The Sudan Civil War

Heavy fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) across Khartoum, triggered by a dispute over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular military. The RSF quickly seized the international airport, the presidential palace, and key bridges, while the SAF retained control of the army headquarters. Civilians were caught in the crossfire as fighting engulfed the capital.

The RSF and allied Arab militias launched a major campaign in Darfur, committing widespread attacks against non-Arab communities including the Masalit, Zaghawa, and Fur peoples. The RSF gained control of most Darfur states by late 2023, including the key cities of Geneina and Nyala. The International Criminal Court opened investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity. The violence evoked comparisons to the Darfur genocide of the early 2000s.

The conflict triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Over 10 million people were displaced internally or fled to neighboring Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia by mid-2024. The United Nations and humanitarian organizations reported that both sides obstructed aid deliveries, prompting accusations of using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally declared famine in the Zamzam camp for displaced people near El Fasher, North Darfur, following months of escalating food insecurity. Over 25 million people across Sudan faced acute food insecurity. Both the SAF and RSF were accused of preventing humanitarian access and using food as a weapon, with the IPC noting that the conflict was the primary driver of the famine.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) under Abdelaziz al-Hilu declared war on the SAF, opening a new front in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. The SPLM-N sought to establish an autonomous secular state in areas under its control. In some regions, the SPLM-N coordinated with the RSF against the SAF, further complicating the conflict. By 2025, the SPLM-N controlled significant territory.

The SAF launched a major counteroffensive, recapturing Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum across the Nile, after months of RSF control. The operation involved coordinated ground advances and air strikes, marking the first significant territorial reversal for the RSF. The SAF continued to press into parts of Khartoum, though the RSF retained control over much of the capital and major supply routes.

The RSF announced the formation of a rival "Government of Peace and Unity" in the territories under its control, led by Hemedti. The move formalized the de facto partition of Sudan, with the SAF-led Transitional Sovereignty Council retaining international recognition while controlling eastern and northern Sudan. International mediation efforts led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the African Union continued without a ceasefire agreement.

By the start of 2026, the conflict had settled into a protracted stalemate. The SAF controlled eastern and northern Sudan, the RSF held parts of Darfur, Kordofan, and central Khartoum, and the SPLM-N administered territory in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Estimated total deaths exceeded 150,000, with over 10 million displaced. The United Nations described the situation as the world's largest displacement crisis and the most severe humanitarian emergency of the decade.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan reported that transnational networks recruiting, training and deploying foreign personnel -- including up to 2,000 former Colombian military contractors operating drones and artillery alongside the RSF -- were sustaining and expanding the war. The report said there were reasonable grounds to believe the RSF takeover of el-Fasher displayed hallmarks of genocide, that SAF used foreign-supplied drones in strikes harming civilians, and that intermediaries in countries including Colombia and the United Arab Emirates facilitated arms and logistics to the RSF. The UAE rejected allegations of support, Chad said it remained neutral, and the mission urged states to enforce the UN arms embargo.

Famine conditions were reported to have begun in the Jebel Marra region of Central Darfur, an area largely controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur. The SLM-AW-aligned local authority reported that around 20 people were dying of hunger every day, more than two years after famine was first declared in other parts of Sudan in July 2024. The spread of famine to Jebel Marra underscored how the war's blockades and the denial of humanitarian access had turned hunger into a weapon with consequences across successive regions of the country.

The Rapid Support Forces and the Touka faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North said they had captured a string of localities in Blue Nile state, including Madal Abiqo, Beli Bong, and Kambarda, and were pushing toward the state capital, Ad-Damazin. The offensive, supported by SPLM-N al-Hilu attacks in South Kordofan, opened a major new front beyond the war's core theaters in Darfur and Kordofan and drew Sudanese Armed Forces and Joint Darfur Force reinforcements to defend the capital, ending the relative stability of a region that had largely escaped direct fighting since 2023.