War in Darfur and the formation of the RSF

By the turn of the 21st century, Sudan's western Darfur region had endured prolonged instability and social strife due to a combination of racial and ethnic tensions and disputes over land and water. In 2003, this situation erupted into a full-scale rebellion against government rule, against which president and military strongman Omar al-Bashir vowed to use forceful action. The resulting War in Darfur was marked by widespread state-sponsored acts of violence, leading to charges of war crimes and genocide against al-Bashir.^[46] The initial phase of the conflict left approximately 300,000 dead and 2.7 million were forcibly displaced; even though the intensity of the violence later declined, the situation in the region remained far from peaceful.^[47]

To crush uprisings by non-Arab tribes in the Nuba Mountains, al-Bashir relied upon the Janjaweed, a collection of Arab militias which was drawn from camel-trading tribes which were active in Darfur and portions of Chad. In 2013, al-Bashir announced that the Janjaweed would be reorganized as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and he also announced that the RSF would be placed under the command of the Janjaweed's commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, more commonly known as Hemedti.^{[48][49][50][51]} The RSF perpetrated mass killings, mass rapes, pillage, torture, and destruction of villages and were accused of committing ethnic cleansing against the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa.^[50] Leaders of the RSF have been indicted for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC),^[52] but Hemedti was not personally implicated in the 2003–2004 atrocities.^[47] In 2017, a new law gave the RSF the status of an "independent security force".^[50] Hemedti received several gold mines in Darfur as patronage from al-Bashir, and his personal wealth grew substantially.^[51][52] Bashir sent RSF forces to quash a 2013 uprising in South Darfur and deployed RSF units to fight in Yemen and Libya.^[49] During this time, the RSF developed a working relationship with the Russian private military outfit Wagner Group.^[53] These developments ensured that RSF forces grew into the tens of thousands and came to possess thousands of armed pickup trucks which regularly patrolled the streets of Khartoum.^[53] The Bashir regime allowed the RSF and other armed groups to proliferate to prevent threats to its security from within the armed forces, a practice known as "coup-proofing".^[54]

Political transition

Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

In December 2018, protests against al-Bashir's regime began, starting the first phase of the Sudanese Revolution. Eight months of sustained civil disobedience were met with violent repression.^[55] In April 2019, the military (including the RSF) ousted al-Bashir in a coup d'état, ending his three decades of rule; the army established the Transitional Military Council, a junta.^[51][52][55] Bashir was imprisoned in Khartoum; he was not turned over to the ICC, which had issued warrants for his arrest on charges of war crimes.^[56] Protests calling for civilian rule continued; in June 2019, the RSF perpetrated the Khartoum massacre, in which more than a hundred demonstrators were killed^[49][51][55] and dozens were raped.^[49] Hemedti denied orchestrating the attack.^[51]

In August 2019, in response to international pressure and mediation by the African Union and Ethiopia, the military agreed to share power in an interim joint civilian-military unity government (the Transitional Sovereignty Council), headed by a civilian Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, with elections to be held in 2023.^[46][55] In October 2021, the military seized power in a coup led by Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti. The Transitional Sovereignty Council was reconstituted as a new military junta led by al-Burhan, monopolizing power and halting Sudan's transition to democracy.^[56][57]

Origins of the SPLM-N and the SLM

The Sudan Liberation Movement (or Army; SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a rebel group active in Darfur, primarily composed of members of non-Arab ethnic groups^[58] and established in response to their marginalization by the Bashir regime.^[59][60] Since 2006, the movement has split into several factions due to disagreements over the Darfur Peace Agreement, with some factions joining the government in Khartoum.^[61][62][63] By 2023 the three most prominent factions were the SLM-Minnawi under Minni Minnawi, the SLM-al-Nur under Abdul Wahid al-Nur, and the SLM-Tambour under Mustafa Tambour. The SLM-Minnawi and SLM-Tambour signed the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, ceasing hostilities and receiving political appointments, but the SLM-al-Nur had refused to sign and kept fighting.^[64][65]

The SPLM-N was founded by units of the predominantly South Sudanese Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army stationed in areas that remained in Sudan following the South Sudanese vote for independence in 2011. These forces then led a rebellion in the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile a few months later.^[66] In 2017, the SPLM-N split between a faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu and one led by Malik Agar, with al-Hilu demanding secularism as a condition for peace while Agar did not agree with this.^[67] During the Sudanese Revolution, al-Hilu's faction declared an indefinite unilateral ceasefire.^[68] In 2020, a peace agreement was signed between the Sudanese government and Agar's faction,^[69] with Agar later joining the Transitional Sovereignty Council in Khartoum. Al-Hilu held out until he agreed to sign a separate peace agreement with the Sudanese government a few months after.^[70] Further steps to consolidate the agreement stalled following the 2021 coup, and the al-Hilu faction instead signed an agreement with the SLM-al-Nur and the Sudanese Communist Party, agreeing to co-operate in order to draft a 'revolutionary charter' and remove the military from power.^[71]

