Chaos in Sudan: Who’s Struggling for Power and Why It Hasn’t Stopped?
When rival generals turn a city of five million into an arena for their personal war, as two of them did in Sudan, civilians pay a heavy toll.
In Khartoum, the capital, many are trapped in their homes since violence first erupted on April 15, when fighters occupied some city neighborhoods and fired at fighter jets overhead from rooftops and between buildings. Electricity is scarce, food and water are scarce and there are reports of looting and robberies.
Sudanese and foreigners have fled the conflict zones en masse. More than 1.4 million people are displaced, of which 360,000 crossing to neighboring countries like it Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Thousands of Sudanese and citizens of other countries have fled in hope to Port Sudan, a city on the Red Sea escape on boats to Saudi Arabia.
If two rival generals vying for dominance, the clashes between a paramilitary group known as the Fast support troops and the Sudanese military have rearranged the country with breathtaking speed.
They have also dashed hopes that Sudan — Africa’s third-largest country by area, with a population of more than 45 million — will soon be able to usher in a civilian government.
Several ceasefires agreed by both sides have been regularly violated and fighting continues. The United States and Saudi Arabia announced on June 1 that they had decided to do so to suspend conversations they had facilitated between the two sides in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, “due to repeated serious violations” of previous ceasefire agreements.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in Sudan.
Where are the fights?
Most of the fighting now seems to be taking place in Khartoum and in the western region of Darfur. The military, which has access to aircraft, dominates much of the country, including Port Sudan. But most of central Khartoum is controlled by Rapid Support Forces fighters, analysts say.
The civilian death toll from the fighting has passed 865, with more than 5,000 injured, though the true number is likely much higher, according to the Sudanese health ministry.
In Khartoum, the fighting has left many people stranded at home without electricity or water, and doctors and hospitals say they are struggling to cope. Fighting has been reported near the presidential palace and it was still not clear who – if anyone – was in control of the country.
Aid workers and diplomats, who often managed to stay out of the fight during the tensions in Sudan in the past, have become targets this time.
Who are the rival generals?
The leader of one of the two main rival factions is General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a powerful military commander who has been a de facto leader of Sudan for many years.
Little known prior to 2019, General al-Burhan was closely associated with Sudan’s longtime ruler, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and came to power in the tumultuous aftermath of the uprisings that led to the ouster of the widely despised leader.
Prior to that, General al-Burhan had been a regional army commander in Darfurwhen 300,000 people were killed and millions more displaced in fighting from 2003 to 2008 condemned worldwide for its human rights abuses and humanitarian toll.
After civilians and the military signed a power-sharing agreement in 2019, General al-Burhan became the chairman of the Sovereignty Council, a body created to oversee the country’s transition to democratic rule. But as the date for handing over control to citizens approached at the end of 2021, he proved reluctant to relinquish power.
General al-Burhan’s main rival is Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan, who heads the country’s Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group.
General Hamdan, commonly known as Hemeti, of humble origins, rose to prominence as the commander of the notorious Janjaweed militias, responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the Darfur conflict.
In October 2021, General al-Burhan and General Hamdan united to seize power in a military coup, effectively making them the leader and deputy leader of Sudan. But in recent months they have fallen apart, clashing publicly and quietly deploying additional troops and equipment in military camps in Khartoum and across the country.
Why are many other countries involved in the conflict?
Sudan occupies a central position on the African continent, with a significant coastline on the Red Sea and surrounded by seven countries – the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan – many of which are also under threat due to instability.
It is feared that the new chaos could spread to those neighboring countries.
Violence has already spread deep into Darfur, a region that has been ravaged by its own cycle of conflict for 20 years. Darfur is home to several rebel groups that can be drawn into battle, and it is one base for the Russian Wagner, the private military company. Wagner advised the Sudanese government and gained access to lucrative gold mining operations. Russia has tried to allow its warships to dock on Sudan’s Red Sea coast.
While Sudan has seemed to move from decades of isolation to democracy in recent years, the United States has lifted Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
In recent months, a large number of foreign officials from the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League and the European Union, as well as the United States, had tried to negotiate an agreement between the two generals and urged them to allow for a transition to a civilian-led government.
But the two generals could not agree on how soon the Rapid Support Forces would be incorporated into the army. Instead, they brought their troops to war against each other.
Charlie Savage, Declan Walsh And Abdi Latif Dahir reporting contributed.