Attachments
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) was activated on 25 May 2023 to support the humanitarian response following the outbreak of conflict on 15 April 2023. The ETC is led by WFP in Sudan. ETC Situation Reports (SitReps) are produced monthly.
Highlights
• The ETC concluded its final Cambium Network Training session on 12 December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The training aimed to equip humanitarians with sufficient technical capacity to fully utilize the new network equipment intended for response scaled up in 2025. A total of 50 Sudan-based humanitarian staff from WFP, UN agencies, and NGOs were trained in five batches between 04 November and 12 December.
• Fibre installation and cabling to the new WFP office in Port Sudan began on 17 December, part of the WFP relocation project. Additionally, connectivity has been established at the UN Resident Coordinator (RC) guesthouse and FAO guesthouse.
• In Port Sudan, the ETC continues to test and monitor network stability following the separation from the WFP main network, which was completed on 25 December.
Situation overview
The security situation in Sudan remains highly volatile with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) maintaining control across much of Darfur and the West of the country, and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) maintaining control over key cities in the East. Fighting continues to intensify around El-Fasher in the West and Khartoum in the East. Violence has also escalated in Al-Gezira state, where multiple towns and villages have suffered attacks from RSF forces during November. Despite ongoing hostilities, humanitarian actors made limited progress expanding operational access in 2024. United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS) flights continue into newly accessible hubs such as Dongola and Kassala. However, widespread connectivity outages, power cuts, and security constraints continue to disrupt telecommunications across much of Sudan. Satellite-based communications remain a primary option in many conflict-affected regions. National telecommunications infrastructure