Sudan Conflict Impacts Stability in Chad

 The International Crisis Group published on 1 September 2025 an analysis titled "Keeping Chad Stable as Sudan's Conflict Rages."

Chadian support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in neighboring Sudan's war with the Sudan Armed Forces has embroiled Ndjamena in the conflict.  Chad also hosts about 875,000 Sudanese refugees and 300,000 Chadian returnees, creating a humanitarian crisis.  The end of US aid, increasing crime, and ethnic conflict are exacerbating the situation.  The UAE is playing an outsized role in Sudan and Chad.

For a French translation, click here.  

Starvation Taking Hold in Darfur's Capital of El Fasher

 African Arguments posted on 26 August 2025 a commentary titled "El Fasher Is Sudan's Gaza as a Place of Mass Starvation" by Susanne Jaspars and Tamer Mohamed.

The siege of Darfur's capital of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has sharply limited the amount of food reaching the city.  As a result, starvation is taking hold.  

Engaging for Peace in Sudan

 Foreign Policy published on 15 July 2025 a commentary titled "Washington Can Keep Sudan's Civil War from Getting Worse" by Cameron Hudson.  

The current level of fighting in Sudan could continue for years with only more death and destruction to show for it.  The State Department senior advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, said his next priority is seeking an end to the power struggle in Sudan.  While the Trump administration removed much of the previous expertise on Sudan from the State Department, Boulos has access to President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.  As fraught as the endeavor will be, it is better than doing nothing.

International Criminal Court Charges War Crimes in Sudan

UN News posted on 10 July 2025 an article titled "International Criminal Court: War Crimes, Systematic Sexual Violence Ongoing in Darfur" by Vibhu Mishra.   

The International Criminal Court told the UN Security Council that it has reasonable grounds to believe that both war crimes and crimes against humanity continue to be committed in the Darfur region of Sudan where there is a deepening conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.  Sexual violence directed against women and girls is one of the most disturbing patterns.  

A Podcast on Sudan's Intractable War

 Foreign Affairs posted on 29 May 2025 a 48-minute podcast titled "Sudan's Intractable War," a conversation with Mai Hassan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ahmed  Kodouda, humanitarian policy expert, interviewed by Eve Fairbanks.

They argue that as Sudan's civil war continues, and a growing number of outside powers look for advantage in the carnage, the consequences are likely to get much worse.   

A Basic Guide to Sudan's Civil War

 The BBC posted on 21 May 2025 an article titled "Sudan War: A Simple Guide to What Is Happening" by Beverly Ochieng, Wedaeli Chibelushi, and Natasha Booty.

This is a good basic and current summary of the civil war in Sudan, which is now into its third year.  

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces Extend Drone Attacks

 The East African published on 8 May 2025 an article titled "Drone Attacks Spread to Sudan's 'Safe Havens' as War Escalates" by Mawahib Abdallatif.  

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has launched drone attacks on parts of Sudan under Sudan Armed Forces control where they have not occurred in the past two years.  These attacks are adding to the humanitarian crisis in the country.  

Keeping Climate Change as Part of South Sudanese Peacekeeping

 The International Crisis Group published on 28 April 2025 a paper titled "The Stakes of Stripping Climate from UN Peacekeeping in South Sudan" by Nazanine Moshiri.  

The UN Security Council will soon vote on the future of the peacekeeping mission in conflict-impacted South Sudan.  The paper discusses what is at stake and why climate and peace should remain part of the mission's work.  

Can Airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthis Annihilate Them?

 The New York Times published on 18 April 2025 an article titled "U.S. Strikes on Yemeni Port Kills Dozens, Houthis Say" by Aaron Boxerman and Vivian Nereim.

President Trump has vowed to annihilate the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.  But as US airstrikes continue, the Houthis keep firing back, raising the question whether airstrikes can end the Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.  

Is US Preparing to Support Yemeni Militias in Ground War Against Houthis?

 The Wall Street Journal published on 14 April 2025 an article titled "U.S. Strikes Spur Plans for Yemeni Ground War Against Houthis" by Benoit Faucon, Nancy A. Youssef, and Saleh al-Batati.

Yemeni militias sense an opportunity to relaunch a ground war against the Iranian-backed Houthis as a component of continuing US airstrikes on Houthi targets.  According to this report, the US is open to supporting a ground operation by Yemeni militia forces.

Comment:  Saudi Arabia, drawing heavily on Sudanese mercenaries, and troops from the United Arab Emirates tried without much success to take control of Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen in a war that lasted from 2015 to 2022.  If this new offensive goes forward, one hopes it learned the lessons of the largely unsuccessful earlier effort.  

Sudan Is Now World's Largest Humanitarian Crisis

 The Associated Press published on 10 April 2025 an article titled "Sudan Faces the World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis as Second Anniversary of War Nears, UN Says" by Edith M. Lederer.  

