Civil War in Sudan
As the civil war enters its fourth year, Sudan’s two warring factions remain locked in a deadly power struggle. A year after the government-backed Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) regained control of Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the country’s embattled western regions—including Darfur, where a UN fact-finding mission identified the “hallmarks of genocide” earlier this year—remain under RSF control. Mediation efforts have stalled as top officials in both warring camps refuse to halt their violence, and regional and international actors continue to fund and arm both belligerents.
Analysts remain unable to precisely assess the conflict’s death toll, with estimates ranging from 61,000 to hundreds of thousands. The UN continues to plead for more support as more than thirty-three million Sudanese, enduring the “world’s largest hunger crisis,” await desperately-needed humanitarian assistance.
Background
For the first half of the twentieth century, Sudan was a joint protectorate of Egypt and the United Kingdom, known as the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. Egypt and the United Kingdom signed a treaty relinquishing sovereignty to the independent Republic of Sudan in 1956. The stark internal divide between the country’s wealthier northern region, which was majority Arab and Muslim, and its less-developed southern region, which was majority Christian or animist, sparked two civil wars, the second of which would see the country split into two states in 2011. The second Sudanese civil war from 1983 to 2005 killed an estimated two million people, with widespread documentation of famine and atrocities. In July 2011, Sudan’s southern territory seceded and formed a new state: the Republic of South Sudan.
The dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir defined Sudan’s post-colonial period. Bashir seized power in a 1989 coup after serving in the Egyptian military during condominium rule and later as an officer in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). As president, he oversaw the Second Sudanese Civil War, the secession of South Sudan, and the conflict in Darfur. The Darfur war, which broke out in 2003, was later condemned by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a genocide targeting non-Arab populations, including the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit peoples in western Sudan. During his regime, Bashir enforced a strict interpretation of sharia, employed private militias and morality police to enforce his decrees, and persecuted Christianity, Sunni apostasy, Shiism, and other minority religious activities. Bashir’s regime survived until 2019. By the final decade of his presidency, Bashir faced increasing popular protests calling for democracy, access to essential services, and a new system of governance. The revolution culminated in an April 2019 coup, which was carried out jointly by the SAF—led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan—and the Rapid Security Forces (RSF), a militia led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.
The RSF is the most powerful paramilitary group to emerge from the Bashir era. The RSF evolved from the Janjaweed militia, an Arab-majority armed group funded by Bashir to suppress southern Sudanese rebels and fight in the Darfur War. The group committed brutal attacks and crimes across the Darfur region, including mass displacement, sexual violence, and kidnapping. The first two years of the conflict in Darfur claimed over two hundred thousand lives, with over one hundred thousand more since 2005.
With Bashir’s support, the loosely coordinated Janjaweed was formally organized under the RSF banner in 2013. Since then, the RSF has been employed as a border guard force, a source of mercenaries for the Saudi coalition in the Yemeni war, and a hired security force to repress popular uprisings. RSF leader Hemedti became one of Sudan’s wealthiest men by seizing control of gold mines.
Before 2019, Bashir hired the RSF to protect him from coups and assassination attempts. Despite this, the RSF ultimately joined forces with the SAF in the 2019 coup to oust Bashir and establish a transitional government and a new constitution. Burhan led the Transitional Sovereignty Council with Hemedti as his deputy, alongside other military leaders and several civilians.
Among the civilian members, the council chose Abdalla Hamdok, an economist and development expert, as prime minister. During his brief tenure, he attempted to mitigate Sudan’s extreme economic turmoil and project stability to the outside world. However, the SAF and RSF orchestrated a coup against Hamdok in October 2021 and suspended the constitution. In response, international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund paused badly needed debt relief and other aid to Sudan. Mass demonstrations demanding a return to civilian control intensified in Khartoum.
Hamdok was briefly reinstated as prime minister in November 2021 after agreeing to concede certain governing powers to Burhan and Hemedti. However, he ultimately resigned in January 2022, as Sudanese protestors were dissatisfied with the terms of his reinstatement and the violent actions of security forces, who had repeatedly beaten and killed protestors. Since Hamdok’s resignation, Sudan has had no effective civilian leadership, with Burhan operating as de facto head of state. By early 2022, Burhan and Hemedti were left at the helm of the government, with the power to direct its democratic transition.
