Originally published in the Autumn 2024 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 75, printed November 6. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Autumn 2024 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

By Ana Edwards

“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that is trampled.”

This East African proverb is an apt description of what is happening in the Republic of Sudan.

Two forces have been battling for control of the Republic of Sudan since April 2023 when tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the state’s military, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a rebel paramilitary force, broke into all-out war in the capital city of Khartoum, spreading west into Darfur and eastward toward Ethiopia.

Humanitarian agencies report that “more than 11 million people have been displaced” internally, and of those, 2.1 million are now refugees in the neighboring countries of Chad and South Sudan. More than 750,000 are on the verge of starvation, and the fighting has prevented most aid from reaching those in need.

Further, mass killings in Darfur have led to claims of “ethnic cleansing.”

The challenges to Sudan’s quest for independence and autonomy stem from its former colonial status, 1899 to 1955.

After independence was declared, the terms of the independence agreement between Egypt, Britain and Sudan assigned control of the nation’s military and economic structures to Egypt in name, and to Britain in reality.

Add to this the stark contrast of wealth and development in the north while the south struggles with underdevelopment and poverty. Since independence, the nation has gone through two prior civil wars, 1955- 1972 and 1983-2005. The last one killed 2 million people.

In December 2023, SAF and RSF leaders were invited to Djibouti to negotiate an end to the conflict, but the meeting did not take place. In August 2024, the US attempted to host a peace talk in Geneva, Switzerland, but neither faction showed up.

Internally, a group called the Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces (Taqaddum) called for civilian participation in any talks between the RSF and SAF. Together with the RSF, the Taquaddum drafted conditions for ending the war that were rebuffed by the SAF, which refuses to engage in any talks until the RSF withdraws completely.

Fighting continues and the death toll rises. With no end in sight, it seems clear that Sudan’s power struggle has little to do with the welfare of its people.