Sudan's Forgotten War: World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis

• Sudan faces the world's largest humanitarian crisis with 12M displaced and famine exceeding rest of world combined
• UAE arms supplies to RSF and Russian-Egyptian support for SAF transform domestic war into regional proxy conflict
• International funding at 14% of need while El Fasher siege traps 260,000 civilians behind 68km earthen wall

As famine spreads and millions flee, the international community's failure to act on Sudan's crisis threatens to destabilize an entire region

The war in Sudan has become what the International Rescue Committee calls "the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded," yet it remains largely invisible to the world. Since April 15, 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), more than 12 million people have been displaced, 30.4 million require humanitarian assistance, and famine has been declared in at least ten locations across the country. Despite these staggering figures, international funding remains woefully inadequate, diplomatic efforts have stalled, and the conflict shows no signs of abating.

The scale of suffering is unprecedented. Sudan now faces more people living in famine conditions than the rest of the world combined, with over 635,000 individuals experiencing the most extreme levels of food insecurity. The health system has collapsed, with more than 80 percent of hospitals in conflict zones non-operational. Meanwhile, both warring factions continue to weaponize humanitarian aid, blocking assistance to millions of desperate civilians.

As the conflict enters its third year, a critical question looms: How long will the international community allow the world's worst humanitarian crisis to unfold in near-total obscurity?

The current crisis represents the culmination of decades of instability in Sudan, a country that has endured chronic turmoil since gaining independence in 1956. The nation has experienced 20 coup attempts, prolonged military rule, two devastating civil wars, and the Darfur genocide. The latest conflict erupted amid tensions over the integration of the RSF into the regular army following a 2021 military coup, starting with RSF attacks on government sites in Khartoum and other cities.

What began as a power struggle between two military leaders—SAF's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti)—has metastasized into a full-scale civil war with catastrophic humanitarian consequences. The two leaders had previously collaborated, toppling dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and orchestrating the 2021 coup that removed the civilian prime minister. Their alliance fractured over disagreements about military integration and the distribution of power in a proposed civilian transition.

The fighting quickly spread from Khartoum across the country, engulfing regions including Darfur, Kordofan, and Gezira state. By late 2023, the RSF controlled most of Darfur and had advanced significantly in central Sudan. The SAF regained momentum in early 2024, making gains in Omdurman and eventually retaking substantial portions of Khartoum, including the Presidential Palace and airport, by March 2025. Despite these territorial shifts, no lasting ceasefire has been reached.

The humanitarian toll has been devastating. The UN estimates that tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, though the true figure remains unknown due to restricted media access. Some researchers estimate fatalities could range between 20,000 and 150,000. The World Health Organization documented at least 119 attacks on healthcare facilities between April 2023 and October 2024, though the actual number is likely far higher.

Displacement on an unprecedented scale

Sudan now represents the world's largest and fastest displacement crisis. More than 12 million people have been displaced since April 2023—nearly one in three Sudanese. This includes 8.6 million people displaced within Sudan and 3.8 million refugees and refugee returnees. Around 50 percent of the forcibly displaced population within the East and Horn of Africa are originally from Sudan.

The exodus has placed enormous strain on neighboring countries, many of which face their own severe challenges. Egypt hosts the largest number of Sudanese refugees at 1.5 million, followed by Chad with 773,662, South Sudan with 349,935, Libya with 256,000, Uganda with 72,125, and Ethiopia with 43,159. In South Sudan, most arrivals are returning nationals who had been living in Sudan as refugees.

The conditions facing refugees are dire. More than 90 percent of the 850,000 Sudanese refugees who have arrived in Chad since April 2023 are women and children, with one-fifth of young children experiencing acute malnutrition. "The fact that women and children make up such a large proportion of the new arrivals in Chad is particularly worrying because they are often the most vulnerable groups in conflict situations," explains Aleksandra Roulet-Cimpric, IRC Deputy Regional Director of Central Africa. "Women and children are at greater risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, and they may also face difficulties accessing basic necessities such as food, water and healthcare."

In Chad, the IRC reports a humanitarian situation reaching a breaking point, with the country receiving more than 68,000 refugees from Sudan in a single 30-day period. Chad now hosts over one million refugees, including over 800,000 arrivals from Sudan since the conflict began. Health centers near the Sudan border in Birak and Mile Extension, Wadi-Fira province, are struggling to keep up, running low on essential medicines and lacking specialized care for mental health and reproductive health needs. Meanwhile, over 100,000 children in Eastern Chad are facing severe acute malnutrition as of April 2025.