Negotiations throughout 2022 over the future of Sudanese governance culminated in a December 2022 deal laying the groundwork for a two-year transition to civilian leadership and national elections. Many citizens rejected the plan due to the contested time frame, the security sector retaining some post-transition state powers, and the failure to hold Burhan, Hemedti, and other security sector figures accountable for violence. Unrest broke out again and persisted from December into the spring, leading to more violent crackdowns on protestors.
Major sticking points emerged as the transitional government began to negotiate a plan. Foremost was the role of Hemedti and the RSF; the agreement elevated Hemedti to Burhan’s equal, promoting him from general’s deputy. The deal also called for the eventual integration of the RSF into Sudan’s legitimate armed forces under civilian leadership. However, the deal did not specify a deadline for the RSF’s integration into the SAF due to disagreement between Burhan and Hemedti. The two leaders missed an early 2023 deadline to determine conditions for the agreement’s implementation, indicating tension over the RSF-SAF relationship and the future of both forces as subordinates of an elected government.
As the months passed, the power struggle between Burhan’s SAF and Hemedti’s RSF continued to stall the country’s transition efforts. By early April, SAF troops lined the streets of Khartoum, and RSF soldiers were deployed throughout Sudan. On April 15, a series of explosions shook Khartoum, along with heavy gunfire. SAF and RSF leadership both accused each other of firing first. The involvement of the Wagner Group and foreign military influence, notably from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has deepened the rivalry at the core of Sudan’s crisis.
The fighting in Khartoum has persisted, and incidents of violence across the country continued to rise, including in Darfur. The assassination of West Darfur’s governor Khamis Abakar in June 2023, likely by RSF militants, marked an escalation; Abakar had accused the RSF of renewed genocidal attacks against minorities in Darfur. In June 2024, an NGO report stated that over 235 fires had been set in villages across Sudan, with a majority set by militias in Darfur, since fighting erupted in mid-April 2023.
Several NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, have documented evidence of numerous mass atrocities committed throughout the conflict, prompting accusations of ethnic cleansing and war crimes. In early November, RSF forces and allied militias killed more than 800 people in a multi-day rampage in Ardamata, a town in western Darfur. This attack reflected a new surge of ethnically driven killings targeting the Masalit in West Darfur. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) Filippo Grandi warned that current violence is emblematic of the U.S.-recognized genocide in Darfur that killed an estimated 300,000 people between 2003 and 2005. A statement made by the UN in January indicated that between ten thousand and fifteen thousand people were killed in 2023 due to ethnic violence by the RSF and its allies in West Darfur. In April 2024, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield highlighted evidence indicating that women and girls as young as fourteen years old have been victims of sexual violence perpetrated by the RSF.
Humanitarian access remains a crucial concern for many international actors, including the United States, which called on the UN Security Council to authorize aid deliveries through Chad. Conditions in the country were already poor before April 2023 and have worsened since. Over six hundred people died in the first month of fighting, and attacks have destroyed hospitals and other vital infrastructure. In August 2023, the United Nations stated that the conflict in Sudan was “spiraling out of control” as refugees continued to flee the country and the health system collapsed, raising fears of disease outbreaks. The displacement crisis is especially concerning given the instability of its bordering countries. In consequence, the UN Humanitarian and Emergency Relief chief dubbed Sudan “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history.”
On March 8, 2024, the UN Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of violence in Sudan. A few days later, the SAF agreed to indirect negotiations with the RSF, mediated by Libya and Turkey. However, the talks broke down on March 11 after a top SAF general rejected the proposal for a ceasefire unless RSF forces withdrew from civilian sites. The statement came after the SAF made significant advances toward recapturing Khartoum. Iranian armed drones partially contributed to the SAF’s successes.
