Driving the news:
In a statement released Monday, the Sudanese Doctors’ Network said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, were responsible for the deaths of 47 people in Bara, North Kordofan.
Catch up quick:
On Monday, the RSF claimed to have seized the Sudanese army’s headquarters in the city of al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur State. The strategic city has been under near-constant siege as RSF fighters attempt to wrest control from the army.
State of play:
For the past 18 months, the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, have been locked in a devastating power struggle. The RSF has reportedly targeted civilians with artillery and drone strikes while tightening its blockade around al-Fashir, leading to severe shortages of food and medicine.
What he's saying:
The Sudanese army, led by Burhan, accused the RSF of “deliberate actions that have caused acute food shortages and hunger among some 250,000 remaining residents in the city.”
The big picture:
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 after tensions between the army and the RSF over the integration of the paramilitary group into the national military erupted into full-scale war.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and deepened a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations warns could push the country to the brink of famine.
Between the lines:
The RSF, originally formed from the notorious Janjaweed militias active during the Darfur conflict, has leveraged its vast network of fighters and regional backers to challenge Sudan’s central military command. Despite numerous mediation efforts by the African Union, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, no lasting ceasefire has been achieved.
Go deeper:
Sudan has endured decades of political turmoil since gaining independence in 1956, with more than 20 coup attempts and two civil wars, the latter resulting in the secession of South Sudan in 2011. The ongoing RSF-army conflict marks one of the most violent chapters in the country’s modern history.
Zohre Khazaee - Hossein Vaez
