Sudan Faces Dire Humanitarian Crises

Sudan is facing one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world right now. There are genocides, famines and displacement crises that have been happening since April 2023 because of a civil war. These issues started in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly began to spread in places like Darfur, North Kordofan and Gezira state. The civil war happened because the Rapid Security Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fought over who would control Sudan.

The shooting started on April 15, 2023 and it is still unknown who started it. Satellite images had been taken by Yale's humanitarian research lab from late October to early November 2025 and human rights groups revealed the mass killings and streets smeared with blood and piles of dead bodies.

“The main sticking points were plans to incorporate 100,000 strong RSF into the army, and who would then lead the new force,” reported BBC.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the SAF, and General Mohamed Hamdam “Hemedti” Dagalo, who led the RSF, formed a coup to overthrow a military-civilian government because civilians wanted to end former dictator Omar al-Bashirs’ rule.

The SAF is Sudan's military forces while the RSF is a paramilitary group that was created to fight in the Darfur war and against rebel groups. Disagreements occurred between Dagalo and Burhan on forming a civilized government and how the RSF would be implemented into Sudan’s national army.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been accused of supporting the RSF, but they have rejected these accusations. However, it has been reported that the UAE funded the RSF by funneling weapons through Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Uganda. According to a United Nations report, these weapons included drones,

anti-aircraft missiles, mortars and various types of weapons and ammunition. Russia has also been supplying weapons and using their military support to the RSF to spread its influence in Africa.

On the other hand, countries like Turkey, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt had been backing the SAF with military, economic and diplomatic support.

Sudan also faces exploitation from the UAE. The UAE exploits them off their resources such as gold, agriculture and minerals; it also owns land and farming operations in Sudan. Because of the oil collapse in the 2010s, gold is used for trade between Sudan's military and political aristocrats.

According to Swiss Info, “Swissaid says its latest finding confirms ‘the role of the UAE as a major destination of Sudanese smuggled gold,’ as documented in its African Gold Report published in May 2025.”

Another issue is the RSF’s attempts of ethnic cleansing. The RSF targets the Massalit, Fur, Zaghawa and other ethnic groups that are non-Arab. Towns in Darfur such as Ardamata, El Geneina, Misterei and Tandelti have been affected by the RSF. These genocides correlate to the Darfur ethnic cleansing in 2003 when the Sudanese government killed the Darfuri people.

Farming and agricultural production had also been stopped due to trade causing economic disruption and blocking humanitarian aid. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), children are the most susceptible to famine. Annually, 2.9 million children in Sudan are famished and malnourished. The RSF is also withholding aid delivery across Sudan. International organizations are having difficulty reaching 90% of people struggling with famine.

9 million people have been displaced to Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Civilians were arrested unjustly and forcibly as they were trying to escape.

People also were raped, tortured, and looted; women and girls are more prone to sexual violence. Rape and sexual slavery occured days after the war. The sexual crimes the SAF had been accused of equates to the war crimes that were committed. International efforts to this issue had been futile as the United States Agency for International Development was cut, diminishing the access for sexual health care.

“Women are not leading or participating in this war, but it is women who are suffering the most,” expressed a sexual violence survivor from Omdurman, Sudan. “I want the whole world to know about the suffering of Sudanese women and girls to ensure that all the bad men who raped us are punished…that I cannot cope with that.”

As this war goes on, there are many people in Sudan who are suffering and living through terrible circumstances.

Photo from UNHCR | Families are displaced in the midst of Sudan’s humanitarian crisis.