Recent Developments
In the latter half of 2024, the SAF launched a coordinated offensive around the three metropolitan cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, catching RSF forces off guard. The SAF seized significant territory in the capital for the first time since the RSF took control at the onset of the war. As 2025 began, fighting in Khartoum state intensified, with the SAF retaking key areas around the capital. In January, the SAF drove RSF forces out of Omdurman, recaptured a vital oil refinery just north of Khartoum, and regained near-total control of Bahri. Additionally, in February 2025, SAF forces ended the RSF’s two-year siege of Obeid, a strategic city with railway connections to Khartoum.
In February 2025, RSF leadership and its allies gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, to advance their plan to create a parallel government. They signed a charter outlining key aspects of a post-war government, including secularism, democracy, a decentralized structure, and a unified national army. In early March, the RSF signed a new constitution, signaling its intent to garner diplomatic leverage and legitimacy. That same month, the Sudanese government filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice, accusing the UAE of complicity in genocide due to its arms support for the RSF.
The RSF has continued its attacks on local rebel forces, SAF personnel, and civilians to consolidate its control of Darfur in western Sudan. The RSF captured El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the last major city under government control, on October 27 after an eighteen-month siege. In the following days, reports of widespread RSF atrocities began to surface, including cases of mass killings, sexual violence, and other crimes. The RSF’s targeting of non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur has raised concerns of genocide. According to a report from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, satellite imagery has detected closely packed objects and ground discoloration, which researchers believe to be evidence of human bodies. Reports of famine are exacerbating the country’s humanitarian situation, as nearly four hundred thousand people facing starvation.
RSF Campaign Constitutes Genocide, UN Probe Finds
A UN investigation concluded that the RSF’s systematic campaign of violence against civilians during its siege on el-Fasher—including sexual violence, mass killings, and deliberate starvation—amounted to genocide (Al Jazeera).
Sudanese Army Retakes Kurmuk
The Sudanese army claims to have recaptured the strategic border town of Kurmuk—which joint RSF-SPLM-N forces seized in March—following intense fighting between the two factions that inflicted heavy human and material losses on the RSF (Sudan Tribune). Additionally, RSF-backed drone strikes on civilian vehicles have killed more than twenty people in recent days in the Khartoum and North Kordofan provinces, according to local NGOs, reflecting the increasing use of drones in the ongoing conflict (AP).
More Than Three Hundred Children Killed in Six Months, UN Finds
UNICEF reported that in the last six months, over three hundred children have been killed or injured in the war in Sudan, mostly from drone strikes, as fighting is increasingly concentrated in the Kordofan, Darfur, and Blue Nile states (AP).
UN Continues to Sound Alarm Over Conditions in El Obeid
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that a human rights catastrophe is unfolding in El Obeid during a UN Human Rights Council debate, noting civilians in the area have been subjected to siege-like conditions for eighteen months, including shortages of clean water and drone strikes (Reuters).
Amnesty Report Documents RSF War Crimes in El Fasher
An Amnesty International report documenting the RSF’s campaign to seize El Fasher accused the paramilitary group of crimes against humanity—particularly targeting children and members of the Zaghawa ethnic group—including ethnic cleansing, torture, and sexual violence, and identifies three senior RSF commanders as responsible for overseeing these crimes (Radio Tamazuj).
SAF Prepares El Obeid for RSF Assault
The SAF has set up at least fourteen checkpoints and a fifty-one-kilometer network of defensive infrastructure around El Obeid in preparation for an RSF siege; RSF forces have almost entirely encircled the city and escalated attacks on critical civilian infrastructure (Sudan Tribune). Separately, the United Nations lauded Sudan’s decision to extend the opening of the Adre aid corridor on the Chad-Sudan border until September 30 despite persistent fighting in the area, stating the decision will allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid to vulnerable populations (Radio Tamazuj).
SAF Recaptures Territory in Southeast
The SAF announced it seized control of two towns in the Blue Nile region that serve as important regional operational hubs following clashes with joint RSF/SPLM-N forces (Sudan Tribune).
China Forgives Fifty Million in Debt
China forgave roughly fifty million dollars of Sudan’s debt to Beijing in a bilateral agreement. (Sudan Tribune). Sudan owed over $56 billion in debt to external entities before 2023, after which its economic situation further deteriorated following the outbreak of conflict between the RSF and the SAF; the war has shrunk Khartoum’s economy by roughly 40 percent (Al Jazeera).
