Since April 2023, Sudan has been engaged in a vicious power struggle between its army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The fighting began as a result of political friction. In 2021, the joint military-civilian government of Sudan was overthrown in a coup staged by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the SAF, and RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as “Hemedti.” In 2023, members of the RSF were redeployed around the country in a move that the SAF considered threatening. On 15 April 2023, following days of tension, shooting began between the two sides. The fighting swiftly escalated, with the RSF seizing a sizable portion of Khartoum until almost two years later, when the SAF regained control of the capital in March 2025.
Even before the war began, Sudan was one of the poorest countries in the world. In 2022, the average annual income was around €695 per person for its population of 46 million. The conflict has worsened the economic situation, with state revenues shrinking by 80% in 2024.
Over the course of the conflict, over 150,000 people have died across the country, and more than 14 million have been displaced. Many more have been subjected to sexual violence, looting, and the destructions of homes, health facilities, markets, and other critical civilian infrastructure. Widespread retaliatory violence , including arbitrary arrest, torture, and even execution, has been leveraged against those who are perceived to have supported the RSF, including medical workers, aid personnel, and human rights defenders. Both sides have escalated their use of heavy weaponry in populated areas, including intensifying shelling in the Darfur, Kordofan, and other conflict-affected regions.
Homes, markets, and displacement camps have been continuously affected by indiscriminate attacks, and starvation has been used as a weapon of war against innocent people in Al Fasher, North Darfur. Displacement has placed pressure on overstretched resources and limited access to clean water, food, shelter, and healthcare in refugee areas like Ad-Dabba. Both sides are also weaponizing humanitarian relief , with the SAF imposing bureaucratic restrictions and the RSF looting convoys and blocking aid entirely, driving famine. The fragmentation of governance, militarization of society, and involvement of foreign actors are fueling an ever-deadlier crisis . The UN has labeled the deteriorating food security risks as a trigger to the world's largest hunger crisis .
The UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, has called for a humanitarian pause to allow lifesaving aid to reach El Fasher, which has been besieged by the RSF and cut off from assistance since April 2024 . Many countries in the region, as well as major powers like the United States, have called for an end to hostilities. Chad and Egypt have closed their borders with Sudan, indicating regional leaders' belief of escalation and spillover. Although both regional organizations and the UN Security Council have called for ceasefires and negotiation, mediation efforts have failed to produce results. The conflict is now entering its third year with a mounting humanitarian toll and no sign of resolution.
By Megan Xing
