Sudan Civil War
Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces remain locked in a nationwide war that has shifted across central and western Sudan, with heavy fighting and drone attacks reported in places including Khartoum, White Nile, Kordofan, and Darfur.
Recent strikes and ground assaults have killed civilians and kept pressure on hospitals, markets, roads, and other civilian sites. The conflict is now a prolonged struggle for territory, political power, and access to resources, with both sides rejecting the other’s claim to legitimacy.
Humanitarian agencies and rights groups warn that the fighting is deepening displacement, hunger, and civilian harm, while mediation efforts have not yet produced a durable settlement.
Sudan’s civil war grew out of long-running regional inequality, militarization, and the rise of armed groups under Omar al-Bashir’s rule. The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militias used in the Darfur war, then became a formal paramilitary force that gained resources, autonomy, and a stake in state power.
The country’s political transition after Bashir’s 2019 ouster left the army and the RSF competing over control of the state, the security sector, and the economic networks that sustained both forces.
Their joint 2021 takeover of the civilian government did not resolve that rivalry, and disputes over how and whether the RSF would be folded into the regular army helped drive the breakdown into open war in 2023.
Timeline
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)
The national army and main government-aligned force fighting the RSF across Sudan.
Rapid Support Forces (RSF)
The paramilitary force opposing the army and contesting control of territory and state power.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
SAF commander and Sudan’s de facto head of state.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti)
RSF leader and the group’s main political and military figure.
Emergency Lawyers
Sudanese rights group documenting civilian harm and alleged abuses in the war.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Medical aid organization reporting on attacks affecting hospitals and wounded civilians.
United Nations
International body warning about civilian deaths, displacement, and the humanitarian impact of the war.
- •The Sudanese Armed Forces seek to defeat the RSF, restore central military control, and preserve a state-led authority over Sudan.
- •The Rapid Support Forces seek to hold or expand territory, protect their political and military autonomy, and secure leverage in any future settlement.
Sudanese Army View
The army presents the war as a rebellion by an armed group that is undermining the state and attacking civilians. It frames its operations as efforts to restore order, defend national institutions, and recover territory from the RSF. Officials also argue that outside support for the RSF is prolonging the conflict.
RSF View
The RSF portrays itself as a force resisting army dominance and defending communities that have long been marginalized by the central state. Its leaders say their operations respond to military attacks and deny responsibility for civilian casualties, blaming the army for using populated areas and blocking aid. The group also seeks to justify its role as a future political actor rather than a defeated militia.
Humanitarian and Rights View
Humanitarian agencies and rights groups describe the conflict as a civilian catastrophe driven by unlawful attacks, displacement, and obstruction of aid. They have documented abuses by both sides and warn that drone warfare and siege tactics are widening the harm beyond the front lines. Their focus is on stopping attacks on civilians and securing humanitarian access.
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