This week marks one year since war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the culmination of tensions and contradictions that have existed between the two groups since they seized power from the transitional government in October 2021.
What has been unusual about this war is that it started in the capital, Khartoum, and spread throughout the country. Since Sudan gained independence in 1956, conflicts and even revolutions have originated outside of the capital, which has often led to the insulation of communities in the centre, and arguably the north, of Sudan from the worst ramifications of the instability. Today however, few places in the country have been spared the large-scale hostilities between the two groups, and its impact on civilians has been catastrophic.
As the conflict enters its second year, it has claimed the lives of at least 13,000 people, and more than 33,000 have been injured. With the war intensifying in populated cities, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has risen to more than nine million, and the number of those facing hunger is now estimated to be as high as 20 million. In addition, there are over two million refugees, half of them Darfuri, also facing hunger. Tragically, for the second time in 20 years, there are also credible reports of atrocity crimes, with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) noting that the situation now in Darfur is worse than when the Security Council referred Sudan to the court.
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