Sudan: Private Meeting*
Tomorrow morning (19 May), the Security Council will convene for a private meeting to discuss the political, security, and humanitarian situations in Sudan. Greece, May’s Council president, scheduled the meeting following significant interest from Council members in discussing the situation in the country. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and Director of the Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Lisa Doughten are scheduled to brief.
Pobee is likely to provide an overview of the rapidly shifting conflict dynamics in Sudan. Since launching a major offensive in late 2024, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied groups have made substantial gains against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in central Sudan. By late March, the SAF had recaptured Khartoum, regaining control over key sites such as the presidential palace and the international airport. In the following weeks, the SAF consolidated its hold on the capital region, expelling RSF fighters from remaining strongholds, particularly in Omdurman. The SAF reportedly continued to make territorial gains and inflict significant damage on the RSF in the Kordofan region.
Earlier this month, the RSF reportedly launched a series of drone strikes for six consecutive days starting on 4 May in Port Sudan—the country’s de-facto administrative capital, which had remained largely insulated from the conflict. The attacks targeted key civilian and military infrastructure, including the international airport, a military airbase, fuel depots, and power stations. Drone strikes reportedly conducted by the RSF also targeted the airport in Kassala, the capital city of Kassala state in eastern Sudan. On 14 May, RSF drone strikes reportedly hit three power stations in Omdurman, causing widespread electricity outages across the capital region. In recent weeks, the RSF has continued artillery and drone attacks, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
The security situation in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and surrounding areas remains alarming. In mid-April, the RSF intensified its siege and attacks on the city, with shelling, drone strikes, and ground operations, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties, the killing of aid workers, and mass displacement. On 14 April, the RSF seized control of the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people (IDPs). The RSF’s continuing offensive has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, in Nyala—the capital of South Darfur state and an RSF stronghold—the SAF has intensified airstrikes on military installations, aiming to destroy weapons and fuel depots and to disrupt RSF supply lines. The warring factions have been accused of widespread violations against civilians, including torture and extrajudicial killings. (For background and more information, see our 15 April What’s in Blue story.)
In a 7 May statement, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave concern over drone attacks in Port Sudan, the country’s main entry point for humanitarian aid. He warned that continued escalation could result in large-scale civilian casualties and further destruction of critical infrastructure. Guterres reiterated his call for all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), including by refraining from targeting civilians and civilian objects, taking all feasible precautions to avoid incidental harm to civilians, and ensuring the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance. He voiced concern over the warring parties’ lack of political will to return to negotiations and called on them to engage constructively with ongoing mediation efforts.
Tomorrow, the briefers and several Council members are likely to echo these messages. Some are expected to condemn the grave violations of IHL and international human rights law, including numerous incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, and to underscore the importance of holding all perpetrators accountable. They may also talk about the destabilising impact of the conflict in Sudan on the region, including the influx of refugees to neighbouring countries.
Doughten is likely to describe how the conflict dynamics are impacting the humanitarian situation in the country. She may provide an update on the efforts of the UN and its partners to respond to the unfolding crisis and highlight the persistent impediments to humanitarian access. According to OCHA, access has deteriorated significantly due to “intensified conflict, threats to aid workers, damage to critical infrastructure and growing bureaucratic impediments”, compounded by the impact of recent funding cuts. She might highlight the challenges faced by humanitarian agencies in areas of intense conflict such as Darfur and Kordofan, as well as the impact of attacks on critical infrastructure across several parts of the country.
According to OCHA’s 2 May flash update, approximately 406,300 people have been displaced from Zamzam camp since 13 April, with most fleeing to Tawila, a town in North Darfur state, while an estimated 180,000 individuals remain trapped within the camp. In response to the growing influx of IDPs in Tawila, humanitarian agencies have activated an operational response plan to coordinate partner deployments and identify gaps in aid delivery. OCHA has noted that efforts are underway to pre-position food and essential supplies in Darfur ahead of the rainy season, which typically begins in June.
However, the 2 May update also highlights severe access restrictions in and around El Fasher, as well as in other areas of mass displacement in North Darfur. The update describes aid worker abductions, looting, attacks on convoys, and “the alleged use of humanitarian corridors by warring parties for military purposes” in and around El Fasher.
Doughten may also provide an update on cross-border assistance into Sudan. On 29 April, an inter-agency convoy led by the UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Antoine Gerard, crossed into Sudan from Chad via the Adré border crossing and travelled to Tawila in North Darfur. On 14 May, the Sudanese government announced its decision to permit aid to flow through the Adré border crossing at the Chad-Sudan border for an additional three months.
Pobee is expected to provide an update on the ongoing regional and international initiatives aimed at resolving the crisis, including engagement with the warring factions, consultations with key regional and international interlocutors, and efforts to coordinate different peace initiatives that have been carried out by Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra. On 23 April, Lamamra met in Port Sudan with senior Sudanese officials, including SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to discuss UN-led peace efforts. On 28 April, Lamamra travelled to Addis Ababa, where he held meetings with senior African Union (AU) officials, including AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. During his visit to Port Sudan and Addis Ababa, he also engaged with senior diplomats from various countries to discuss regional and international support for the peace process. On 30 April, he visited Cairo and met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States (LAS), Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
On the sidelines of the 34th LAS Summit in Baghdad on 16 May, Guterres, joined by Lamamra, held bilateral discussions with Youssouf and Abdelatty, during which the situation in Sudan was discussed. Guterres and Lamamra met with the Sudanese delegation attending the summit, led by SAF Assistant Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ibrahim Jabir.
Guterres also held a tripartite meeting with Youssouf and Gheit to address the crisis in Sudan. In a press encounter yesterday (17 May) following the meeting, Guterres said that that they agreed to maintain regular contact to better coordinate peace efforts in Sudan. He added that representatives of the three organisations will work informally in Addis Ababa to coordinate their efforts. Tomorrow, some members may wish to hear Pobee’s assessment of these recent engagements, including how they can improve prospects for de-escalation of the conflict. They might also seek an update on the anticipated technical-level proximity talks, which are expected to focus on implementing the 11 May 2023 Jeddah Declaration, signed by both warring parties.
Another key issue that is likely to feature in tomorrow’s discussion is the flow of arms into Sudan in violation of the arms embargo. On 7 May, Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, sent a letter (S/2025/291) to the Council reasserting claims about the support provided by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the RSF, including through the supply of advanced weaponry and military equipment, and alleged involvement in recent drone strikes on Port Sudan. It conveyed the Sudanese government’s 6 May decision to declare the UAE as an “aggressor” state and sever diplomatic relations with the UAE, among other things. The letter requested the Council to convene an urgent meeting to “condemn the UAE’s unlawful actions, support Sudan’s efforts to protect its national security” and enforce relevant Council resolutions.
In a 7 May press release, the UAE affirmed that it does not recognise the decision to sever diplomatic ties announced by the “Port Sudan authority”, arguing that it “does not represent the legitimate government of Sudan” and remains “one of the two warring parties in Sudan”.
The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations of supporting the conflict in Sudan. Most recently in a 29 April letter addressed to the Council, the UAE reiterated that “it has not provided and is not providing support or supplies to any of the warring parties in Sudan” since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023. The letter referenced the final report of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, published on 17 April, noting that it made no findings against the UAE or substantiated Sudan’s claims. However, in a 2 May letter (S/2025/277), Sudan rejected the UAE’s assertions, pointing to information cited in the panel’s final report, published on 15 January 2024, and supported by media reports and fact-finding investigations.
*Post-Script (19 May 2025): An earlier version of this story indicated that Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra would brief. It was amended to reflect that Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee would provide the briefing.
