Since the outbreak of hostilities in 2023, more than 14 million people have been displaced within Sudan and nearly 34 million require humanitarian assistance, accounting for roughly 10 percent of global needs.
The conflict erupted in April 2023 when the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, clashed with the Rapid Support Forces under General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.” Both groups had previously shared power after the 2019 overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al‑Bashir and a subsequent 2021 coup that dismantled an interim civilian government.
Approximately 19.5 million Sudanese are now facing acute hunger, while an estimated 4.5 million have fled the country as refugees. The humanitarian situation has grown to become one of the world’s largest displacement crises.
International sanctions have been imposed on the Sudanese Armed Forces for alleged use of chemical weapons in 2024, a claim the Sudanese government denies. Despite the scale of the emergency, global leaders have offered limited diplomatic engagement.
In the city of El‑Obeid, more than 100 000 displaced residents are confronting a severe food shortage, prompting calls for expanded aid beyond current capacities. Meanwhile, the Darfur city of El Fasher fell under Rapid Support Forces control in October 2025, resulting in over 6 000 deaths during the initial siege.
Recent reports reveal widespread sexual violence targeting women and girls, some as young as 12, including mass and gang rapes attributed to the Rapid Support Forces. Survivors have described abductions, beatings, and forced transport in armed vehicles.
Human rights investigations have documented ethnically targeted attacks that meet multiple criteria for genocide, including deliberate infliction of conditions intended to destroy a specific group. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have been accused of war crimes, including attacks on civilians, execution, torture, and rape.
Humanitarian agencies stress the urgent need to scale up assistance for the growing number of displaced individuals, emphasizing that current support remains insufficient for the scale of the crisis.
