The world’s most ruinous war is approaching its third year in Sudan while the world largely stands by in indifference.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been ravaged by a civil war between two Muslim forces, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF, led by Sudan’s de facto ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF, led by Burhan’s deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”).
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of this war: murdered, sexually assaulted, displaced, and left to starve by both sides. Both the SAF and RSF use starvation as a weapon of war and block humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians. Even healthcare facilities have been looted and destroyed, resulting in civilian populations being deprived of basic medical services.
According to “Operation Broken Silence”, an NGO that monitors the Sudan crisis:
- No one knows the true death toll, but a moderate estimate based on available data suggests more than 145,000 civilians have already perished from violence and hunger.
- Nearly 25 million Sudanese —half of the entire country— are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. 8.7 million Sudanese have descended into near-famine or famine conditions.
- Roughly 15 million people have been forced to flee their homes or have left Sudan as refugees. That’s nearly one in three of all Sudanese.
- Nearly 80% of the country’s healthcare system is inoperable and preventable and treatable diseases are spreading quickly.
- 19 million children no longer have a classroom to attend and roughly 90% of schools are closed. This is the largest childhood education crisis in the world.
Sudan is a country in northeast Africa; it is south of Egypt on the Red Sea’s coast. It has a population of around 50 million. It is an ethnically and culturally diverse country with many non-Arab, African communities. It comprises 19 major ethnic groups and about 597 ethnic sub-groups who speak hundreds of languages and dialects.
Why are SAF and RSF fighting?
Arab supremacy and the unwillingness of power sharing are the main motives of both fighting sides. Sudan’s civil war is rooted in its historical favoritism of an Arab Islamic identity, writes Hamdy A. Hassan, a professor of comparative politics and a specialist on the history of Sudan.
According to “Operation Broken Silence”,
- SAF – Top army brass are mostly Nile Valley Arabs, representing the most elite and privileged ethnic groups in the country. The army is fairly diverse with soldiers from most parts of the country. Arab racism toward African tribes exists in SAF, which explains why army units have executed civilians on an ethnic basis as well.
- RSF- Top RSF commanders and most of their fighters hail from Arab tribes in the western Darfur region. The bulk of the RSF adheres to an extremely racist, Arab-supremacist ideology stating that Darfur’s historic African tribal groups must be cleansed from the region and that all other Sudanese Arabs are inferior.
SAF and RSF were allies, but that changed after they overthrew a civilian reform government in 2021. RSF commander Dagalo sees himself as Sudan’s rightful dictator while SAF generals believe that they are the true government. Both sides have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including summary executions.
For example, the RSF forces have reportedly raped scores of women and girls, using some as sex slaves. Their use of sexual violence constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to international law experts. The RSF has also committed targeted massacres of non-Arab groups, especially the Masalit ethnic group.
In April 2024, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights released the first independent inquiry into breaches of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention) in the Darfur region of Sudan in 2023-2024. The report concludes that the RSF forces and allied militias have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit.
On December 19, 2024, Saad Bahr el-Din, Sultan of the Masalit, told the UN Security Council that the Masalit and other tribes have been systematically targeted at a large scale because of their ethnic identity. Masalit are exposed to crimes that include genocides “that haven’t been witnessed in our modern history,” el-Din said, adding that his city was under siege for two months by the RSF, who bombarded the city around the clock from all sides.
On February 15, 2025, “Genocide Watch” issued a statement entitled “Sudan Genocide Emergency: January 2025.” They noted that the war in Sudan has escalated to stage nine of the genocidal process: extermination:
“Rape, gang rape, and sex trafficking are rampant. Most such crimes are attributed to the RSF. In South Kordofan, girls as young as thirteen are kidnapped for sexual slavery by RSF soldiers, who use racial slurs while assaulting non-Arab victims.
“A UN Fact Finding Mission reported that over 400 women sought medical aid for sexual violence in the year between April 2023 and July 2024. The real numbers of victims are likely much higher, as stigma prevents many women from reporting rapes. Many kidnapped women commit suicide to avoid being raped by RSF soldiers.”
In an interview with Le Monde published on October 11, 2024, anthropologist Clément Deshayes said that “the conflict in Sudan constitutes the world’s most serious humanitarian crisis.”
