Three years after COVID in April 2023, Sudan was plunged into a civil war. A power struggle between Sudan’s military and a strong paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Tensions had been climbing since Sudan’s 2019 street revolt, resulting in the ousting of Omar Al Bashir, Sudanese president of 30 years, when the military and RSF failed to agree on sharing power and the integration of the RSF into the national army. The main groups involved are the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
This war takes place across Sudan, centering around the capital Khartoum and the Darfur region. Armed clashes broke out soon after the negotiation was unsuccessful, paving the way for street fighting, mass displacements, airstrikes, and a substantial humanitarian crisis.
A U.S. envoy for Sudan by the Council on Foreign Relations estimates the death toll to be four hundred thousand and eleven million displaced, breaking records as the fastest-growing displacement crisis, quickly becoming one of the worst humanitarian crises of the decade.
Global media prioritizes more politically and economically valuable topics. Sudan is a highly exploited country that foreign powers profit from, and yet, it goes blindsided in Western and worldwide media.
Journalists working in Sudan and local media have been shut out of the scene in Sudan and subject to “documented killings, beatings, detentions, and interrogations, with at least 11 journalists killed,” according to the Reuters Institute. With journalists fleeing, vital coverage of the citizens’ abuse is lacking, leaving another crisis for transparency, rights, and awareness.
The displacement has become a defining experience for many civilians, and parents have to make impossible decisions by sending their kids to safety, be it across borders or seas.
Sharing a long border, Egypt has seen many of the asylum seekers. “More than 4,300 unaccompanied and separated Sudanese children have registered with UNHCR,” as reported by the UNHCR. The youngest was seen at five years old. They arrive confused and traumatized, and without any identification.
The silence around Sudan is just as damaging as the violence itself. With the influx of technology, it is important to take advantage of and become aware of the outer world, and not just the bubble we call “home.”
