Sudan’s Ongoing War: Causes, Key Figures, and Human Cost
How Did The Sudan Ongoing War Start?
Here is something the world should know that hasn’t been talked about and emphasised enough in today’s world. This is about the conflict currently going on in Sudan. Sudan is located in the northern part of Africa, and like most African countries, corruption has eaten deep into its system resulting in massive death cases, high risk of insecurity, rape and other social vices. In a report that went viral, it stated that 2,000 people were killed in less than 48 hours.
Shocking right? But how exactly did Sudan come to this tragic situation?
Let’s take a small look at history. It all started when Omar Al-Bashir, who served as Sudan’s president from 1993 until 2019, was ousted in a military coup. Lieutenant General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf took control of the state and resigned the very next day to the immediate favour of Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who instantly became the president as of 2019, and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo became the deputy head of state.
These two powerhouses had a huge portion of the military under their control with Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo as the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) while Abdel Fattah Al Burhan was in charge of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
If you guessed right, then yes this conflict in Sudan is a result of a vicious power struggle between these two military forces, the RSF and the SAF. This conflict erupted in April 2023 due to a disagreement on who would command the force if the RSF merged with the regular army, further increasing its military control and influence. As simple as this disagreement between these two powerhouses is, this conflict has raged on until now.
The Fall of El Fasher: How Sudan’s Conflict Turned Into a Humanitarian Nightmare
The reason it has blown up to this extent is because of a city, El Fasher, which fell into the hands of the RSF, with the SAF failing to gain control of the city and pulling out in defeat. The cost of this victory for the RSF is the bloodshed of the people of Sudan.
Satellite footage from space was able to capture footage of large expanses of blood on the land due to the indiscriminate killings that are ongoing. Rape, physical assault, sexual harassment and assault of women and children, deaths of men, women and children. But the aged, elderly and young are not spared in this conflict.
Many believe the UAE has been lending support to this vicious conflict because of their interest in Sudan’s gold mines, the land for Agriculture, resources, and their seaport for export activities.
These claims have not been confirmed as the conflict in Sudan rages with high casualties. You can imagine that the suffering people are ongoing 460 people were killed at a hospital including staff and patients. Rape cases are being filmed and uploaded online, dead bodies are being paraded as trophies, and all of these horrible scenes are being displayed on social media.
The RSF stated that they are working on measures to protect the citizens, but this is a far cry from what is actually going on in Sudan today. Hopefully, the government of Sudan can strike a common ground and end this conflict.
Cover Image is gotten from X
What's Your Reaction?