Prelude

In the months after the 2021 coup the already weak Sudanese economy steeply declined, fuelling wide protests demanding that the junta relinquish power back to civilian authorities.^[72] Tensions soon arose between the two junta leaders over al-Burhan's restoration to office of old-guard Islamist officials who had dominated the Omar al-Bashir government. Hemedti saw the appointment of these officials as a signal that al-Burhan was attempting to maintain the dominance of Khartoum's traditional elite over Sudanese politics. This was a danger to the RSF's political position, as said elites were hostile to Hemedti due to his ethnic background as a Darfuri Arab.^[73] As a sign of the growing rift between him and al-Burhan, Hemedti expressed regret over the October 2021 coup.^[57]

Tensions between the RSF and the SAF began to escalate in February 2023, as the RSF began to recruit members from across Sudan.^[72] Throughout February and early March there was a military build up in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, however a deal was brokered on 11 March, with the RSF withdrawing its forces from the capital.^[72][74] As part of this deal negotiations were conducted between the SAF, RSF and civilian leaders, but these were delayed and halted by political disagreements.^[75] Chief among the disputes was the integration of the RSF into the military: The RSF insisted on a 10-year timetable for its integration into the regular army, while the army demanded integration within two years.^[76][77] Other contested issues included the status given to RSF officers in the future hierarchy, and whether RSF forces should be under the command of the army chief rather than Sudan's commander-in-chief, who is al-Burhan.^[78]

On 11 April 2023, RSF forces were deployed near the city of Merowe as well as in Khartoum.^[79] Government forces ordered them to leave, and they refused. This led to clashes when RSF forces took control of the Soba military base south of Khartoum.^[79] On 13 April, RSF forces began their mobilization, raising fears of a potential rebellion against the junta. The SAF declared the mobilization illegal.^[80]

Initial engagements (April–May)

Battle of Khartoum begins

Main article: Battle of Khartoum (2023-present)

On 15 April 2023, the RSF attacked SAF bases across Sudan, including Khartoum and its airport.^[76][81] There were clashes at the headquarters of the state broadcaster, Sudan TV, which was later captured by RSF forces.^[82] Bridges and roads in Khartoum were closed, and the RSF claimed that all roads heading south of Khartoum were closed.^[83] The next day saw a SAF counteroffensive, with the army retaking Merowe Airport alongside the headquarters of Sudan TV and the state radio.^[84][85]

The Sudan Civil Aviation Authority closed the country's airspace as fighting began.^[86] Telecommunications provider MTN shut down Internet services, and by 23 April there was a near-total Internet outage across Sudan. This was attributed to electricity shortages caused by attacks on the electric grid.^[87][88] Sudanese international trade began to break down, with Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, announcing a pause on new shipments to the country.^[89]

With al-Burhan trapped in Khartoum, his deputy Malik Agar became de facto leader of the Sudanese government.^[64]

Hemedti directed his forces to capture or kill al-Burhan, and RSF units engaged in pitched and bloody combat with the Republican Guard. Ultimately al-Burhan managed to evade capture or assassination, but his base at the Sudanese Armed Forces Headquarters was eventually placed under RSF siege, rendering him unable to leave Khartoum.^[64][90] In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hemedti accused al-Burhan and his commanders of forcing the RSF to start the war by scheming to bring deposed leader Omar al-Bashir back to power.^[91] He called for the international community to intervene against al-Burhan, claiming that the RSF was fighting against radical Islamic militants.^[92]

Following the first few days of war the SAF brought in reinforcements from the Ethiopian border.^[93] Although a ceasefire was announced for Eid al-Fitr, fighting continued across the country.^[94][95] Combat was described as particularly intense along the highway from Khartoum to Port Sudan and in the industrial zone of al-Bagair.^[96] Intercommunal clashes were reported in Blue Nile State and in Geneina.^[97][98]

By the beginning of May the SAF claimed to have weakened the RSF's combat capabilities and repelled their advances in multiple regions.^[99] The Sudanese police deployed its Central Reserve Forces in the streets of Khartoum in support of the SAF, claiming to have arrested several hundred RSF fighters.^[100] The SAF announced it was launching an all-out attack on RSF in Khartoum using air strikes and artillery.^[101] Air strikes and ground offensives against the RSF over the next few days caused significant damage to infrastructure, but failed to dislodge RSF forces from their positions.^[102][103]

Following further threats to his life from Hemedti, al-Burhan gave a public video address from his besieged base at the Army Headquarters, vowing to continue fighting.^[104][105] On 19 May, al-Burhan officially removed Hemedti as his deputy in the Transitional Sovereignty Council and replaced him with former rebel leader and council member Malik Agar.^[106] With al-Burhan trapped in Khartoum, Agar became de facto leader of the Sudanese government, assuming responsibility for peace negotiations, international visits and the day-to-day running of the country.^[64]

Summer stalemate (June–September)

The RSF took control of the National Museum of Sudan in June.

RSF gains momentum (October–December)

SAF collapse in Darfur

By the end of November, Al-Fashir was the last of the five state capitals in Darfur under SAF control.

