bryce

150,000 dead, 14 million displaced: The story of Sudan’s war An estimated 150,000 people have been killed and more than 14 million displaced. Sudan’s current war has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, with 2 rival factions, both accused of widespread atrocities, fighting for control of the country. The conflict has just entered its 4th year. It began in April 2023 when a fragile power-sharing arrangement between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo collapsed into open warfare. What began as a struggle between 2 former allies has devastated the country. The 2 sides had jointly helped remove former ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and later shared power after a military takeover in 2021. But tensions deepened over plans to merge the RSF into the regular army, command structures, and control of Sudan’s political transition, eventually erupting into war in the capital Khartoum. The conflict has since spread across Darfur, Kordofan and central Sudan. Cities, hospitals, markets and infrastructure have been destroyed, while famine and acute hunger have spread across several regions. Both factions have been accused by rights groups of ethnic killings, rape, looting, indiscriminate attacks and blocking aid. Diplomatically, neither side offers a clean option. The RSF, rooted in the Janjaweed militias tied to past Darfur atrocities, has faced severe accusations of massacres and ethnic killings. The SAF has also been accused of strikes on civilian areas and other abuses. Some Western governments are seen as more open to the RSF, while the SAF faces scrutiny over Islamist influence, Muslim Brotherhood links and Iranian IRGC support. Bottom line, neither side are heroes. And there is no end in sight.