Since April, 2023, Sudan has been descended into a brutal Civil War. Armed clashes between SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) under former army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF (Rapid Support Forces), led by ex-Janjaweed leader of Darfur, General Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti Dagalo have made this country a hell on earth.
After toppling the government of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019, both armed groups struck a power-sharing agreement and jointly ran a civilian–military transitional government with a resolve to make Sudan a democratic country. However, their uneasy alliance unraveled in October 2021, when differences developed over the future of the RSF – specifically when and how to integrate it into the national regular army. On 15th April 2023, these long-simmering disputes exploded into open warfare. The RSF units quickly seized strategic sites in Khartoum – including the presidential palace and international airport –also advancing in central and southern Sudan. By mid-2023 the war had spilled into Darfur and Kordofan. The SAF launched counter-offensives in late 2023, gradually recapturing key towns like Wad Madani and oil facilities. By early 2025 the SAF retook most of Khartoum and vital infrastructure - the main airport, oil refineries though fighting continues on Khartoum’s outskirts and in Darfur.
The war resulted in an unprecedented human crisis of mass displacement. Over 14 million Sudanese left their homes, roughly 8–11 million were internally displaced (IDPs) and about 3–4 million fled to neighboring countries - Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt. The UNICEF and UN agencies term it the largest displacement human crisis in the world. Besides this, indiscriminate violence, widespread rape cases, (especially by RSF fighters which are well recorded), food shortage, lack of education and health facilities are staggering.
Hunger and disease loom large in the refugee camps. The UN and aid agencies have estimated that roughly 25–30 million people (half of Sudan’s population) now need urgent aid. About 18 million face acute food insecurity, and nearly 5 million are in the state of emergency. Millions of civilians lack medical care and clean water. Schools have been closed nationwide, roughly 19 million school-age children are at risk of losing their education, as their schools are housing displaced families. The UN-backed Famine Review Committee has confirmed at least one camp in Zamzam, North Darfur, is experiencing famine and warned other areas may face a similar situation. Chronic malnutrition is skyrocketing. According to UNICEF over 3.5 million Sudanese children will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2025. Aid agencies caution that the coming harvest season may bring ‘famine like situation’ in some more regions.
The basic services and infrastructure have collapsed in the country. Hospitals and clinics are mostly non-functional - about 70–80% of health facilities have been closed or at minimal capacity. Flooding, outbreak of disease - cholera, malaria and economic collapse have compounded the disaster. A MSF (Doctors without Borders) hospital in the Zamzam IDP camp was forced to evacuate after being attacked, which left wounded patients stranded. This situation has already led to preventable deaths.
Currently, Sudan hosts one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes. Despite the emergency, international and regional bodies have done little to halt the bloodshed. Neither the UN nor the African Union (AU) has deployed peacekeeping forces to buffer the conflict. Notably, the AU–UN hybrid mission in Darfur, UNAMID, ended in December 2020, leaving the area without international peacekeepers when violence flared again. The role of the UN is only confined to diplomatic pressure, aid coordination, and public appeals. The UN Security Council has been largely deadlocked. In January 2024 the UK and Sierra Leone brought a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian aid delivery. Russia vetoed the resolution and China remained absent. The US and European powers condemned the veto.
During a meeting in April 2023, the UN Secretary-General, African Union (AU), IGAD, Arab League, EU officials, major powers and neighbors of Sudan agreed to use a joint AU–UN mechanism to stop war. The AU envoys, including Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat visited Sudan several times to push for ceasefire, negotiations and coordination in humanitarian efforts. But it's pleas were ignored by the warring generals.
Unfortunately the international response has been restricted to mere routine words of condemnation. At the G20 Summit in 2024, American President Biden labeled Sudan “one of the world’s most serious humanitarian crises,” and urged an end to arms flow. But concrete action was scant. Even basic ceasefire agreements brokered by the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt collapsed quickly.
The UN agencies and NGOs are scrambling to deliver aid where possible, but facing immense obstacles - bureaucratic barriers, looting, and fuel shortages. For example, OCHA reports major access problems across Sudan, especially in Darfur where trucking in food was nearly blocked for months. Aid convoys have been attacked, and warring sides, controlling relief routes, frequently looted supplies. The UN World Food Program and UNICEF sound the alarm about children dying of malnutrition if relief does not scale up. Yet aid funding was grossly inadequate, only about 6% of the UN’s $2.7 billion appeal, by April 2024. By early 2025, major donors like the US and EU only provided about 6–7% funds.
The international response has been mostly about words and condemnation. The UN officials have pleaded for global attention. The OCHA’s director warned Security Council members that a “humanitarian travesty is playing out” in Sudan. According to a UN official: “Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory, under a veil of international inaction”.
The focus of international media on Sudan’s war has been strikingly limited. Unlike Ukraine and the Gaza Strip – conflicts of intense coverage in Europe and North America, Sudan’s crisis receives scant headlines in Western publications and broadcastings. A Columbia based Journalism Review Investigation notes: “Unlike brutal conflicts in places like Gaza and Ukraine, there has been limited international media attention on the Sudanese war”. The reasons are complex. Analysts highlight factors like geographical distance, racial bias, and perception of strategic interests. A recent poll has found that three-quarters of Americans admit they don’t have any understanding about the Sudan war. A UK survey similarly showed only 5% of Britons even knew Sudan was facing the world's worst crisis. In fact, 77% of British adults were unaware of the UN’s own famine warning for Sudan. This double standard or unawareness gives rise to a pattern that conflicts closer to the West, or involving more powerful states, tend to dominate headlines and attract diplomatic and military responses.
Western media’s silence has been noted by aid workers as well. One UN official lamented that it is very, very difficult to get media attention for Sudan. Many global news budgets now focus on crises seen as geopolitically relevant to their audiences. By comparison, the images of Ukrainian refugees elicit daily coverage. The lack of coverage means that the Sudan crisis rarely figures in Western public debate or aid appeals in the way Ukraine or Gaza do.
Politically, Western intervention has been uneven. Democratic uprisings or coups in Myanmar drew little attention; Sudan’s conflict, despite dire warnings of mass atrocity, has not prompted calls for robust action, like a UN protection force. In the Security Council, some diplomats explicitly cited double standards: one Arab analyst notes that Western response to Sudan’s crisis “has paled in comparison” to Ukraine, provoking accusations of racism. Those in poorer regions often see only humanitarian appeals and condemnation. Refugees from conflict zones in Africa and Asia often face long waits and struggle to resettle, whereas Ukrainians could board buses at EU borders with rights to work and services. This creates a perception that some lives receive compassion and help, while others are neglected.
Sudan’s war is a devastating reminder that not all wars are treated equally by the world. To date, the war continues to spiral with neither side relenting. As millions face famine and chaos, aid agencies warn of a humanitarian travesty unfolding by default. The question remains when the international community heeds Sudan’s suffering with the same resolve shown elsewhere? Humanitarian and human rights groups insist that Sudan’s crisis demands far greater resources, diplomacy, and public awareness – lest an entire nation be left to perish under a veil of international inattention.
Following news agencies, websites have been consulted for writing this article.
aljazeera.com - rescue.orgallafrica.com - apnews.comallafrica.com.
chathamhouse.org - sarabcenterdc.org - orgchathamhouse.org.
globalaffairs.org - peacekeeping.un.orgapnews.com - csis.org.
0 Comments