By October, the SAF in Darfur was experiencing acute shortages in supplies due to RSF-imposed sieges, and had failed to utilize its air superiority to stem RSF advances.^[161] On 26 October, the RSF captured Nyala, Sudan's second largest city, after seizing control of the SAF's 16th Infantry Division headquarters.^[162] The fall of Nyala, a strategic city with an international airport and border connections to Central Africa, allowed the RSF to receive international supplies more easily and concentrate its forces on other Sudanese cities.^[163] After Nyala's fall, RSF fighters turned their focus to Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur. The SAF's 21st Infantry Division, stationed in Zalingei, fled the city without a fight and allowed the RSF to take it over.^[164]

In Geneina, reports emerged that tribal elders were attempting to broker the surrender of the SAF garrison in the city to prevent bloodshed.^[165] However the army rejected the proposal, raising fears of an imminent RSF assault on the city and compelled civilians to flee across the border into Chad.^[166] The RSF besieged the headquarters of the SAF's 15th Infantry Division in Geneina, giving the garrison a six-hour ultimatum to surrender.^[167] The base was captured two days later when the 15th withdrew from the area before fleeing to Chad in haste.^[168] Those left behind, numbering in the hundreds, were taken prisoner and paraded in RSF media with signs of abuse.^[168] Witnesses later reported of mass atrocities perpetrated by the RSF in the city shortly after its seizure, with a local rebel group claiming up to 2,000 people were massacred in Geneina's satellite town of Ardamata.^[169] With Geneina's fall, Ed Daein and Al-Fashir were the last remaining capitals in Darfur under government control, with both cities under heavy RSF pressure.^[165][168]

The RSF stormed and plundered the town of Umm Keddada, east of Al-Fashir, after the SAF garrison withdrew.^[169] SAF troops in Al-Fashir itself were reported to be running low on food, water, and medicine due to the city being under siege, and external forces noted the SAF seemed incapable of stopping the RSF advance.^[170][171] Ed Daein fell in the early hours of 21 November, with RSF forces taking control of the city after seizing the headquarters of the SAF's 20th Infantry Division.^[172] SAF garrisons in East Darfur subsequently abandoned their positions and withdrew, allowing the RSF to occupy the area.^[173] In response to RSF gains in Darfur and subsequent abuses, the Justice and Equality Movement, Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (Minnawi), and other smaller rebel factions renounced their neutrality and declared war on the RSF.^[174]

The RSF cross the Nile

Further information: Battle of Wad Madani

The RSF attacked the town of Wad Ashana in North Kordofan on 1 October, along a key commercial route.^[180][181] In West Kordofan, an uptick in fighting was reported, with the RSF assaulting a "vital" oil field in Baleela, south of Al-Fulah.^[182] Geolocated footage showed RSF fighters celebrating around Baleela Airport after allegedly capturing it.^[183] The Battle of Khartoum continued with the RSF seizing the town of al-Aylafoun, southeast of the capital, on 6 October. In the process, the paramilitary gained control of key oil infrastructure.^[184][185] By late October the RSF controlled most of Khartoum but had failed to seize key military bases, while al-Burhan's government had largely relocated to Port Sudan.^[186]

The Shambat Bridge in Khartoum was destroyed on 11 November.^[187]

The RSF sought to capitalize on its gains by stepping up attacks on SAF positions in Khartoum and Omdurman. Days of fighting eventually culminated in the destruction of the Shambat Bridge, which connected Khartoum North to Omdurman over the Nile, severing a critical RSF supply chain.^[187] This effectively cut the RSF off from its forces in Omdurman, giving the SAF a strategic advantage.^[188] In an attempt to gain a new crossing over the Nile and supply its forces in Omdurman, the RSF launched an assault on the Jebel Aulia Dam in the village of Jabal Awliya.^[189] As Jebel Aulia could not be destroyed without flooding Khartoum, its capture would give the RSF a path over the Nile the SAF could not easily remove. A week-long battle commenced over the dam and its surrounding village, which ended in an RSF victory. The force captured the dam on 20 November, all SAF resistance ceasing in the village the following day.^[190][191]

On 5 December, local militias along with RSF soldiers attacked SPLM-N (al-Hilu) forces in the village of Tukma, southeast of Dalang in South Kordofan, resulting in the deaths of 4 people and the destruction of the village.^[27] The RSF leadership, not wanting hostilities with the neutral al-Hilu faction to escalate, issued a statement condemning this attack and denouncing it as "tribal violence".^[192] On 8 December, the RSF entered Gedaref State for the first time.^[192]

Pushing south from their gains around Jebel Aulia and Khartoum, RSF forces began to move into Gezira State on 15 December, advancing towards its capital Wad Madani.^[193][194] Elsewhere in Gezira the RSF made major gains, taking control of the city of Rufaa in the state's east and entering the Butana region.^[195] After several days of fighting the RSF seized the Hantoob Bridge on Wad Madani's eastern outskirts, crossing the Blue Nile and entering the city.^[195] The army put up little resistance in Wad Madani itself, the 1st Division withdrawing from the city as the RSF took over.^[196]

