On December 18, 2024, a critical aid convoy set out from Port Sudan to Khartoum, consisting of 16 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks and 7 commercial trucks, carrying a total of 717 metric tons (MT) of food and non-food items. As of December 17, nine WFP trucks, carrying 165 MT of food, had arrived at the Atbara meeting point, where they are awaiting the arrival of the remaining trucks before continuing the journey to Khartoum. On December 18, six WFP trucks, carrying 213 MT of food, one WFP truck with non-food items, and seven commercial trucks with 338 MT of food, departed from Port Sudan. This convoy is critical for delivering life-saving assistance to vulnerable communities in Khartoum, with food and nutrition supplies for 78,000 people in south Khartoum en route.
The Sudan Founding Alliance, known as TASIS, has issued an urgent statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council defending planned military operations around El Obeid, arguing that international humanitarian law does not impose a blanket ban on attacks against cities that contain military objectives.
The statement, signed by TASIS spokesperson Ahmed Tugud Lissan and dated Sunday, July 5, came in response to Human Rights Council discussions on the situation in and around El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. The discussions included concerns over possible civilian casualties and alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
TASIS said international and regional actors have the right to call for a halt to hostilities and demand protection for civilians, but argued that it was neither legally nor politically balanced to ask one side to refrain from military action while overlooking the military activities of the other.
The alliance said El Obeid hosts military bases, command centers, operations rooms, ammunition depots, military transport facilities, drone and artillery positions, and supply lines used by forces aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Port Sudan army. It argued that such facilities may constitute legitimate military objectives under the laws of armed conflict.
“International humanitarian law does not prohibit attacking cities per se,” TASIS said, adding that the law instead distinguishes between civilian objects and military targets, and between purely civilian areas and populated areas used to support military operations.
The alliance cited Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol II of 1977 where applicable, and customary international humanitarian law, saying military operations in non-international armed conflicts must comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality, military necessity and precautions during attacks.
TASIS said the presence of civilians does not provide immunity to military targets located inside a populated city, but acknowledged that any attack must be limited to lawful military objectives and must avoid excessive civilian harm in relation to the expected military advantage.
The statement also accused forces linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and their allied militias of using El Obeid and its surrounding areas as a launchpad for attacks against TASIS forces and civilians in nearby villages, towns and population centers.
TASIS said the military significance of El Obeid made military targets inside the city lawful targets, provided that all rules of international humanitarian law are observed. It added that international law does not require an attacking force to wait until opposing forces withdraw from their positions before acting in self-defense.
At the same time, the alliance said international appeals to protect civilians and reduce the use of force remain important but insufficient unless tied to a serious political process that addresses the roots of Sudan’s war.
TASIS called for greater pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood and the SAF it says is aligned with it, accusing them of refusing to end the war. It also urged stronger regional and international mediation mechanisms and support for parties it said were genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement.
El Obeid has become an increasingly sensitive front in Sudan’s war, with international concern growing over the risk of expanded fighting in and around the city and the impact on civilians already trapped by months of insecurity, disrupted supply routes and worsening humanitarian conditions.
