Sudan: war, hunger, and atrocities the world cannot ignore.
- the Observatory for Human Rights
- Aug 15
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 8
Sudan is gripped by a bloody conflict that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The violence has already claimed over 150,000 lives, most of them civilians, and has left vast areas of the country in a state of devastation.
Today, around 33 million people (two-thirds of the population) depend on external assistance to survive. Agricultural regions have been rendered barren due to bombings, fires, and forced displacement. Humanitarian corridors are often blocked, and in some communities people are surviving on livestock feed, which has itself become scarce on local markets.
One of the most tragic incidents occurred at the Abu Shouk displacement camp in North Darfur, where RSF fighters opened fire on unarmed civilians. Dozens were killed and many more injured, while survivors reported a complete lack of protection from the authorities and severe delays in receiving medical assistance.
Field reports from aid workers and journalists point to the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Women and girls have been abducted during raids, subjected to gang rape, and in some cases killed afterwards. Humanitarian organizations also report arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, with entire families left without news of their loved ones for months.
Evidence gathered so far indicates the presence of mass graves in several locations, containing the bodies of civilians who were executed by gunfire or burned. These findings reinforce allegations of war crimes and possible acts of ethnic cleansing directed at the RSF and other armed groups involved in the conflict.
Despite the severity of the crisis, the international response remains fragmented. Aid agencies continue to call for unrestricted access to the hardest-hit areas, but military blockades and violence against convoys have prevented the delivery of food and medicine. NGOs warn that without swift and large-scale intervention, Sudan could face a famine on the scale of Ethiopia’s in the 1980s.
The destruction of healthcare and education infrastructure, the mass displacement of millions, and ongoing political instability risk pushing the country into a chronic humanitarian collapse. Analysts caution that the conflict could spill over into neighboring countries, further destabilizing the Horn of Africa. Meanwhile, as global powers hesitate, millions of Sudanese remain trapped in a daily spiral of hunger, violence, and fear.
Information for this report was provided by:
written by Sara Maggetto
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