The fall of Wad Madani was viewed as a major blow to the SAF, as it dramatically widened the frontline and opened up large parts of the country to potential RSF offensives.^[196] The city's fall allowed the RSF to capture most of Gezira and to make inroads in White Nile State, capturing the town of El Geteina.^[197] Within a few days RSF fighters had advanced to within 25 km of Sennar, the largest city in Sennar State.^[197] Over the next few weeks RSF forces ventured into rural areas of Al Qadarif State and River Nile State, without establishing a significant presence. In Sennar State the RSF made some further minor advances, but had not attacked Sennar City by the year's end.^[198]

Amid the deteriorating situation, the SAF was reported to be arming civilians while government officials in the east called on the population to mobilize.^[199] Al-Burhan gave a widely promoted public speech to soldiers in Red Sea State, promising to arm civilian militias to fight the RSF and to fight against 'colonialism', which was viewed by observers as a reference to the United Arab Emirates' support of the RSF.^[200]

The new year (January 2024-present)

Darfur

In Geneina, West Darfur, ethnic clashes that began in the last week of April had killed at least 1,100 people,^[215] while the Sultanate of Dar Masalit claimed that more than 5,000 people were killed and about 8,000 were wounded in the city.^[209] In July, a Masalit tribal leader claimed that more than 10,000 people had been killed in West Darfur alone, and that 80% of Geneina's residents had fled.^[210]

Massacres were recorded in towns such as Tawila^[216] and Misterei,^[116] while a mass grave was discovered in Geneina containing the bodies of 87 people killed in clashes.^[151] Several intellectuals, politicians, professionals and nobility were assassinated. Most of these atrocities were blamed on the RSF and allied Arab militias. The UK government,^[217] witnesses and other observers described the violence in the region as tantamount to ethnic cleansing or even genocide, with non-Arab groups such as the Masalit being the primary victims.^[216] Mujeebelrahman Yagoub, Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in West Darfur called the violence worse than the War in Darfur in 2003 and the Rwandan genocide in 1994.^[218]

Sexual violence

In July, authorities reported at least 88 cases of sexual assault on women across the country, most of them blamed on the RSF.^[219] NGOs estimated that the figure could possibly reach 4,400.^[220] Activist Hala al-Karib stated that war rape had become an everyday occurrence with both fighting parties participating.^[221]

Casualties among humanitarian workers

In the Battle of Kabkabiya, three employees of the World Food Programme (WFP) were killed after being caught in the crossfire at a military base. Two other staff members were injured.^[222] On 18 April, the EU's top humanitarian aid officer in Sudan, Wim Fransen of Belgium, was shot and injured in Khartoum.^[223] On 21 April, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that one of its local employees was killed in a crossfire while traveling with his family near El-Obeid.^[224] On 20 July, an 18-member team of Médecins Sans Frontières was attacked while transporting supplies to the Turkish Hospital in south Khartoum. By then, the World Health Organization had verified 51 attacks on medical facilities and personnel since the conflict began, resulting in 10 deaths and 24 injuries.^[225] On 25 July, Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami said 18 aid workers had been killed and over two dozen others were detained or unaccounted for.^[226] The conflict has led the United Nations to declare Sudan the most dangerous country in the world for humanitarian workers after South Sudan.^[227]

The situation was further compounded by attacks on humanitarian facilities, with more than 50 warehouses looted, 82 offices ransacked, and over 200 vehicles stolen. One particularly devastating looting incident in El Obeid in early June resulted in the loss of food "that could have fed 4.4 million people".

Attacks on journalists

The SAF and RSF are accused of threatening, attacking, and killing journalists during the conflict. The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate documented over 40 violations in May alone. Several journalists were injured or killed, and 13 newspapers ceased operations. Humanitarian workers were also targeted, with 18 killed and many others detained.

Media organizations accused both the SAF and the RSF of threatening, attacking and even killing several journalists during the conflict, with the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate documenting more than 40 such violations during the second half of May alone.^[228] Aside from the occupation of state media channels, the RSF raided the offices of the newspapers El Hirak El Siyasi, El Madaniya and the Sudanese Communist Party's El Midan^[229] and shot and injured photojournalists Faiz Abubakr,^[230] and Ali Shata,^[231] while the SAF was accused of circulating lists of journalists it accused of supporting the RSF.^[232]

BBC journalist Mohamed Othman was reportedly attacked and beaten in Khartoum while a correspondent and cameramen for the El Sharg news outlet were detained for hours near Merowe airport on the first day of the fighting on 15 April. On 16 June, Al Jazeera journalists Osama Sayed Ahmed and Ahmed El Buseili were shot by snipers in Khartoum,^[233] while the RSF detained two of the channel's other reporters, Ahmed Fadl and Rashid Gibril, in Khartoum on 16 May, and subsequently looted Fadl's residence. During a live report on 29 April, al-Arabiya correspondent Salem Mahmoud was interrupted and questioned by the RSF.^[234] On 30 June, Radio Zalingei journalist Samaher Abdelshafee was killed by shelling at Hasaheisa refugee camp near Zalingei, where she and her family had fled after fighting in the city.^[235] Sudan TV photographer Esam Marajan was shot dead inside his home in the Beit El Mal neighborhood of Omdurman in the first week of August.^[236] Sports photojournalist Esam El Haj was killed during clashes around the Al-Shajara garrison in Khartoum on 20 August.^[237] Halima Idris Salim, a reporter for Sudan Bukra was killed on 10 October after she was reportedly struck by an RSF vehicle while covering the fighting in Omdurman.^[238]

