Khartoum Lifts Two-Year Curfew and State of Emergency Amid De‑Escalation

Khartoum’s streets began to breathe a tentative normalcy on Tuesday as Sudan’s Security Affairs Coordination Committee announced the lifting of the city’s curfew and the state of emergency that had been in force since April 2023. The decision, made after two years of nightly lockdowns and sweeping security powers, was communicated by the committee’s spokesperson, who said the move reflected a “significant de‑escalation of hostilities” and the “restoration of basic public services” in the capital. Residents were urged to resume daily activities, while authorities warned that the suspension could be reversed if fighting reignites.

The emergency measures were originally imposed amid the country’s worst internal conflict since the 1980s, when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashed over control of the state’s political and economic future. The dispute, sparked by a power‑sharing agreement that collapsed in April 2023, quickly spiraled into full‑scale urban warfare in Khartoum and surrounding regions. Both sides accused each other of targeting civilian infrastructure, prompting the government to enforce a city‑wide curfew, restrict movement, and grant security forces sweeping authority to detain suspects without judicial oversight. International aid agencies repeatedly warned that the restrictions hampered humanitarian deliveries, exacerbating shortages of food, medicine and fuel.

Since the first ceasefire attempts in late 2023, a fragile truce has held in parts of the capital, largely due to pressure from regional actors such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who have mediated intermittent talks between the SAF and RSF. The SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, frames the emergency powers as necessary to protect civilians and maintain order while it seeks to re‑assert state authority. The RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, maintains that its forces are defending the populace from an oppressive military regime and has repeatedly demanded a share in the country’s political transition. Both parties have, in recent weeks, signaled a willingness to negotiate, with the RSF withdrawing from several contested districts in exchange for guarantees of political representation and the release of detained members.

Humanitarian groups, while welcoming the curfew’s end, cautioned that the lifting of the emergency does not automatically translate into safety. “The risk of sporadic gunfire, unexploded ordnance and arbitrary arrests remains high,” said a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The World Food Programme reported that food aid deliveries, which were stalled under the curfew, have resumed but are still hampered by damaged road networks and lingering security checkpoints. Moreover, the power outage that has plagued Khartoum since the conflict’s onset continues, with electricity restoration expected to take months.

The development bears significant implications for the broader Horn of Africa and Red Sea corridor. Sudan sits astride key trans‑African trade routes linking the interior of Africa to ports on the Red Sea, and prolonged instability has disrupted the flow of goods, including essential commodities such as wheat and petroleum products. A more stable Khartoum could revive cross‑border commerce with neighboring Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, easing pressure on regional supply chains that have already been strained by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Additionally, the cessation of curfews may allow international observers to better monitor the fragile ceasefire, reducing the risk of a spillover into adjacent conflict zones and contributing to a more secure environment for foreign investment in Sudan’s nascent oil and mining sectors.