Thousands Try to Flee Sudan Fighting as Clashes Continue

Gunfire in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, continued for a sixth day (Reuters) despite efforts to broker a cease-fire between the military and the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Residents have tried to escape the city, where supermarkets are running low on food. U.S. officials said yesterday that the situation is too volatile (CNN) to get embassy staff out of the country. The U.S. State Department is reportedly preparing sanctions (WSJ) on both sides.

Meanwhile, interference from a Libyan militia and the Egyptian army threaten to escalate the conflict. Egypt sent warplanes to the Sudanese military before and shortly after fighting broke out, while Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar sent a plane of military supplies to the RSF, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Analysis

“Sadly, I think we are on the verge of seeing this conflict regionalized at which point response options dwindle and any hope of a ceasefire evaporates,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Cameron Hudson tweets.

“Privately, some U.S. officials fear new sanctions packages could be too little, too late, amid a broader debate within the [Joe] Biden administration on whether it’s been too timid with sanctions programs against human rights violators in Africa,” Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer writes.

CFR’s Michelle Gavin unpacks the tensions behind Sudan’s security infighting.

Pacific Rim

U.S. Treasury Secretary to Call for ‘Constructive and Fair’ Relations With China in Speech

In a speech about bilateral economic relations (FT) today, Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to say that the United States is not trying to “stifle” China’s economy, but that it will keep pushing back against “unfair” economic measures. The White House is reportedly preparing new curbs (Politico) on U.S. investment in China.

Cambodia: The prime minister’s son, army chief Hun Manet, was promoted (AP) to the Cambodian military’s highest rank. He is expected to succeed his father, Hun Sen, later this year.

South and Central Asia

Bangladesh Holds Trade Talks With Eleven Countries

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Nikkei that the new trade deals would help promote Bangladeshi exports. Bangladesh will soon outgrow its UN designation as a “least developed country,” which comes with tariff exemptions.

Afghanistan: The U.S. inspector general for Afghanistan said during a congressional hearing yesterday that U.S. agencies are blocking his ability to supervise (NYT) aid flows to Afghanistan, meaning he cannot guarantee that U.S. funds are not going to the Taliban.

Middle East and North Africa

Report: Egypt, Saudi Arabia Target Dissidents on U.S. Soil

The U.S. allies use tactics such as hostage-taking and prosecutions (WaPo) to stifle dissent from within the United States, according to a new report from the Freedom Initiative, a U.S.-based rights organization.

Yemen: At least seventy-eight people died in a stampede during a Ramadan charity event in the capital, Sanaa. The stampede was apparently triggered by gunfire and an electrical explosion, the Associated Press reported.

Sub-Saharan Africa

WHO Launches Vaccine Hub for Lower-Income Countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) facility in Cape Town, South Africa, will train partner labs (Reuters) from poor and middle-income countries to produce mRNA vaccines. It was created in response to vaccine inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Backgrounder discusses vaccine nationalism amid the pandemic.

Europe

NATO Chief Makes First Wartime Trip to Ukraine

The visit by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg comes ahead of a meeting of NATO defense officials (AFP, Reuters) in Germany tomorrow. Meanwhile, U.S.-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine (AP), Ukraine’s defense minister said.

U.S./Sweden: Lloyd Austin became the first U.S. secretary of defense (Politico) to visit Sweden in twenty years. His visit signals U.S. support for Sweden’s accession to NATO, which is currently being blocked by alliance members Hungary and Turkey.

This Backgrounder looks at NATO.

Americas

U.S. Sanctions Nicaraguan Officials Who Stripped Dissidents’ Citizenship

The U.S. Treasury Department said the three judicial officials removed the citizenship (Reuters) of nearly three hundred Nicaraguan dissidents earlier this year.

Cuba: In a widely anticipated move, Cuba’s legislature granted a second five-year term (CNN) to President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

United States

Biden Hosts Colombia’s President at White House

U.S. President Biden and Colombian President Gustavo Petro are expected to discuss (Bloomberg) Petro’s ambitions to reform drug policy, as well as migration and plans to restart talks between Venezuela’s government and the opposition.

CFR’s Will Freeman discusses Petro’s plans to transform Colombia.

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