The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS) reported on 10 August that 13 newspapers had ceased operations due to the conflict, while FM radio stations and channels also halted broadcasts, with journalists grappling with unpaid wages.^[239] It later reported in December that the RSF had turned the premises of the Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) into a detention center and was involved in the looting of other media outlets, including the BBC's Khartoum branch, and the sale of media equipment, including that of the SBC, in markets in Omdurman.^[240]

Foreign casualties

Foreign casualties in the 2023 war in Sudan

Country	Deaths	Ref.
Ethiopia	15	[241]
Syria	15	[242]
Democratic Republic of the Congo	10	[243]
Eritrea	9	[244]
Egypt	2	[245]
United States	2	[246]
India	1	[247]
Turkey	1	[248]

Civilians, including 15 Syrians,^[242] 15 Ethiopians^[241] and 9 Eritreans^[244] have been killed across the country. An Indian national working in Khartoum died after being hit by a stray bullet on 15 April.^[247] Two Americans were killed, including a professor working in the University of Khartoum who was stabbed to death while evacuating.^[246][249] A two-year-old girl from Turkey was killed while her parents were injured after their house was struck by a rocket on 18 April.^[248] Two Egyptian doctors were killed in their home in Khartoum and had their possessions stolen on 13 June.^[245] Ten students from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were killed in an SAF airstrike on the International University of Africa in Khartoum on 4 June.^[243] The SAF claimed that the Egyptian assistant military attaché was killed by RSF fire while driving his car in Khartoum, which was refuted by the Egyptian ambassador.^[250]

Two Greek nationals trapped in a church on 15 April sustained leg injuries when caught in crossfire while trying to leave.^[251][252] A Filipino migrant worker^[253] and an Indonesian student at a school in Khartoum were injured by stray bullets.^[254] On 17 April, the European Union Ambassador to Sudan, Aidan O'Hara of Ireland, was assaulted by unidentified "armed men wearing military fatigues" in his home, he suffered minor injuries and was able to resume working on 19 April.^[255][256] On 23 April, a French evacuation convoy was shot at, injuring one person.^[257] The French government later confirmed the casualty to be a French soldier.^[258] An employee of the Egyptian embassy was shot and injured during an evacuation mission.^[259][260]

Notable deaths

Asia Abdelmajid, an actress, was killed in a crossfire in Khartoum North.^[261] A singer, Shaden Gardood, was killed in a crossfire in Omdurman, as was former football player Fozi el-Mardi and his daughter.^[262] Araki Abdelrahim, a member of the music group Igd al-Jalad, was killed by the shelling of a mosque in the El-Shajara neighborhood of west Khartoum.^[263] The governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abakar, was abducted and killed by armed men hours after accusing the RSF of genocide and calling for international intervention in a TV interview.^[153] Ahmed Abkar Barqo Abdel-Rahman, a former member of parliament and a Zaghawa, was killed by the RSF in a raid on his house in Nyala.^[264]

Egypt

On 16 April, the RSF claimed that its troops in Port Sudan were attacked by foreign aircraft and issued a warning against any foreign interference.^[265] According to former CIA analyst Cameron Hudson, Egyptian fighter jets were a part of these bombing campaigns against the RSF, and Egyptian special forces units have been deployed and are providing intelligence and tactical support to the SAF.^[266] The Wall Street Journal said that Egypt had sent fighter jets and pilots to support the Sudanese military.^[267] On 17 April, satellite imagery obtained by The War Zone revealed that one Egyptian Air Force MiG-29M2 fighter jet had been destroyed and two others had been damaged or destroyed at Merowe Airbase. A Sudanese Air Force Guizhou JL-9 was among the destroyed aircraft.^[268] After initial confusion, the RSF accepted the explanation that Egyptian combat and support personnel were conducting exercises with the Sudanese military prior to the outbreak of hostilities.^[76]

United Arab Emirates

A report published by the Wall Street Journal on 10 August quoted Ugandan officials as saying that an Emirati plane on a stopover at Entebbe Airport en route to Amdjarass International Airport in eastern Chad turned out upon inspection to have been carrying dozens of green plastic crates in the plane's cargo hold filled with ammunition, assault rifles and other small arms", rather than food and other aid officially listed on the aircraft's manifest supposedly meant for Sudanese refugees. Despite the discovery, the plane was allowed to take off, and the officials said they received orders from their superiors not to inspect any more planes from the UAE. Prior to this, the UAE had long been accused of supporting the RSF. The UAE Foreign Ministry subsequently denied the allegations, saying that the country "does not take sides" in the conflict.^[276]

Officials from the US, European and African countries claimed that the UAE was running a covert operation to back the RSF. Since June, Emirati cargo planes were identified landing in Amdjarass in Chad, where an airfield and a hospital were being used for the operation. The UAE insisted its operation was purely humanitarian, but officials stated that it involved supplying powerful weapons and drones to the RSF, treating their injured fighters and airlifting serious cases to their military hospital.^[277] SAF deputy commander Yasir El Atta also claimed that the UAE was also using N'Djamena International Airport in Chad and another airport in the Central African Republic to deliver weapons to the RSF.^[278] Following these allegations, protests erupted in Port Sudan on 1 December demanding the expulsion of the UAE's ambassador, while al-Burhan was reported to have cancelled his participation at the COP28 summit held in Dubai.^[279]

