Three out of four army headquarters in each of Darfur’s state capitals have fallen to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan – pushing thousands of people further into peril.
Among the thousands crossing the border into Chad so far this month to flee the violence are many mothers and children with no possessions, according to charity groups.
The RSF gains are the latest harrowing developments in more than half a year of fighting between the Darfur-born “janjaweed” militia turned paramilitary group and their former security partners and the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Clashes erupted earlier this year between the RSF and the SAF in a fight for political power that has killed thousands of people.
As the RSF captured the 15th infantry division army headquarters in Ardamata – a suburb of the West Darfur capital Al Geneina, home to the city’s barracks and a camp for internally displaced people – a full-blown siege was under way.
There are videos of the RSF rounding up army soldiers – along with footage of them whipping men and young boys and beating them with rifles.
“Sons of b*****!” they yell, and the dust rises as they deliver more blows.
Various human rights monitors from Darfur confirmed that the victims of violence in this particular video were civilians held in the Ardamata area – and punished on the basis of their Masalit tribe and assumed affinity with the army.
‘No one could go in or out’
Voice notes exclusively shared with Sky News – recorded in Al Geneina on the day – detail the siege conditions imposed by the RSF and allied Arab militias on the civilian population as they rounded up army soldiers on 1 November.
“The army is surrendering and asking for guarantees so that they can leave,” says one Al Geneina resident.
They added: “But the Arabs said they won’t let the head of army intelligence go even if he surrenders and said he caused a lot of problems for them and many died.”
Another resident describes the lockdown.
“The people who could escape walked by foot from Ardamata to Al Geneina [city].
“But between afternoon and sunset prayer, they closed the road and whoever was in stayed in – and whoever was out stayed out – no one could go in or out.”
She goes on to list the roads that were closed off.
“Um Duweim Way was closed. The way to Durti was also closed and they beat people up and took their phones,” she says.
“The only way was through Tile’a but some people also said it is closed and they are looting people who try and take that way.”
Image: People have been heading across the border to Chad to escape the violence
Thousands forced to flee across border with nothing
Testimony shared by another Al Geneina resident at the time via text says “the 15th infantry division is now besieged from every direction”.
In reply to questions from Sky News, the RSF said: ‘We will soon take control of the towns of El Fashir and El Deain.
“We can confidently state that 90 per cent of Darfur is now firmly under our protection, and we will assume complete control at any moment when our leadership decrees.”
Some civilians and dozens of troops were eventually released and fled to Chad for safety where they laid down their arms.
The border authority told Sky News they were absorbed by the long-established Sudan-Chad joint border force.
Medecins Sans Frontieres has said that 7,000 people crossed the border from West Darfur to eastern Chad in the first three days of November alone.
Many of them are mothers and children who fled with nothing.
“The men are definitely not allowed to leave so they tried to get the women out,” says one of the residents via a voice note.
Multiple sources in Al Geneina say that hundreds were killed during the takeover, though the final number of deaths is unknown and difficult to measure.
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4:48
Thousands flee the war in Sudan
‘They use sexual violence against women’
The siege of Ardamata by the RSF is almost a replica of their siege of Al Geneina on 15 June that led to a city-wide massacre.
A human rights defender and researcher of gender-based violence from Al Geneina, who fled after the June massacre, says this pattern is a pathway to increased sexual assaults on women.
“After these men are executed, there are a lot of widowed women who are exposed,” she says on the condition of anonymity.
“What I saw from these militias is that they use sexual violence against women – young girls and even the elderly – who are also whipped by the RSF and displaced en masse.”
Several women and girls have shared horrifying experiences of sexual assault with her since the war started on 15 April.
“The women being harmed by the RSF cannot now be left to their protection,” she added.
Image: Mothers and children have been leaving Darfur with hardly any possessions
Entire neighbourhoods surrounded by fighting despite peace talks
In Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, entire neighbourhoods in Omdurman and Bahri have been besieged and cut off from food, water and electricity.
The RSF has denied any involvement in what is happening in Feiteihab: “We are present in certain areas of Omdurman and we are besieging the SAF at the headquarters of the Engineer Corps in Omdurman.”
But family members of residents say their siege area is common knowledge and they are known to surround those neighbourhoods.
They are surrounded by fighting and RSF positions, with no humanitarian corridors allowing for entry of aid or medical care.
Some concerned family members have not been able to reach loved ones there in two weeks.
Shelling by the RSF and army airstrikes have been killing innocent civilians in the capital since the early days of the war.
Peace talks in Jeddah have failed to produce a ceasefire agreement between the army and RSF that would provide much-needed safety and relief.
In an exclusive comment to Sky News about the peace talks, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said: “We are deeply thankful to our Saudi and US partners, who have played an instrumental role in bringing together the RSF and the SAF to find a negotiated settlement to this crisis.”
Both sides have announced a commitment to aid access, a UN-led humanitarian forum and a separate communication mechanism.
However, these outcomes carry little credence as fighting continues on the ground and after several false ceasefire declarations made early in the war.
On 11 October, Sudan’s UN representative, aligned with the army, voted no on a UN Human Rights Council vote on a fact-finding mission to investigate abuses committed during this conflict.
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Image: Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
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6:39
Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
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0:43
Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”
Israel is beginning a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza and will seize large areas of the territory, the country’s defence minister said.
Israel Katz said in a statement that there would be a large scale evacuation of the Palestinian population from fighting areas.
In a post on X, he wrote: “I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”
He said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel”.
The expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza deepens its renewed offensive.
The deal had seen the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but collapsed before it could move to phase two, which would have involved the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
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1:08
26 March: Anti-Hamas chants heard at protest in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the al Mawasi area on the shore, which was previously designated a humanitarian zone.
Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, having expanded an area around the edge of the territory that had existed before the war, as well as a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
This latest conflict began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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1:22
Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza
Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that Israel’s month-long siege of Gaza means some critical medications are now short in supply and are running out, leaving Palestinians at risk of losing vital healthcare.
“The Israeli authorities’ have condemned the people of Gaza to unbearable suffering with their deadly siege,” said Myriam Laaroussi, the group’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.
“This deliberate infliction of harm on people is like a slow death; it must end immediately.”
“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.
It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.
It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.
It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.
Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.
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His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.
The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.
The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.
If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.
And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?
“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.
“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.
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2:52
‘Days of US being ripped off are over’
Dancing to the president’s tune
My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.
Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.
But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.
Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.
One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.
Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.
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6:03
Treasury minister: ‘We’ll do everything to secure a deal’
Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?
The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.
It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.
Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?
Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?
US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.
Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?
For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.