A country at war for a year Bordering to Egypt and located on the bank of the Red Sea. 15,000 recorded deaths and nearly 9.2 million people have been displaced so far. Can you guess the name of the country? And, No. It is not Palestine. Regarded as the worst humanitarian crisis of the current times, the Sudan Civil War has grappled with the whole of North Sudan in just within a span of one year. The UN’s Human Rights Council highlighted the country’s dire situation, stating “Nowhere is safe” on 18th June in its 54th regular session in Geneva. Yet most of the planet’s population is unaware of the humanitarian crisis or somewhat ignoring it.
Birth of a genocidal regime & its militia – Rapid Support Force
Sudan has seen numerous civil wars since its independence from Britain and Egypt. Throughout its history, several leaders were dismantled through coups by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which is the country’s official military. This led the SAF to hold tremendous power in the legislation of the country. The origin of this current conflict however dates back to a person named Omar Al-Bashir.
Omar Al-Bashir was a serving military colonel when he took control of the country through a coup in the late 80s. He dissolved the Sudanese parliament, banned political parties and established Islamic law, ultimately becoming a military dictator.
Upon coming to power, Omar Al-Bashir formed an armed militia under his supervision called Janjaweed in the Darfur region of the country. The Darfur region comprising Sudanese of non-Arabic descent was severely neglected throughout history, but especially during the Bashir regime. Thus, started a rebellion.
Bashir during this period financed the Janjaweed Militia which suppressed the rebellion with violent mass genocide, rape and targeted displacements. The group was later renamed into Rapid Support Force (RSF), which was throughout led by a warlord named Hemedti.
Sudan Civil Crisis – Beginning of Sudan’s Fall
In 2005 after a long civil war, South Sudan gained its independence from Bashir-ruled Sudan forming the newest country in post-modern history. With South Sudan gone, Bashir ruled Sudan now lost 75% of its oil reserves and almost half of its gold reserves along with several other natural resources that funded the sustenance of the dictatorship through shady business and bribe dealings. This also affected the country’s economy and the quality of living worsened day by day.
With adequate public angst civilian resistance movement took place throughout the country and in 2019 both SAF and RSF ousted the Bashir regime, promising the people a democratic rule with a complete transfer of power from the military to civilians. As time went the transfer was postponed and disagreement started rising between RSF and SAF. On November 5th, 2022, the SAF led by Al-Burhan and RSF led by Hemedti both agreed to transfer power in public, however, the deal fell out due to one primary condition – Burhan wanted to integrate RSF into the formal military and establish himself as its head. The RSF however with its independent operation through all these years gained significant autonomy both financially and militarily and was disinterested in giving that up. In the coming months, the rift between these two, armed forces grew and on the 15th of April 2023, it became a full-fledged conflict when Hemedti sent 2000 of his men to attack and kill Burhan in a military compound in the capital city of Khartoum.
1 Year After Sudan Civil War
The SAF historically dominated the country’s Eastern region, whereas RSF holds and operates from Western Sudan, especially Darfur. The conflict started in the capital of the country Khartoum and since then the city has been destroyed in the power struggle between both armed factions. The RSF throughout 2023, captured the city by land forces such as tanks and ground troops. The SAF in retaliation bombed the entire city with its Air Force and indiscriminately killed thousands of civilians. The Darfur region was heavily raided by the SAF during the early days of the war, resulting in the near capturing of RSF’s stronghold. However, the heavy retaliation ushed the SAF out of Darfur, destroying the city to rubble.
Civilian deaths & displacements
According to official estimates, 15,000 people have died so far in the conflict, 7.3 million civilians have been displaced internally and 1.9 million civilians have fled to neighbouring countries like Chad, Ethiopia and Egypt – making it the largest human displacement citizens ever due to any war. Approximately 16% of people have been displaced since the start of the war.
Economic impact
Due to the war and the resulting economic decline, 17.7 million citizens of the country are now facing acute food insecurity. 4.9 million out of them are on the brink of famine. At least 3.5 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, including over 700,000 who are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Adding to that approximately 19 million school-aged children are set to miss their education as the conflict continues.
Health & Medicine
About 65 per cent of the population lack access to healthcare and between 70 – 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are no longer functional. Over 11,000 suspected cases of cholera, including 305 deaths, have been reported from 11 states as of April. Other disease outbreaks are ongoing in several states, including measles (4,000 cases with 106 deaths), malaria, and dengue fever.
Effect on women & children
Women in the country face severe sexual and violent atrocities as the conflict worsens. Reports of 1000 rapes by both SAF and RSF throughout the year, have been received from the capital city Khartoum and the actual numbers are believed to be 10-15 times this figure. Over 6.7 million women are now at risk of gender-based violence in the country. 7,000 new mothers could die in the coming months if their nutritional and health needs remain unmet.
Darfur region is currently at risk of ethnic cleansing by the RSF similar to the days of the early 2010s.
Foreign Interference, International Attention & a dead democracy
When it comes to foreign attention the war proves itself to be a paradox of some sort. On one hand, multiple foreign countries are directly involved in the conflict, on the other hand, international forums and media are hardly giving any attention to it. The country of Sudan has a vast reserve of gold, essential minerals and oil. Apart from that it shares 550 miles of coast with the Suez Canal, which is the lifeline of Global trade. Thus, several countries have vested their interest in the ongoing war mutating it into a proxy war.
UAE is one of the major players that has involved itself in the war. Several members of the UNSC in an investigation found credible evidence that UAE flights contented for humanitarian aid were carrying weapons and drones for the Hemedti’s RSF. Several experts believe that the UAE is a key player in the sustenance of RSF. Russian mercenary group Wagner was also fighting alongside RSF last year showing a unanimous support to RSF. The RSF controls the majority of the country’s gold mines, making it a useful ally for nations like Russia and UAE.
However, the tide is not always in one’s favour. With the dismantling of Wagner, Russia is seeming to lean towards SAF, solidifying its interest in the country. The bridging force between these two is Iran. Tehran started warming towards SAF in early 2024, despite Sudan’s long history with Saudi Arabia. With the delivery of new Mohajer-6 drones from Iran, SAF was successful in turning the tide in its favour. The US despite being an ally of the UAE is not warming up to the RSF and lobbying for peace between both factions.
The international community along with media and forums however is performing a silent act on the Sudan issue.
Western forces have granted $233B to Ukraine, and $14B just to Gaza in 2024, yet the UN’s ask for $2.7B in humanitarian aid for Sudan didn’t get fulfilled, as a mere 16% of that ask was only raised. The international media is stuck on the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel- Hamas war, meanwhile, thousands continue to die in Sudan.
Currently, the RSF has captured a key army stronghold el-Fula, showing a strong foot in the conflict. Humanitarian workers are being attacked and shot at, ultimately depriving people of essential aid. And in all these conflicts and suffering the democratic movement, that gave the people of Sudan hope for a new era of governance, is dying a slow and suffocating death.