The conflict began when fighting erupted between Sudan's regular army, the Sudanese Armed Forces commanded by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. The confrontation that had been building for years finally exploded into open warfare, transforming Africa's third-largest country into a battlefield.
The Origins of Sudan's Crisis
To understand the current war, it is necessary to look beyond 2023. Sudan spent nearly three decades under President Omar al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 military coup. His government was characterised by authoritarian rule, political repression and prolonged conflicts, most notably in Darfur in western Sudan.
The Darfur conflict, which began in 2003, created the conditions from which the RSF eventually emerged. Another group that emerged was the Janjaweed militias, accused of widespread atrocities against civilians in Darfur, which reorganised and was incorporated into a formal paramilitary structure. The RSF was officially established in 2013, with Hemedti becoming its most powerful commander. This gave Hemedti an armed force outside the conventional army and helped transform him from a regional militia commander into one of Sudan's most powerful political and military figures.
The Fall of Omar al-Bashir
In December 2018, Sudanese protesters began demonstrating against rising prices and deteriorating economic conditions. The protests quickly developed into a nationwide movement demanding an end to Bashir's rule. In April 2019, the military removed Bashir from power.
After Bashir's removal, General Burhan emerged as the leading figure within the military establishment, while Hemedti became his deputy in the transitional authorities. Sudan's protesters, however, wanted something fundamentally different: a transition to civilian democratic government. The military and civilian movements eventually agreed to share power, with Abdalla Hamdok becoming prime minister, but the arrangement remained fragile.
Burhan and Hemedti Become Rivals
The relationship between Burhan and Hemedti gradually deteriorated. At the centre of their dispute was the future of Sudan's security forces and the proposed integration of the RSF into the regular army. The two commanders disagreed over how quickly the RSF should be absorbed into the army and who would ultimately control Sudan's military establishment.
In October 2021, Burhan and his allies staged another coup, ending the civilian-military transition. Subsequently, Burhan and Hemedti began to grow greatly apart, and their rivalry continued to deepen, becoming more open to those who had earlier witnessed their camaraderie. By early 2023, both sides were positioning forces around Khartoum and other strategic locations. On April 15, the confrontation became an open war.
How the War Spread Across Sudan
The first major battles erupted in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, as SAF and RSF fighters fought for control of military bases, government buildings, airports and strategic roads. Fighting quickly spread to neighbouring Omdurman and Khartoum North, also known as Bahri. The capital became one of the principal battlefields of the war, with residential areas falling under artillery, airstrikes and ground fighting, while electricity, water supplies, hospitals and markets collapsed.
The violence then spread into other regions, including Gezira, Sennar, Kordofan and Darfur. As the war expanded, Sudan increasingly became divided into areas controlled by rival armed authorities rather than one functioning national government.
The Battle for the Capital
Khartoum holds enormous political and symbolic importance. It is the seat of Sudan's national government and contains major military installations, ministries, diplomatic facilities and critical infrastructure. For much of the first two years of the war, the RSF controlled large parts of the capital while the army struggled to regain territory.
The SAF eventually launched major counteroffensives and recaptured significant parts of Khartoum and its surrounding areas. By 2025, the army had regained control of the capital, allowing Burhan's government to return from Port Sudan, the Red Sea city that had served as the wartime administrative centre. The military's return to Khartoum represented one of the most important SAF victories of the war, but it did not end the conflict because the RSF remained powerful across western Sudan.
Darfur Bears Decades of Devastation
Few regions have suffered as deeply as Darfur. The western region was already devastated by the conflict that began under Bashir in 2003. More than two decades later, the new war brought another wave of violence. The RSF expanded its control across much of Darfur, with local communities becoming trapped between two rival armed groups.
The Sudan conflict has frequently taken on an ethnic dimension, particularly in areas where Arab and non-Arab communities have been targeted. The RSF and allied forces have faced accusations of mass killings, sexual violence, forced displacement and other serious violations against civilians. Government-leaning SAF and allied groups have also been accused of abuses, including indiscriminate attacks and violations against civilian areas.
The city of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, became one of the most important battles of the war. For more than a year, the city remained a major SAF stronghold surrounded by RSF territory. However, in October 2025, RSF forces captured the army's headquarters in El Fasher after a prolonged siege, effectively removing the last major SAF stronghold in Darfur. This development strengthened the RSF's position across western Sudan and deepened the country's territorial division.
The fall of El Fasher also triggered further displacement. Tawila, in North Darfur, became one of the largest displacement hubs in the region, hosting more than 715,000 people who had fled fighting around El Fasher, according to reports from the United Nations.
The War Moves Toward Kordofan
As the battlefield changed, Kordofan emerged as another important region in the conflict. The three Kordofan states—North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan—form an important artery connecting Darfur with central Sudan and provide important trading routes toward Khartoum. Control of the region therefore possesses enormous military importance.
