The situation in the three cities of Khartoum state: Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, continued to deteriorate more than ever. Since July 21, 2023, a sharp escalation of the conflict in the battleground cities has been witnessed with heavy shelling and airstrikes. Residents described the clashes on July 22 as the most violent since the eruption of the war on April 15, 2023.

Since Friday, July 21, 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have imposed a siege on the Kalakla area, south of Khartoum. On Saturday and Sunday, RSF attacked the area on a large scale, stormed homes, and expelled its residents. On Sunday, the Kalakala Resistance Committee issued a distress call to preserve the lives of Kalakala residents. The Sudanese Initiative for Human Rights condemned the hostile actions committed by the Rapid Support Forces in the Kalakala area. It stated that it had obtained dozens of testimonies from civilians and victims reporting the violations of the RSF after taking control of the area. In a statement on Monday, the initiative mentioned that RSF is conducting forcible displacement against residents of Kalakala and other areas of Khartoum.

On July 21, 2023, local sources reported that RSF elements looted and occupied two houses in the Al Oshara area, south of Khartoum. The RSF is reportingly using the houses as military bases.

 On July 21, 2023, multiple witnesses reported that on July 20, 2023, five men were killed in the Alkhoglab neighborhood of Bahri when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched an air strike.

On July 21, 2023, Pastor Musa James was killed by a stray bullet while sitting in front of his house, located in the Althawra district of Omdurman. The victim was buried by members of the Christian community in Omdurman.

On July 21, 2023, a local source reported that Mr. Moawia Abdulgadir Goldab, a resident of Ombada in Omdurman, was shot and killed on July 19 by RSF elements. Similarly, eyewitnesses reported that on July 20, 2023, Mr. Yousif Altaj was shot and killed by RSF elements inside his house located in the Alsahafa district in south Khartoum. The victim was reportedly killed while resisting an attempted looting of his house. Mr. Ahmed Alhafez Alzubair was also shot and murdered by RSF members inside his home in the Shambat neighborhood of Bahri. Elements of the RSF invaded the victim’s home in an attempt to pillage his vehicle. According to reports, three more family members of the victim were injured. 

Mr. Ahmed Mohammed was murdered in Al Kalakla, south Khartoum, on July 21, 2023, according to credible sources. The victim succumbed to shrapnel wounds shortly after a SAF airstrike in the neighborhood of Al Kalakla Laffa.

Ongoing confrontations in Omdurman have converged on the Karrari military zone, with reports of intense fighting. In an afterwards statement, the RSF claimed that it had penetrated the Karrari military zone and caused significant damage to SAF ammunition and personnel. 

On July 22, the SAF bombed the RSF’s gathering spots near the Halfaya bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri. The SAF also fired at RSF sites in Al Kilo and areas north of Bahri. In response, the RSF fired rockets at the SAF. These rockets are said to have killed civilians and damaged homes in Al Droshab, Alsamrab, and Al Ezerqab, which are all north of Bahri. 

On the 22nd of July, 2023, SAF fighter aircraft conducted extensive airstrikes against RSF positions in Al-Masoudeya, Al Jazeera State. According to sources, the army seized 32 combat vehicles, destroyed over 30 additional vehicles with all of their equipment, and murdered 84 RSF personnel and officers. According to the sources, the airstrikes launched against the RSF were the most intensive since the beginning of the conflict, and the SAF’s newly acquired Sukhoi aircraft participated in the aerial assaults. Sources confirmed that SAF fighter aircraft conducted additional airstrikes against RSF positions in Khartoum southern neighborhoods of Giad, Al Nuba, Al-Masoudeya, and Al Bageir. 
Alsahafa Revolutionary Alliance reported on 22 July 2023 that RSF members fired and killed a male civilian in Alsahafa Square 22 south of Khartoum. According to their report, the victim was killed when he stepped out of his home and was harassed and shot by RSF personnel in the street. 
On July 23, 2023, SAF announced that it had taken full control of Nile Street.

North Kordofan 
Renewed clashes between SAF and RSF
On July 20 and 21, fighting between the SAF and RSF escalated in the city of El Obeid, North Kordofan. Reportedly, the SAF launched airstrikes against RSF positions, while the RSF fired anti-aircraft missiles in response. Several mortar shells impacted near El Obeid hospital and residential areas during the exchange of fire. As a consequence, five people were killed and thirty-five others were injured, and a number of buildings sustained partial or total damage. The Sudan Doctors’ Union released a statement on July 22, 2023, expressing concern over the conflict’s continued impact on the livelihoods of Sudanese. According to the Union, on July 21, confrontations in El Obeid resulted in the deaths of four individuals and the injuries of forty-five others. The Union condemned the escalation of hostilities and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities. 

The Situation in Darfur
In Darfur, the situation is rapidly worsening as clashes intensify and the toll on civilians continues to rise. In a violent incident that unfolded on July 21, a fierce confrontation broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city of Nyala, South Darfur. The clash claimed the lives of a minimum of 20 civilians, while leaving over 70 individuals wounded. In Texas neighborhood of Nyala, reports have emerged of a distressing attack carried out by elements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to witnesses, the RSF personnel targeted a bustling local market, leaving a trail of chaos and devastation in their wake. Eyewitness accounts reveal that the attackers not only looted personal belongings, such as mobile phones and money, but also unleashed wanton destruction upon numerous shops in the area.

