Who is fighting in Sudan?

The crisis began Saturday with clashes between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Tensions have been rising for months over a tenuous power-sharing agreement, backed by international powers, to restart Sudan’s transition to democracy following a military coup in 2021. At the time, the military and RSF had joined forces to oust the country’s transitional civilian leader, who rose to power after the fall of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Now, the RSF is seeking political legitimacy and, similar to the Sudanese military, to maintain control of key economic interests in the country. The fighting between the two factions, which some experts described as the worst in years, has since intensified, and the situation on the ground remains volatile. Water and electricity cuts have been reported, and widespread violence has made it impossible for the wounded to reach hospitals , The Washington Post reported. One-third of Sudan’s population of 46 million is acutely food-insecure, according to the World Food Program. Major hospitals in the capital have closed. Some hospitals were hit in the fighting; others lacked power and supplies needed to stay open. Civilians have reported homes being bombed or coming under fire, and armed men raiding residences and attacking those inside. One resident showed The Washington Post photos of his neighbors, a mother and her two children, obliterated by shrapnel. Another young human rights lawyer was shot alongside seven family members while trying to flee, a heartbroken colleague tweeted.

How many Americans were in Sudan, and will they be evacuated?

U.S. special operation forces helicoptered all staff at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum via Djibouti on Sunday. But as of last week, some 16,000 U.S. citizens, many of them dual nationals, remained in Sudan, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive information. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose agency the evacuations fall under, said Saturday that Washington would “continue to assist Americans in Sudan in planning for their own safety and provide regular updates,” but would not be organizing evacuations of private citizens. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told CBS Monday that “is not safe right now for another evacuation attempt” of American citizens and urged them to shelter in place. The Pentagon said Monday that the warship en route to the Port of Sudan is equipped with a flight deck, hangar and the ability to stage Special Operations forces. “The idea is to have these capabilities offshore available should we need, for example, to transport citizens to another location, should we need to provide medical care, those kinds of things,” Gen. Patrick Ryder said during a news conference Monday, referring to the two deployed U.S. warships.

Who has been evacuated from Sudan?

Besides the U.S., more than 15 countries have also organized daring and dangerous evacuations, some by military airplanes, in recent days. The United Kingdom has evacuated some 30 diplomatic staff members and their families, though about 2,000 U.K. citizens registered with the embassy remain in Sudan, according to Britain’s Middle East Minister, Andrew Mitchell, the Associated Press reported. European countries such as France, Italy and Spain have each organized evacuations of several hundred civilians, including some citizens of neighboring or allied countries. Some of the estimated 10,000 Egyptian nationals in Sudan have sought to take the treacherous route overland to Egypt, according to the AP. The crisis has also forced the United Nations to temporarily relocate some personnel and their families, and to halt much of its operations, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said Monday. He warned of “a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan that could engulf the whole region and beyond.” Sudanese have been left to try to find safety on their own. Anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 Sudanese have crossed into neighboring Chad to seek refuge, the United Nations said Thursday in a statement .

What’s behind the conflict?

Civil war, coups and attempted takeovers of government have contributed to years of political instability in Sudan. The recent fighting is a power struggle playing out between two groups that were once allied and, in theory, meant to merge. The military, led by the country’s president, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is clashing with the paramilitary group RSF, led by the country’s vice president, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is widely known by his nickname, Hemedti. The president and vice president came to power together in the aftermath of former president al-Bashir’s ouster following civilian protests. But tensions have risen in recent weeks because of disagreements about, among other things, an agreement to integrate the RSF into the military. With an air force and experience fighting in urban areas, the military is better positioned over the RSF, experts say. But the RSF is more than just a militia; it has long-standing roots in Sudan, with a history that includes accusations of rape and pillaging of villages in the western Darfur region since the 2000s. The group is heavily armed and is estimated to have about 100,000 members. Both leaders have also amassed their war chests over years , ensuring they have the finances to power ongoing military battles and providing them a key source of patronage. Burhan oversees a network of private and sponsored companies. Hemedti controls a wide-ranging family business, including gold mining. “The way you run Sudan is you pay for a coalition, either in cash or in licensing or in tying them into your kleptocratic network,” said Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University. “If you understand the political marketplace, you understand Sudan.”

Is there an end in sight?

It is too early to say how long the fighting will go on for, said Gerrit Kurtz, a researcher specializing in sub-Saharan Africa at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “For now, there is unlikely to be a reliable truce until one of the parties is in firm control of key state and military institutions in Khartoum,” he said, adding that an active armed conflict could last for a long time. Within 15 minutes of the attempted cease-fire on Tuesday evening, the RSF accused the Sudanese armed forces of breaking the truce with “a sporadic attack,” saying that “we must announce to the international community that the coup forces have no covenant agreement.” Earlier the same day, the general command of the Sudanese armed forces accused the RSF of invading hospitals and civilian homes, attacking diplomats and “using civilians as armor” in the capital. It said that the paramilitary group “dragged us to a war that we have been trying to avoid for a long time.” John Hudson and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff contributed to this report.

Africa

What’s behind the fighting in Sudan, and what is at stake?

By Niha Masih

Bryan Pietsch

Sammy Westfall

and

Miriam Berger

Updated April 24, 2023 at 6:09 p.m. EDT|Published April 18, 2023 at 5:36 a.m. EDT

Led by the country’s president, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, left, the Sudanese military is clashing with the paramilitary group RSF, led by the country’s vice president, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)

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Sudan is facing among the worst fighting in its history as it struggles to transition to a civilian-led government. Thousands of people are caught in the crossfire, stuck in homes or trying to leave the country as it sinks into chaos.

The military, led by president Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, led by vice president Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti) have clashed in the streets over the past week, leaving at least 450 people dead and thousands more injured, according to the United Nations, amid a week of “almost uninterrupted” violence, raising fears of a wider conflict that could destabilize the region. The Pentagon said Monday that senior U.S. defense officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been in touch with the warring leaders.

Foreign governments have organized dangerous evacuations for diplomatic staff and, in some cases, private citizens. On Sunday, the United States said it had evacuated all embassy staff, though it warned it could not ensure help for U.S. citizens still in Sudan — an estimated 16,000 as of last week, a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The Pentagon has also sent two warships to the Port of Sudan, one of which is still en route, and is using aerial drones to scan roads and determine potential land routes out.

One U.S. citizen has been confirmed killed, the State Department said April 21, without providing further details.

The full casualty count remains unknown. Airstrikes, gunfire and artillery have rocked the capital, Khartoum, but the violence has spread to other areas, including the Darfur region. After repeated cease-fire agreements failed, the weekend saw a drawdown amid a three-day holiday to celebrate the end of Ramadan.