavy gunfire and detonations rattled residential neighbourhoods of the capital region where fighting has been concentrated over the past week.



Thick smoke was rising above two areas of Bahri.



&#8220;The situation this morning is very scary. We hear the sounds of planes and explosions. We don&#8217;t know when this hell will end,&#8221; said Bahri resident Mahasin al-Awad, 65.



&#8220;We&#8217;re in a constant state of fear for ourselves and our children.&#8221;



Sudan&#8217;s army has been directing air strikes with jets or drones on RSF forces spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital where many residents are pinned down by urban warfare with little access to food, fuel, water and electricity.



In a statement, the RSF accused the army of violating a U.S.- and Saudi-brokered truce pact by carrying out air strikes on its bases in Omdurman, Khartoum&#8217;s sister city at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, and Mount Awliya.



The army blamed the RSF for violations late on Thursday.



A Turkish evacuation plane came under fire as it was landing at Wadi Seyidna airport in Omdurman on Friday but there were no injuries, Turkey&#8217;s defence ministry said.



Shortly before, Sudan&#8217;s army accused the RSF of firing at the plane, damaging its fuel system which was being repaired after the aircraft managed to land safely. The RSF denied attacking the plane, accusing the army of &#8220;spreading lies&#8221;.



Lulls in the fighting in parts of Khartoum earlier this week allowed some residents to leave and foreign evacuations to pick up, but fighting has otherwise rumbled on through announced ceasefires. Analysts have questioned the ability of both sides to enforce respect for truces among their troops.



Violence has also resurged in the Darfur region, where conflict has simmered since a brutal civil war erupted two decades ago, and threatens to compound instability across a volatile swathe of Africa between the Sahel and the Red Sea.



U.N. humanitarian office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said at least 96 people had been killed in Darfur since Monday by inter-communal violence rekindled by the army-RSF conflict.



&#8220;It is deeply alarming that inmates have been released from or escaped from a number of prisons, and we are very worried about the prospect of further violence amid a generalised climate of impunity,&#8221; she told a briefing in Geneva.



The Sudan Doctors Union said on Friday that at least 387 civilians had been killed and 1,928 injured in the fighting since April 15, which has also caused a humanitarian crisis.



Relief agencies have been largely unable to distribute food to the needy in Africa&#8217;s third-largest country, where a third of its 46 million people were already reliant on donations.



MORE EVACUATIONS, REFUGEES



Saudi Arabia said two more evacuation ships had arrived in Jeddah, across the Red Sea from Sudan, on Friday carrying 252 people in all from various countries.



Dodging the fighting wherever possible, Sudanese civilians have been fleeing Khartoum, one of Africa&#8217;s largest cities which had long been untouched by Sudan&#8217;s string of civil wars.



Among Sudan&#8217;s neighbours, Egypt said it had taken in 16,000 people, 20,000 had entered Chad and the U.N. refugee agency said over 14,000 had crossed into South Sudan, which won independence from Khartoum in 2011 after decades of disastrous civil war.



A UNHCR spokeswoman said some had walked from Khartoum to South Sudan&#8217;s border, a distance of over 400 km (250 miles).



The army and RSF said earlier they had agreed to extend the ceasefire to midnight on Sunday to prolong one that expired on Thursday night. That earlier truce induced relative calm in some areas, allowing diplomatic evacuations to gather pace.



Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan&#8217;s office said on Friday he had received calls of support for restoring calm from several regional leaders including South Sudan&#8217;s president and Ethiopia&#8217;s prime minister, the Saudi foreign minister and a diplomatic grouping that includes the United States and Britain.



Friction had been building for months between Sudan&#8217;s army and the RSF, whose joint 2021 coup toppled a civilian coalition government and came two years after a popular uprising ousted veteran Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir.



Both the army and RSF were required to cede power to civilian parties under a transition plan meant to be finalised earlier this month but the process foundered over timing issues, including when the RSF would be absorbed into army ranks.



(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz, Eltayeb Siddig in Khartoum, Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber and Emma Farge in Geneva, Denis Elamu in Juba, Ayenat Mersie in Nairobi; writing by Mark Heinrich; editing by Robert Birsel, William Maclean)

Plums of smoke rise in Bahri

Air raids, tank fire shake Sudan’s capital region despite truce pledge

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424500" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/B3KIBEH6WFMIPPJZG6ZCK3OOO4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sudanese people, who fled the violence in their country and newly arrived, wait to be registered at the camp near the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Mahamet Ramdane</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) &#8211; The African Union, United Nations and so-called Quad countries welcomed the 72-hour extension of a ceasefire by Sudan&#8217;s warring parties on Thursday and called for its full implementation.



&#8220;We also welcome their readiness to engage in dialogue toward establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access,&#8221; according to a statement from the Quad &#8211; the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia &#8211; as well as the United Nations, the African Union and African trade bloc IGAD. (Reporting by Pitas Costas and Doina Chiacu;)

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