In this episode of The Horn, Alan speaks with Julia Steers, investigations editor at Lighthouse Reports, about the large-scale atrocities that took place in Darfur’s El Fasher after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the city from Sudan’s army last month. They retrace how the RSF’s seizure of El Fasher unfolded after months of siege and discuss what investigators have uncovered about the mass killings and widespread abuses that followed. They examine the scale and brutality of the attacks on civilians – many of them documented by the RSF themselves – and the ethnic pattern of the killings. They also explore the RSF’s motivations for the apparent coordinated and systematic mass killing, and how the group has responded to the reporting on these atrocities.

For more, check out Lighthouse Reports’ publication “The Killing Fields of Al Fashir”, co-published with Sky News and Sudan War Monitor, our Hold Your Fire! episode “What Does the RSF’s Seizure of El Fasher Mean for Sudan’s War?” and our Sudan country page.

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In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Timur Söylemez, former ambassador and former head of the mediation unit at Türkiye’s foreign ministry, to discuss the evolving landscape of conflict mediation and Ankara’s approach in the Horn of Africa and beyond. They unpack the headwinds facing mediators today amid proliferating conflicts, shrinking space for comprehensive peace deals and rising scepticism toward multilateral bodies. They explore how Türkiye chooses where to engage, how its approach differs from that of the U.S., EU and Gulf states, and favouring results over process. They also examine Türkiye’s efforts in the Horn, including its mediation between Somalia and Ethiopia, and its exploration of peace talks on Sudan, as well as how Ankara cooperates with other mediators from the U.S., Europe and the Gulf.

This episode is produced in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

For more, check out our Türkiye and Horn of Africa pages.

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Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on the fall of El Fasher in Sudan from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire!.

In this update episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Horn director Alan Boswell about the paramilitary RSF capturing North Dafur’s capital El Fasher, the reports of horrific violence in the city and the implications for the trajectory of Sudan’s war. They discuss how the RSF managed to take control of the city after a siege of more than a year and the situation in El Fasher now amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and reports of mass killings of civilians. They discuss the de facto partition of Sudan with the RSF now controlling most of western Sudan and the army holding the capital Khartoum and the east. They also explore whether the capture of El Fasher may derail U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.

For more, check out our recent episode Can a U.S.-Arab Roadmap Stop Sudan’s War? And our Sudan country page.

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In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, to discuss the trial of South Sudan’s first vice president and former rebel leader Riek Machar. They trace Machar’s rise and how he became a central, polarising figure in South Sudanese politics. They unpack the charges against Machar over his alleged role in a March 2025 attack on an army base in Nasir. They discuss the timing of the proceedings as South Sudanese elite jockey over the eventual succession of President Salva Kiir amid mounting speculation over his health. They also explore what to expect from the trial, what its outcome could mean for the risk of deepening violence and for the 2018 peace deal, and whether there remains a viable path to dialogue among South Sudan’s elites to ease tensions.

For more, check out our Analyst’s Notebook “Criminal Charges against South Sudan’s Vice President Threaten New Twist in Conflict”, our recent episode “As South Sudan Quakes, an Heir Apparent Rises”, and our briefing “Succession Fever Deepens South Sudan’s Malaise”.

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Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on Sudan from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire!.

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard talks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael, Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell and Gulf & Arabian Peninsula director Yasmine Farouk about the latest shifts in Sudan’s war and recent diplomatic efforts. They chart recent battlefield developments, including the situation in El Fasher in northern Darfur, where fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is particularly intense amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. They examine how the balance of power between the warring parties is evolving, the interests of outside actors supplying arms, and the RSF’s push to establish a parallel government. They also look at diplomatic efforts to end the war, including the recent announcement by the U.S., Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, known as the Quad, outlining a roadmap for peace in Sudan, how the RSF and the Sudanese army are responding, and what the initiative can realistically achieve.

For more, check out our recent Q&A “All Eyes on the Quad: How the U.S. and Its Partners Can Push for Peace in Sudan”, Alan’s Foreign Affairs piece “Sudan’s War Is the Shape of Things to Come” and our Sudan page. 

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In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director, Murithi Mutiga, to discuss the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam. They trace the project’s development during a tumultuous period for the region and explore its economic and political significance for Ethiopia. They examine why the project has raised tensions with the downstream Nile countries, Egypt and Sudan, why mediation efforts failed before completion, and to what extent concerns about GERD are justified. Finally, they discuss whether the dam can deliver the economic transformation Ethiopia hopes for, what it would take for Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to avert a future crisis, and how the dispute over the dam could still drive regional tensions for years to come.

For more, check out our Ethiopia and Horn of Africa pages.

