The current situation in Sudan
On Tuesday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held talks in Port Sudan with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The talks focused on the worsening humanitarian situation in Sudan and efforts to reach a ceasefire with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. This was also the subject of trilateral talks between Abdelatty, Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem and Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. After the meeting, Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s support for al-Burhan’s government and its institutions, particularly the military, and condemned the atrocities in El Fasher in the Darfur region.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s foreign minister made it clear that the so-called ‘Quad’ – an iniciative of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that presented a peace plan in September – would not be recognised as an official mediator by the Sudanese government, as it was not legitimised by the United Nations or any other international organisation. The country therefore prefers bilateral talks with the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Quad Plan initially provides for a three-month truce to allow humanitarian access and protect the civilian population. This is to be followed by a nine-month political transition process leading to a civilian government. Other key elements include preserving Sudan’s territorial integrity, giving diplomacy priority over military solutions, and halting arms deliveries.
The al-Burhan administration has so far rejected the proposal and is making its approval conditional on the withdrawal of RSF units from civilian areas and the laying down of arms. The RSF, on the other hand, issued a statement last Thursday accepting the proposal. Nevertheless, according to reports, RSF attacks on military-controlled areas in Kordofan and the capital Khartoum continue. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sharply criticised the failure to comply with the ceasefire on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Canada and urged international action to stop arms deliveries to the RSF. Although he did not directly name the UAE, which UN-confirmed media reports say is the RSF’s main arms supplier, he stated that they knew who supported the RSF, which is why the supporters were part of the quad. Other countries, including Kenya, which has hosted several high-level RSF meetings (Press Review 31/2025), are also considered supporters of the RSF. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, are regarded as allies of the al-Burhan government, as are Turkey, Qatar, Eritrea and, to some extent, Russia and Iran.
The talks between Egypt’s Foreign Minister Abdelatty and General al-Burhan took place during a period of increasing tensions in Sudan. On 26 October, the RSF captured the city of El Fasher in North Darfur. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that around 82,000 people have fled since the city was occupied. Other UN agencies reported systematic violence against women and ethnically motivated executions. Against this backdrop, Germany, the European Commission and 16 other states issued a joint statement on Monday calling for humanitarian access, condemning the alleged crimes and supporting the three-month humanitarian ceasefire proposed by the Quad.
Political crisis in Tanzania
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed Mwigulu Nchemba as the new prime minister on Thursday. Nchemba, who also belongs to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and served as finance minister in Hassan’s previous government, was confirmed by Parliament late on Thursday. Meanwhile, Tanzania is experiencing one of its most serious political crises since independence, triggered by Hassan’s controversial re-election. In the presidential elections on 29 October (Press review week 46/2025), Hassan won with 97.66% of the vote according to official election results and was sworn in again on 3 November. Her party, the CCM, also secured an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections held at the same time. The election was met with massive local and international criticism. In its preliminary report, the African Union’s (AU) election observation mission stated that minimum international democratic norms had not been met and criticised electoral fraud, multi-voting and unequal competitive conditions, including the exclusion of the strongest opposition party, CHADEMA. The observer mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) also criticised violations of democratic standards.
Immediately after the election, protests and violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces took place over several days. According to estimates by the United Nations (UN), several hundred people were killed, while CHADEMA speaks of at least 700 deaths. In addition, several hundred demonstrators are said to have been arrested, 145 of whom are on trial for treason in Dar es Salaam, according to media reports. The government has not yet provided any information on the death toll, and the lack of free and independent media and censorship make it difficult to verify the figures.
On Monday, four CHADEMA politicians who had been arrested before the election, including deputy chairman John Heche, were released on bail. Vice-President Emmanuel John Nchimbi then declared that the government was prioritising political reconciliation. Meanwhile, Tundu Lissu, the party’s chairman and original presidential candidate, who was arrested in April on charges of treason, remains in custody. CHADEMA called for further protests against Hassan’s government on Tanzania’s Independence Day on 9 December. On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for an independent investigation into the deaths, the return of the bodies to their families and the release of political prisoners. The Catholic Archbishop of Mwanza, Yuda Thaddeus Ruwa’ich, warned that without justice, there could be no lasting peace in Tanzania.
At her inauguration, President Hassan condemned the protests following the elections and called for peace and unity. The ceremony, which traditionally takes place in large stadiums, was held on military grounds instead. Among the guests were the presidents of Burundi, Mozambique, Zambia and Somalia. Meanwhile, voices from Tanzanian civil society also criticize the alleged participation of individual European diplomats, including from Germany, France and Ireland. The domestic political situation is also affecting other countries in the region. During the protests, the government repeatedly blocked internet access and temporarily closed airports and several national borders, including the border with Malawi, which is economically dependent on access to Tanzanian ports. In the port of Dar es Salaam, one of the most important in the region, the unrest led to significant delays.
In other news
On Sunday, 130 cultural objects were returned to the Ashanti Kingdom at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, Ghana, under the direction of King Osei Tutu II. Around one thousand people attended the ceremony. The returned items include gold and bronze artefacts, some of which were looted during the Anglo-Ashanti wars of the 19th century, while others later entered private hands through the art market. The objects come primarily from the Barbier-Mueller collection in Geneva (Switzerland), from private collections in the United Kingdom (including that of Hermione Waterfield), as well as from the South African company AngloGold Ashanti, which has now voluntarily returned the pieces. Among the objects are wooden drums, royal insignia, and a range of gold and bronze works of great symbolic and historical value. The collection is complemented by several modern artworks, including paintings from the 1960s, which are to be displayed in a new museum dedicated to contemporary art. Part of the repatriated objects are already on display at the Manhyia Palace Museum, further strengthening its role as a central site of cultural memory. Museum director Ivor Agyeman-Duah announced that negotiations for further returns, particularly with institutions in Scotland and England, are currently ongoing.