here i am, paragraph guy, i wrote this a while ago somewhere else:

Over the past fifteen years, North Sudan (commonly referred to simply as Sudan after the 2011 split from South Sudan) has undergone a sharp political and economic collapse. When South Sudan became independent in 2011, it took nearly all of the former country’s oil reserves. This was devastating for Sudan, whose government depended heavily on oil revenue to fund its budget and stabilize the economy. Once that revenue disappeared, Sudan was left with a dramatically weakened economic base and far fewer resources to sustain state functions.

From 2011 to 2019, Sudan struggled under its long-time ruler, Omar al-Bashir. With much less money, the economy began to fall apart: food prices rose, inflation soared, and the government could not maintain basic services. At the same time, armed conflicts continued in regions like Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile, adding further strain. During this period, Bashir relied heavily on two armed groups to maintain control: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the official army, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force that had grown from Darfur militias into a powerful, independent force. Having these two armed groups made the state dangerous and unstable, because both were large, heavily armed, and essential to the regime’s survival.

By late 2018, the population had had enough. Massive protests erupted across Sudan over corruption, poverty, and lack of political freedom. Parts of the SAF and RSF refused to continue suppressing the protests. Under this pressure, Omar al-Bashir was removed from power in April 2019 by the military. By that point, Sudan was deeply unstable and already under the influence of two rival armed forces that would later fight for control of the country.

After Bashir’s removal, Sudan entered a “transitional” period intended to move toward civilian-led government. In theory, power would be shared between civilians and the military. In reality, the civilian government had almost no real power. The SAF and RSF controlled the weapons and the territory. They both feared losing influence: the army wanted to absorb the RSF into a single national military, while the RSF wanted to maintain its independence, wealth, and power. In October 2021, the two groups together staged a coup, pushing the civilian leaders aside. With the civilians out of the way, the SAF and RSF were left alone at the top, but their rivalry immediately escalated. Negotiations over merging the RSF into the army failed, and tensions mounted throughout early 2023.

On 15 April 2023, the tension exploded into open war. The SAF and RSF began fighting in Khartoum, and the conflict quickly spread across Sudan. Cities became battlefields, and civilians were trapped in the crossfire. Homes were destroyed, hospitals closed, schools stopped operating, and food and medicine became nearly impossible to find. Millions of people were forced to flee their homes, some leaving the country entirely. Large parts of Sudan are now controlled either by the SAF or the RSF, with no unified government in charge. Both groups act like armed states, and civilians often suffer as a result, caught between attacks, checkpoints, and shortages.

Today, Sudan is in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Millions face famine, disease is spreading due to collapsed health infrastructure, and basic services barely function. The country has no functioning civilian authority, and the war shows no sign of ending. With the civilian-led government removed, Sudan is now effectively controlled by two warring factions — the SAF and RSF — who act like rival tribes fighting for power. Because neither side is willing or able to compromise, and with no neutral authority to enforce peace, the expectation is that this conflict will continue for years, leaving civilians to bear the cost of a state that has effectively ceased to exist. The issue is compounded by the fact that the country has in effect no resources. Sudan must now be considered a failed state. There is no solution.

This post was edited by ferdia on Nov 9 2025 12:51pm