The generals of Sudan for a year now brought to an end a series of events, murdering 8.6 million people and leaving them homeless. Over 8.6 million people are currently living as refugees across the world, due to this episode.
The war brings to the third biggest African country a drastic redevelopment within a shortest time period. It has torn the heart out of the capital, Khartoum, having been once a crucial trading and cultural hub on the Nile. Corpses of people are littering around in deserted neighborhoods and there are graves popping up everywhere, the residents and humanitarian workers confirmed.
Almost one of three Sudanese population persons are now at the height of experiencing a catastrophic degree of hunger as a result of interruption of harvests and aid supplies, according to the UN. Thousands of children and new mothers are slated to die within the coming months from the absence of food and health care provision, according to the United Nations Population Fund. The striking down of dozens of hospitals and clinics was stated by the support workers. The closure of schools and universities in a country who got known for attracting many foreign students has a profound effect, and the United Nations says that this was “the worst education crisis globally”.
Atrocities continue to mount in Darfur, the western region wracked by two decades of genocidal violence. Civilians have been slaughtered, aid camps and homes burned and refugees who fled previous violence are crossing the border into Chad, vowing never to go home again.
The death toll from the yearlong fighting has surpassed 15,600, with many more injured, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project — though U.N. officials and Sudanese health workers believe the actual toll is far higher.
Of the millions displaced by the conflict, more than 6.6 million remain inside Sudan, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Almost 1.8 million others have fled to neighboring nations, including South Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
The continued clashes between the two generals’ competing flanks — the army and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces — have also dashed hopes that Sudan will usher in civilian rule anytime soon.
Here is a look at what is happening in Sudan.
What is the state of the fighting?
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces remain dominant in Khartoum, where the fighting first began in April 2023. In December, it captured Wad Madani, the capital of the breadbasket El Gezira state, where tens of thousands of people fled when the war started.
In the western region of Darfur, the Rapid Support Forces have been accused of committing a wave of atrocities, By the end of April, the paramilitary group had encircled El Fasher, the last city in Darfur still held by the army.
Sudan’s army holds much of the country’s east, including the city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea. In March, the army ousted the paramilitary forces from large pockets of Omdurman, a strategic city across the Nile from Khartoum, according to a resident and aid workers.
Regional analysts and security experts say the army is trying to use this newfound momentum to mobilize and recapture other areas from the paramilitary group.
Repeated attempts to reach a cease-fire have not been successful. U.N. calls for the cessation of hostilities for certain periods have been ignored. Humanitarian agencies are struggling to deliver aid, citing fighting, threats, blocked roads and tax requirements.
Tom Perriello, the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, said last month that he was hoping for a resumption of talks in the days following a high-level donor conference in Paris on April 15. Donor nations pledged more than two billion euros (or over $1.2 billion) in aid for Sudan, French president Emmanuel Macron said at the end of the conference.
Who are the rival generals?
The army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been Sudan’s de facto leader since 2019.
He rose to power in the tumultuous aftermath of the uprising against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan’s leader of three decades, who was ousted in April 2019 following protests.
Before that, General al-Burhan had been a regional army commander in Darfur, where 300,000 people were killed and millions of others displaced in fighting from 2003 to 2008 that drew worldwide condemnation.
After civilians and the military signed a power-sharing agreement in 2019, General al-Burhan became the chairman of the Sovereignty Council, a body created to oversee Sudan’s transition to democratic rule. But as the date for the handover of control to civilians approached in late 2021, he proved reluctant to relinquish power.
General al-Burhan’s main rival is Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, who leads the country’s Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group.
Of humble origins, General Hamdan, widely known as Hemeti, rose to prominence as a commander of the notorious Janjaweed militias, which were responsible for the worst atrocities of the conflict in Darfur.
In October 2021, General al-Burhan and General Hamdan united to seize power in a military coup, making them effectively the leader and deputy leader of Sudan. But they soon fell out.
Many diplomats, including those from the United States, attempted to negotiate an agreement between the two generals that would see them hand power back to civilians.
However, they could not agree on how quickly the Rapid Support Forces would be absorbed into the army. In April 2023, after months of rising tensions, their troops went to war against each other.
Both leaders have traveled outside of Sudan in the past year to seek political support. General al-Burhan addressed the U.N. General Assembly, while General Hamdan traveled to several African nations. In a speech this April, General al-Burhan said that his forces are bent on fighting until victory.
Why are many other countries invested in the conflict?
Sudan occupies a pivotal position on the African continent. It has a substantial coastline on the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. It shares borders with seven countries — the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan — many also threatened by instability.
The violence has spread throughout Darfur, home to several local armed groups that have already been sucked into the fight. Darfur was also a base for Russian mercenaries with the Wagner group, which received access to lucrative gold mining operations in the past. Although Wagner was officially disbanded, Russian mercenaries are believed to be operating in Sudan. Ukrainian forces have reportedly conducted operations alongside Sudan’s army against the paramilitary forces who are backed by Russian mercenaries.
The United Arab Emirates has also been secretly supplying arms and providing medical treatment to the paramilitary forces through an air base in Chad, according to several African and Western officials. The Emiratis have said that their operation is purely humanitarian.
Abdi Latif Dahir is the East Africa correspondent for The Times, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He covers a broad range of issues including geopolitics, business, society and arts. More about Abdi Latif Dahir
Declan Walsh is the chief Africa correspondent for The Times based in Nairobi, Kenya. He previously reported from Cairo, covering the Middle East, and Islamabad, Pakistan.