Inside Sudan, the displacement crisis continues to worsen. Civilians continue to flee El Fasher and nearby Zamzam camp in North Darfur, where the population has plummeted by 70 percent in six months, from 700,000 in March 2024 to 200,000 in September 2024. Thousands of families have fled to nearby towns such as Tawila, which now hosts some 600,000 displaced people.

Famine: A man-made catastrophe

Sudan is experiencing what the World Food Programme warns could become "the world's largest hunger crisis in recent history." More than 24 million people in Sudan are facing acute food insecurity, with over 635,000 people experiencing famine conditions and a heightened risk of death. Sudan has more people living in famine conditions than the rest of the world combined.

Famine has been officially declared in at least ten locations across Sudan, including the Zamzam internally displaced persons camp in Darfur, which was confirmed in August 2024. Another 17 areas are at risk of famine in the coming months. The severe food shortage prevents people from getting basic nutrients, putting them at heightened risk of illnesses and infections.

"This crisis is entirely man-made," explains Eatizaz Yousif, IRC country director for Sudan. "The ongoing conflict has decimated livelihoods, displaced millions, and blocked life-saving aid from reaching those in desperate need."

Nearly 4 million Sudanese children under five years old are malnourished, with 700,000 experiencing severe acute malnutrition—the most dangerous and deadly form of extreme hunger. An estimated 3.4 million children under five are at high risk of epidemic diseases.

The famine is driven primarily by the conflict itself. Fighting has forced farmers to abandon their lands, disrupted markets, caused massive displacement, impacted people's earnings, destroyed public services, and restricted access to aid. Both the SAF and RSF have actively weaponized food, with the SAF imposing bureaucratic restrictions on aid delivery while the RSF has looted convoys and blocked aid entirely.

According to the UN, approximately 19 million people (40 percent of the population) are acutely food insecure, with levels of insecurity highest in West Darfur (64 percent), West Kordofan (64 percent), Blue Nile (57 percent), Red Sea (56 percent), and North Darfur (54 percent). In some areas, residents have resorted to eating animal feed such as hay. In the East Darfur town of el-Daein, medics reported that 13 people died in July 2024 due to severe food shortages in the Lagawa displacement camp.

Ethnic violence and war crimes in Darfur

The conflict has unleashed a new wave of ethnically motivated violence in Darfur, echoing the genocidal campaign of the early 2000s. The RSF and allied Arab militias have been accused of systematic attacks against non-Arab communities, particularly the Masalit people, in what human rights organizations describe as ethnic cleansing or genocide.

In November 2023, RSF forces and allied militias killed more than 800 people in a multi-day rampage in Ardamata, a town in western Darfur. This attack reflected a surge of ethnically driven killings targeting the Masalit in West Darfur. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that current violence is emblematic of the U.S.-recognized genocide in Darfur that killed an estimated 300,000 people between 2003 and 2005.

A UN statement in January 2024 indicated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in 2023 due to ethnic violence by the RSF and its allies in West Darfur alone. Amnesty International verified multiple instances of ethnically motivated attacks against ethnic Masalit people in West Darfur towns including Ardamata, El Geneina, Misterei, and Tandelti, with evidence from survivors suggesting that the RSF and allied militias were behind these attacks.

The violence has included mass killings, sexual violence, looting, and the burning of villages. In June 2024, The New York Times reported that more than 40 villages had been burned in El Fasher since April 2024. A 2024 NGO report stated that over 235 fires had been set in villages across Sudan since fighting erupted in mid-April 2023, with the majority set by militias in Darfur.

On January 7, 2025, the United States officially determined that the RSF and allied militias committed genocide in Darfur. The U.S. government imposed sanctions on RSF leader Hemedti, including asset freezes and a travel ban, and sanctioned seven RSF-owned companies based in the UAE. In November 2024, the U.S. had previously sanctioned RSF commander Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla over serious human rights violations, including allegations of harm to civilians, sexual violence, and ethnically motivated attacks in East Darfur.

The RSF has also been accused of targeted torture and killings of intellectuals, politicians, professionals, and tribal leaders. Notable victims include Adam Zakaria Is'haq, a physician and human rights advocate, and Khamis Abakar, the governor of West Darfur, who was kidnapped, tortured, and executed in June 2023, likely by RSF militants. Abakar had accused the RSF of renewed genocidal attacks against minorities in Darfur.

