What Is Happening In Sudan?

Violence has erupted across Sudan over the last nine days as warring factions grapple for control of the country.

It has left the international community panicking over how to evacuate its own citizens who are still trapped there, following a precarious mission over the weekend which meant some diplomats (including the UK’s) were safely removed from the country – while thousands of civilians remain trapped.

As the UK’s emergency team Cobra (the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) gather to discuss what to do next, here’s everything you need to know about the evolving situation.

What’s happening in Sudan?

A power struggle has turned the country upside-down.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudan army, has been the country’s de facto president since the military-led coup back in October 2021.

He’s now facing opposition from the paramilitary group the RSF (Rapid Support Forces), a group which actually entered an alliance with the army back in 2019 when longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a pro-democracy uprising.

The RSF and the Sudanese army then worked together to overturn the civilian government in 2021.

The RSF is led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), who is also the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council. He is therefore al-Burhan’s deputy, and together they tried to sort out a deal to end the political crisis following the ousting of the last government.

But they have faced weekly demonstrations, isolation and economic woes since seizing control.

Then fighting between the two finally broke out on Saturday following long-running fallouts over how to govern the country.

Relations between the two sides started to turn particularly sour after it was suggested that RSF should be integrated into the military while moving the country toward civilian rule once again.

This raised questions about who would lead the military during this integration period – and it’s said that the tensions really soared over tentative plans to make Hemedti’s al-Burhan’s equal.

The army also wanted the transition to take two years, but the RSF the integration would take a decade.

Then RSF troops were deployed around the country, a move which the army described as a “clear violation of law”.

The rivalry between the two sides has subsequently spiralled out of control, with the violence first kicking off in a military base to the south of the capital of Khartoum.

Both sides are trying to claim certain strategic locations like the presidential palace, airports and air bases, for themselves and gunfire has been heard across the country.

Millions are now trapped in their home by explosions, gunfire and armed fighters, while streets have been looted and hospitals are near collapse, according to Associated Press.

The clashes have stopped humanitarian aid reaching them too, while there’s a widespread shortage of food, water and electricity across the country.

AP reports that over 420 people including 264 civilians have died and over 3,700 wounded in the fighting between.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said there have been three attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan since the fighting began.

Will there be a ceasefire?

There have been several failures to secure ceasefires, including one across the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Burhan told Sky News: “If negotiations will restore the country and are fair then it’s possible.”

Meanwhile, RSF said it was looking to restore “the rights of our people”.

Widespread reports suggest both generals are unlikely to back down right now – meaning the bloody battle could drag on for some time.

What’s the latest with evacuations?

Many countries tried to get their own diplomats out of the country in a precarious operation on Sunday.

Foreign diplomats, workers and their families were able to pass frontlines in the capital of Khartoum to reach extraction points, or could drive to the east coast to escape.

The UK said that their diplomats had to be urgently removed after they had been targeted.

However, around 4,000 UK passport-holders are said to still be trapped in the country amid worries about how those with foreign or dual citizenship will cope. It has urged those remaining to stay indoors to stay safe.

France has brought out nearly 400 people, including citizens from 28 countries on four flights, while the Netherlands and Germany evacuated hundreds to the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.

Italy, Spain, Jordan and Greece also evacuated several hundred more of their own civilians, although the US said that a government-organised evacuation of US private citizens is not yet planned.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated by the EU, and France and Germany have suggested they might do more flights if possible.

Some of those remaining have tried to go to the northern border of Egypt instead to escape, according to AP, but that’s an exceptionally long drive which only exposes people to the fighting.

What is the international community doing?

The US, the UK, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia (otherwise known as the ‘Quad’) have been sponsoring mediation in Sudan alongside the UN and African Union.

Countries around the world have been calling for both leaders to cease hostilities, respect a ceasefire and begin peace talks.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “We have to continue pushing for a political settlement. We cannot afford that Sudan, which is a very populated country, implode because it will be sending shockwave around the whole (of) Africa.”

Western powers also fear Russia could use the friction to set up a military base in the Red Sea, a move which Sudan has shown interest in recently.