Since its independence in 1956 from the British Empire, the northeastern African nation of Sudan has been marked with strife and unresolved politics. Twenty attempted coups d’etat (government overthrow), as well as previous civil wars have resulted in the world’s youngest country, South Sudan, being/having been born from this region.
Pink – Sudanese federal government
Green – Rapid Support Forces
Other colors – Break off liberation groups
Rich with oil and natural resources, Sudan is a highly contested region with many more powerful nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and China egging on strife for their own personal gain. On April 15, 2023, a new civil war erupted in the nation, and so far 12 million people have been displaced and up to 150,000 have been killed. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leading its armed forces, as well as the internationally recognized government of Sudan in the east, is pitted against the rebel coalition, led by General Hemedti in the west.
Sudan’s 20 coups d’etat stands at the highest number in the history of post-colonial African nations, with Burundi at 11, Burkina Faso at 10, Ghana at 10, and Sierra Leone at 10, the most recent of which began the current civil war. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the current President of Sudan, had hired General Hemedti as a partner in Sudan’s defense and quelling smaller rebellions in the south of Sudan near South Sudan. Sudan’s exports largely consist of oil which are in undefined, contested border regions between Sudan and South Sudan, and Sudan, already being a poor nation, needed all the help it could get to control this area. Sudan consists of many ethnic groups, many who do not agree with the sitting government— and hence al-Burhan’s need for Hemedti. If al-Burhan could get Hemedti’s side, who had much support from ethnic groups from western Sudan, al-Burhan could have boosted power. However, eventual disagreements between the two bursted into full on civil war, which Sudan finds itself in now.
In the region of Darfur in Sudan, a famine has been declared and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “warned that Darfuri civilians faced significant risks of genocide. Several factors that pointed to this risk included:
- systematic attacks by the RSF and allied militias;
- impunity for past crimes; and
- new hate speech against marginalized groups.”
Additionally, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum states, “on December 6, 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that between April and December 2023. . . the RSF and their allied militias committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Darfur.”
In the past month, the civil war has gotten worse, and it is possible to see pools of blood and entire massacred villages on free satellite imagery apps. According to the Council on Foreign relations, fighting has gotten worse, with little good light to shine on the conflict.