“The capital, Khartoum, is completely devastated. The majority of bridges crossing the Nile River have been destroyed or badly damaged. Hospitals, except for one or two under SAF control, have been wiped out, as have most schools; the university of Khartoum is in ruins… Most of the industry was concentrated in Khartoum and Bahri, the scene of fierce battles. Most warehouses and factories are burned down.”
Sudan’s government has never been at ease with the international community nor its own people. According to the official website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
“Since gaining independence from Britain in 1956, Sudan’s ruling class has justified its power with an ideology that favors the Arabic-speaking and Arabic elite in the capital Khartoum over populations from the nation’s more culturally, religiously, and linguistically diverse regions outside the capital.”
For decades Sudan’s people have been exposed to violence. This includes three civil wars, 35 coups and attempted coups, various crimes against humanity, as well as the theft of the country’s natural resources at the hands of autocratic governments and criminal militia.
The first Sudanese civil war (1955–72) erupted just before Sudan became an independent country. The war was prompted by southerners who had been promised and then denied the right to govern themselves. Southerners—mostly Christian and animist—fought against the north’s rule and the imposition of Arabic language and culture. The fighting resulted in the death of half a million people, mostly civilians, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
In 1983, then-Sudanese President Jaafar al-Nimieri introduced new legal measures that removed the southern regions’ self-governance power. Nimieri declared Arabic the official language, and imposed Sharia law over the entire country.
Sudan currently faces complete economic and social collapse. The Arab-Islamic supremacy that the Sudanese regime and Arab militias uphold has devastated millions of lives. Instead of respecting the ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of their populace and providing a fair, democratic sharing of power and resources, these forces have chosen to commit ethnic cleansings and cause famine, deaths and destruction across Sudan.
22 years after the first genocide of the 21st century unfolded in Darfur, the same perpetrators are committing the same atrocities against the same targeted groups, namely the Masalit or non-Arab groups, with impunity.
Yet, the absence of media coverage, protests, condemnations on the fighting sides and real action to help the victims leads one to ask: Why is there so little international attention on Sudan? Is it because the victims are black or because the perpetrators are Muslim and Israel is not involved? Or all these combined?
Uzay Bulut is a Turkey-born journalist formerly based in Ankara.
somehistory says
So much time, energy, money and attention spent on the ghouls of gaza, and the war between russia and ukraine….and none for the *real* victims of genocide in Africa; in so many nations.
The dead bodies of the innocent pile up and none of it makes the regular news.
James Lincoln says
somehistory says,
“The dead bodies of the innocent pile up and none of it makes the regular news.”
Yes.
But plenty of time and interest to cover the latest regarding Meghan Markle and Prince Harry…
somehistory says
I have noticed that, James. It’s no wonder many are ignorant of the evil happening in so many places.
Rob Porter says
Too true, somehistory, but as to the ‘indifference’ toward this civil war, it’s not surprising, Muslims all over the world but particularly Africa, are killing people, non-Muslims but particularly targetting Christians, so when as in Sudan Muslims kill Muslims I say hallelujah.
A number of years back the Muslim government in Khartoum had its troops killing black Christians in southern Sudan. About two million were murdered, and most of the world said nothing, so why should we now care when Muslims kill Muslims. There’ll be less Muslims to go around killing other people and that is good, so keep it up you bright sparks in Sudan.
somehistory says
Rob, when they are in-fighting, they still will murder those who are not of either faction. Those are the deaths that concern me. the Christians and others who have no place to go away from the fighting.
One of the things this war of mozlum v mozlum proves is that islime is not ‘peaceful.’
It also proves that mozlums do what they do, regardless of what they call the ‘phobia,’ because mozlums don’t have that pretend condition.
Rob Porter says
somehistory, having at one stage spent months in intensive study of Islam, its violent, murderous history, and then read the Qur’an, I now hold Arabs in the lowest regard. Yes, I’m very aware of good individuals, but for 1,400 they as a people have shown a huge capacity for delight in cruelty. Their invasion of Syria in 635AD and invasion of Afghanistan and India says it all. When they – as a people – bought into Islam they turned into the most cruel, intolerant, stupid and deceitful people on earth. Honesty and fairness total missed this trash. They’ve never developed a civilization.
In case you don’t know, the Byzantine – Sasanian Empire War of 602–628, (also called the Last Great War of Antiquity), exhausted both, so when a few years after its end the Arabs rampaged out of Arabia, there was no one to stop them. The Crusaders showed that they were not invincible and Richard the Lionheart certainly emphasized this, but by then they had conquered a huge area.
