Another Sudanese Conflict

"This is a huge country, very diverse ... I think it will be a nightmare for the world."

"This is not a war between an army and small rebellion."

"It is almost like two armies – well trained and well armed." 

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok

 

"[There was a recently noticeable change in the sides' attitudes; they appeared more open to negotiations, and were saying they would accept] some form of talks".

"The word 'negotiations' or 'talks' was not there in their discourse in the first week or so."

U.N. special representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes 

"I'm afraid that one day I'm asleep and I wake up to a bomb falling on my house."

"That's my deepest fear right now. That's all that I think of. That's why I can't sleep at night."

Khalid, resident of Khartoum

People gather to ride a truck to flee outside Khartoum, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army, in Khartoum, Sudan April 28, 2023. REUTERS/ Stringer

"The current fighting has forced us to stop almost all of our activities in West Darfur."

"We are incredibly worried about the impact this violence is having on people who have already lived through waves of violence in the previous years."

Sylvain Perron, MSF’s deputy operations manager for Sudan

In 2003 there was wholesale carnage in the area of Darfur, an African farming community. There were disagreements between the Arab pastoralists and the farmers of Darfur. The Muslim-majority Arab-led government of the day under president Omar al-Bashir unleashed a no-holds-barred conflict on the farming communities of ethnic minorities, with military helicopters dropping bombs and the Janjaweed Arab mounted militias attacking the largely helpless farming communities who fled in terror.

 

Horrendous war crimes were committed and al-Bashir was found guilty along with his top general of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  An estimated 300,000 people were slaughtered, and millions were left homeless.

At the present time, Sudan's military had a shared custody of the country with the leader of the Rapid Support Forces militia which had grown out of the Janjaweed. Both General Abdel-Fattah Burhan who leads the Sudanese military and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ended their temporary power sharing arrangement over the issue of elections for a civilian government promised after the previous one had been deposed.

 

Their disagreement turned into a violent power struggle with the third largest African country on the continent now engaged in a war that has killed hundreds of its people, wounded many thousands and caused the migration of over 75,000 people seeking haven from the conflict elsewhere in neighbouring countries, while foreign governments have taken emergency measures to evacuate their citizens to safety out of the country.

 

A number of temporary truces and ceasefires have come and gone, with other African and Arab nations, the UN and US acting as mediators between the adversaries in efforts to persuade them to reach an agreement and cease hostilities. The capital Khartoum has become a war zone. The truces are tentative and quickly breached, while in the interim tens of thousands flee elsewhere for safety. Evacuations by land, sea and air have come to an abrupt standstill, as the violence continues and escalates.

 

European, Asian and African nationals prepare to board a ship to Saudi Arabia, at Port Sudan, Sudan April 28, 2023. REUTERS/Ibrahim Mohammed Ishak

 

The military's warplanes bombed the RSF in upscale neighbourhoods in Khartoum on Friday while classes were reported as well around the headquarters of the military, the Republican Palace and the area close to the Khartoum international airport. Since the conflict erupted on April 15, these are areas that have become flashpoints. In Khartoum's sister city Omdurman, explosions have been noted as well.

In Khartoum, medical workers report that medical personnel have been abducted by the RSF to treat their wounded fighters. A voice note was shared on a chat group for Sudanese health care workers giving warning to wear civilian clothing, not medical uniforms, and to conceal any identification that would list their profession, should RSF fighters stop them on the street.

A Sudanese-American infectious disease physician at the University of Nebraska, working with community health leaders in Sudan shared the stories of five doctors she knows who were taken from the streets of Khartoum by the RSF since the fighting began. One of the abducted doctors forcibly taken to an unknown location described seeing dozens of wounded fighters, a stockpile of medical supplies and two other kidnapped doctors working on the fighters.

His days there were spent treating fighters with gunshot wounds, burns and other injuries, before they were finally released. Neither the military nor the militia have been able to strike a conclusive blow against the other to this point. World powers struggle to convince them to set aside the violence. An East African nation bloc has arranged an initiative for the two sides to hold talks, promoted by the African Union, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Nations.

 

While denying that he has an ambitions to attain power for himself, General Burhan insists that General Dagalo "wants to rule Sudan, seize its resources and magnify his wealth". He has ruled out speaking and engaging in negotiations with Dagalo while accusing him of orchestrating a rebellion against the state.

This image grab taken from AFPTV video footage on April 28, 2023, shows an aerial view of black smoke rising over Khartoum. (AFPTV/AFP)