https://en.sputniknews.africa/20240415/one-year-of-conflict-in-sudan-what-behind-bloodshed--is-there-an-end-in-sight-1066057918.html
One Year of Conflict in Sudan: What's Behind Bloodshed & is There an End in Sight?
One Year of Conflict in Sudan: What's Behind Bloodshed & is There an End in Sight?
Sputnik Africa
April 15 marks one year since the start of the armed conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has claimed thousands... 15.04.2024, Sputnik Africa
2024-04-15T13:44+0200
2024-04-15T13:44+0200
2024-04-25T10:22+0200
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sudan
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mohamed hamdan dagalo
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It would seem that only very recently, in 2020, Sudan closed a bloody chapter in its history — the war in the southern Darfur region that lasted 17 years and resulted in the deaths of about 300,000 people and up to 3 million displaced, according to UN estimates.However, just three years later, the northeastern African country plunged into yet another conflict, which, as the country's health minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in an interview with Sputnik, has already claimed the lives of 13,000 people and injured about 60,000. At the same time, providing assistance to victims is a challenging task: more than 70% of hospitals and medical institutions are out of service due to shelling by the RSF, the minister added.In terms of people displaced, the current conflict is almost three times larger than the protracted Darfur crisis. The United Nations warned last Friday that 25 million individuals in Sudan require humanitarian assistance, and 8.6 million have been displaced. And all this in just one year.Moreover, UNICEF earlier estimated that 4.86 million Sudanese are acutely malnourished as of March 2024, of which 3.66 million are children under five, and 1.2 million are pregnant and lactating women, reflecting an increase of more than 22% from the beginning of 2023.The country's military and the RSF took arms against each other one year ago to safeguard their interests in a planned political transition, after becoming hesitant allies in the removal of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019 and the overthrow of a civilian-led government in 2021.Despite these shocking figures of the devastation going into its second year, the conflict is unlikely to end soon, judging by the latest statements of the Sudanese officials. Last week, the head of the country's Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stated that the Sudanese Armed Forces will not negotiate with the RSF until they leave the cities and homes of civilians, adding that if the paramilitary group wants to hold talks, they should leave these cities and gather in certain areas.Background and Causes of the ConflictIn 2019, al-Burhan de-facto replaced President Omar al-Bashir who was overthrown in a coup, and appointed Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), commander of the RSF, as his deputy. Two years later, al-Burhan carried out a coup d'etat, establishing the complete dominance of the army in the new Transitional Sovereignty Council. This move hindered the process of transferring power to civilian authorities.Nevertheless, subsequent international political efforts led to the signing of a framework agreement between the military and a number of key civilian figures in December 2022, splitting the now former allies al-Burhan and Hemedti.The matter that caused controversy between them was one of the central points of the reform — the integration of a 100,000-strong RSF into the national army, which could mean a loss of influence for Dagalo. According to reports, Hemedti and al-Burhan also could not agree on who should be the commander-in-chief of the army — a professional military man, as al-Burhan advocated, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insisted.Although attempts were still being made to sign a final agreement in early 2023, on April 15, a conflict began in Khartoum between the Sudanese army and the RSF, the formal reason for which was the unauthorized, according to the Sudanese army, deployment of RSF units across the country. Both parties accused each other of attempting a coup.One should also not forget about the country's mineral resources: Sudan is the third-largest gold producer in Africa, and both sides are fighting for control over this metal as well.Military EngagementsDespite Sudan's army possessing superior resources such as air power and an estimated 300,000 troops, the RSF has expanded in recent years and now reportedly constitutes a well-equipped force of approximately 100,000 personnel stationed throughout the country.During the initial stages of the conflict, the RSF positioned their troops within several neighborhoods throughout the capital. In late 2023, the group made significant progress in solidifying their control over Darfur and seizing El Gezira state (an important agricultural region), located south of Khartoum.However, recently, the Sudanese army has made significant advances in Omdurman, one of the three cities that comprise the larger capital, regaining some footing. For example, a month ago, the Sudanese army seized control of the state broadcasting headquarters from the RSF.According to the Sovereignty Council statement last week, al-Burhan stressed that the Sudanese army has been able to rebuild much of its defense industry, air force and artillery and aviation systems.Who Pays the Ultimate Price for Turmoil?As is often the case in armed conflicts, it is the civilian population who pays the greatest price. Sudan, in this sense, is no exception.In late March, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global authority on food security, cautioned that Sudan would experience significant food shortages and malnutrition if the armed hostilities continue, urging to take all the necessary measures required to prevent a catastrophic famine in the country.The UN World Food Programme has also repeatedly warned that the crisis poses a significant threat of causing the world's worst famine and urged for increased funding.Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim also said in late February that Sudan's economy contracted by 40% in 2023 due to the armed conflict and is expected to decline by 28% this year, which will only exacerbate the people's suffering.What Steps Have Been Taken to Establish Peace?Shortly after the clashes began, Saudi Arabia and the United States brought representatives of both factions together in Jeddah for discussions. However, the ceasefire agreements agreed upon during these negotiations were constantly violated, leading to the breakdown of the process.Other efforts initiated by the IGAD and Egypt were fruitless too. The recent UN appeal to establish a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was also ignored.Russia has also repeatedly offered to assist in resolving the conflict in Sudan, as Russian Ambassador to Khartoum Andrey Chernovol reiterated in an interview with Russian media last week.The newly appointed US special envoy for Sudan is advocating a resumption of talks this month in Jeddah. In addition, a donor summit is scheduled for April 15 in Paris to mobilize aid resources and ensure increased access for aid workers.Sudan itself has previously declared its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, underscoring that "any solution must be based on the Jeddah [negotiation] platform," as Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq Ali, told Sputnik in March.As the internal conflict now passes the one-year mark, there is a growing chorus of concerned voices heard from around the world, warning that the potential consequences of the crisis will be deeply felt not only in Sudan itself but also in the region, particularly in Chad and South Sudan — Sudan's neighbors — which have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees while they themselves suffer from internal crises.Moreover, this crisis reverberates far beyond Africa in the form of an increased flow of refugees (about 20,000 people are forced to flee their homes in Sudan daily, as per the UN), smuggling of gold and weapons, and multimillion-dollar contributions to humanitarian organizations to save the lives of ordinary Sudanese.
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sudan, north africa, conflict, mohamed hamdan dagalo, khartoum, united states (us), rapid support forces (rsf), united nations (un), sputnik africa, death toll, hunger, humanitarian aid , politics, military, history
sudan, north africa, conflict, mohamed hamdan dagalo, khartoum, united states (us), rapid support forces (rsf), united nations (un), sputnik africa, death toll, hunger, humanitarian aid , politics, military, history
It would seem that only very recently, in 2020, Sudan closed a bloody chapter in its history — the war in the southern Darfur region that lasted 17 years and resulted in the deaths of about 300,000 people and up to 3 million displaced, according to UN estimates.
However, just three years later, the northeastern African country plunged into yet another conflict, which, as the country's health minister
Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in an interview with
Sputnik, has already
claimed the lives of
13,000 people and injured about
60,000. At the same time, providing assistance to victims is a challenging task:
more than 70% of hospitals and medical institutions are out of service due to shelling by the RSF, the minister added.
In terms of people displaced, the current conflict is almost three times larger than the protracted Darfur crisis. The United Nations warned last Friday that 25 million individuals in Sudan require humanitarian assistance, and 8.6 million have been displaced. And all this in just one year.
"Today, Sudan is one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies. Half of Sudan's population, 25 million people, need humanitarian assistance," Justin Brady, the Head of the OCHA office in Sudan, said during the presser.
Moreover, UNICEF earlier estimated that 4.86 million Sudanese are acutely malnourished as of March 2024, of which 3.66 million are children under five, and 1.2 million are pregnant and lactating women, reflecting an increase of more than 22% from the beginning of 2023.
The country's military and the RSF took arms against each other one year ago to safeguard their interests in a planned political transition, after becoming hesitant allies in the removal of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019 and the overthrow of a civilian-led government in 2021.
Despite these shocking figures of the devastation going into its second year, the conflict is unlikely to end soon, judging by the latest statements of the Sudanese officials. Last week, the head of the country's Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stated that the
Sudanese Armed Forces will not negotiate with the RSF until they leave the cities and homes of civilians, adding that if the paramilitary group wants to hold talks, they should leave these cities and gather in certain areas.
Background and Causes of the Conflict
In 2019, al-Burhan de-facto replaced President Omar al-Bashir who was overthrown in a coup, and appointed Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), commander of the RSF, as his deputy. Two years later, al-Burhan carried out a coup d'etat, establishing the complete dominance of the army in the new Transitional Sovereignty Council. This move hindered the process of transferring power to civilian authorities.
Nevertheless, subsequent international political efforts led to the signing of a framework agreement between the military and a number of key civilian figures in December 2022, splitting the now former allies al-Burhan and Hemedti.
The matter that caused controversy between them was one of the central points of the
reform — the integration of a 100,000-strong RSF into the national army,
which could mean a loss of influence for Dagalo. According to reports, Hemedti and al-Burhan also could not agree on who should be the commander-in-chief of the army — a professional military man, as al-Burhan advocated, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insisted.
Although attempts were still being made to sign a final agreement in early 2023, on April 15, a conflict began in
Khartoum between the Sudanese army and the RSF, the formal reason for which was the unauthorized, according to the Sudanese army, deployment of RSF units across the country.
Both parties accused each other of attempting a coup.One should also not forget about the country's mineral resources: Sudan is the third-largest gold producer in Africa, and both sides are fighting for control over this metal as well.
Despite Sudan's army possessing superior resources such as air power and an estimated 300,000 troops, the RSF has expanded in recent years and now reportedly constitutes a well-equipped force of approximately 100,000 personnel stationed throughout the country.
During the initial stages of the conflict, the RSF positioned their troops within several neighborhoods throughout the capital. In late 2023, the group made significant progress in solidifying their control over Darfur and seizing El Gezira state (an important agricultural region), located south of Khartoum.
However, recently, the Sudanese army has made significant advances in
Omdurman, one of the three cities that comprise the larger capital, regaining some footing. For example, a month ago, the Sudanese army
seized control of the state broadcasting headquarters from the RSF.
According to the Sovereignty Council statement last week, al-Burhan stressed that the Sudanese army has been able to rebuild much of its defense industry, air force and artillery and aviation systems.
Who Pays the Ultimate Price for Turmoil?
As is often the case in armed conflicts, it is the civilian population who
pays the greatest price. Sudan, in this sense, is no exception.
In late March, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global authority on food security,
cautioned that Sudan would experience
significant food shortages and malnutrition if the armed hostilities continue, urging to take all the necessary measures required to prevent a catastrophic famine in the country.
Moreover, the UN
called the situation in Sudan "one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory," which "plays out under a veil of international inattention and inaction."
The UN World Food Programme has also repeatedly
warned that the crisis poses a significant threat of causing
the world's worst famine and urged for increased funding.
Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim also said in late February that
Sudan's economy contracted by 40% in 2023 due to the armed conflict and is
expected to decline by 28% this year, which will only exacerbate the people's suffering.
What Steps Have Been Taken to Establish Peace?
Shortly after the clashes began, Saudi Arabia and the United States brought representatives of both factions together in Jeddah for discussions. However, the ceasefire agreements agreed upon during these negotiations were constantly violated, leading to the breakdown of the process.
Other efforts initiated by the IGAD and
Egypt were fruitless too. The recent UN appeal to establish a
ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan was also ignored.
Russia has also repeatedly offered to assist in resolving the conflict in Sudan, as
Russian Ambassador to Khartoum Andrey Chernovol reiterated in an interview with Russian media last week.
The newly appointed
US special envoy for Sudan is advocating a resumption of talks this month in Jeddah. In addition, a donor summit is scheduled for April 15 in Paris to mobilize aid resources and ensure increased access for aid workers.
Sudan itself has previously declared its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, underscoring that "any solution must be based on the Jeddah [negotiation] platform," as Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq Ali,
told Sputnik in March.
As the internal conflict now passes the one-year mark, there is a growing chorus of concerned voices heard from around the world, warning that the potential consequences of the crisis will be deeply felt not only in Sudan itself but also in the region, particularly in
Chad and South Sudan — Sudan's neighbors — which have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees while they themselves suffer from internal crises.
Moreover, this crisis reverberates far beyond Africa in the form of an increased flow of refugees (about 20,000 people are forced to flee their homes in Sudan daily, as per the UN), smuggling of gold and
weapons, and multimillion-dollar contributions to humanitarian organizations to save the lives of ordinary Sudanese.
