Sudan's conflict in Darfur has escalated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), backed by the UAE, attacking the famine-stricken Abu Shouk internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, resulting in the deaths of at least 40 civilians. Concurrently, Sudan’s air force downed a UAE plane at Nyala airport carrying over 40 Colombian mercenaries allegedly en route to support the RSF, an incident the UAE denies while Colombia investigates. The humanitarian crisis in Darfur is worsening, with malnutrition killing 63 people, mostly women and children, in the besieged city of El-Fasher within one week. UN data indicates nearly 40% of children under five in El-Fasher suffer from acute malnutrition, with 11% experiencing severe acute malnutrition. The World Food Programme warns thousands of families in El-Fasher are at risk of starvation. Meanwhile, Sudanese security forces report repelling an RSF attack in Al-Fasher, killing 254 militants and seizing 34 vehicles. In the broader region, Burkina Faso’s Rapid Intervention Battalion 24 (BIR 24) killed at least 50 JNIM militants during a major operation in Kantchari, while JNIM militants launched attacks on military positions in Soudougui, Barsalogho, and Moussokantou near the Côte d’Ivoire border. In Nigeria, the military killed over 100 armed gang members in Zamfara state through combined air and ground operations, though armed gangs ambushed and killed 13 security personnel in Adabka village, highlighting ongoing security challenges.