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In this episode of The Horn, marking Crisis Group’s 30th anniversary, Alan Boswell speaks with president & CEO Comfort Ero about how the landscape of peacemaking has evolved since the organisation’s founding in 1995. They trace how the environment for conflict resolution has shifted from the aftermath of the war in Bosnia to today’s challenges, amid a second Trump presidency and an unravelling global order. They then turn to Africa, examining how leaders on the continent perceive the erosion of Western dominance and the obstacles facing efforts to resolve regional conflicts. They also discuss how the war in Sudan illustrates the difficulties of peacemaking amid a fragmenting world. Finally, they discuss the future of peacemaking amid these headwinds. 

For more, check out the last The Horn Episode with Comfort “Africa in a World between Orders” as well as our Africa and Multilateral Diplomacy pages. 

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This week on The Horn, Alan Boswell sits down with Samira Gaid, founder and senior analyst at the Mogadishu-based think tank Balqiis Insights, and Fred Bauma, human rights advocate and executive secretary at the Ebuteli research institute in Kinshasa, to unpack the uncertain future of peacekeeping operations across the African continent. Once a signature response to conflict, large multilateral missions face growing skepticism from global powers like China, Russia, and the U.S., as well as from the very states they aim to protect. The guests reflect on the frustration shared by local populations, host governments and international donors as peacekeeping missions struggle to deliver real security and political progress. They discuss why some global actors are still keen on trying to make peacekeeping fit for purpose, despite these challenges. Finally, they assess what the future of foreign deployments and missions in fragile countries in Africa might look like, given the decline of multilateralism. 

This episode is produced in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

For more, check out Crisis Group CEO Comfort Ero’s analyst’s notebook entry, “The Future of UN Peacekeeping Cannot Be Business as Usual” and our Multilateral Diplomacy page.

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In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by analyst and researcher Sarra Majdoub to take a closer look at Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their evolving military and political objectives. They discuss the RSF’s recent loss of control in Khartoum to the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the group’s strategic pivot toward consolidating power in Darfur and the Kordofan regions even as those areas suffer from a deepening humanitarian crisis. They unpack the RSF’s emerging new political strategy, including their recent alliance with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and efforts to establish a parallel government with allied armed groups. They also discuss the RSF’s new long-range drone capabilities and why the group decided to escalate the conflict by launching strikes into eastern Sudan, including on Port Sudan. Finally, they explore whether the RSF is preparing for a lengthy war and protracted stalemate, if the group is positioning for a negotiated settlement to the war, or both. 

For more, check out our statement “Two Years On, Sudan’s War is Spreading”, our recent analyst’s notebook entries: “Capture of Tri-border Area Marks Another Twist in Sudan’s Civil War”, “Battle for Darfur Reaches Fever Pitch as Sudan’s War Enters Third Year”, “London Conference Puts Paralysed Sudan Peace Efforts on Display” and our Sudan page.

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Today, we're bringing you a bonus episode on the DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal and U.S. engagement in Africa from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire!.

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Murithi Mutiga, Crisis Group’s Africa program director, to discuss the DR Congo-Rwanda deal, U.S. peacemaking in Africa and elsewhere, and how revisionist leadership could impact the continent. They unpack the U.S. and Qatar-brokered peace deal, its minerals component and the pitfalls in the Trump administration’s mediation style, also looking at diplomacy in other hotspots. They also discuss Sudan’s civil war and whether Trump’s illiberal dealmaking might offer a way out. They examine simmering tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea and what renewed war between them would mean for an already tumultuous region. Finally, they look at how revisionist leaders in Africa may be emboldened by a broader global trend of achieving goals through force, how Africans view Trump’s second term policy so far and how it compares to Chinese engagement in Africa. 

For more, check out our latest Q&A, “The DR Congo-Rwanda Deal: Now Comes the Hard Part”, The Horn podcast episode “The New Scramble for Peace (and Minerals) in DR Congo” and our Africa page.

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This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Guleid Ahmed Jama, a Hargeisa-based lawyer and political commentator, to discuss Somaliland’s push for recognition. They revisit Somaliland’s decision to declare independence from Somalia in 1991 and trace how Hargeisa’s relations with Mogadishu have evolved since then. They discuss Somaliland’s memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia in 2024 – reportedly granting Ethiopia port access in exchange for potential recognition – which stirred domestic debate and regional tensions, and explore how Somaliland’s new administration has been managing relations with both Addis Ababa and Mogadishu. They explore prospects of greater U.S. engagement under the Trump administration, potentially linked to military access, and discuss how Hargeisa’s ties with global powers and regional actors might evolve as Somaliland continues to assert itself internationally.

For more, check out Crisis Group’s recent analyses, “Somaliland’s Peaceful Handover Withstands Neighbourhood Strains” and “The Stakes in the Ethiopia-Somaliland Deal”.

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