As many as 150,000 people are believed to have been killed and millions displaced.
asserted
millions → believe → ?
The UN has warned that attacks in Darfur bear the “hallmarks of genocide” and the brutality and widespread use of rape as a weapon of war is unprecedented.
asserted
brutality → warn → war
There are no signs of an immediate ceasefire or an end to the conflict, which has been described by humanitarians and Sudanese families as a war on civilians.
asserted
which → be → civilians
How did the war start?
asserted
war → start → ?
Sudan’s war broke out in April 2023.
asserted
war → break → April
A vicious power struggle between Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or “Hemedti”, head of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), exploded into open fighting across the country.
asserted
struggle → explode → country
They joined forces after the 2019 popular uprising unseated the country’s longterm autocrat Omar al-Bashir, forming a joint government with a civilian prime minister.
asserted
uprising → join → minister
At the time there were concerns about a deadly military crackdown on protesters and the involvement of the RSF, that with its precursor the Janjaweed – had already been accused of committing crimes, atrocities, and ethnic cleansing in Darfur, targeting non-Arab communities.
asserted
that → be → communities
(Both sides denied all accusations).
asserted
sides → deny → accusations
By 2021, the two generals staged a coup.
asserted
generals → stag → coup
But their power struggle reached breaking point in April 2023, mainly over plans to bring the 100,000-strong RSF under army command.
asserted
struggle → reach → command
Fighting first erupted in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread across the country, morphing into an international proxy conflict.
asserted
Fighting → erupt → conflict
Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have said there is mounting evidence that the UAE has bankrolled the RSF in breach of arms embargoes, which the Emirates denies.
asserted
Emirates → include → which
The RSF in turn accuses the army of being backed by Egypt and Iran.
asserted
RSF → accuse → Egypt
The front lines have shifted dramatically.
asserted
lines → shift → ?
After losing control of Khartoum to the RSF, the army retook the capital in March 2025.
asserted
army → lose → March
But by October 2025, in the west, the RSF had captured El Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, after an 18-month siege and slaughter.
asserted
RSF → capture → siege
This year, a UN independent fact-finding mission for Sudan said the RSF’s ethnically targeted killings, widespread sexual violence and enforced disappearances bore the “hallmarks of genocide”.
asserted
killings → find → genocide
The SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) and its affiliated militias have also been accused of atrocities by UN investigators, which the SAF also denies.
asserted
SAF → affiliate → which
Since then, the war’s centre of gravity has moved to the Kordofan region, which links Darfur to central Sudan.
asserted
which → move → Sudan
Its position at a crossroads linking the country’s central and western regions makes it strategic.
asserted
it → link → regions
Until very recently, it was almost completely surrounded by RSF fighters and under partial siege.
asserted
it → surround → siege
The city of around half a million people is also now home to an estimated 100,000 displaced people.
asserted
city → estimate → people
But it offers little safety.
asserted
it → offer → safety
The UN has warned that the patterns of violence seen in El Fasher are now emerging in El Obeid.
asserted
patterns → warn → Obeid
Conflict monitor Acled says it has verified nearly 60,000 dead, although other estimates say as many as 150,000 have been killed
-
asserted
150,000 → say → 60,000
Nearly 34 million people across Sudan need aid, while 21 million lack health services; this has led to Sudan becoming the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the WHO
- Displacement: At least 14 million people have been forced from their homes, a quarter of the population, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis.
uncertain
it → need → population
Neighbouring countries host over 4.4 million Sudanese refugees
asserted
countries → neighbour → refugees
- Sexual violence: Conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan is unprecedented in terms of the scale, prevalence and brutality of its widespread use as a weapon of war, according to the UN’s human rights office
-
uncertain
violence → relate → office
An estimated 825,000 children under five are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2026.
asserted
children → estimate → 2026
Unicef has documented the rape of children as young as one year old
- Famine:
asserted
Unicef → document → Famine
Around 20 million people or 40 per cent of the population face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the IPC, the UN-backed global hunger monitor.
uncertain
people → face → IPC
Famine was confirmed in El Fasher in 2024 and in Kadugli, South Kordofan, in September 2025.
asserted
Famine → confirm → September
The IPC warned in October that Super El Niño-induced drought is compounding conflict and driving a growing risk of famine in Darfur and Kordofan.
asserted
drought → warn → Darfur
It also found that the drought now covers more than half of the country
-
asserted
drought → find → country
The WHO has verified 217 attacks on healthcare since April 2023, resulting in thousands of deaths.
asserted
WHO → verify → deaths
In 2026, 37 per cent of health facilities were reported to be non-functional
- Genocide: In February 2026, a UN fact-finding mission said RSF atrocities in El Fasher bore the “hallmarks of genocide” against non-Arab communities
This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project
asserted
article → report → project
The Aporia