The World Food Program's emergency coordinator for Sudan reports that half of Sudan's 25 million people face extreme hunger after two years of war, making it the world's largest humanitarian crisis.  

The Spillover of Sudan's War into Eastern Chad

 The International Crisis Group posted on 10 April 2025 a 7-minute video in French (with English subtitles) titled "The Spillover of Sudan's War into Eastern Chad" by Charles Bouessel.

The video is accompanied by a photo essay by Charles Bouessel with commentary in English.

The one million refugees from Sudan are placing an immense strain on Chad's isolated and impoverished eastern provinces.  The population of one of the provinces has increased by 60 percent over the past two years.  

Sudan Armed Forces Take Control of Presidential Palace in Khartoum

 Reuters published on 21 March 2025 an article titled "Sudanese Army Says It Has Control of Presidential Palace in Khartoum" by Khalid Abdelaziz, Jana Choukeir, and Nafisa Eltahir.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) seized full control of the presidential place in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has now mostly been pushed out of the capital region.  Consequently, the RSF is strengthening its positions in western Sudan as the country moves toward de facto partition between the RSF and the SAF.  

Text of Legal Injunction to Stop Dismantling of USAID

 The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed on 6 February a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against Donald Trump, the US Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the United States Treasury Department, Marco Rubio, and Scott Bessent.

The action seeks "injunctive relief with respect to a series of unconstitutional and illegal actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration that have systematically dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)."  The plaintiffs "seek a temporary restraining order directing Defendents to reverse these unlawful actions and to halt any further steps to dissolve the agency until the Court has an opportunity to more fully consider the issues on the merits."

Trump-appointed federal judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved on 7 February a limited temporary restraining order that would block USAID employees from being put on administrative leave.  Details on the pause will follow in a forthcoming filing.

Grassroots Community Campaign in Sudan Saves Lives

 Time published on 16 January 2025 a commentary titled "Locals in Sudan Are Saving Lives that International Aid Agencies Can't Reach" by Karl Vick.

Sudan faces the world's largest humanitarian crisis, and the government has ceased to function.  A grass roots campaign has created more than 600 pop-up community centers known as Emergency Response Rooms (EERs) to do what would normally be expected of a government.  

Significant Underreporting of Deaths in Sudan

 The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine posted on 12 November 2024 a study titled "War-Time Mortality in Sudan: A Capture-Recapture Analysis."

The civil war in Sudan has resulted in a higher death rate than previously reported.  The number of intentional-injury deaths in Khartoum alone surpass those estimated for the entire country in the first 14 months of the war.  This suggests extensive underreporting of a severe mortality impact in Khartoum and likely across Sudan.

On the Ground Report from Omdurman, Sudan

 The International Crisis Group posted on 7 November 2024 a 32-minute podcast titled "Inside Sudan's Catastrophic Civil War" with Elissa Jobson and Mohanad Hashim, Sudanese journalist with the BBC.

Mohanad Hashim travelled by road from Port Sudan on the Red Sea to Omdurman, across the White Nile from Khartoum, escorted by troops from the Sudan Armed Forces. He provides insightful analysis of the situation in Sudan.  

The devastation in this part of Sudan is near total.  He said the younger generation of Sudanese believes a new Sudan needs to be formed; the previous generation of leaders is not up to the task.  He concludes that neither side can win a military victory; it is a war of attrition. 

One-third of Sudan's Population Has Deen Displaced

 The Associated Press published on 29 October 2024 an article titled "Sudan Has Displaced over 14 Million, or about 30% of the Population, UN Says."  

The International Organization for Migration says the civil war in Sudan has displaced about 30 percent of the population since conflict broke out more than a year ago.  Some 11 million people are internally displaced and 3.1 million are refugees in neighboring countries, making Sudan the world's largest displacement crisis.  

Sudan: Are We Not Humans?

 The New York Times published on 12 October 2024 a commentary titled "'Are We Not Humans?'" by Nicholas Kristof.

Kristof recently visited the Chad-Sudan border area and wrote about the ongoing tragedy in Sudan.  This is a follow up commentary in which he responds to questions from readers about what can be done to improve the situation.  

Sudanese Soldiers Target Volunteer Community Kitchens

 Reuters published on 8 October 2024 an article titled "Sudan's Warring Sides Target Local Aid Volunteers Fighting Famine" by Nafisa Eltahir and Khalid Abdelaziz.

The article documents repeated attacks on community kitchens operated by volunteers dedicated to feeding hungry Sudanese in a war zone.  Soldiers from both the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan Armed Forces have attacked the volunteers, forcing some of them to shut down their kitchens or even leave Sudan.