Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a violent power struggle between two rivals. The United States said it had determined that the RSF and allied militias committed genocide. The Sudan Doctors Union estimated in January 2025 that 522,000 children had died due to malnutrition. Sudan “endured a 500% increase in verified cases of killings, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups.”
KHARTOUM DECEMBER 16: Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a violent power struggle between two rivals. Human rights groups have described the conflict as genocidal, while millions of civilians are caught in the middle of a war shaped not only by internal rivalry, but by global interests looking on from afar.
On one side is General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese Armed Forces. On the other is his former camel herder, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who leads the Rapid Support Forces. Whoever prevails will gain control of Sudan’s vast oil and gold wealth, assets with enormous strategic value.
Since 15 April 2023, there has been an active civil war in Sudan between two rival factions of the country’s military government. Fighting was largely concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, where the conflict began with the Battle of Khartoum and in the Darfur region. Many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the Masalit genocide, which have been described as ethnic cleansing or genocide.
On 7 January 2025, the United States said it had determined that the RSF and allied militias committed genocide. The Sudan Doctors Union estimated in January 2025 that 522,000 children had died due to malnutrition. Additionally, the United Nations reported that, during the war, Sudan “endured a 500% increase in verified cases of killings, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups.
