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2 direct mentions across 2 briefings, with 2 linked developments.
Latest linked intelligence
The United States and Saudi Arabia invited Sudan’s warring parties to talks in Switzerland the following month. RSF leader Hemedti accepted, while Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had not responded.
Unverified development · updated through
The United States and Saudi Arabia invited Sudan’s warring parties to talks in Switzerland the following month. RSF leader Hemedti accepted, while Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had not responded.
Open source reportGeography
Marker precision is disclosed on selection. Country and regional centroids show geographic scope, not an exact incident site.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) dossier
2 mapped developments across 2 map positions. Centroid markers show geographic scope, not an exact incident site.
Sudan and Jeddah
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan conditioned talks with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces on their full withdrawal from Sudanese cities, undercutting reports of imminent negotiations in Jeddah.
Approximate map position: country centroid. The extracted place did not have provider-resolved coordinates.
Chronology
Off Leash Update 25 July Israel •Israeli PM Netanyahu went ahead with a planned visit to the U.S., despite (or perhaps because of) news that Pres. Biden has bowed out of the November election. •Some analysts guessed Bibi would capitalize on Biden's weakened authority to make his pleas for continued U.S. support directly to Congress - which is bitterly divided on the issue. •Netanyahu probably also sought to cozy up to Biden's presumptive replacement on the Democratic ticket, VP Harris, but Harris snubbed his Congressional address to hit the campaign trail and speak at a sorority event instead. However, she'll still meet with him (and Pres. Biden) privately at the White House later this week. •Netanyahu delayed the departure of an Israeli delegation for ceasefire talks in Qatar until after his trip to Washington. North Korea •North Korea launched another fleet of trash balloons over the border, and some landed in the compound housing Pres. Yoon Suk Yeol's offices for the first time. •South Korean authorities didn't find anything hazardous or contaminating in the balloons' "payload" - just obnoxious trash sent in response to the propaganda leaflets ("political trash," in Pyongyang's view) that defectors from the North have been floating over the border. Russia •French police arrested a Russian chef suspected of links to the Russian security services on unspecified charges related to a "large-scale" plan to destabilize the Olympic Games that start this week. •It's not clear specifically what this Russian chef was cooking up, but French authorities clarified that the charges weren't related to terrorism. Some media outlets suggested he may have been part of anticipated Russian attempts to create false scares with AI-generated bomb warnings at the Olympics. Afghanistan •Chinese engineers and Taliban officials commemorated a groundbreaking on the long-delayed Aynak Copper Project southwest of Kabul. The Taliban Deputy PM for Economic Affairs said he hoped the project would make up for 16+ years of delays due to war and incompetence with "speedy work" - something the Taliban is not known for. •Short on good news stories, the Taliban also re-inaugurated the 25-km road leading to Aynak that was already officially opened about a year ago. Sudan •The U.S. and Saudi Arabia invited Sudan's warring parties to peace talks in Switzerland next month, and RSF leader Hemedti issued a statement accepting the invitation. His foe, Gen. Al-Burhan, hasn't responded to the invitation yet. Strategic Minerals •Tesla reported a 45% decline in net income for the second quarter - an even worse outcome than pessimistic analysts had predicted. Tesla has been losing its dominance of the electric vehicle (EV) market to cheaper rivals; additionally, demand for EVs has dropped as subsidy programs ended. •Separately, the UK's royals made a record profit last year, thanks largely to the Crown Estate's investment in offshore wind farms. The UK gets 17% of its electricity from offshore wind.
Open source reportOff Leash update 12 July Gaza •The Pentagon said it would give up on the floating pier it built off the coast of Gaza to land aid deliveries. •The pier - which cost $230 million to build - received few aid deliveries in its short lifespan - it only operated for about 20 days of the two months since it was first installed - and suffered damage from rough seas on multiple occasions. (Editor's note: this debacle is especially foul for me as before USG blundered in I was asked by a significant NGO to build a logistics and security plan for supply Gaza. The maritime portion for our plan was only $10m and that included buying two landing craft with cranes and a 120meter spud barge that we would have pinned to the beach with large pilings. The LCs would cycle from 13 miles out (outside Gaza/Israeli waters) to offload by crane into barge pinned to beach. Not elegant but sufficient. The consistent fail of "Team America" is embarrassing and must be corrected.) •Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Gallant estimated that Israel has killed 60% of Hamas terrorists in its nine-month war in Gaza. •Gallant also called for an official inquiry into Israel's failures leading up - and responding - to the Oct. 7 attacks, and specifically suggested the inquiry should investigate PM Netanyahu and Gallant himself. Netanyahu has resisted the idea of conducting such an inquiry before the war is over. Russia •U.S. intelligence uncovered a secret Russian plot to assassinate the (civilian) CEO of German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall because of his company's role producing artillery shells and tanks for Ukraine. •News of the plot outraged German and EU leaders, but Russia dismissed the accusations, saying they lacked "serious documentation" (as *secret* plots often do). •Separately, a Russian-born Australian army private and her husband - also a Russian-born Australian - became the first people arrested under Australia's modernized 2018 espionage laws. Australian prosecutors allege the couple "worked together to access Australian Defence Force material that related to Australia’s national security interests." Sudan •Reports earlier this week suggested Sudan's two warring strongmen - Gen. al Burhan and Hemedti - were close to relaunching peace talks in Jeddah, but Gen. al Burhan seemed to squash that idea with an impossible pre-condition: he wants Hemedti's RSF to fully withdraw from Sudan's cities before talks take place. Sahel •Niger's junta acknowledged that several prisoners escaped from a jail in the restive Tillaberi region known to hold Al Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked jihadists. •It was the first successful jailbreak from this particular facility - although guards repelled two prior attempts in 2016 and 2019. Authorities don't know exactly how many prisoners escaped, but they placed the surrounding area under a strict curfew in an attempt to track down the escapees. Other News •Kenya's Pres. Ruto fired 14 of his 15 cabinet ministers in a belated response to nationwide protests against his government and new taxes it sought to impose (but walked back after they proved unpopular). That may be too little, too late for the protesters, who had demanded Ruto's resignation too.
Open source report