Sudan - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Sudan

July 21, 2026

Khartoum 12:59 pm

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BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 14: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shake hands with Omar Seddik, Sudan's newly appointed foreign minister before their meeting during the China-CELAC Forum at Diaoyutai State Guest House on May 14, 2025 in Beijing, China. The summit includes China's key Latin American trade partners, and comes as Beijing and Washington work on defusing a trade war. (Photo by Florence Lo - Pool/Getty Images)

Explainer

China expands Sudan footprint through ports, debt relief, mining

Reports have emerged of a potential $300 million copper mining deal between the Sudanese government and a Chinese company.

A general view shows docked ships at the harbor of the Sudanese city of Port Sudan, on April 27, 2021.

Sudan, China ink memorandum to develop seaports: What to know

The deal comes as Sudan seeks to revive its maritime sector and revitalize its Red Sea ports.

Latest News

Analysis

UAE's Sky News Arabia split from Sky raises issue of media, power in Gulf

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Interview

As Sudan war drags on, US-Iran conflict compounds humanitarian crisis in Darfur

Janti Soeripto helps at a community kitchen serving hot meals to displaced families arriving from El-Fasher.

Janti Soeripto

President and CEO of Save the Children US

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Rebecca Bradshaw

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra speaks to the press with US Secretary of State John Kerry (unseen) during a press conference as part of the US/ Algeria Strategic Dialogue at the State Department in Washington, on April 8, 2015.

UN envoy in Cairo for talks as Sudan war tops 1,000 days: What to know

UN-led efforts to end Sudan’s war have stalled, with fighting continuing and negotiations making little headway.

US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos (L) meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 8, 2026.

US envoy pushes for Sudan truce in meeting with UAE’s MBZ after talks in Saudi Arabia

Boulos’ meeting in Abu Dhabi follows discussions earlier this week in Riyadh, as the two Gulf countries navigate both Sudan diplomacy and a dispute over Yemen.

Sudanese leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Dec. 15, 2025.

Saudi Arabia cements ties with Sudan during Burhan visit as UAE rivalry heats up

The Sudanese leader may be looking to increase Saudi support following losses on the battlefield as Riyadh weighs its security interests in the country.

A woman sells koshary after the Eid prayer in Abu Sir village on April 21, 2023, in Giza, Egypt.

Culture

Egypt’s koshary, Gulf’s bisht gain UNESCO recognition

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has added more than 10 cultural practices from across the Middle East and North Africa region this year.

Sudanese repair crew work at the Heglig oil facility, after Sudan started pumping oil again from the war-damaged oil field on May 2, 2012, 12 days after occupying South Sudanese troops left the area.

RSF seizes Sudan’s largest oilfield: What to know

The Heglig oil field is the largest in Sudan and a key facility for South Sudan, which relies heavily on Heglig to export its oil.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, received Massad Boulos (L), adviser to the US president for African and Arab affairs, in Abu Dhabi, on Nov. 24. 2025.

US envoy holds Sudan meetings in UAE as Burhan lashes out

Sudan's army chief accused US envoy Massad Boulos of spreading UAE-backed narratives about the army, called Boulos’ proposal to end the war the “worst” yet and rejected any UAE role in mediating the conflict.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations | Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Rubio testified on the proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of State. (Photo by John McDonnell/Getty Images)

Analysis

US options constrained in Sudan as RSF snubs Washington, sanctions fail

Washington is attempting to broker a humanitarian truce between Sudan’s warring factions, but analysts warn there’s little sign either side is ready to stop fighting.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Sudan bans UAE's Sky News Arabia following el-Fasher coverage

The ban follows a controversial Sky News Arabia report from el-Fasher, where the network’s journalist was seen engaging with an RSF member just weeks after the group captured the city amid allegations of massacres and war crimes.

EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan PM orders state of alert as atrocity claims mount in Darfur

The UN Security Council met Thursday to address reports of mass killings and alleged atrocities in el-Fasher following its capture by the Rapid Support Forces.

Displaced Sudanese who fled el-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces rest near the the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region, on Oct. 28, 2025.

RSF’s el-Fasher takeover kills 2,300 in Sudan as UAE accused of aiding militia

Videos coming out of the captured North Darfur city show scenes of brutal violence and devastation, with hospitals turned into “slaughterhouses” and civilians executed in the streets.

Sudanese residents gather to receive free meals in Al Fasher, a city besieged by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than a year, in Darfur region, on August 11, 2025. RSF attacked a famine-hit refugee camp in North Darfur state on August 11, 2025, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring 19 others, rescuers said. Al-Fasher is the last city in the western Darfur region still held by the Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary group since April 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AF

Aid groups sound alarm on 'atrocities' after RSF captures Sudan's el-Fasher

Sudan’s RSF are facing numerous accusations of rights violations and abuses against civilians following their takeover of el-Fasher city in the Darfur region.

This image grab taken from AFPTV video footage on April 20, 2023, shows an aerial view of black smoke rising above the Khartoum International Airport amid ongoing battles between the forces of two rival generals.

Drone attack hits Sudan's Khartoum airport on eve of reopening: What to know

The airport had been shut down since the civil war in Sudan erupted in more than two years ago.