The Sudanese Civil War, Explained
In April, fighting broke out between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum. Led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), the RSF evolved from the militia group Janjaweed, which worked with the Sudanese government in the early 2000s to violently quell a rebellion in Darfur, Western Sudan. An investigation into these actions as alleged war crimes and genocide is underway, with the International Criminal Court (ICC) bringing multiple members of the militia to trial. In 2013, eight years after the investigation opened, Sudanese ruler Omar al-Bashid transformed the Janjaweed into a paramilitary group, using them as border patrol and in the Yemeni civil war.
The SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has worked with the Sudanese government since 1925. Together, both military forces staged a coup that ultimately toppled al-Bashid’s regime in 2019, after months of civilian protests against rises in bread prices devolved into broader calls for democracy. Instead of the democracy citizens were loudly advocating for, Hemedti and al-Burhan imposed a transitional military government, promising to hold democratic elections in two years. In 2021, al-Burhan staged another coup, this time overthrowing the civilian half of the transitional government and seizing full control of the country. For the past 12 months, tensions have continued to rise between the two as they’re locked in a power struggle over the future of their forces and their own place in the government. When fighting began in April, both groups refused to take responsibility for firing the first shot.
Across the country, Sudanese civilians have been caught in the crossfire of the RSF and SAF’s bullets, resulting in at least 5,000 dead and 12,000 injured as of October. That’s alongside countless accounts of violence against women and children. More than 5 million people have been internally displaced or fled across the border into neighboring Chad, where they face further displacement and poverty. Reports of rape and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) abound, as 4.2 million women and girls face increased risks from displacement, the breakdown of community safeguards, precarious living conditions, and violence at the hands of SAF and RSF members.