On 10 December 2023, Sudan ordered the expulsion from the country of 15 Emirati diplomats. No reason was provided, but it came amid reports that the UAE had been providing weapons to the RSF.^[280] The day before, three Sudanese diplomats were ordered expelled from the UAE following comments made by SAF deputy commander Yasser al-Atta during which he accused the UAE of supporting the RSF and called the country a "mafia state".^[281]

Libyan National Army

On 18 April, an SAF general claimed that two unnamed neighboring countries were trying to provide aid to the RSF.^[282] According to The Wall Street Journal, Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by United Arab Emirates and the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group, dispatched at least one plane to fly military supplies to the RSF.^[267] The Observer reported that Haftar assisted in preparing the RSF for months before the conflict broke out.^[283] The Libyan National Army, which is commanded by Haftar, denied providing support to any warring groups in Sudan and said it was ready to play a mediating role.^[284]

Wagner Group

Prior to the conflict, the UAE and the Wagner Group were involved in business deals with the RSF.^[285][286] According to CNN, Wagner supplied surface-to-air missiles to the RSF, picking up the items from Syria and delivering some of them by plane to Haftar-controlled bases in Libya to be then delivered to the RSF, while dropping other items directly to RSF positions in northwestern Sudan.^[287] US officials said that Wagner was offering to supply additional weapons to the RSF from its existing stocks in the Central African Republic.^[288] On 6 September, Wagner reportedly deployed a convoy of more than 100 vehicles carrying weapons to the RSF garrison in al-Zurug from Chad.^[289] SAF deputy commander Lieutenant General Yasser al-Atta also accused the Wagner Group of bringing in mercenaries from Chad, Mali, Niger, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Libya to fight alongside the RSF.^[278]

In response to these allegations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended the possible involvement of the Wagner Group, saying that Sudan had the right to use its services.^[290] The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, denied supporting the RSF, saying that the company has not had a presence in Sudan for more than two years.^[291] The RSF denied allegations that Wagner Group was supporting them, instead stating that the SAF was seeking such support.^[292][293] Sudan has denied the presence of Wagner on its territory.^[294][295]

Other foreign actors

Chad

On 7 June, Hissein Alamine Tchaw-tchaw, a Chadian dissident who belongs to the same ethnic group as Hemedti and claiming to be the leader of the Movement for the Fight of the Oppressed in Chad (MFOC), which is fighting the government of President Mahamat Déby, posted a video showing his participation in an RSF attack on the Yarmouk munitions factory in Khartoum.^[296]

On 17 November, the SLM-Minnawi and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) accused the Chadian government of supporting the RSF, and "supplying it with military equipment and mercenaries by opening its territory and airspace."^[297] However, a report from Africa Analyst alleged that Chadian soldiers belonging to a joint Chadian-Sudanese command under Osman Bahr intercepted a shipment of military equipment intended for the RSF on its way from N'Djamena and gave it instead to the JEM, which the latter denied.^[298]

Following accusations by SAF deputy commander Yasser al-Atta of Chadian government support for the RSF, the Chadian government unsuccessfully demanded an apology from the Sudanese ambassador and expelled four Sudanese diplomats from the country on 17 December.^[299]

Kenya

Kenyan President William Ruto was frequently accused by the SAF of supporting the RSF.

The SAF rejected Kenya's involvement in mediation efforts to end the conflict in July after al-Burhan accused President William Ruto of having a business relationship with Hemedti and providing a haven to the RSF.^[300][301] In response to proposals for a peacekeeping force composed by African countries to be deployed in Sudan made in an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) committee chaired by Ruto, the SAF's Assistant Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Yasir Alatta accused Ruto of being a mercenary of another country, whom he did not identify, and dared Ruto to deploy the Kenyan army and that of his alleged backer.^[302] On 7 September, the Sudanese government threatened to withdraw the country's membership in IGAD unless Ruto was removed as chairman of the mediation committee.^[303]

In response, Kenyan Foreign Secretary Abraham Korir Sing'oei called these allegations "baseless",^[304] while the Kenyan Foreign Ministry insisted on the country's neutrality in the conflict.^[305]

A hacking group calling itself Anonymous Sudan launched cyberattacks on Kenyan government and private websites in the last week of July.^[306]

Ukraine

On 19 September, CNN reported that it was "likely" that Ukrainian Special Operations Forces were behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation which was directed against the Wagner-backed RSF near Khartoum on 8 September.^[289] Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated in an interview on 22 September that he could neither deny nor confirm the involvement of Ukraine in the conflict in Sudan,^[307] but said that Ukraine would punish Russian war criminals anywhere in the world.^[308]

On 6 November, the Kyiv Post released drone footage of what it claimed was Ukrainian special forces attacking Wagner mercenaries in an unidentified urban area in Sudan with an explosive projectile, which was believed to have been taken about two weeks before its publication.^[309]