Crown says
If only… if only….Muhammad the Vile’s parents had exercised their “reproductive freedom” (as the Leftists call it) fourteen hundred years ago. Can anyone even begin to calculate the hellish costs to the life of mankind that would have been avoided?
abu taleb says
Muslims have license to kill including to kill other muslims. As long as some muslims who are the killers, no need to make a fuss of it. Especially if the Africans who are killed. (sarcasm)
bornagain111 says
Thank you so much for this informative and well written article regarding the people of Sudan. It reminded me to pray for the people and leaders of Sudan. I pray for peace and good will to men. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen
skeptiker says
Es ist ein Muster, den Verbrechen von Muslimen keine bzw. wenig Aufmerksamkeit zu schenken. Die Frage, warum das so ist, kann sich jeder halbwegs gebildete und informierte selbst beantworten.
Für mich persönlich stellt sich die Frage, wie positioniere ich mich politisch, welche Werte bestimmen mein Handeln und was befürworte und unterstütze ich.
Die Weltgemeinschaft in Form der UNO ist schon lange keine “Ehrenwerte Gesellschaft” mehr.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Sudan! Another great country where we can send the Gazans! Toss them into the mix of Nile Valley Arabs & Darfur Arabs, so that there can be Hamas too battling the SAF and RSF
All that said, it would however end Sudan’s recognition agreement w/ Israel, from Khartoum’s POV, not Jerusalem’s
Tony says
Sudan is another country where the true face of murderous Islam is seen destroying a country from within by Muslim terrorism, discrimination, and violence as taught in Islam’s Quran.
Islam and its Muslims fund, promote, and practice ideological subversion, propaganda, bigotry, discrimination, deceit, supremacy, segregation, hatred, violence, and terrorism as taught in Islamic Law and in Islam’s Quran, and Muslim actions should be legally challenged with a multi-faceted force of Western Laws like Muslims wield against Americans and Westerners. Like a Foreign Terrorist Organization(FTO) designated by the USA Secretary of State, Islam is a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION(MTO) fighting against Non-Muslims and NOT A PEACEFUL religion under Western Law because Islam funds, teaches, and promotes a Terrorist, Criminal Organization with Muslims as Terrorists for Allah. Under Islamic Law, Muslims are required to terrorize Non-Muslims because it is a Crime against Allah to neglect this Muslim DUTY; Jihad means warfare against Non-Muslims to ESTABLISH ISLAM’S RELIGION(Quran 3:151; 9:29; Muslim Law Manual – “Reliance of the Traveller”, o9.0 and more). More specifically, Islam is a Muslim Terrorist Ideology and Murderous, Criminal Enterprise of intolerance, continuous war, discrimination, segregation, supremacy, genocide, polygamy, propaganda, deceit, hatred, incitement, sedition, rape, terrorism, and violence against all Non-Muslims as taught in the Quran(Quran 2:216; 4:65,89,95; 5:14; 8:12,39,74; 9:5,21,29,36, 41,49,88,111,123; 21:92; 49:15 and more).
John Pepple says
I remember when Darfur was in the news twenty years ago. I read an op-ed in the Guardian about how something needed to be done, but none of the commenters had anything useful to say. Some of them attacked the writer of the op-ed (for not being leftist enough). Others tried to blame the U.S. Still others thought the matter should be left to the African Union (or whatever it’s called). None of them could really accept the fact that there was racism (Arabs against blacks) outside of the West. They were much more comfortable attacking the West or Israel.
Rob Porter says
John, I remember well what you relate. At the time Sweden, Canada and Australia were so obsessed with apartheid racism in South Africa that they ignored vastly worse injustices and inhumanity in numbers of countries, namely Tibet after China’s brutal invasion, East Timor that Indonesia had invaded and was committing genocide, and Sudan where black Christians in Darfur were being butchered by Khartoum’s Muslim savages.
What we had once again was double standards and selective morality – and then low and behold, we found out that Canada and Australia had theit own ‘apartheid’ in which they forced aboriginal children into residential school and imprisoned parents who didn’t voluntarily hand over their kids.
OLD GUY says
Islam represents EVIL at its best.
James Lincoln says
Sudan: proof positive that different muslim groups cannot live together peacefully.