Sudan: The War for Influence and Power

Sudan is a country in Northeast Africa. It is real saddening to think how people only get to be aware of a country not because of its tourism industry but because of the war that’s taking place within that country. We must have been used to having some races fight over a land, fight for their rightful ownership of a land. But in Sudan, that is not what’s happening.

In today’s email, i’ll be sharing you:

• Sudan War: Fight for Influence, Power, and Control

• Devastation: How many people have been dragged into the conflict

SUDAN 

Republic of the Sudan is a country in Northeast Africa. As of 2024, it is populated with nearly 50 million people which occupies 1,886,068 square kilometers—making it Africa’s third-largest country by area and the third largest in the Arab League. Its capital and most populous city is Khartoum.

WAR FOR INFLUENCE, POWER, AND CONTROL

The war between the national army, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) which consists of 300,000 soldiers, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are the cause behind the killings of civilians, military personnel, and millions of people fleeing their homes.

You see, the two opposing groups initially shared power until the power struggle took place when RSF’s troops carried out extrajudicial killings which qualifies as crimes against humanity. Their actions have severely undermined their legitimacy among the Sudanese people.

After the threatening situation that’s continuously taking place in Sudan, it even came to the point where the civilians formed an their very own organization that aims to represent civilians in peace negotiations and to ensure the safety of every civilian. This is called “Taqaddum” or the Sudanese Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces, which was established on October of 2023.

How many people have been dragged into the conflict

It's really infuriating when you think that a fight for power can actually cost us innocent people's lives, can cause us to flee our own home just to be safe and alive. Isn’t safety must come from our own home?

When war between the two opposing forces, Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces occurred on April 15, 2023, it caused nearly 8.5 million people fleeing their homes in order to take refuge.

As of April 2024, nearly 16,000 people were estimated to be killed in the conflict including civilians and military personnels.

The war also has created high levels of food insecurity in some parts of Sudan. A total of 17.7 million people which comprises 37% of the total population experiences food shortage, in which 4.9 million are at emergency levels. According to the United Nations, Sudan is currently experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to the acute shortages of essential items such as food, water, medicines, and fuel. Because of the shortage, the inflation has skyrocketed resulting for civilians to not be able to afford such essential items.

Some aid groups are facing difficulties in providing humanitarian assistance because there are blocked access and security risks occurring amidst the war.

There have been several efforts made in order to bring the war to an end, but because of competing interests among international countries, the end might just be far from our grasp. One reason might be that every time that a ceasefire is being negotiated, the two main backers of the warring parties are not present. Implying their unwillingness to achieve truce.