Sudan’s devastating year of war

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It has been a year since the brutal Sudanese civil war erupted between the governmentbacked Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an armed militia once allied to the regime.

Over those twelve months, according to the UN, over 14,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands wounded. Half the country’s population – 25m people – need lifesaving assistance and more than 8.6m people have been forced to flee their homes, including 1.8m refugees. At least 18m people are facing acute hunger, a number that is set to surge as the lean season fast approaches, threatening a potentially devastating famine. The IMF expects the economy to shrink by 4.2% this year.

Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said “allegations of atrocities abound” and cited reports of widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, the recruitment of children by parties to the conflict and the extensive use of torture and prolonged arbitrary detention by both parties.

Seeking spoils of collapse

This is a far cry from the hopes that were unleashed when long-term dictator Omar al-Bashir was removed from power by his military under the pressure of a citizen-led protest movement in 2019. Any hopes of a democratic revival were quickly crushed by the determination of the armed forces to monopolise power, and by the subsequent breakdown in relations with the equally brutal RSF.