Sudan and South Sudan are not the same country. They were one country until 2011, when South Sudan seceded after decades of civil war. The two countries have had tense relations since then, with conflicts over borders, resources, and security. There is an ongoing armed conflict in Sudan since 15 April 2023, when rival factions of the military government clashed over power and control. The conflict has caused at least 1,000 deaths and more than 5,100 injuries, according to the United Nations. The fighting has mainly taken place in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, and the Darfur region. There is no reported war in South Sudan at the moment, although the country has faced violence and instability since its independence in 2011.
South Sudan is facing a humanitarian crisis as more than 40,000 people have fled from Sudan since the conflict began in April 2023. Many of them are returning to areas that are still affected by violence, floods, food insecurity, and lack of basic services. South Sudan’s government has expressed concern over the situation in Sudan and called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has also offered to mediate between the rival factions of the Sudanese military.
From 1991 to 1996, Al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden was based in Sudan. Omar al-Bashir and Osama bin Laden had a relationship in the 1990s, when Sudan hosted the Al Qaeda leader and his followers. Al-Bashir was the president of Sudan and led an Islamic fundamentalist revolution that created an Islamic state. He knew and respected bin Laden, who supported his regime and financed some of its projects. However, al-Bashir eventually asked bin Laden to leave Sudan in 1996 because of pressure from the US and Saudi Arabia, who accused Sudan of supporting terrorism. The U.S. launched cruise missile strikes against Al Qaeda targets in Sudan and Afghanistan on August 20, 1998, in retaliation for the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania earlier that month. Bin Laden left Sudan in May 1996 and moved to Afghanistan, where he received protection from the Taliban regime until his death in 2011.
In 2019, Sudan’s military ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his authoritarian rule and his economic mismanagement. A transitional military council took over and faced continued demonstrations demanding civilian rule.
In July 2019, the military council signed a power-sharing deal with a coalition of civilian groups, known as the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), to form a transitional government under a constitutional declaration. Abdalla Hamdok, an economist and former UN official, was appointed as prime minister of a civilian-led cabinet.
In October 2021, the military staged a coup that ousted Hamdok and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective head of state) with individuals selected by the military. The coup sparked widespread condemnation and protests by pro-democracy activists and civil society groups.
In November 2021, the military reinstated Hamdok as prime minister under a new agreement that gave the military more powers and excluded some FFC factions. However, many civilians rejected the deal and continued to demand a return to the 2019 constitutional declaration.
In January 2022, Hamdok resigned from his post, citing the lack of progress in implementing the agreement and the deteriorating security and economic situation in the country. He was replaced by General Abd-al-Fatah al-Burhan, the chair of the Sovereign Council and the leader of the coup, who became the de facto head of state and government.
In March 2022, over 1,000 people including 148 children had been detained for opposing the coup, there were 25 allegations of rape and 87 people had been killed including 11 children.
In April 2023, violent clashes erupted between al-Burhan’s army and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured. The conflict was triggered by power struggles between the two military leaders over the control of Sudan.
There is very little chance for al-Bashir to come back to power in Sudan. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He also faces charges and a possible death sentence in Sudan for the 1989 coup that brought him to power. He is currently being held in a military hospital after an attack by paramilitaries on the prison where he was detained. He has no political allies or supporters among the factions that are fighting for control of Sudan.
The root of the crisis of Sudan is complex and multifaceted, but some of the main causes are:
- The legacy of colonialism and dictatorship that created ethnic, religious, and regional divisions and inequalities in the country.
- The failure of the transition after the 2019 uprising that ousted Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years with an iron fist and committed atrocities in Darfur and other regions.
- The power struggle between the two main factions of the military regime: the Sudanese armed forces led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
- The economic crisis caused by corruption, mismanagement, sanctions, debt, inflation, and the impact of Covid-19 on oil revenues and trade.
- The humanitarian crisis caused by violence, displacement, food insecurity, floods, disease outbreaks, and lack of basic services for millions of people.
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