Sexual violence as a weapon of war

The conflict has triggered widespread sexual violence against women and girls, with both the RSF and SAF accused of using rape as a weapon of war. Human Rights Watch documented widespread acts of sexual violence, including gang rape and forced marriages, committed by the RSF in Khartoum since the onset of the conflict. The organization's 89-page report titled "Khartoum is Not Safe for Women" highlighted the severe impact on women and girls.

Amnesty International documented 16 incidents of conflict-related rape and other forms of sexual violence committed by the RSF between April 2023 and October 2024. Survivors described massive physical and mental harm as well as devastating impacts on their families. The RSF's widespread sexual violence amounts to war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, while the SAF has also been accused of sexual crimes that could constitute war crimes.

In July 2023, authorities reported at least 88 cases of sexual assault on women across the country, most blamed on the RSF, though NGOs estimated the figure could reach 4,400. According to UN estimates, more than 3 million women and girls in Sudan were at risk of gender-based violence even before fighting broke out.

"Our teams in the region describe horrific ordeals being faced by forcibly displaced women and girls when fleeing Sudan," says Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "This shocking array of human rights violations must stop. Help to support survivors and those at risk is urgent, but so far, funding is falling extremely short."

The collapse of critical healthcare services has made it nearly impossible for survivors to access post-rape care or reproductive health services. None of the survivors interviewed by Amnesty International were able to access timely post-rape care. Vital cuts to USAID-funded programmes have further diminished prospects for accessing comprehensive sexual health care.

"Women are not leading or participating in this war, but it is women who are suffering the most," said one woman who survived sexual violence in Omdurman. "I want the whole world to know about the suffering of Sudanese women and girls and ensure that all the bad men who raped us are punished."

The collapse of essential services

The war has devastated Sudan's infrastructure and public services. The World Health Organization verified at least 119 attacks on healthcare facilities between April 2023 and October 2024, though the true figure is likely much higher. More than 80 percent of the country's hospitals in conflict zones are non-operational, leaving millions without access to essential medical care as disease outbreaks surge.

Sudan's Ministry of Health reported over 60,000 cholera cases and more than 1,600 deaths between August 2024 and May 2025. The UN warned of cholera outbreaks in Darfur, spurred by minimal water and sanitation services and low vaccination coverage. An estimated 3.4 million children under five are at high risk of epidemic diseases.

"Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale public health disaster," explains IRC Sudan country director Eatizaz Yousif. "The combination of conflict, displacement, destroyed critical infrastructure and limited access to clean water is fueling the resurgence of cholera and other deadly diseases."

The education system has also collapsed. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of November 2023, the conflict had deprived about 12 million children of schooling since April, with the total number of children in Sudan who are out of school reaching 19 million. Of this total, 6.5 million children have lost access to school due to increased violence and insecurity, with at least 10,400 schools now closed in conflict-affected areas. Schools are also being used to shelter internally displaced persons.

Sudan faces one of the world's most severe education crises, with nearly 13 million of 17 million school-age children currently out of school due to conflict and displacement. Another six million were not enrolled even before the war and risk permanent exclusion from education. As the new academic year began in September 2025, only 45 percent of schools had reopened. Among those remaining closed, 10 percent are sheltering displaced families.

Water and sanitation infrastructure has crumbled, leaving 17.3 million people without access to basic drinking water supply and approximately 24 million without access to proper sanitation facilities. The OCHA estimated that 19.9 million people were in need of water and sanitation assistance.

International response: Too little, too late

The international humanitarian response has been unable to keep pace with the scope and scale of Sudan's crisis. The UN's 2025 humanitarian response appeal for approximately $4.2 billion worth of aid for Sudan is only 14 percent funded. Previous years' appeals also fell far short, with the 2024 appeal receiving only $1.52 billion against a request for $3 billion—just over 50 percent of what was needed.

"The funding shortfall is a crisis of responsibility in which the cost of inaction will be measured in suffering, instability and lost futures," said Filippo Grandi, chief of the UN refugee agency.

The situation grew more dire in February 2025 when U.S. President Donald Trump announced major cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had been critical in providing billions of dollars of humanitarian aid to Sudan. These cuts threaten to worsen malnutrition and famine in the region at a time when needs are escalating.

Despite the challenges, humanitarian organizations have made some progress. From April to November 2023, 163 humanitarian agencies provided multisectoral life-saving assistance to 4.9 million people as well as agriculture and livelihood support to 5.7 million people. In 2024, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners provided $1.8 billion in support to nearly 16 million people in Sudan.

