The war in Sudan has created extreme levels of displacement, both internally and across Sudan’s borders.
More than 12 million people have been displaced since April 2023, nearly 4 million people—mostly women and children—who have fled to neighbouring countries. Sudan plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It has led to a famine and claims of a genocide in the western Darfur region. More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Sudan is one of the largest countries in North East Africa covering an area of 1.9 million square meters. It borders seven countries and the Red Sea with the river Nile flowing through it making it strategically important for some foreign powers. It has a majority of Muslim population and Arabic and English are the most widely spoken languages. In spite of the fact that Sudan is a gold producing country it has remained one of the poorest countries in the world. The 46 million people of Sudan live on an average income of $750 per head according to the figures released in 2022. The war in Sudan has made the economic conditions more serious and dire and according to the Sudanese Finance Minister state revenues have shrunk by 80%.
The raging civil war in Sudan is the latest tragedy that has struck this country after the political tensions that followed the 2019 ouster of the long ruling President Omar Al-Bashir who had taken control of the country in a military coup in 1989. After violent street protests against his regime his thirty years rule ended with an army coup. After him civil society continued to campaign for parliamentary democracy and finally a joint civil-military govt. was established that was ousted in another coup in October 2021. The architects and brains behind this coup were two powerful individuals who now spear head the present conflict namely General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan the chief of the armed forces and the head of state and his deputy RSF leader General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo known as “Hemedti”.
Later on these two stalwarts had a difference of opinion about the direction the country was going in and the move towards a civilian elected Govt. The main dispute was about how to incorporate the 100000 strong RSF into the national army and who would then lead the new army. The truth appears to be that both these generals wanted to hang on to power and were not willing to let go of their wealth and immense influence. War between the two sides began on 15th April 2023 after many days of tensions as the RSF was redeployed around the country and this move was seen as a threat by the army high command. It is not known who fired the first shot but the fighting grew more vicious and violent and the RSF captured much of the capital city of Khartoum and after bitter fighting the army regained control after two years in 2025.
The RSF was formed in 2013 and has its origins in the notorious Janjaweed militia that brutally fought rebels in Darfur, where they were accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the region’s non-Arab population. Since then, Gen Dagalo has built a powerful force that has intervened in conflicts in Yemen and Libya. He also controls some of Sudan’s gold mines and allegedly smuggles the metal to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The army accuses the UAE of backing the RSF and carrying out drone strikes in Sudan. The oil-rich Gulf state denies the allegation. The army also accuses eastern Libyan strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar of supporting the RSF by helping it to smuggle weapons into Sudan and sending fighters to bolster the RSF.
In early June 2025, the RSF achieved a major victory when it took control of territory along Sudan’s border with Libya and Egypt. The RSF also controls almost all of Darfur and much of neighboring Kordofan. It has declared plans to form a rival government, raising fears that Sudan could split for a second time – South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it most of the country’s oil fields. The military controls most of the north and the east. Its main backer is said to be Egypt, whose fortunes are intertwined with those of Sudan because they share a border and the waters of the River Nile.
The gold trade connects Sudan’s civil war to the wider region and highlights the roles that commodities play in perpetuating violent conflict. Even before the start of the civil war in 2023, Sudan’s main warring parties – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – were in competition for the country’s natural resources. In fact, the fight to control gold assets was one of the drivers of the conflict. Small-scale gold mining makes up the majority of the gold that Sudan produces, most of which ends up in the UAE, either directly or indirectly via neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and South Sudan. The UAE and Egypt have significant influence and support opposing parties to the civil war. While both countries benefit in the short term from the gold trade, further fragmentation of Sudan will be detrimental to their long-term goals in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region. These external actors are key to achieving a sustainable peace in Sudan, but this will require a regional approach and the establishment of an effective international coalition.
—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad
