Prior to the 2011 secession of South Sudan, Sudan—as it was then known—was the largest country in Africa, covering a full eight percent of its land mass. If the developments of the past few days are any indication, tensions in every directional corner of the nation could cause it to become the smallest.
Sudan’s plans for democracy have been placed on hold since the events of October 2021, when the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the (paramilitary) Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief Lt. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, collaborated to wield their power over the country.
Each group has had designs on controlling Sudan since 2021 under the guise of cooperation with each other, as this became painfully obvious over the past week. On Thursday, the army announced that the RSF had made unauthorized advances in the cities of Khartoum and Merowe, which led to open, violent conflict on Saturday. (Truck-mounted machine guns and air strikes in densely populated areas have since been commonplace occurrences).
Fighting spread to the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan, thus enveloping all areas—north, south, east, and west—of the country. The prospects for an end to the fighting anytime soon seem remote as each side has demanded the other’s surrender.
As of now, the military controls most of Sudan’s economy. Upon the removal of Omar al-Bashir, Europe and the United States expressed an interest in developing Sudan’s abundance of natural resources to their benefit. In recent days, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the United Nations—three World Food Program employees of which were killed by this conflict—have all spoken out strongly against the violence and have urged a cease-fire.
It is hoped that the occurrence of Eid-al-Fitr will suspend at least the most intense fighting, as the citizens hope to be able to move out of their homes to purchase food and celebrate with family and friends without fear of getting killed in the cross fire.
As of Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that at least 185 people have been killed and over 1,800 wounded since the fighting erupted. People injured during street battles streamed into hospitals—those that remained accessible, at least, due to the fighting in the streets—only to find doctor shortages and wards heavily damaged by shelling. At least six hospitals in Khartoum have since closed.
According to reports, a 24h-ceasefire agreement has been brokered and will start at 6 p.m. local time (4 p.m. GMT).