Sudan Civil War (2023–)

Sudan Civil War (2023–) is an armed conflict that began on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in widespread destruction across the country and a major humanitarian crisis. The conflict erupted with attacks by RSF units on military installations in the capital Khartoum and quickly spread to Darfur Kordofan the Nile Valley and El-Jazira states.

The warring parties are composed of armed groups led by Abdulfettah el-Burhan chairman of the Sovereignty Council and commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo Hemedti commander of the Rapid Support Forces. Disputes over power sharing military hierarchy and security reforms have escalated into a comprehensive civil war affecting the entire country.

The deepening of the war was decisively shaped by the power vacuum that emerged during the transitional administration established after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s regime in 2019. Although both the army under Burhan and the RSF under Dagalo operated within the same administration they drew support from different interest groups leading to a dual-headed military structure in Sudan. Burhan insisted on integrating the RSF into the regular army while Dagalo defended the independence of his own structure. These conflicting objectives rapidly plunged the country into a destructive civil war.

The Sudan Civil War is also described as a process that has revived the country’s historical ethnic and economic fractures. The conflict has triggered renewed allegations of ethnic cleansing and mass executions particularly in western regions such as Darfur leading to the displacement of millions of civilians and forcing thousands to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

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The immediate cause of the Sudan Civil War that erupted in 2023 was the escalation of a long-standing authority dispute between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into an armed crisis. This crisis is linked to debates over the military-civilian balance that began during the transitional administration established after the fall of Omar al-Bashir’s regime in 2019. Abdulfettah el-Burhan chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Chief of Staff demanded the integration of the RSF into the regular army and its subordination to the military hierarchy while RSF commander Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo Hemedti insisted on preserving his organization’s independent status.

This disagreement turned into open armed conflict on the morning of 15 April 2023 when RSF units attacked SAF military installations in Khartoum. The incident triggered intense fighting in the capital and within days key sites including the airport presidential palace and radio and television buildings became battlefields. In the early days the army targeted RSF positions with air power while the RSF responded in urban areas with tanks and heavy weapons. This dynamic rapidly transformed Khartoum into a humanitarian crisis zone.

In the first weeks following the outbreak of fighting the cities of Khartoum Omdurman and Bahri were subjected to heavy bombardment and civilian infrastructure was largely destroyed. Electricity water and communication systems collapsed and thousands of buildings became unusable. According to United Nations UN data by the end of 2023 more than 13 000 people had lost their lives 6 million had been internally displaced and over 2 million had fled to neighboring countries.

After losing control of the capital the Sudanese army shifted the main focus of the war to El-Jazira state in central Sudan. The RSF on the other hand largely seized control of the Darfur region in the west. Throughout 2024 the RSF expanded its area of control to encompass all four states of South West Central and East Darfur as well as parts of Kordofan and Sennar. In contrast the Sudanese army managed to retain its presence only in the central city of Fasher in North Darfur.

By late 2024 Fasher which had become a focal point of intensified fighting gained critical strategic importance for both the army and the RSF. Fasher serves not only as the administrative center of Darfur but also as a vital hub for humanitarian aid delivery due to its airport and military bases. The RSF’s siege of Fasher beginning in May 2024 further worsened the humanitarian dimension of the war. During the siege food and medicine shortages emerged and clean water sources were destroyed. According to UN reports over 260 000 civilians including 130 000 children were facing risks of starvation and disease within the city.

As of 2025 the war has extended beyond the capital and Darfur axis to include eastern and southern regions of the country. The capital of El-Jazira state Wad Medani was recaptured by the army in December 2024 a development regarded as a critical turning point in the war’s trajectory. However despite the army’s advances the RSF’s continued dominance in western regions has prevented the war from ending.

Between 2023 and 2025 the civil war in Sudan has created the largest wave of displacement and humanitarian devastation in the country’s history. Agricultural lands industrial facilities and public buildings have been destroyed and the nation’s production capacity has nearly collapsed. Nearly ten million people have been forced to abandon their homes and millions of children have been deprived of education. The war has become not merely a struggle for military dominance but a catastrophe that has deeply shattered Sudan’s social fabric.

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The most severe destruction of the Sudan Civil War has occurred in the western region of Darfur. Historically marked by intense ethnic economic and environmental conflicts Darfur has reverted into a large-scale violence zone since the war began in 2023. This has triggered a new humanitarian disaster on a scale reminiscent of the Darfur War between 2003 and 2020. The region holds strategic importance for both the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces as it provides access to land routes leading to Chad Libya and the Central African Republic.

From the second half of 2023 the RSF seized control over all four Darfur states South West Central and East Darfur. The weakness of army units in the region facilitated the RSF’s rapid advance. By the end of 2024 the RSF had taken control of all major settlements in the region except for Fasher the administrative center of North Darfur. The survival of Fasher has been viewed as the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the region. The city also holds strategic and symbolic importance as it is the sole remaining hub for humanitarian aid delivery.

Fasher was fully besieged by the RSF in May 2024. The siege has paralyzed living conditions for the local population making access to food water and medicine nearly impossible. Most of the civilian population remaining in the city has resorted to feeding on animal feed and wild plants while hospitals and aid centers have become targets. The United Nations UN and the World Health Organization WHO have reported that thousands of civilians have died in the city due to starvation dehydration and disease. In October 2025 WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed being “shocked” by reports that over 460 patients and caregivers had been killed at the Saudi Hospital.