Sudan’s struggle being met with international silence

While the world’s gaze is fixed on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, a brutal war rages on in Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country. More than 50 million people call Sudan home but, for more than a year, they have been trapped in a war that has devastated their lives and left them with little hope. Since April 2023, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been battling for control of the nation, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory. Yet this conflict rarely makes the front page of any newspaper. How has this tragedy gone unnoticed?

The war erupted after tensions between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group created by a former regime, spiraled out of control. These two groups, once allies, had overthrown a civilian-led government in 2021. They have now turned their guns on each other in a bid for absolute power. Rapid Support Forces commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, claims the right to lead Sudan, while the army generals insist on military rule. The result is a power struggle with no end in sight. Caught in the middle of this chaos are the Sudanese people, paying the heaviest price as war consumes their country.

Sudan’s civil war is being fought on multiple fronts, with each side controlling vast territories. The Rapid Support Forces holds most of western Sudan and parts of the central region, including the capital city, Khartoum. The army dominates the northern and eastern parts of the country. Both forces have held their positions for months, with little movement along the front lines. As the conflict drags on, the devastating consequences for the Sudanese population are only getting worse.

As the conflict drags on, the devastating consequences for the Sudanese population are only getting worse

Dalia Al-Aqidi

It is important to remember that Sudan was in trouble before the war even began. Decades of political instability and economic turmoil had left nearly 16 million people needing humanitarian aid. Now, that number has skyrocketed to 25 million, more than half the population. And still the international community has done little to help.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited Sudan last week and called the situation a “perfect storm of crisis.” After touring parts of the country, he concluded that the scale of the disaster was “shocking,” while he also pointed out the world’s failure to respond urgently. The lack of basic humanitarian assistance has worsened the crisis, leaving Sudan living through a disaster that few seem willing to address.

The fighting has reduced Sudan’s urban centers to battlegrounds. In Khartoum, once the bustling heart of the country, residents now live in constant fear. Hospitals and medical facilities, already struggling before the war, have been shattered by the conflict. Many have closed their doors entirely, unable to function without the necessary equipment or supplies. As a result, ordinary Sudanese people have been left without access to critical medical care. Those injured in the fighting often die from treatable wounds simply because there is no way to get medical help.

The human toll does not stop there. Sudan’s displacement crisis has reached staggering proportions, with nearly 12 million people forced from their homes. This is the highest internal displacement rate anywhere in the world. About 700,000 refugees have crossed into neighboring Chad, fleeing the violence in Darfur, where the warring parties have waged particularly ruthless campaigns. Villages have been burned to the ground and ethnic tensions are rising as Masalit communities in western Sudan face repeated attacks from militias. These ethnic divisions threaten to turn the war into something even darker — another Darfur genocide.

While international aid organizations are trying to help, their efforts are being hindered by a lack of funding. The UN requested $2.7 billion for aid efforts in 2024, but only 32 percent of that had been secured as of Aug. 1. The result is an underfunded response that cannot meet the population’s needs. Food insecurity, already at crisis levels, continues to deepen. The war has shattered the country’s agricultural infrastructure, leaving 80 percent of farmers unable to cultivate their crops. Millions are now facing acute hunger, with 8.5 million on the brink of famine. In Darfur and other conflict-ridden regions, starvation is not just a threat; it is a reality.

While international aid organizations are trying to help, their efforts are being hindered by a lack of funding

Dalia Al-Aqidi

The violence is not just physical. Women and girls have become targets in this war, with gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence, reaching shocking levels. The Rapid Support Forces has been implicated in a widespread campaign of rape and abduction, turning the crisis into what one international aid worker described as “a war on women.” The scale of this violence has been largely ignored by the global community, leaving survivors to suffer in silence.

The collapse of communication systems has also exacerbated Sudan’s descent into chaos. Both parties have cut off internet and cellphone networks across the country, effectively isolating the population from the rest of the world. These blackouts are not just tactical; they are a way of hiding the atrocities committed by both sides. The limited information that does make it out often goes unheard or unheeded. Global attention is elsewhere.

Despite some diplomatic efforts, including visa restrictions and US sanctions on those involved in the conflict, little has changed on the ground. In October 2023, the warring sides agreed to resume negotiations, but the fighting has continued unabated. The global community must wake up to the reality of this catastrophe. The lack of international engagement and humanitarian aid is not just a failure, it is a betrayal of the Sudanese people. The country is on the verge of losing an entire generation to war, famine and violence, yet it remains hidden from view.

Sudan deserves the same global attention and compassion given to other conflict zones. The stakes are high and, if the world remains silent, this war may become a lasting scar on the conscience of the international community, while the Sudanese people continue to suffer.

The numbers do not lie: millions displaced, millions starving and countless dead, yet the world continues to be silent.

• Dalia Al-Aqidi is executive director at the American Center for Counter Extremism.