Sudan's conflict, explained

How Sudan's top two military men turned on each other

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On December 19, 2018, protests broke out in small cities throughout Sudan amid an economic crisis, eventually reaching the country's capital, Khartoum. These protests posed the biggest challenge to Sudan's longest-serving dictator, Omar al-Bashir, who throughout his regime did everything he could to remain in power. Bashir relied on various security sectors to protect him from being overthrown. However, his plan ultimately failed on April 11, 2019, when the country's army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and a paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces, sided with the protesters and carried out a military coup, toppling Bashir.

The end of Bashir's regime brought hope to the protesters, but they remained skeptical about the men who had overthrown him. SAF’s Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF’s Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (aka Hemeti) took control of the country after the coup and made repeated promises to hand over power to civilians, which would put Sudan on a democratic path. But they continuously delayed fulfilling their promises and instead turned against each other, vying for power in Sudan. The two men have brutally interrupted Sudan’s pro-democracy revolution.

The fighting between the two men's forces started out in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, and spread all over the country. Recent ceasefire breakdowns have led to more bursts of violence, especially in Darfur, a region still reeling from the aftermath of a genocide at the hands of Bashir's regime.

Watch the latest episode of Atlas to understand how their feud has undermined the democratic aspirations of the protesters and put Sudan at risk of a civil war.

Note: The headline has been updated.
Previous headline: The two men who derailed Sudan’s revolution

Sources and additional reading:

This Q&A by the New Yorker featuring Mai Hassan helped us understand Omar al-Bashir’s coup-proofing agenda -
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-failed-coup-proofing-behind-the-recent-violence-in-sudan

This article by Mat Nashed was a great starting point for us to learn more about the recent conflict-
https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/in-sudan-a-deadly-reckoning-for-rival-forces/

Local reporting by Radio Dabanga kept us up-to-date with the day to day of the conflict -
https://www.dabangasudan.org/en

This paper by Global Witness provided us with information on how the RSF became wealthy
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/conflict-minerals/exposing-rsfs-secret-financial-network/

We found the International Crisis Group’s in depth reporting analyses and commentary very useful throughout our reporting and research -
https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/sudan

Keeping up with Ism’ail Kushkush’s and Yousra Elbagir’s reporting throughout the revolution helped us understand the lead up towards Burhan’s and Hemeti’s rivalry -
https://sites.google.com/view/ikushkush/portfolio
https://www.channel4.com/news/by/yousra-elbagir


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