However, insecurity, targeted attacks on aid workers, aerial bombardments, roadblocks, and movement restrictions have severely constrained humanitarian access. The World Food Programme reported that roughly 17,000 tons of food had been taken from storage sites across the country from the beginning of the fighting to early May 2023. Six WFP trucks were looted en route to Darfur in early May 2023. The organization suspended aid operations for a period after three aid workers were killed in mid-April 2023, though it has since resumed operations.

Humanitarian workers have faced harassment, detention, and violence. Human Rights Watch and other monitoring organizations documented increased arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and mistreatment by Houthis since May 2025, including dozens of United Nations and aid workers. The UN relocated its Resident Coordinator's office from Sanaa to Aden on September 16, 2023, to sustain humanitarian responses under constrained conditions, after multiple Houthi raids and detentions brought the total number of UN staff held to 54 by mid-October.

On June 2, 2025, a UN convoy was bombed in Al Koma en route to El Fasher, killing five staff members—a stark illustration of the dangers facing humanitarian workers.

Diplomatic paralysis and the path forward

International efforts to broker peace have been largely unsuccessful. Multiple ceasefire attempts, including the May 2023 Jeddah Declaration mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, have failed to stop the fighting. The African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development struggled to intervene effectively, with Sudan suspending its membership in IGAD in January 2024 over the organization's outreach to RSF leader Hemedti.

A "Quad" initiative involving the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE has sought to reinvigorate peacemaking efforts. On September 12, 2024, the foreign ministers of the Quad countries issued a joint statement calling for an initial three-month humanitarian truce to allow rapid delivery of assistance across Sudan, with the aim of paving the way for a permanent ceasefire. The statement proposed that an inclusive and transparent transition process be launched and concluded within nine months, leading to the establishment of an independent, civilian-led government.

However, neither the SAF nor the RSF has shown genuine interest in a negotiated settlement. The RSF's announcement in April 2025 of a parallel "Government of Peace and Unity" to administer areas under its control has further complicated peace efforts. This move, which included signing a charter and transitional constitution in February and March 2025, was criticized as an additional impediment to the peace process and viewed as an attempt to gain legitimacy and control humanitarian aid distribution.

The UN Security Council has adopted various resolutions to address the conflict, including demands for ceasefires, but these have had little practical effect. The Council receives regular briefings from the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra of Algeria, who was appointed in November 2023. Lamamra has undertaken regional tours aimed at advancing peace efforts, meeting with various Sudanese factions and regional stakeholders, but a breakthrough remains elusive.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, established in October 2023, has documented extensive human rights violations and called on the international community to implement an arms embargo and ensure accountability for those responsible. The Mission conducted 240 interviews, received 110 submissions, verified 30 videos, and compiled dossiers identifying possible perpetrators. Despite Sudan's refusal to allow access inside the country, the Mission carried out investigative missions to Uganda and Chad.

"Let us be clear: the conflict in Sudan is far from over," said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission. "The scale of human suffering continues to deepen. The fragmentation of governance, the militarization of society, and the involvement of foreign actors are fueling an ever-deadlier crisis."

The Mission called on all states to uphold and enforce their legal obligations, particularly the arms embargo mandated by Security Council Resolution 1556. "We urge all States to honour their legal duties—starting with full enforcement of the arms embargo under Security Council Resolution 1556," Othman said. "Those with influence must act now to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law, and to avoid risking complicity in grave violations."

A crisis that cannot be ignored

Sudan's war represents a catastrophic failure of the international system to protect civilians and prevent mass atrocities. The conflict has created the world's largest displacement crisis, the worst famine in recent history, and a humanitarian catastrophe that threatens to destabilize an entire region. Yet international attention remains focused elsewhere, funding falls woefully short, and diplomatic efforts remain paralyzed by competing geopolitical interests.

The consequences of continued inaction are clear. Without immediate intervention to stem the flow of arms, protect civilians, and facilitate humanitarian access, millions more Sudanese will face starvation, disease, and violence. The regional spillover effects could destabilize Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, and other neighboring countries, creating a cascade of crises across the Horn of Africa and Sahel regions.

"Sudan is in the grip of a crisis of staggering scale and brutality," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in February 2025. "A crisis that is increasingly spilling over into the wider region. And a crisis that demands sustained and urgent attention."

For the people of Sudan, nowhere is safe. The choice facing the international community is stark: act now to prevent further catastrophe, or bear witness to one of the 21st century's greatest humanitarian failures. The world's response in the coming months will determine whether Sudan's forgotten war becomes an indelible stain on our collective conscience.