The city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, is particularly significant because of its strategic location between Darfur and Khartoum. South Kordofan also remains a major conflict zone, with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, controlling territory in the Nuba Mountains and maintaining alliances with forces opposed to the army. The fighting in Kordofan has created new displacement and raised fears that the region could become the next major centre of the war.
Who Controls Sudan
Sudan is now effectively divided between competing military and political authorities. The SAF, under Burhan, controls Khartoum and large parts of eastern and central Sudan, including areas around the Red Sea and the administrative centre in Port Sudan. The RSF, under Hemedti, controls most of Darfur and has expanded its influence toward Kordofan. Other armed movements control or contest smaller areas, making Sudan's territorial map considerably more complicated than a simple army-versus-RSF division. The division has also raised fears that Sudan could eventually become a permanently fragmented state.
The Humanitarian Catastrophe
The greatest victims of the war have been civilians. By 2026, nearly 34 million people required humanitarian assistance, while more than nine million people had been internally displaced, according to United Nations agencies. Food insecurity has become one of the most serious consequences, with reports indicating that nearly 19.5 million people were facing crisis-level acute food insecurity in 2026, with catastrophic conditions affecting communities in parts of Darfur and Kordofan. Millions have also fled across Sudan's borders into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, placing additional pressure on neighbouring countries.
Sudan's healthcare system has collapsed. The war has devastated Sudan's health infrastructure, with hospitals and clinics attacked, damaged or abandoned, forcing thousands of health workers to flee the areas affected by fighting. The United Nations estimates that 21 million people need health assistance, while more than four million people are acutely malnourished. Disease outbreaks, including malaria, dengue, measles, hepatitis B, meningitis and diphtheria, have been reported in several states. Women and children remain the most vulnerable group. The UN continues to document widespread sexual violence, abductions and other abuses, while millions of children have been deprived of regular education and basic services.
The Foreign Hand in the War
The war is no longer purely an internal conflict. Neighbouring and international powers have reportedly developed relationships with the rival sides, supplying the warring sides with weapons and logistical support, which has complicated attempts to end the war. Egypt has maintained close relations with Burhan and the Sudanese army, while Iran has also provided military assistance to the SAF, including drones. The RSF has been accused of receiving support from the United Arab Emirates, allegations that Abu Dhabi denies.
Libya and regional networks have also been identified as important routes in the movement of fighters and weapons. Russia has also maintained interests in Sudan, particularly around the country's gold and strategic Red Sea position. These outside relationships have made the conflict more difficult to resolve because the rival sides have continued to receive resources that allow them to fight.
Gold and the Economics of War
Sudan's enormous gold reserves have become closely connected to the conflict. Gold provides revenue for armed groups and networks operating outside the formal economy. Control over mines, trading routes and border crossings can therefore translate directly into military power. For Hemedti and the RSF, gold has historically been an important source of wealth and influence. The wider gold trade connects Sudan to regional markets, particularly the United Arab Emirates, making the conflict part of a much larger economic network.
Why Peace Has Proved So Difficult
Several attempts have been made to negotiate a ceasefire, including talks supported by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and other international actors. But negotiations have repeatedly failed to produce a lasting settlement. The central problem is that neither Burhan nor Hemedti has been willing to surrender the military power necessary to dominate Sudan's post-war political order.
The two sides also have fundamentally different visions for the future. The SAF insists that the RSF must be dismantled or integrated into the national army. The RSF, meanwhile, seeks a political arrangement that would prevent the army and its allies from monopolising power.
What Happens to Sudan Now
Sudan's future remains uncertain. A military victory by either side could theoretically reunify the country, but rebuilding Sudan after years of destruction would be an enormous challenge. Millions of people have lost homes and livelihoods. Infrastructure has been destroyed, government institutions have weakened and entire communities have been displaced to such a large extent that even a ceasefire would not immediately solve the humanitarian crisis.
Sudan would need a credible political transition, reconstruction of its institutions, restoration of basic services and a process capable of addressing the grievances that fuelled decades of conflict. Most importantly, civilians would need to regain a meaningful role in determining the country's future.
The tragedy of Sudan is that its current war began as a struggle between two powerful military men—Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo—but its consequences have been suffered overwhelmingly by ordinary Sudanese. From the streets of Khartoum and Omdurman to the displacement camps of Darfur, the battlefields of Kordofan and the refugee routes leading into neighbouring countries, the war has transformed Sudan into one of the world's largest humanitarian emergencies. The central question is no longer simply which general will win. It is whether Sudan can emerge from the war as one country and whether its civilians will finally have the opportunity to build the democratic future that began with the 2019 revolution.
With reporting from United Nations, UNFPA, UNICEF, World Food Programme, Reuters, European Union Agency for Asylum, UK government country analysis and International Crisis Group.
