By Rishaan Chowdhury
Sudan is a nation that has been ravaged by violence for decades. The African nation once was a colony of the United Kingdom, as was most of east africa. The British colonizers split the country in two, creating two sections to prevent exploitation of the south – which was underdeveloped – by the north. Unfortunately, British neglect and the integration of northerners into the colonial government resulted in South Sudan becoming more underdeveloped and excluded from British schemes to help develop the colony. The division between the two nations also resulted in northern domination over South Sudan, creating an environment that was unsustainable and destructive. When Sudan became independent from the United Kingdom in 1956 civil unrest and violence was pertinent. Since then Sudan has faced multiple civil wars which resulted in the country's split in 2011. Today the newly founded nation of South Sudan is one of the poorest on earth, a result of the centuries of neglect and underdevelopment that was bestowed upon it by the colonizers and the north. Sudan has always been a nation ravaged by violence and civil unrest. Lately though the violence has erupted again, creating fear that another civil war may come.
Sudan (North Sudan) had been ruled by dictator Omar Al-Bashir for decades when in 2019, after protests and violence, he was ousted from the presidency by a fragile coalition of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Yet before his ousting Al-Bashir had strategically placed rivalries between the Sudanese military’s leaders, ensuring that following his demise there would be no clear ruler, creating a lack of support for ousting him because no group had much to gain. The transition to a civilian government had been slow and enthralled in issues regarding the ruler of the interim government before the elections. Currently the country is being ruled by a council of generals, led by the two generals at the center of the crisis. The main disputes between the generals is in regard to the integration of the paramilitary RSF into the SAF which would create a united army under the leadership of the civilian government and who would be the general in charge of this force. The violence began on April 15 when the RSF was redeployed to locations across the country, a move perceived by the SAF as threatening which resulted in the outburst of violence specifically in the capital of Khartoum. The fighting has resulted in heavy civilian casualties and the termination of many critical infrastructures such as hospitals, water, and food. The fighting has also spread to other parts of the nation, including the disputed Darfur region. Additionally aid services from foreign entities have been stopped creating a massive crisis. The United Nations aid services are unable to operate and most foreign nations have evacuated their citizens. Sudanese refugees are fleeing the country only to arrive in other impoverished countries such as Chad and South Sudan. Fortunately peace talks have been underway in Jeddah, with representatives from both parties present in talks mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Ceasefires have yet to make an impact as all the ceasefires agreed upon have been completely ineffective and fighting rages. The fighting in Sudan is slowly building up to yet another civil war for the ravaged nation and many fear that this war could drag on for a long time. Furthermore, foreign meddling in the conflict can also prolong it, as the paramilitary RSF has ties to Russia’s infamous mercenary Wagner Group. According to American officials the RSF has been getting weapons – including missiles – from Wagner. Additionally, the SAF has fought with the United Arab Emirates’ and Saudi Arabia’s coalition in Yemen, resulting in them being on the receiving end of Saudi and Emirati weapons. The Sudanese conflict’s rapid growth is partially owed to foreign involvement, and as many conflicts all over the globe are, this war may become a shadow war for foreigners.
In 2018, when the Sudanese people inspiringly took to the streets and took down the dictator, Omar Al-Bashir, a shaky alliance between the two military powers promised to swiftly remove dictatorship and bring democracy to the troubled region. A year later that objective seemed closer than ever but five years later, the fragile coalition that was in charge of this country’s fate collapsed and war has broken out once again. Two power-hungry men control the fate of this country, and the democracy that the people fought for so dearly years ago remains a distant memory.