Evacuation of foreign nationals

Repatriations through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism

The outbreak of violence has led foreign governments to monitor the situation in Sudan and move towards the evacuation and repatriation of their nationals. Among some countries with a number of expatriates in Sudan are Egypt, which has more than 10,000 citizens in the country,^[310] and the United States, which has more than 16,000 citizens, most of whom are dual nationals.^[311] Efforts at extraction were hampered by the fighting within the capital Khartoum, particularly in and around the airport. This has forced evacuations to be undertaken by road via Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which lies about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of Khartoum.^[312] from where they were airlifted or ferried directly to their home countries or to third ones. Other evacuations were undertaken through overland border crossings or airlifts from diplomatic missions and other designated locations with direct involvement of the militaries of some home countries. Some transit hubs used during the evacuation include the port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti, which hosts military bases of the United States, China, Japan, France, and other European countries.^[313]

Sanctions

United States

The repeated violations of the ceasefire agreements and other atrocities during the conflict led to U.S. President Joe Biden issuing an executive order on 4 May 2023 authorizing sanctions for those deemed responsible for destabilizing Sudan, undermining the democratic transition and committing human rights abuses.^[314] On 1 June, the US government imposed its first sanctions related to the conflict, targeting two firms associated with the SAF and two others linked to the RSF. It also imposed visa restrictions against individuals involved in the violence, but did not divulge any names.^[315]

On 6 September, the US State Department and the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the RSF's deputy commander and Hemedti's brother Abdelrahim Dagalo, and Abdel Rahman Jumma, the RSF's top commander in West Darfur, over "extensive" human rights violations during the conflict, with Jumma in particular being accused of masterminding the assassination of the state's governor Khamis Abakar in June.^[316] On 28 September, it sanctioned former foreign minister and leader of the Sudanese Islamic Movement Ali Karti, the Sudan-based GSK Advance Company Ltd, and the Russia-based military company Aviatrade LLC, accusing Karti and other Islamist hardliners of obstructing efforts towards a ceasefire and accusing the firms of supporting the RSF.^[317][318]

On 4 December, the State Department imposed sanctions on three former officials of the Bashir regime, namely former minister and presidential aide Taha Osman Ahmed al-Hussein and former directors of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services Salah Abdallah Mohamed Salah aka Sala Gosh and Mohamed Etta Elmoula Abbas, citing Al-Hussein's involvement in coordinating with regional actors to support the RSF, Gosh's plotting to overthrow the civilian-led transitional government, and Elmoula's attempts to restore the Bashir regime to power.^[319]

United Kingdom

On 12 July, the United Kingdom announced sanctions on firms linked to the SAF and the RSF for providing funds and weapons in the conflict.^[320]

Refugees

Sudanese refugee camp in Chad, 16 May 2023.

As of 29 December, at least 7.3 million residents of Sudan have been displaced due to the fighting. The United Nations said that the conflict had produced more than 5.8 million internally displaced persons, while more than 1.5 million had fled the country altogether.^[32] This has made Sudan the largest host of IDPs globally.^[338] The International Organization for Migration estimated that around 69% of IDPs had come from the Khartoum region.^[339] In November, the UN said the conflict had created the largest child displacement crisis in the world, affecting three million children.^[340]

Of those who fled abroad, more than 160,000 of them were Masalit who fled to Chad to escape ethnically based attacks by the RSF and allied militias.^[341] Fighting between the SAF and the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) had reportedly displaced more than 35,000 people in Blue Nile State alone, with 3,000 of them fleeing to Ethiopia,^[68] while more than 83,000 were displaced in South Kordofan.^[342] As of August, more than 400,000 people had fled to Chad, making it the largest single destination of refugees from the conflict, while others fled to other neighboring countries such as the Central African Republic, Egypt, and South Sudan.^[343]

The UN Refugee Agency and 64 other different humanitarian organizations appealed for $1 billion to protect and help refugees escape the conflict.^[344]

Criticism was levelled at diplomatic missions operating in Sudan for their slow response in helping Sudanese visa applicants whose passports were left behind in embassies following their closure during evacuation efforts, preventing them from leaving the country.^[345]

Examples

On 14 April, the official SAF social media page published a video which it said was of operations carried out by the Sudanese Air Force against the RSF. Al Jazeera's monitoring and verification unit claimed the video had been fabricated using footage from the video game Arma 3 that was published on TikTok in March 2023. The unit claimed the video showing Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan inspecting the Armoured Corps, in Al-Shajara, was from before the fighting. A video reportedly of helicopters flying over Khartoum to participate in operations by the SAF against the RSF, which circulated on social media, turned out to be from November 2022.^[376]

Two photos circulated on social media that depicted a burning bridge reported as Bahri bridge and a bombed building allegedly in Khartoum, were both revealed to be from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[377]

In April, a video supposedly showing the RSF in control of Khartoum International Airport on 15 April circulated on social media. The fact-checking website Lead Stories found that the video had appeared online 3 months prior to the conflict.^[378] A video posted in June and taken by an RSF soldier showing purported victims of the Bashir regime turned out to have been that of mummies and human remains used as props from the M. Bolheim Bioarchaeology Laboratory in Khartoum, which were thought to date from 3300 to 3000 BCE.^[379]