 In El Fasher, North Darfur, despite the pause in clashes between the RSF and SAF, local sources continue to highlight protection concerns and human rights abuses committed by RSF-aligned militias, including abductions, physical assaults, and harassment of local residents.

In El Geneina, West Darfur, the situation remains volatile as the RSF and its aligned militia continue to control the city. In surrounding localities, local sources have reported an increased presence of Arab militia groups, which has heightened anxieties. In Sirba locality, RSF has reportedly imposed levies on non-Arab residents in several villages in Sirba. The levy, which amounts to 5,000 SDG, is considered a protection ransom.


 
NCP Leaders Appear in East Sudan.
Mr. Ahmed Haroun, a prominent member of the deposed NCP who is indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes in Darfur, and Mr. Awad al-Jaz, a prominent figure of the NCP, appeared in Kassala state, East Sudan, to coordinate meetings for the mobilization of their supporters. Mr. Haroun was previously seen in El Obeid mobilizing an Islamist militia cell, according to reports. Prior to the outbreak of conflict on April 15, both Haroun and al-Jaz were in Kober prison awaiting trial for crimes committed during the time of the deposed regime.
 
Attacks Against Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Emergency Rooms

On July 20, 2023, a team from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) comprising 18 people was stopped by a group of armed men while transporting medical supplies from the MSF warehouse to the Turkish Hospital, located in the Al Kalakla area, south of Khartoum. MSF is supporting operations in the hospital. The armed men reportedly questioned the reasons for MSF’s presence in the area, assaulted the team, and threatened them with gunfire. The driver was detained and released later. In a statement, MSF noted that following the incident on July 20 and previous attacks on its convoys, its operations at the Turkish hospital will soon no longer be tenable. The Sudan Doctors’ Union condemned the incident and warned that continued attacks against humanitarian personnel will lead to the cessation of humanitarian operations and the collapse of the health system. The Union stated that 70% of the hospitals adjacent to the conflict areas are out of service.
On July 22, 2023, credible sources reported that on July 22, 2023, RSF elements raided a building utilized by the Ombada Al Rashdin Emergency Room and looted their personal belongings, including mobile phones. The sources stated that the members of the emergency room were physically assaulted and threatened.
 
Political Processes and peace talks
SAF and RSF delegations returned to Jeddah on July 15 to resume peace negotiations that had been initiated by a joint Saudi-American mediation in mid-May. The previous sessions failed to make any progress toward declaring a permanent or long-term ceasefire, despite the fact that it was announced to be signed ten times between the belligerent parties during the preceding period but was never observed.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, announced on June 21 the adjournment of the Jeddah talks because their format was not succeeding in the way they wanted. The current resumption of the talks seems to have minimal US involvement. Within the circles of US foreign policy, Phee’s strategy in Sudan and throughout the region as a whole is coming under severe scrutiny and criticism. She contends, however, that this criticism stems from the fact that she is a white woman who oversees the African file at the US Department of State, which displeases black Americans and prompts them to criticize her and make efforts to hinder her. This absurd use of the counter-racism argument largely ignores the fact that most of the criticism of Molly’s strategy came from Sudanese and Africans who were directly affected by the failure of US foreign policy in the region and who have nothing to do with American politics.

The Saudis seem to be sharing similar frustrations with the US-Phee’s approach to Sudan, which they see as lenient towards the RSF. This might be what made them take matters into their own hands, with a siege of secrecy around the talks and an unapologetic approach to pressuring both warring parties. Nevertheless, it seems this led to some positive progress on the track of a cease-fire this time.

Informed sources report that the RSF agreed in principle to evacuate houses, hospitals, and other civilian facilities in exchange for providing guarantees to protect their withdrawing forces and allowing them to withdraw with their loot to agreed-upon points outside Khartoum under the protection of international forces. This is the point of contention rejected by the SAF delegation, which rejects the presence of international forces in Sudan but proposes the presence of observers instead. Also, the Rapid Support Forces insist on remaining focal points in the main streets and not withdrawing from their military camps in Khartoum, under the pretext that they are private property owned by Hemidti and are not state-owned properties. Their earlier demand for immunity to the Daglo family is still hanging without further discussion. 

In parallel, the Republic of Togo hosted, on the 23rd and 24^th of July, a consultative forum for the leaders of Darfur. The meeting, which is widely believed to have been held under the auspices of the Rapid Support Forces and under the direct supervision of Rapid Support Forces political advisor Youssef Ezzat, was attended by former Sovereignty Council member Mohammad Hassan al-Ta’ayshi and former Minister of Justice Nasraldin Abdel Bari. While the armed struggle movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement, such as the Sudan Liberation Movement under Minawi’s leadership, the Justice and Equality Movement, and the rest of the Darfur movements, announced their boycott of participating in this forum, which is widely viewed as an attempt to give the Rapid Support Forces legitimacy to represent the region. It is worth noting that Abdel-Bari explicitly declared his support for the RSF and Hemidti immediately after the outbreak of the war in his meetings that he held in Washington, where he arrived, coinciding with the outbreak of the war on April 15 in Sudan.

Today, July 25, the Forces for Freedom and Change—the Central Council—will conclude its first executive meeting since the outbreak of the war. Earlier this week, the Forces for Freedom and Change (the Central Council) issued a statement thanking the Egyptian government for allowing this meeting to be held in Egyptian territory after completing a round of diplomatic visits in the region that included Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia.