Death and destruction in Sudan

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Since April of 2023, 9,000 people have died in the conflict in Sudan that has enveloped the country.

Bombings across Sudan have devastated the country and left many dead (AFP via Getty Images).

It has culminated in the displacement of approximately 4.5 million Sudanese people and mass food insecurity that is ravaging the country. The United Nations has declared the war in Sudan to be “one of the fastest unfolding crises globally, with unprecedented needs in such a short period.” This humanitarian crisis has put the future of the North-East African nation in jeopardy.

Civil war

It is a crisis that has evolved out of a civil war between opposing factions within the country’s military junta – the Transitional Sovereignty Council. The factions in question are the military SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s de facto leader, and the paramilitary RSF (Rapid Support Forces) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, one of the prior military heads of the country, who are each vying for control of Sudan.

Bombings in the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum, have resulted in serious damage to city infrastructure (AFP via BBC News).

Precipitating factors 

In the wake of the toppling of the tyrannical thirty-year regime of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and the later overthrow of Sudan’s interim Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok in 2021 by General Burhan’s military, there has been immense public outcry for democratic reform in the country.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo [left] and his rival General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan [right] (AFP via Africa Intelligence).
While attempts have been made to transition government control into civilian hands since the Transitional Sovereignty Council seized power in Sudan, time and time again, such attempts have fallen through. These mounting external pressures coupled with a personal rift between General Burhan and General Dagalo are believed to have incited the shooting between military forces earlier this year.

The future?

It seems inevitable with the mass number of resources and military support that both factions have that this conflict may persist indefinitely. While the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have high hopes that General Burhan and General Dagalo might be persuaded to agree to a ceasefire, this outcome seems unlikely at present. As stated by Ahmed Soliman of Chatham House, “The challenge is that there isn’t a willingness to de-escalate on either side.”

Members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (AFP via BBC News).

This lack of willingness to cooperate with diplomats reveals the harsh reality that it is unlikely this conflict will cease anytime soon, and the Sudanese people will likely suffer as a result.

Matthew is a a third Year Philosophy student at the university. His writing interests include sports, international politics, and social issues that affect student life.