Sudan’s civil war fought since April 2023 between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) , has ground the country into one of the world’s deadliest and most under-reported crises. Analysts warned early that without sustained diplomacy and access for aid, the conflict would metastasize and that is exactly what happened.
What “forgotten” really means
“Forgotten” is not hyperbole. Global attention keeps swinging elsewhere while Sudan is battered by urban warfare, ethnic massacres, and siege tactics that deliberately starve civilians. This war is rooted in decades of impunity: both the SAF officer corps and the RSF descend from the security architecture built under Omar al-Bashir who was overthrown by the December revolution in 2019. Both warring sides have repeatedly fought in densely populated areas with disregard for civilian life.
The scale of the humanitarian disaster
Displacement: By late July 2025, nearly 10 million people were internally displaced, one of the largest displacement crises on earth on top of millions previously uprooted by earlier conflicts.
Hunger and famine: UN-backed analysts have confirmed famine in parts of North Darfur (including Zamzam camp) and projected continued or expanding famine conditions through 2025 if access and assistance do not improve. In and around El Fasher, conditions for children are catastrophic after prolonged siege.
Aid shortfalls and blocked access: The 2025 humanitarian plan sought $4.2 billion to reach ~20.9 million of the most vulnerable people, yet funding and access remain grossly inadequate; both parties have used bureaucratic restrictions, sieges, and looting to constrain life-saving aid.
The besieged city of El Fasher has become emblematic: satellite imagery and ground reporting point to escalating atrocities and engineered starvation; half the remaining population are children, many acutely malnourished, while roads and corridors are repeatedly cut.
Suspected use of chemical weapons
In May 2025, the United States formally determined that the Government of Sudan used chemical weapons in 2024, triggering sanctions under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act. A Federal Register notice followed in June. The UK told the OPCW Executive Council it was “deeply concerned” by the U.S. determination and urged a thorough investigation. Sudan’s authorities have denied the allegation and asked for evidence. These claims remain contested and require independent, unfettered verification, but they underscore how far the conflict has slid.
If confirmed, the use of chemical agents would be a grave breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention and another marker of the war’s normalization of atrocity tactics.
How we got here: the logic of a “proxy-tinged” war
The war is not only a grudge match between two generals. It is fed by regional meddling, arms flows, and gold revenues, and it exploits Sudan’s long-standing center-periphery inequalities. Chatham House warned in early 2024 that without a coordinated diplomatic push, hard-liners would keep blocking compromise, while both sides weaponized hunger and access. That warning proved prescient.
What needs to change now
Protect civilians and open access
Press both SAF and RSF to lift sieges, end bombardment of urban areas, and allow cross-border and cross-line aid as a matter of urgency. Monitor and enforce commitments; access must be needs-based, not permission-based. (Chatham House)
Resource the response at scale
Close the funding gap for the 2025 response and surge support to front-line Sudanese civil society (Emergency Response Rooms, women-led groups) that are sustaining communities under fire.
Accountability and deterrence
Back UN investigations and the ICC on mass atrocities, including ethnic killings in Darfur, conflict-related sexual violence, and any alleged chemical weapons use. Sanctions should be targeted, coordinated, and tied to clear benchmarks: end sieges, cease starvation crimes, and stop attacks on health and aid workers. (Chatham House)
A real diplomatic track
Re-energize a coherent mediation architecture (AU–IGAD–UN with key regional states) to impose costs for spoilers and support a civilian-led transition rather than a warlord bargain. Piecemeal ceasefires without monitoring have already failed. (Chatham House)
What you can do
Keep Sudan in your sights. Share reliable updates from UN OCHA, UNICEF, WFP, and independent humanitarian monitors. Visibility drives funding and political will. Support trusted responders. If you can, donate to organizations delivering on the ground,e.g., MSF/Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, WFP—and to Sudanese mutual-aid networks that are getting food and medicine into besieged areas.
Push your representatives. Ask for increased funding, pressure for humanitarian access, and accountability for starvation tactics and any prohibited weapons use.
Counter disinformation. Share evidence-based reporting on El Fasher and Darfur; elevate Sudanese journalists and rights defenders whose work is documenting crimes in real time.
Celebrate Sudan and the December revolution
In December we trust – Celebrating the Sudanese December Revolution https://open.spotify.com/album/0N0OMITiD0bQd5EV9ooRp8?si=c_5Rp6BpSly1jNGzOUlMDA
Love for Sudan – Tribute to the beautiful country of Sudan https://youtu.be/K7IE5iY-KLs?si=7gG5dOOAdTQ1Rg6I
Don’t look away
Sudan’s people are not a headline to be rotated in and out. The war is destroying a nation and destabilizing a region; its worst abuses grow in darkness. Keep an eye on Sudan, talk about it, donate if you can, write to officials, show up for Sudanese communities where you live. Small acts of attention compound. They help pry open corridors for aid, stiffen diplomatic spines, and keep alive the demand that this war must end, on terms that protect civilians and restore a path to a civilian-led future.
Sources & further reading
Chatham House: Sudan’s forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed (Mar 14, 2024). (Chatham House)
HHR Journal: A Forgotten War: Sudan’s Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis (July 1, 2025). (HHR Journal)
UNICEF/AP/FT reporting on El Fasher and child malnutrition (Aug–Sep 2025). (AP News, Financial Times)
IOM DTM: IDP totals (Mobility Update 20, Aug 25, 2025). (dtm.iom.int)
OCHA: 2025 Humanitarian Needs & Response Plan (summary). (UN OCHA)
IPC Famine Review Committee & FEWS NET alerts on famine in North Darfur (2024–25). (IPCInfo, fews.net)
U.S. determination & sanctions on chemical weapons use; UK statement at the OPCW; Sudan’s denial. (Reuters, GovInfo, State.gov, GOV.UK, Sudan Tribune)
CAFOD, Guardian op-ed, Modern Diplomacy (perspectives and advocacy). (cafod.org.uk, The Guardian, Modern Diplomacy)