The difficult and dangerous environment for media work and reporting in general has led to significant underreporting of security incidents in Sudan; as such this paragraph should be read in conjunction with section 1.1.4 Security incidents and civilian deaths estimates and section 1.3.2 Communication and media presence.
Among the 77 security events (battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians) recorded by ACLED between 15 April 2023 and 30 November 2024 in Northern and River Nile states, 35 were coded as battles, 20 as explosions/remote violence and 22 as violence against civilians. In 29 instances, civilians were the primary or only target. 71 % of security events were recorded in River Nile state, the majority of them (31 incidents) in Shendi, and about 29 % in Northern state.951
On April 15, 2023, the Sudan Tribune reported that the RSF took over the airport and airbase in Northern state’s Merowe city, which were reclaimed by the SAF a day later.952 Reportedly, fighting caused ‘uncounted casualties’, including of civilians, in Merowe city.953
Figure 14: Evolution of security events coded as battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians in North region of Sudan, 15 April 2023 – 30 November 2024, based on ACLED data954
- 951
EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Africa, as of 6 December 2024, url
- 952
Sudan Tribune, Sudanese army regains control of airport, 16 April 2023, url
- 953
Al Jazeera, Dozens killed in Sudan as army, rival forces fight for power, 15 April 2023, url
- 954
EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Africa, as of 6 December 2024, url