Authorities linked to General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) in the northern town of Al-Dabba have halted cargo permits for Darfur-bound trucks, traders said, choking off a key inland aid hub days after El Fasher fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Merchants said the stoppage began on Oct. 27—one day after the RSF seized El Fasher, the SAF’s last stronghold in Darfur—and has since expanded to cover all goods and foodstuffs headed to RSF-held areas in Darfur and Kordofan. “We were surprised to find papers for Darfur-bound trucks no longer issued,” said Hasan Issa, a trader in Ed Daein market.
A shipping-agency owner in Al-Dabba said local officials aligned with the SAF ordered a blanket halt to permits. Before the cutoff, Al-Dabba had continued issuing papers for loads to North Darfur even after the RSF captured An-Nuhud in West Kordofan, traders said.
With formal routes blocked, merchants in North Darfur’s Al-La’ayit say they are detouring to Ghobeish in West Kordofan to source staples that now trickle in through smuggling from Al-Dabba—an expensive, risky workaround that will push prices higher. Observers warn the clampdown will sharply raise the cost of essentials arriving from northern and eastern Sudan, including imports via Egypt and Port Sudan, deepening already dire needs for thousands recently cut off by the shifting front lines.
The new Al-Dabba restrictions by SAF-aligned authorities intensify the conflict’s economic siege, leaving civilians trapped between trade bans and escalating humanitarian needs.
