Since its independence from joint Egyptian-British rule (1899-1956) on Jan. 1, 1956, Sudan has had three civil wars: 1955-72; 1983-2005; and the current one that began on April 15, 2023. The War in Sudan pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the government, under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, AKA Hemedti (“little Mohamed”) from Darfur (“Home of the Fur,” a local tribe).

The SAF and RSF are engaged in a longstanding struggle for political power. In April 2019, al-Burhan and Hemedti joined forces and staged a coup. The two initially shared power. However, when an internationally backed Framework Agreement in Dec. 2022, tried to integrate the RSF into the SAF, as a security reform and toward a transition to democracy, the two leaders faced off in tank battles in the streets of Khartoum, each fearing that the other would take over the government. Currently, the majority of Sudanese consider neither group capable of governing, and many are frustrated with the lack of reporting of their desperate plight in the mass (corporate) media.

The Juba Peace Agreement was signed by a handful of rebel groups on Oct. 3, 2020 – because of decades of intermittent war – and the combatants who signed that agreement met again for a summit in Cairo on Jan. 22, 2024, and urged that the Jeddah Declaration for the Cessation of Hostilities of May 20, 2023, be implemented.

However, the RSF, estimated to have about 100,000 paramilitary fighters, continues fighting the Sudanese government which has a force of about 300,000. Both the RSF and the SAF are well equipped, and both have about half a dozen national allies, resulting in a virtual stalemate.

Fighting has been concentrated mostly in Darfur in the west and in the capital Khartoum in the east central region, where the RSF currently has the upper hand – though all of Sudan has been engulfed in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

As of April 9, 2024, an estimated 16,000 have been killed, though that is widely considered to be a significant undercount, and 8.5-10 million of Sudan’s 51 million population have been displaced. (The largest number anywhere in the world.) 1.8 million displaced Sudanese have fled to unstable areas in Chad, Ethiopia, S. Sudan and Egypt, overrunning refugee camps, with some Europeans fearing a new migration to that continent. European policies, such as the 2017 Khartoum Process, designated and funded the RSF to act as border guards to stem African migration to Europe. 6.5 million have been internally displaced and have fled across Sudan’s 18 states.

About 25 million Sudanese now need humanitarian assistance, with 17.7 million facing high levels of acute food shortage. Of those, 4.9 million are at emergency levels of food shortage with excess mortality.

In addition to food shortages, Sudan is grappling with acute shortages of clean water, medicines and fuel. And prices of necessities have skyrocketed. In March, the UN was able to distribute food aid to W Darfur for the first time in months. Famine has already taken hold in many regions, and most aid is blocked due to
heavy fighting. And the September harvest is in doubt.

Deadly outbreaks of cholera, measles, and malaria are caused and furthered by destruction of water purification plants, medication shortages, lack of healthcare access to 65% of the population and power station damage or destruction. Additionally, 70-80% of hospitals in conflict zones are not functional due to air raids, supply shortages, and attacks on healthcare workers. Schools are closed in Darfur, keeping millions from receiving an education or benefiting from safe spaces. An increasing number of children
have been separated from their families, with many exposed to sexual violence and trauma.

Human Rights Watch and other NGOs have documented evidence of numerous mass atrocities by both the SAF and RSF. The Rapid Support Units have been accused of kidnaping, ethnic cleansing, and rape of girls as young as 14, destroying their credibility as liberators. In early November 2023, a massacre of over 800 in one town in W. Darfur by RSF and allied militias targeted Masalit tribal members.

Repeated efforts at negotiation by numerous nations have failed because warring sides have refused to stop fighting even after agreeing to ceasefires.

Various nations have pledged a total of over $2.1 billion in aid, out of a needed $2.7 billion that the United Nations estimates is urgently required for 24.8 million people. But as of May 11, 2024, only $296.5 million has been collected, less than 11% of what is needed.

News organizations such as Pacifica Radio (KPFA 94.1 FM in the SF Bay Area) and independent social media are the sources for information on this continuing conflict. This catastrophic issue is worth demonstrating about, publicizing, and contributing to, in this author’s opinion, to the same extent as the genocide in Gaza and Palestine.

You can make a tax deductible donation of any amount to the Sudan Relief Fund, which has a toll-free number and claims to serve those in need directly with aid workers, or to UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees fund; and others.
Sources: The War In Sudan That No One Is Talking About, Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes 3/31/24; Republic of Sudan, by the Government, Public Service, and International Studies Dept. of the University of Central Arkansas; Wikipedia: Omar al-Bashir, Darfur, Hemedti, War in Sudan; Civil War in Sudan, Global Conflict Tracker by the Center for Preventive Action 4/19/24; After a year of war in Sudan, what is the situation now? Areesha Lodhi, Al Jazeera 4/11/24; Sudan Relief Fund; UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Barry Barnett is a political and environmental author and activist. Website: all 100+ articles, poetry, stories, and satire/humor free of charge to read @ Patreon.com/BarryBarnett.