Sudan's Civil War: A Country in Chaos

Fighting broke out in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti. What began as a power struggle between two generals quickly turned into a nationwide war with no clear front line and no easy exit.

The war has created one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. More than 10 million people have been displaced, including over 2 million who fled the country and roughly 8 million inside Sudan. Hospitals are destroyed, hunger is spreading, and civilians continue to face looting, shelling, and mass abuse.

Darfur has again become one of the deadliest parts of the war. The RSF and allied armed groups have targeted non-Arab communities, especially the Masalit, in campaigns that the UN has warned could amount to ethnic cleansing or genocide. El Geneina was largely emptied, and many survivors fled across the border.

Regional powers have made the war harder to stop. The United Arab Emirates has been accused of backing the RSF, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia have generally leaned toward the army. Mediation efforts have repeatedly failed because neither side believes it is stronger inside a negotiated settlement than on the battlefield.