Sudan’s civil war ravages the core of our humanity

Sudan's civil war erupted in April 2023, and so far, several rounds of peace talks have been of no avail in bringing an end to the horrific, ongoing conflict. Two generals who were aligned in bringing about the coup of 2021 are now the leaders of the opposing sides: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and, in essence, the country's president. His one-time deputy and now opponent is General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the 100,000-strong Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In June 2025, the RSF won a significant victory when it seized control of the region along Sudan's border with Libya and Egypt. Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar has been accused of supporting the RSF by providing it with weapons and fighters. The RSF also controls most of Darfur and much of neighboring Kordofan. In fact, there are fears that the country may once again be divided into two states if the RSF carries through with its declared plan to establish a rival government.

Unfathomable atrocities

Perhaps the most horrifying consequence of the conflict is the rape and killing of innocents, including children and toddlers. The UN reports that over 40,000 people have been killed and more than 14 million have been displaced; the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has identified widespread famine, which is affecting nearly 400,000 people. There's also been horrifically extensive sexual violence against very young children, and reports of children attempting to end their own lives as a result of these attacks.

The Massalit people and other non-Arab communities in Sudan's West Darfur state have been the target of ethnic cleansing. The RSF and allied Arab militias have perpetrated atrocities and relentless assaults in Massalit neighborhoods in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, slaughtering thousands and leaving as many without a home or refuge.

In February, the Sudanese army bombed Nyala, South Darfur's largest city, with unguided bombs. These strikes killed dozens and devastated civilian neighborhoods, a textbook case of indiscriminate warfare. Meanwhile, UN convoys have been attacked multiple times, including in early June and late August, proving again that humanitarian workers are under siege too.

The Complicit Countries in Sudan's Mayhem

General al-Burhan is mainly supported by Qatar, which provides him with financial backing and weapons. He is also supported by Iran, which is reportedly supplying drones, and Eritrea, which hosts training camps for SAF-aligned groups, especially near the eastern borders. The RSF is getting significant backing from the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of sending them weapons and drones. Turkish defense firms have also been involved in providing drones that end up being used by both sides.

The Washington Post has reported on how the use of drugs – specifically Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine – by militia fighters "has introduced a dangerous new variable to an already lawless battlefield." Captagon pills, which can be produced in the hundreds of millions, make fighters more prone to violence and more likely to commit unspeakable atrocities.

Half of Sudan's population now depends on humanitarian aid to survive – over 25 million people relying on food deliveries just to make it through the day, in a country where bombs keep falling and villages are burned to ash. Both the RSF and SAF are committing atrocities with impunity, with civilians trapped in the middle of this nightmarish war: targeted ethnic killings, gang rapes, airstrikes on hospitals and homes, looting of aid, and blockades that starve entire cities.

If either side pushes for total victory, which at this point seems all but unattainable, it will involve an escalation of the slaughter to truly catastrophic proportions – as it will mean that other states (Russia, Iran, UAE, Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, Egypt, etc.), which have thrown in with one side or the other, will have to significantly ramp up their support in military aid and the provision of more advanced weaponry. Both sides remain utterly entrenched in their mutual opposition, and the states backing them do not seem willing to consider applying diplomatic pressure to change the status quo.

If the conflict continues to rage for years, it would destroy whatever is left of Sudan and only deepen the calamity that has been inflicted on millions of Sudanese civilians.

There is no time to lose

The civil war in Sudan is a moral and humanitarian outrage-a power squabble between two ruthless military leaders, neither of whom has the true interests of their country at heart, but each of whom is greedy for more power and wealth while civilians are paying an unfathomable price in death and destruction.