The Sudanese rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was part of the Sudanese Government from its founding in August 2013 to their defection in April of 2023.
The RSF was initially founded to combat rebel groups throughout Sudan, but by April of last year, the RSF had made moves for power. Muhamed Hamdan Dagalo—the RSF leader whose followers call him General Hemedti—has a history of power-hungry tendencies. With powerful allies like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Hemedti was tired of governing alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces’ leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Instead, he wanted to rule above al-Burhan.
After years of commanding part of Sudan’s military in conjunction with al-Burhan, the paramilitary’s rivalry with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) finally turned into an armed conflict. Both parties were heavily involved with the military, so both sides had adequate weapons and vehicles at their disposal.
In April 2024, the RSF moved into Khartoum quickly, seizing the Khartoum International Airport and the presidential palace, which was later destroyed. Not long after taking control of the airport and palace, the RSF was charged with multiple war crimes by the Human Rights Watch Organization—genocide, ethnic cleansing, attack and destruction of hospitals, torture, and more.
The Sudanese capital city of Khartoum is no stranger to war; in 2019, during the Sudanese Political crisis, the RSF was deployed to suppress pro-democracy propaganda in the city. Ultimately, this led to the massacre of over 128 people utilizing tear gas and heavy gunfire. The Sudanese capital city of Khartoum was the first city to experience the brutality of the 2023 civil war, but it was not the only one. Other cities like Omdurman and Port Sudan have experienced similar jurisdiction of the rebel paramilitary RSF throughout southwestern Sudan or the Darfur region.
The SAF’s response has only fed the flame and contributed to the amount of death and violence. The RSF isn’t the only side committing war crimes though, and the SAF has been charged with similar war crimes. The U.S. Department of State has stated that both sides of the war are only expanding this conflict, causing more death and destruction than there needs to be. They have called the war “needless” and stated that there is no proper militant solution. Further, they believe that both sides need to abandon fighting and abide by international humanitarian laws.
The rebel group RSF controls similar amounts of territory as the government’s military—the Sudanese Armed Forces—and are in a virtual stalemate. Efforts were made throughout 2024 multiple times to begin a ceasefire, in which both sides were invited to meetings involving a ceasefire, co-hosted by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland. Although the RSF had said they were ready to start negotiations for a ceasefire, neither side showed up, and the plans ultimately failed. Until both sides have given up their pursuit of military victory, a ceasefire will not likely be an attainable goal.
The war has gone unnoticed since its beginning due to the previous dictators silencing any armed conflict in hopes that their opposition would not be supported. The dictator at the time of the previous civil war was Omar al-Bashir, who is now in prison for war crimes and political corruption.
The country is currently experiencing a famine and displacement of residents. Refugees often flee to surrounding countries like Chad, which is taking in the largest amount of refugees. Chad is one of the biggest countries for civilians seeking refuge, hosting more than one million refugees worldwide and more than 580,000 refugees from Sudan itself.
Sudan’s war is causing a crisis throughout the country. For the sake of Sudan’s civilians and Chad’s economy, NATO and the UN need to step in and stop the torture, violence, genocide, and unprovoked slaughter.
