Why in the News?

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) initiated a significant offensive against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and Bahri, reigniting the civil war after months of relative quiet. The United Nations (UN) reports thousands of fatalities and millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

About the War

• Sudan has a long history of conflict rooted in ethnic, religious and political tensions.
• The civil war currently underway began as a power struggle between military factions after the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, following months of protests his 30-year rule.
• The conflict escalated into open warfare in April 2023, with fighting breaking out in Khartoum and quickly spreading to other regions.

Key Players in the War

• Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, it emerged as a dominant military force post-Bashir.
• Rapid Support Forces (RSF): A paramilitary group led by General Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), it originated from the Janjaweed militias involved in the Darfur conflict and have considerable control over various territories.

About Sudan

• Location: Northeast Africa
• Capital: Khartoum
• Currency: Sudanese Pound (SDG)
• Official Language: Arabic
• It is the third-largest country in Africa and the 16th largest in the world.
• Bordered By: Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea to the southeast, Ethiopia to the southeast, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest.
• It was ruled by the Ottoman Empire and later became a British-Egyptian condominium in the 19th century.
• Independence: From British-Egyptian rule in 1956.
• It has faced multiple civil wars, most notably the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), which led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011.
• Government: Federal Republic under Military Junta

Location and Flag of Sudan