SAF Retakes Town in North Darfur State
Sudanese military forces recaptured Abu Qamra, which the RSF seized in 2025 amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions in North Darfur State; a wave of RSF attacks, including the burning of at least eight villages near the Chadian border, has triggered mass displacements in the region (Sudan Tribune). Meanwhile, Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission accused the RSF of targeting an aid truck traveling to El-Obeid in an attack that killed one driver and destroyed nearly fifty tons of flour, denouncing the assault as a continuation of the RSF’s systemic targeting of relief convoys and a violation of international humanitarian law (Sudan Tribune).
United States Sanctions RSF and SAF Supporters
The United States imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities for supporting the SAF and the RSF networks, including a Panama-based company that hires former Colombian soldiers to fight for the RSF and an Indian mining company, and announced a second round of sanctions on the Sudanese government for the SAF’s alleged use of chemical weapons (Sudan Tribune).
Sudanese and South Sudanese Leadership Discuss Security Cooperation
The Sudanese Director of the General Intelligence Service, General Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal, and the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with the South Sudanese Director of the National Security Service, General Akec Tong Aleu, to strengthen security cooperation and coordinate efforts to secure their shared border (Sudan Tribune).
More Than 215 Die in Detention Center, NGO Reports
Over two hundred fifteen civilians detained at the Daqrees prison in South Darfur have died in the past two months due to torture and disease, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, which also noted unverified reports of RSF using detainees’ blood to treat wounded fighters (Sudan Tribune). Separately, the Sudan Tribune reported that the RSF and SAF have weaponized disinformation and AI to control the flow of information and wage psychological warfare–leading to mass displacement and civilian deaths—by funding and amplifying media rooms, influencers, and sponsored content (Sudan Tribune).
Sudan Captures Rebel Stronghold Near Ethiopian Border
The SAF seized a major outpost from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) near the Ethiopian border—resulting in the capture of multiple rebel fighters and military equipment—amid intensifying clashes between the SAF and the RSF/SPLM-N coalition as Khartoum attempts to retake the coalition-occupied border town of Kurmuk (Sudan Tribune). Separately, a UN report found that sexual violence has consistently been used as a “weapon of war” in Sudan to terrorize the civilian population, control civilian movement, extort money, and target members of certain ethnic groups (OHCHR). While the RSF is reportedly responsible for most of the 546 UN-verified incidents of sexual violence, the SAF and its allies have also been accused of such crimes (BBC).
Sudan Faces Displacement Crisis Amid Limited Funding
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees Representative Mamie-Helene Verney reported that Sudan continues to face the world’s largest displacement crisis while facing a seventy-two percent funding deficit due to logistically challenging humanitarian channels, high operating costs, rigid donor funding, and ongoing conflict between armed groups (Sudan Tribune).
RSF Continues Strikes on El-Obeid
The RSF launched a new wave of drone strikes on El Obeid hours after an attack on the city’s main power transformer caused a blackout, marking a week of daily RSF-backed bombardments on the North Kordofan state capital (Sudan Tribune). Meanwhile, UN Envoy for Sudan Pekka Haavisto spoke with RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo by phone, during which he emphasized the need for de-escalation in El-Obeid (Sudan Tribune).
UN Warns of Mass Atrocity Risk in El-Obeid
The United Nations Security Council released a statement urging the RSF to halt its assault on El-Obeid and warning of an “imminent risk of mass atrocities” in the city (Reuters)
Sudanese Victims Demand ICC Investigation Into UAE
Seven Sudanese survivors filed a communication with the International Criminal Court to investigate senior Emirati business figures and officials over their reported support of RSF atrocities in Darfur; despite numerous reports detailing the UAE’s financial and material support for the RSF, Abu Dhabi denies that it has provided the group any assistance (Middle East Eye).