On 5 May, the British newspaper I reported that the RSF had sent "special bulletins" to UK politicians, which it claimed were to combat "the disproportionate amount of disinformation" about the conflict. The bulletins were created with the assistance of Capital Tap Holdings, a Dubai-based investment firm which has mining interests in Sudan. The I reported that the RSF's Facebook page was being run jointly from UAE and Sudan, and its Instagram account appeared to be based in Saudi Arabia, with the RSF saying its media team was based in Khartoum.^[380]

In June, a picture of Hemedti hospitalised in Nairobi, Kenya, was circulated in the social media and reported by the Turkish Anadolu Agency.^[381] News websites Fatabyyano and Juhainah checked the images and found it to be fabricated with the original image which belonged to Elijah McCalin, who was killed in the United States in 2019.^[381][382] Also in June, dominant social media account holders supporting the SAF attacked the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, accusing the organization of being partial towards the RSF and collaborating with the so-called "Janjaweed" militia. These false accusations endangered the reputation and safety of the medical professionals.^[383]

Footage of an SAF warplane reportedly shot down by the RSF in Khartoum on 20 September was found to be that of an Su-25 fighter jet that crashed in Mali,^[384] while a video showing an Egyptian Air Force warplane reportedly shot down by the RSF while on a mission in northern Sudan was found to be that of a Libyan aircraft taken outside Sudan in 2020.^[385]

Responses

On 11 August, Facebook shut down the main pages of the RSF due to a violation of its policy, "Dangerous Organizations and Individuals". In an alternate account, the RSF accused the SAF of lodging complaints based on false reports that led to the removal of its pages and said it was in contact with Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms to restore them.^[386]

Kyle Walter of Logically, a British disinformation analysis firm, said in May: "What's most concerning from this latest example of potential foreign interference is that it provides a look into how the nature of these threats are evolving, particularly in the context of the rapid onset of generative AI being used to create fake images and text. Although we don't know if this so-called sophisticated 'special bulletin' was created by this technology, it is symbolic of the wider issue at hand: an inability to trust what you're seeing, reading, and the undermining of the entire information landscape."^[380]

Domestic

Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok publicly appealed to both al-Burhan and Hemedti to cease fighting.^[387]

On 18 April, el-Wasig el-Bereir of the National Umma Party said he was in communication with the SAF and the RSF to get them to stop fighting immediately,^[388] while el-Fateh Hussein of the Khartoum resistance committees called for the fighting to stop immediately, stating that the resistance committees had long called for the SAF to "return to their barracks" and for the RSF to be dissolved.^[388]

Sudanese resistance committees coordinated medical support networks, sprayed antiwar messages on walls, and encouraged local communities to avoid siding with either the RSF or the SAF. Hamid Murtada, a member of the resistance committees, described the resistance committees as having "an important role in raising awareness to their constituencies and in supporting initiatives that [would] end the war immediately".^[389]

On 22 and 23 April, protests against the conflict were held by residents in Khartoum Bahri, Arbaji, and Damazin.^[390] On 30 July, different groups in Kadugli organized marches against the violence in South Kordofan, some of whom supported the SAF, while others condemned the SAF, the RSF and the SPLM-N (al-Hilu).^[391]

On 25 July, following a meeting in Cairo, four Sudanese political groupings, namely the Forces for Freedom and Change, the National Movement Forces, the National Accord Forces, and the National Forces Alliance, called on al-Burhan to form "a caretaker government" as soon as possible to rule the country during the war and promote dialogue.^[392]

On 30 July, nurses of the Port Sudan Teaching Hospital Emergency Department went on strike in protest over the non-payment of salaries since the beginning of the conflict, forcing the closure of the hospital since then after other departments joined.^[393]

In response to calls by SPLM-N faction leader and Transitional Sovereignty Council Deputy Chair Malik Agar to support the SAF, the Sudanese Communist Party called on upon "the tribes and people of Sudan to resist calls for recruiting their youth to favour either of the warring parties" in a statement released on 6 August. Other political groups such as the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council and the Sudan Revolutionary Front also expressed their rejection of the conflict and said on 7 August that they had positioned themselves "equidistant" from both the SAF and the RSF.^[394]

International

White flag memorial at Cornell University for lives lost in the conflicts in Sudan, Congo, and Palestine.

On 19 April, diplomatic missions in Sudan, which included those of Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden), issued a joint statement calling for fighting parties to observe their obligations under international law, specifically urging them to "protect civilians, diplomats and humanitarian actors," avoid further escalations and initiate talks to "resolve outstanding issues".^[395]

Many countries condemned the violence and called on the warring sides to cease fighting and resume the democratic transition,^{[396][397][398]} while Egypt, South Sudan and Israel offered to mediate between the SAF and the RSF.^[399][400] Several of Sudan's neighbors, including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan closed their border with Sudan,^{[76][401][402]} while Eritrea said it would not establish refugee camps for those crossing its border from Sudan.^[403]

International organizations also echoed demands for an end to the fighting and the restoration of civilian government.^{[404][405][406]}