In the middle of April 2023, the people of Sudan were awakened to the sounds of war between two military forces. General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese Army Forces, and Mahamed Hamdan Degalo/ Hemedti, leader of the RSF, a paramilitary group, began fighting for power without taking into consideration the lives of the Sudanese people. War in Sudan has been an ongoing issue.
In 2003, rebellions in West Darfur were taking place against President Omar Al-Bashir who has been accused of discriminating against the non-Arabs in the region. Al-Bashir responded to the rebellions by recruiting fighters known as the Janjaweed, who were led by Hemedti to stop the “rebels”. The Janjaweed were of course effective in stopping the rebellions by killing, raping, and burning one-third of the entire Darfur population. Omar Al-Bashir was charged with numerous counts of crime against humanity, two counts of war, and three counts of genocide by the International Criminal Court. A few years later the Janjaweed were officially recognized as a paramilitary group with Hemedti still being the leader.
Later in 2019, civilians came together to protest for a change to a democracy, as well as, they did not want to have the military in charge. A caretaker government was established with both generals while the transfer to a democratic government was occurring. However, both Hemedti and Al-Burhan realized that they had to hand over their power to the people of Sudan which would uncover their corruption, finances, and others. They worked together to stage a coup against that transnational government and Al-Burhan took control. Over time, the rivalry between Hemedti and Al-Burhan grew and a plan was established to bring the RSF under the Army’s control. Hemedti and Al-Burhan began going to war to eradicate each other so one could have complete control over the country and its resources.
Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, became a war zone. Businesses and banks were shut down as well as attacks on hospitals. Civilians were being caught in the middle of this war leaving more than 6 million displaced internally and outside of Sudan. 1.2 million people were fleeing to neighboring countries. Food, medical aid, and resources became scarce. Sudan needs about 3 billion dollars but currently receives about 800 million in aid.
The ongoing fighting occurring in Khartoum has caused the RSF and Arab militias to begin fighting in the Darfur region again. This has caused many civilians to be displaced and about seven hundred deaths. Overall, there is an ethnic cleansing happening in the Darfur region leaving many not knowing if they are going to survive another day.