In April of this year, fighting broke out on the streets of Khartoum, Sudan between supporters of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and supporters of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemeti). The two had been leading Sudan's Transitional Council, which was formed in 2019 with the intention of eventually turning power over to Sudanese civilians after a decades-long dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir, who'd ruled Sudan since overthrowing a democratically elected government in 1989, had a brutal reign that included genocide in the western region of Darfur; human rights violations including mass killing, forcible transfer, and mass rape; and the Sudanese Civil War, which led to a partition between Sudan and South Sudan in 2011.
Now, history is repeating itself. The Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Dagalo, have been engaging in all-out warfare across the country. Burhan-ordered air strikes have devastated cities and villages, while RSF forces have burnt down entire villages, robbed Sudanese people attempting to leave, raped women en masse, killed tribal leaders, and kidnapped civilians, in addition to war crimes including torture and denying people access to food, water, and essential supplies. Those who are at the greatest risk are non-Arab, non-Muslim minorities, who have been targets of bigotry for decades, particularly as a result of British-backed colonialism and the conquer-by-dividing strategy of Omar al-Bashir.