EU Delegation Visits Khartoum
SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan held talks with EU ambassadors in Khartoum to discuss field conditions and ongoing negotiations, marking their first joint visit to the capital since the conflict began in 2023 (Sudan Tribune). Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said drone strikes killed over one thousand Sudanese civilians in the first five months of 2026, reflecting the increased human costs of heightened drone usage by both the SAF and the RSF; data from 2024 to 2025 shows a 600 percent increase in drone-related deaths and an 81 percent increase in drone attacks (AP).
Drone Strikes Kill Over Twenty Amid RSF Siege
The RSF killed twenty-two civilians and wounded nineteen others in a series of drone strikes targeting a funeral procession, a residential neighborhood, and the airport district in El-Obeid (RFI). Located in the oil-rich Kordofan region—between RSF-controlled areas in western Sudan and SAF-controlled eastern areas—El-Obeid has been under siege by the RSF for months (BBC).
UAE, Ethiopia Deny Involvement in Khartoum Airport Drone Attack
The United Arab Emirates rejected accusations from Sudan that UAE drones were involved in an attack on Khartoum airport, which Sudan claimed originated from Ethiopian territory; Sudan’s military spokesperson presented what he described as evidence showing Emirati drones departing from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport before striking multiple Sudanese locations in March and May, though Reuters could not independently confirm these claims (Reuters).
UAE Issues Charges Over Alleged Arms Smuggling to Sudanese Army
The United Arab Emirates referred thirteen defendants and six companies to its State Security Court on charges of attempting to illegally transfer ammunition through UAE territory to Sudan’s army, with prosecutors linking the procurement to a committee led by Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan; Sudan’s armed forces had previously dismissed the 2025 interception report as fabricated (Reuters).
UN Sanctions RSF Leader’s Brother, Colombian Mercenaries
The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, the younger brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who oversees the paramilitary group’s weapons procurement efforts, as well as three Colombian nationals accused of playing central roles in recruiting former Colombian military personnel to fight for the RSF (Reuters). Additionally, UNICEF warned that five million children in the Darfur region are facing extreme deprivation, an emergency warning the UN children’s agency has not issued for Darfur in twenty years (Reuters).
Meningitis Outbreak Kills 12 Percent of Infected Children in Chad Refugee Camps
Meningitis cases are surging in overcrowded eastern Chad refugee camps housing hundreds of thousands of Sudanese war refugees, with Médecins Sans Frontières reporting that 25 of 212 children admitted to its facilities with the disease between March and April died (Reuters).
High-Profile RSF Commander Defects to Sudanese Army
Major General al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as al-Qubba, defected from the Rapid Support Forces to join Sudan’s army along with dozens of fighters and equipment, becoming one of the most senior RSF officers to switch sides (AP).
Beyond Statistics, Harrowing Tales from Sudan
Amid internet blackouts, widespread starvation, and the constant threat of drone strikes, families in Sudan describe the physical and emotional toll of separation from their loved ones—including many who remain unsure whether their spouses and children are alive or dead (Just Security). As European diplomats continue to discuss the conflict in Sudan at a conference in Berlin, a network of civil society groups signed a joint document to articulate their unified pro-peace position (Sudan Tribune).
Three Years On, War Ravages Sudan
On the third anniversary of Sudan’s civil war, nine million Sudanese remain displaced as violence and famine continue to menace civilians amid near-constant conflict in the country’s Darfur and Kordofan regions (NPR). The conflict continues to impact the greater region, including each of Sudan’s seven neighboring countries, as refugees and weapons continue to flow across porous borders in every direction (FT).
Global Effort “Unacceptable” in Sudan
The UN’s top Sudan official said lackluster international efforts to end the country’s civil war remain “unacceptable” as parties remain attuned to humanitarian concerns without offering the diplomatic attention to crisis mediation needed to end the conflict (Guardian). The UN also warned that Sudanese women and girls continue to face elevated levels of hunger, sexual violence, and death (UN Women). The dire notice came as German diplomats whipped over a billion euros in humanitarian aid pledges for Sudan at a conference in Berlin (Reuters).
Millions Hungry, Starving as Famine Lurks
As famine continues to spread in Sudan, international organizations in the country have reported that millions of civilians in North Darfur and South Kordofan states often have access to just one meal per day and often go several days without proper access to food (Reuters).