Information related to the recent fighting
Background information
The following reports and articles explain the background of the recent fighting:
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Brief chronology of political developments since 2018
Sudan's years of political strife (Media Report, English)
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Background article on the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces
Sudan fighting: The military rivalry behind the clashes in Khartoum (Media Report, English)
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Brief background article on the power struggle
Factbox: The struggle for power in Sudan (Media Report, English)
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Brief background article on the Rapid Support Forces
Factbox: Who are Sudan's Rapid Support Forces? (Media Report, English)
The most recent documents on the issue
These are the most recent documents from a search for terms related to the fighting: (You can find more, and customise your search under this search link.)
Considered synonyms: al burhan, rapid support forces
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Nuba Mountains: Displacement, aid blocks and hunger crisis
Aid blocked as “unimaginable suffering” grips Sudan’s Nuba Mountains (Media Report, English)
- Sudan’s war [https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/africa/east-africa/sudan] began in April 2023 and pits the national military – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – and allied groups against the paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF),which is armed extensively [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/africa/uae-sudan-civil-war.html] by the United Arab Emirates.
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West Kordofan state: More than 40 people, including children and medics, killed in attack on a hospital
Children killed in 'appalling' Sudan hospital attack - WHO head (Media Report, English)
- The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) blames its opponents the Sudanese army for attacking the hospital, as do two prominent civil society groups, but the army itself has yet to comment on the allegation. Since Sudan's civil war began in April 2023, the scale of suffering is so vast that the UN has labelled it the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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North Darfur and Kordofan regions: Civilian casualties, sexual violence, abductions and looting reported in several areas; the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have launched an attack on the city of El-Fashir after a year-long siege on 15 June 2025
Sudan: Türk warns of catastrophic surge in violence (Appeal or News Release, English)
- North Darfur and Kordofan regions: Civilian casualties, sexual violence, abductions and looting reported in several areas; the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have launched an attack on the city of El-Fashir after a year-long siege on 15 June 2025
- Regionen Nord-Darfur und Kordofan: Zivile Opfer, sexuelle Gewalt, Entführungen und Plünderungen in mehreren Gebieten gemeldet; paramilitärische Rapid Support Forces (RSF) griffen am 15. Juni 2025 nach einjähriger Belagerung die Stadt al-Faschir an
- On 15 June, after a year-long siege, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a further attack on El Fasher, following months of increased mobilisation of fighters, including the recruitment of children, across Darfur.
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Report on the situation of young women displaced by conflict (education; livelihoods; health; safety, security and protection; accessing information and means of communication)
Futures On Hold: How War and Displacement Are Impacting Young Sudanese Women (Special or Analytical Report, English)
- [http://www.womensrefugeecommission.org.] 4 Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms GBV Gender-based violence SGBV Sexual and gender-based violence STI Sexually transmitted infection RSF Rapid Support Forces SAF Sudan Armed Forces GRYN Global Refugee Youth Network IDPs Internally displaced people INGO International nongovernmental organization SRH Sexual and reproductive health AIRD African […] Since fight- ing broke out between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023, an estimated 60,000 people have died.1 In 2024, the Women’s Refugee Commission, in partnership with the Sudan Family Planning Association and Gender in Emergen- cies Group, launched In Her Own Words: Voices of Sudan, a report showcasing the stories of 22 internally displaced and refugee
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Article on the security, political and humanitarian situation amid a strategic stalemate in the war
Sudan in danger of self-destructing as conflict and famine reign (Media Report, English)
- It broadcast pictures of its leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, walking throughthe ruins of the capital's Republican Palace [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crmj0x8jr3wo], which had been controlled by the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), since the earliest days of the war in April 2023. […] The RSF, headed by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti", responded with a devastating drone attack on Port Sudan, which is both the interim capital of the military government and also the main entry point for humanitarian aid. […] Hemedti struck a deal with Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, the veteran rebel commander of the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North, which controls the Nuba Mountains near the border with South Sudan. Their forces combined may be able to make a push to the border with Ethiopia, hoping to open new supply routes. […] Burhan has a big diplomatic advantage over Hemedti because the UN has recognised the military side as the government of Sudan, even when it did not control the national capital. Hemedti's attempt to launch a parallel administration for the vast territories controlled by the RSF has gained little credibility. […] The other big question is whether the UAE will step back from supporting Hemedti. After the RSF lost Khartoum, some hoped that Abu Dhabi might seek a compromise - but within weeks the RSF was deploying drones that appear to have come from the UAE. The UAE is also facing strategic challenges, as it is an outlier in the Arab world in its alignment with Israel.
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Report on children in armed conflict (reporting period from January to December 2024) (developments concerning grave violations)
Children and armed conflict; Report of the Secretary-General [A/79/878-S/2025/247] (Periodical Report, English)
- Support Forces (1) and PRNC (1). […] The killing (752) and maiming (987) of 1,739 children (1,008 boys, 490 girls, 240 sex unknown) was attributed to unidentified perpetrators (813), including in crossfire between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (513), the Rapid Support Forces (510), the Sudanese Armed Forces (409) and Arab militia affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (7). […] Sexual violence was perpetrated against 74 children (1 boy, 73 girls) by the Rapid Support Forces (54), Arab militia affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (9), unidentified perpetrators (7), the Sudanese Armed Forces (2), the Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (1) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North Malik Agar faction (1). 191. […] Attacks on 108 schools (26) and hospitals (82) were attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (71), the Sudanese Armed Forces (31) and unidentified perpetrators (6). The military use of five schools (3) and hospitals (2) by the Rapid Support Forces (3) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (2) was verified. 192. […] Some 38 incidents of the denial of humanitarian access were attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (18), the Sudanese Armed Forces (12), Sudanese Armed Forces Military Intelligence (4), unidentified perpetrators (2), Arab militia affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (1) and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM/N) (1). Developments and concerns 194.
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