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Drone strikes, severely hit infrastructure, widespread starvation, social media ban, thousands dead and millions displaced - the toll of the civil war in Sudan continues to mount with each passing day, pegging it as a dire humanitarian crisis. The latest among a series of attacks was artillery shelling and air strikes in capital Khartoum on Saturday that killed at least 56 people. Over two years of the conflict, the United States accused a militia commander of "committing genocide" against non-Arab minority groups.
Genesis Of Conflict
Sudan has witnessed violence and displacement since the 2003 Darfur ethnic cleansing crisis, and has the second-highest refugee population in Africa. After Authoritarian leader Omar al-Bashir was deposed as President in 2019, Sudan began a journey of reforms as it transitioned to a new government. This included reforms in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) .
The RSF is an independent paramilitary force, and used to fight on behalf of the Sudanese government. The RSF was founded by over 20 years ago to quash rebellions in Darfur, where they carried out a campaign of ethnic violence against Masalit communities. Reforms that would impact the RSF and SAF sparked tensions between the two factions. This also resulted in tension between Bashir and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has been Sudan's de facto leader since 2019.
Bashir's removal in 2019 had sparked hope for civilian rule in Sudan. Two years later, al-Burhan and Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, who leads the RSF and is also known as Hemedti, united to seize power in a military coup, but the two soon fell out. Diplomats, including those from United States, attempted to broker peace, but confusion prevailed over RSF's absorption into the army. This plunged the country into political and economic turmoil.
The conflict in Sudan began when violent clashes erupted between SAF and RSF erupted in the capital Khartoum in April 2023. The unrest soon spread to areas like Darfur, North Kordofan and Gezira state.
Millions Displaced
Between April 15, 2023, and October 25, 2024, the warring sides exchanged a total of 8,942 attacks, averaging 16 a day, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a crisis mapping organisation.
The conflict resulted in over 11 million people being displaced, including internally displaced people (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees. A large chunk of Sudan's population now faces extreme shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel.
Nearly three quarters of health facilities are out of service and diseases including cholera, measles and malaria are spreading at a time when two thirds of the population lack access to health care.
Egypt is hosting the most Sudanese refugees (1.2 million), followed by Chad (712,288), South Sudan (190,280), Libya (180,000), Uganda (60,808) and Ethiopia (39,984). In South Sudan, most of those arriving are returning nationals (650,000) who had been living in Sudan as refugees.
Impact On Women And Children
As per estimates by the United Nations, over 3 million women and girls were at risk of gender-based violence. The civil war only compounded it. Reports of rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence emerged only days after the conflict began. Attacks on healthcare facilities, equipment and workers are further depriving women and girls of lifesaving care, with pregnant women hardest hit, according to the World Health Organization and UNFPA.
According to UNICEF, Sudan is witnessing the world's largest child displacement crisis. The conflict has deprived millions of Sudanese children of an education, with more than 90 per cent of the country's 19 million school-age children having no access to formal education.
What Is The Current Situation?
The latest in a series of incidents of bloodshed was artillery shelling and air strikes killed at least 56 people and injured over 150 others across greater Khartoum on Saturday.
Shelling was reported at a camp for displaced people in El-Fasher in North Darfur that killed nine civilians on Wednesday, while on January 24, a drone attack on a maternity hospital in El-Fasher, attributed to the RSF, left at least 67 dead and 19 injured.
The UN rights chief said that he was "deeply alarmed" by reports of summary executions of civilians in Khartoum North, allegedly by Sudanese army fighters and allied militia. "Deliberately taking the life of a civilian or anyone not or no longer directly taking part in hostilities is a war crime," Volker Turk said in a statement. The statement noted a video circulated Thursday showing men in SAF uniform and members of the Al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade in Khartoum North "reading out a long list of names of alleged RSF collaborators, saying 'Zaili' -- Arabic for 'killed' -- after each name".
The Rapid Support Forces dominate much of Khartoum and Darfur, while Wad Madani was captured in December. Later, however, the SAF recaptured Omdurman. The military also controls most of northern and eastern Sudan, including Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The paramilitary group also surrounded El Fasher, the last city in Darfur still held by the army.
An army-allied militia claimed control of the towns of Tamboul, Rufaa, Al-Hasaheisa and Al-Hilaliya, some 125 kilometres (77 miles) southeast of the capital.
Sudan's military has used chemical weapons on at least two occasions against the paramilitary group it is battling for control of the country, four senior United States officials were reported as saying New York Times. "Under Burhan's leadership, the SAF's war tactics have included indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, attacks on schools, markets, and hospitals, and extrajudicial executions," the Treasury Department said.
Aid Delivery Restricted
Despite the catastrophic threats of famine, both the SAF and RSF are actively restricting aid delivery across Sudan. International organisations like the World Food Programme said that they cannot access 90 per cent of the people facing emergency levels of hunger.
At a high-level donor conference in Paris in April, international donors pledged more than two billion euros (or over $2.1 billion) in aid for Sudan. But by June, the United Nations said, it had raised only $430 million of the $2.7 billion it needs for Sudan.
Other Disasters Exacerbate Suffering
The civil war continues amid sever droughts to floods to even a famine in some parts of the country. The conflict also exacerbated many of Sudan's existing challenges, including ongoing conflicts, disease outbreaks, and economic and political instability.
Why Is The World Invested In The Conflict?
The third-largest African country Sudan is one of the largest gold producers of the continent and its position on River Nile gives it agricultural potential. It is also situated on the coast of the Red Sea, a busy shipping route, for about 500 miles.
The United States sanctioned both Hemeti and Burhan, accusing the former of genocide and the latter of attacking schools, markets and hospitals, as well as using food deprivation as a weapon of war.
United Arab Emirates was accused by the US of arming the RSF. Later, two Democrats agreed to lift objections to a $1.2 billion arms sale to the UAE by the then administration of fellow Democrat Joe Biden after the White House said the Gulf power assured it was "not now transferring any weapons" to the paramilitary group. The UAE has repeatedly denied arming the RSF despite international criticism and a finding by United Nations experts that the allegations were credible.
Russia's Wagner mercenaries also backed the RSF with weapons in the early months of the war, UN and Sudanese officials said, as per New York Times. The country is also receiving armed drones from Iran.