North Africa and the Sahel

Saudi Arabi and the United States are "highly concerned" over serious ceasefire violations during ongoing violence in Sudan, between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a joint statement released on Thursday evening (1 June), the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote that "the violations are harming civilians and the nation and blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services".

A ceasefire struck between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces is under threat as clashes broke out in the capital city on Wednesday (24 May).

The week-long ceasefire was agreed after talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Saturday (20 May). The ceasefire, which was due to come into force on Monday evening with an internationally-supported monitoring mechanism, was supposed to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Violence has also been reported in the western region of Darfur.

Following last week's Arab League summit in Jeddah, "it is expected that Saudi Arabia will continue to use its year-long chairmanship of the Arab League to reshape the institution, and more broadly to reconfigure pan Arab-affairs, of course with Saudi Arabia at the helm," writes commonspace.eu in this editorial. "For it is this new ambition of the Kingdom to become a leading regional and global player that has defined the summit, and will define its chairmanship of the Arab League over the next year." The summit formally healed some of the divisions of the last decade. Syria’s President Bashar al Assad attended, marking the full return of Syria into the Arab fold. There was a lot of talk of a new era of peace in the Middle East, and even Iran was now perceived as more of a partner rather than an enemy. Yet the summit gathered whilst a few miles away, across the waters of the Red Sea from Jeddah, a bloody civil war raged on in Sudan.

The Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, have agreed on a week-long ceasefire after talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Saturday (20 May).

The ceasefire, which is due to come into force on Monday evening with an internationally-supported monitoring mechanism, is supposed to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is attending his first Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday (19 May) since his country was suspended from the group over the government's violent crackdown of pro-democracy protests in 2011 that led to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. In the latest of a number of regional rapprochements, Syria was formally readmitted to the Arab League on 7 May after member states' foreign ministers voted to "resume the participation of the delegations of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in the meetings of the Council of the League of Arab States", according to a statement. The 32nd Arab League summit in the Saudi port city of Jeddah comes amid a renewed sense of purpose and unity across the Arab world. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh said that he hoped the summit in Saudi Arabia "will lead to recommendations and decisions that contribute to resolving critical situations and difficult conditions faced by the Arab world, while preserving unity and solidarity among Arab brothers."

Residents of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, reported a dramatic escalation in air strikes and artillery fire on Tuesday (16 May) as fighting between the army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group enters its second month.

The sounds of explosions and clashes reverberated in the southern parts of Khartoum, accompanied by heavy shelling in Bahri and Omdurman, neighbouring cities across the River Nile.

The Sudanese capital of Khartoum has been hit with air strikes despite a ceasefire that was supposed to allow civilians to flee. Fighting between the Sudanese army the a rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), broke out on Sunday (15 April) as talks over a transition to a civilian government broke down, and a power struggle between the army and the RSF erupted into violence. The army has said that the purpose of the air strikes was to flush out the RSF from the capital, Khartoum, reports the BBC. More than 500 people are confirmed to have been killed in the fighting, with the true number likely much higher. Over the past week, there have been reports of increasing food and water shortages in Khartoum as residents were unable to go outside having been warned against doing so. Despite attempts at enabling civilians to evacuate, millions are believed to still be stuck inside the capital. Last week, many countries evacuated diplomats and civilians from Sudan, including the US, European countries, and many GCC countries. The BBC also reports that aid has begun to arrive in the country, with an International Red Cross flight arriving in the country yesterday, on Sunday (30 April), in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. 

Fighting is continuing in parts of Sudan despite a 72-hour ceasefire between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) larging holding.

The current ceasefire began at midnight local time on Monday, pausing a conflict which erupted on Sunday 15 April amid a power struggle between the leaders of the army and the RSF.