• Sudan’s army recaptured the presidential palace in Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on March 20, dealing a major blow to the paramilitaries.

• In the nearly two years since, the war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million, including more than half of the estimated pre-war population of greater Khartoum.

• The capture of the Republican Palace, a compound along the Nile River that was the seat of government before the war erupted and is immortalised on Sudanese banknotes and postage stamps, marks another battlefield gain for Sudan’s military.

• However, it likely doesn't mean the end of the war as the RSF holds territory in Sudan’s western Darfur region and elsewhere. 

• Khartoum International Airport, only some 2.5 kilometers southeast of the palace, has been held by the RSF since the start of the war. 

When did the crisis in Sudan begin?

• Sudan has suffered coups since gaining its independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956. Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir came to power in 1989 in one such takeover, which removed the country’s last elected government.

• In April 2019, Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country in autocratic style, was overthrown and arrested in a coup by the armed forces, ending his three-decade rule.

• Since al-Bashir was forced from power in 2019, Sudan worked to slowly rid itself of the international pariah status it held under the autocrat. But Sudan’s economy struggled with the shock of a number of economic reforms called for by international lending institutions.

• Four months after al-Bashir’s ouster, the generals and the protesters reached a power-sharing deal to rule the country through elections in 2023.

• In October 2021, Sudan’s military seized power by dissolving the transitional government. The October coup had upended Sudan’s plans to move to democracy.

• The military overthrew the power-sharing government putting two men at the helm — General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the army and his deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is also the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both were at odds over the process of restoring civilian rule.

• The coup by the generals derailed a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of Bashir, triggering international aid cuts and sparked protests met by a deadly crackdown.

• Tension had been building for months between Sudan’s army and the RSF following the October 2021 coup.

• On April 15th, 2023, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, resulting in the displacement of more than 12.5 million people, including internally displaced people (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees. 

• This conflict exacerbated many of Sudan’s existing challenges, including ongoing conflicts, disease outbreaks, economic and political instability and climate emergencies.

Sudan trapped in a ‘nightmare of violence’

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the people of Sudan are trapped in a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”.

• With a population of 46 million, Sudan is the third most populous country in Africa.

• The situation in Sudan has been in a freefall since the war erupted in April 2023.

• The people of Sudan face an ever-deepening crisis as the relentless war between rival militaries pushes the country further into chaos.

• Over 30 million people — over two thirds of the total population — are in need of assistance, from health to food and other forms of humanitarian support.

• The country is facing extreme shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel and more than half the population (25.6 million) are facing acute food insecurity, including 8.5 million of them at emergency levels. 

• More than 12.5 million people have been displaced. This includes more than 8.9 million people displaced within Sudan and 3.4 million people who fled to neighboring countries.

• Disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria and dengue fever, are spreading quickly due to the collapse of the health system.

• The exodus from Sudan has put pressure on surrounding countries to provide assistance to all those in need of shelter and basic services.

• The war has unleashed a severe hunger crisis, affecting millions. Large swathes of fertile croplands lay fallow as families have either fled for safety or lack seeds, fertilizers and other necessities.

• Access for aid workers and supplies also remains a major challenge.

• The socio-economic outlook of the country is growing more dire by the day. Full-time employment across Sudan has plummeted by half and only one in seven urban households have access to the health services they need.

• With two-thirds of the fighting concentrated in cities and towns of over 100,000 inhabitants, understanding the impacts of the war on urban livelihoods is crucial to address both immediate economic challenges and long-term development obstacles.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)