Sudan: World’s Biggest Humanitarian Crisis, Civil War Rages On
Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and civilians continue to suffer the effects of the fiendish conflict. As the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enters its third year, the international community’s inaction has proven catastrophic. Humanitarian agencies, including the U.N. and non-governmental organizations, have sounded the alarm that dire consequences will ensue without urgent intervention.
International Focus Turns from Sudan’s Disaster
The United Kingdom will host a summit in London on Tuesday with ministers from 20 countries on reviving peace talks that have become stunted amid competing global crises, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Sudan’s humanitarian crisis hasn’t commanded the international attention it desperately requires, even as world faces a barrage of global challenges despite diplomatic moves.
The Impact of the Sudanese Civil War Is Devastating
The fighting, which erupted two years ago in Khartoum between the army and the RSF, has wreaked havoc on Sudan’s population of 51 million. There are tens of thousands dead, according to reports, and millions more facing acute food shortages. About 13 million have been displaced, including 4 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
Elise Nalbandian, Oxfam’s regional advocacy manager, said that Sudan was now experiencing the largest humanitarian crisis, largest displacement crisis and largest hunger crisis ever recorded. “It’s shattering every kind of wrong record,” she said.
Virodhi Paddati: Violation of Humanitarian Laws and Universal Suffering
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has already observed grave violations of international humanitarian law, and the sufferings of all civilians that have become hostage of the conflict. Daniel O’Malley, who heads the ICRC delegation in Sudan, said that the scale of the humanitarian crisis is “mind-boggling.”
Darfur and the Dire Food Crisis
Famine now impacts some 637,000 people in Darfur. More than half of Sudan’s population — about 24.6 million people — is experiencing food insecurity, with many teetering on the edge of starvation. Leni Kinzli, the World Food Programme’s head of communications for Sudan, said that Sudan was not receiving the level of international attention it needed because it was competing with other global crises. “Sudan is forgotten,” she said, “whereas every other conflict is in the news.”
Where the War Starts
Sudan’s current crisis can be traced to late 2018, when protests erupted against Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir. Bashir was overthrown by Sudan’s army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF chief Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, in a military coup in 2019. Their partnership broke apart in 2021, paving the way for the ongoing civil war as Hemedti sought power for himself, resulting in rampant bloodshed and chaos.
RSF and the Atrocities in Darfur
The RSF, a descendant of the notorious Janjaweed militias implicated in genocide in Darfur in the mid-2000s, quickly made gains in the opening stages of the conflict. The RSF, along with allied militias, have attacked other non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur, including the Masalit people, with horrific atrocities such as gang rapes and extrajudicial killings.
A United Nations report in November 2024 laid out the systemic abuse of women and children, with militia fighters asserting that they sought to “force women to have Arab babies.” Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have been accused of committing war crimes, intensifying the suffering of civilians caught in the crossfire.
US Declares Genocide, International Complicity
In January 2025, the US officially said that the RSF’s conduct in Sudan constituted genocide, in what has become the second such genocide since Sudan turned into the killing fields of a region of people less than three decades ago. The RSF reportedly received weapons from UAE, and Emirati passports have been discovered on the battlefield. The UAE has denied involvement in the war, though.
Global Call to Urgent Action
And as Sudan languishes, now is when the world urgently needs to act. The war has crippled the country’s infrastructure and forced millions into desperate need of food, shelter and medical care. With the world’s efforts divided among numerous crises, Sudan’s humanitarian needs are at risk of being deprioritized, leaving millions of people facing an uncertain and dangerous future.
To read more about Sudan’s ongoing crisis and how you can help, please visit leading humanitarian organizations including Oxfam and the World Food Programme.
