What’s Happening in Sudan?
Photo via AFP
Warning: This post discusses topics regarding sexual violence.
Amidst mass media coverage of violence and disaster across the world, there have been only whispers of the situation in Sudan. Mentions of a “civil war”, “famine”, and even “genocide” have been thrown around, but very few people seem to be actually taking the time to expand on these phrases. So, what’s happening in Sudan? For the past year and a half, Sudanese military forces have been engaged in a conflict that has threatened, displaced, and starved millions of people. Racism is rife in Sudan, with its history of Arabs targeting and attacking Africans. This violent tension has been reignited, putting 46 million people in the crossfire. Sudan is experiencing the largest current catastrophe in the world, but almost nobody wants to talk about it.
In order to understand the genocide that Western sources frame as merely a “civil war”, it is critical to step into the historical and cultural context that predates today’s demolition and ethnic cleansing. The government is controlled by northern Arabs, who have a government-created paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has been attacking non-Arab populations for decades. In 2003, the Arab government carried out a genocide against non-Arabs (Africans) in which they burned villages and raped, murdered, and tortured people. The government-backed Janjaweed militia was one of the major perpetrators and laid the foundation for what later became the RSF. Between 1989 and 2019, Omar al-Bashir, who the ICC has accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, was head of the Sudanese government. He was ousted in a coup in 2019, which was followed by attempts to establish a civilian-led democracy, as opposed to the prior system of complete military domination. In 2021, the RSF (led by General Hemedti) and Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, (led by General al-Burhan) carried out a military takeover of the government, arresting civilian officials and moving back to military control.
Darfur, located in western Sudan, is divided into 5 states, 4 of which the RSF already has authority over. North Darfur has been the center of combat between the RSF and SAF (and both of their allies) since April of 2023 when conflict broke out between the generals of both groups. Both the RSF and the SAF have caused mass devastation and have been accused of blocking aid into Sudan. The RSF has been particularly brutal, using the same tactics as the Janjaweed to attack non-Arab civilians in ways that are reminiscent of the genocide in 2003. Since April, destruction has increased rapidly and there is widespread concern that the RSF will take over the capital of North Darfur, Al-Fashir, where people have already fled previously to escape the brutality of the RSF. The RSF is committing ethnic cleansing in Western Darfur as they target non-Arab communities like the Massalit in the city of El Geneina. As the violence spreads, it affects other countries and even has the potential to impact the entire continent of Africa.
Because the civil war targets non-Arab populations with the intention to decimate them, it is classified as genocide and ethnic cleansing. Countless human rights abuses have been documented in Sudan as a whole, and Darfur specifically, in the last 13 months. Over 16,600 people have been killed and 10.7 million have been displaced, making Sudan home to the largest internal displacement crises in the world. Homes, schools, hospitals, and entire villages have been rampaged and destroyed, leaving people without access to shelter or medical care. Millions of people are living in refugee camps and outbreaks of diseases like cholera have gone untreated due to the restriction of aid entering Sudan. Additionally, over 25 million people are being starved in the biggest famine across the globe. Civilians are being robbed and shot in targeted attacks across the country. The UN is severely underfunded in its relief efforts, receiving only a fraction of the money it needs to provide adequate aid.
Wherever large-scale violence exists, sexual abuse is also present. On top of other crises ravaging Sudan, women and girls face the additional threat of sexual violence. There are reports of women and girls as young as 9 being kidnapped and gang raped. The RSF has trapped them into sexual slavery and forced them into marriages. Lack of access to appropriate medical care has left rape survivors physically and mentally vulnerable, while women across Sudan live in constant fear of sexual violence. Destruction of the healthcare system and cultural stigma around sexual assault make it extremely difficult to track cases, but thousands of women and girls have likely been attacked. While most of these cases are attributable to the RSF, the SAF is also guilty of sexual violence. Men and boys, particularly those held in detention, have been raped as well. Rape and sexual abuse are deeply ingrained into systems of oppression and genocide.
Participation in the current genocide is not limited to only groups in Sudan, as there is extensive foreign involvement from countries that are highly invested in the country’s government and natural resources. While the UAE has denied supplying weapons to the RSF, there is significant credible evidence to indicate otherwise. The UAE claims to be in favor of a ceasefire, while the UN ambassador for Sudan states that the Emirates is not only supporting the RSF but is the reason why the civil war has continued for so long and now threatens the lives of millions. UAE assistance is turning this into a proxy war, in which an outside power interferes with a war to affect its outcome. On the other hand, Egypt has provided military and tactical reinforcement for the SAF, while Iran is using its extensive arsenal to provide the SAF with weapons and increase its influence across the region. Russia’s connection to the genocide is somewhat contradictory, as mercenary groups linked to the government have been sending weapons to the RSF while Russia also backs the SAF in an attempt to gain access to the coast and its natural resources. The United States attempted to help, but ended up legitimizing the two generals instead of supporting civilians, which then further fueled the clash. Many other countries are in favor of a peace resolution but are unwilling to take significant action. It is worth remembering that much of the tension in Sudan, as well as in Africa and the Middle East more broadly, is attributable to historical Western attempts to divide these areas in ways that do not align with the cultures and communities present there. Lasting Western and colonial influences still play a considerable role in today’s geopolitics.
Over the past 11 months, our social media feeds have been flooded with horrific videos and images coming out of Gaza, while at the same time, major news sources have been constantly reporting updates on Ukraine. With our eyes and efforts focused elsewhere, millions of people in Sudan’s Darfur have been living under a genocide that is largely ignored by international media. Despite having a population of over 46 million people, Sudan receives only a fraction of the coverage and aid accorded to other crises. This neglect is intentional, as internet blackouts and crackdowns on the news have cut people off from outside sources and limited the dispersal of accurate, current information. The implication here is not that we should compare suffering to determine the focus of foreign attention, but rather that devastation in the Global South too often flies under the radar and leaves vulnerable communities overlooked under the guise of these issues being “too complicated” or “unrelated” to the lives of those of us in the Global North. In reality, those of us fighting for liberation in the West must recognize the interconnection between our struggles here and those of the people of Sudan.
