The Guardian published on 3 March 2026 an article titled "South Sudan Risks Return to Full-blown Civil War as Violence Escalates" by Carlos Mureithi.
Militia forces allied with suspended Vice President Riek Machar have increased their attacks on forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, threatening a return to full-blown civil war.
PBS News published on 5 February 2026 an article titled "Head of Humanitarian Group Urge's Nations to Step Up Sudan Aid to Prevent 'Biblical Famine'" in interview by Nick Schifrin with Jan Egeland, secretary-general, Norwegian Refugee Council.
Due to the ongoing civil war in Sudan, the country has become the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today. Too few organizations are on the ground, and they are overstretched and underfunded. The donor community, including the United States, is not providing enough food to prevent a biblical famine. Frontline Sudanese volunteers are largely keeping people alive.
Chatham House published on 4 December 2025 an analysis titled "Tanzania's Election Violence: Deflecting Blame Will Only Do More Harm" by Fergus Kell.
Tanzania held elections last October that resulted in extensive violence and hundreds of civilian deaths. Key opponents to President Samia Suluhu Hassan were prevented from competing. Polling stations were nearly empty on election day. The government declared Samia the winner with 98 percent of the vote and a turnout of nearly 33 million in a country where the entire voting age population is 35 million. Violence quickly broke out.
The United States and European Union have been critical of the election and are reassessing their relationship with Tanzania. China and Russia have remained uncritical. China is moving forward with a $1.4 billion project to refurbish the Tanzania-Zambia Railway while Russia continues to pursue its $1.2 billion uranium project.
CBS News posted on 5 November 2025 an article titled "Trump Administration Ending Protected Status for South Sudanese Nationals" by Nicole Sganga.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the protected status of some 5,000 South Sudanese nationals living in the United States lapsed on 3 November, triggering a 60-day grace period to depart the United States or face deportation. DHS is urging them to depart voluntarily in spite of difficult conditions in South Sudan. This marks a significant shift in U.S. policy towards South Sudan.
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.
Ethiopia Insight published on 3 March 2025 a commentary titled "Breaking Ethiopia's Vicious Cycle" by Nagessa Dube, a lawyer in Seattle, Washington, and advocate for Oromo people's rights.
The author concluded that "Ethiopia's path to peace and stability lies in embracing dialogue, compromise, and institutional resilience. The cycle of conflict and power struggles must end, replaced by a political culture rooted in unity, democracy, and reconciliation."
Ethiopia Insight published on 29 May 2024 a commentary titled "Persecuted Amharas Have Nowhere Else to Flee to" by an anonymous author.
The commentary focuses on the violence Amhara face as minorities living outside of Amhara Region and due to conflict in Amhara Region because of conflict between Fano militia and central government security forces. The author foresees no early end to these challenges.
Aljazeera published on 2 December 2023 an article titled "Security Council Agrees to Terminate UN Mission in Sudan."
Fourteen of the 15 members of the UN Security Council voted to end the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) while Russia abstained. The government of Sudan demanded the mission be shut down.
UNITAMS was put in place in 2020 to help support a democratic transition in Sudan following the fall the previous year of President Omar al-Bashir. The UN mission employed 245 people, including 88 in Port Sudan, as well as others in Nairobi and Addis Ababa.
Aljazeera published on 11 November 2023 an article titled "'Like a Horror Movie': The Men Defending Their Homes in Sudan's Bloody War" by Anson Zhang.
This article describes the horrors of living today in the Khartoum capital region where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces control most of the tri-city area.
Media in Cooperation and Transition with support from UNESCO published in October 2023 a report titled "In the Shadow of Violence: The Pressing Needs of Sudanese Journalists."
The report looks at the role of journalism and journalists as political upheaval, violence, and a humanitarian crisis rage in Sudan. It proposes recommendations for improving the situation.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) published on 2 August 2023 a study titled "Moving Out of the Shadows: Shifts in Wagner Group Operations around the World."
Amid the overall growth in violent activities attributed to Russia's Wagner Group, the ACLED report examines the organization's military operations worldwide, with case studies analyzing key trends in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Ukraine. The report also documents Wagner's role in violence against civilians, including attacks targeting specific civilian groups.
This analysis of Wagner operations reveals a mix of economic motivations influenced by their political connections with the Russian military, and a capacity for violence varying over time and by location.
Reuters published on 4 August 2023 an article titled "Ethiopia Declares Six-month State of Emergency in Amhara after Clashes" by Dawit Endeshaw.
Ethiopia's government declared a six-month state of emergency in Amhara Region following days of clashes between the military and the local Fano militia. The Ethiopian National Defense Force and the Fano militia were aligned during the war against Tigray Region. The relationship soured, however, as the federal government tried to weaken regional paramilitary groups such as Fano.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office issued on 20 July 2023 a press release titled "UK Sanctions Wagner Group Leaders and Front Companies Responsible for Violence and Instability Across Africa."
The new UK sanctions target 13 individuals and businesses linked to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group that has been involved in executions and torture in Mali and the Central African Republic and threats to peace and security in Sudan. The sanctions will prevent UK citizens, companies, and banks from dealing with them, freeze any assets held in the UK, and ban travel to the UK.
CNN published on 28 June 2023 an article titled "Steep Rise in Numbers of Sudanese Refugees Fleeing Violence" by Ingrid Formanek.
About 2.8 million Sudanese are now internally displaced and another 650,000 have crossed international borders as refugees. Most of the refugees have fled to Egypt and Chad with smaller numbers going to South Sudan, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, and Libya.
The New York Times published on 7 June 2023 an article titled "Darfur, Blighted by Genocide, Faces a New Catastrophe: War" by Abdi Latif Dahir and Cora Engelbrecht.
The fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that broke out in Sudan on 15 April has been concentrated in two areas: the Khartoum capital region and Darfur in Western Sudan, where more than 370,000 people have fled. This article documents the violence in Darfur.
The New York Times published on 5 May 2023 an article titled "Trapped by War, Saved by 2 Students with a Taxi" by Declan Walsh.
This is the inspirational story of two university students, a Sudanese and a Tanzanian, who rescued dozens of residents using their taxi in war-torn Khartoum and delivered them to safer locations.
The International Crisis Group published on 25 April 2023 a commentary titled "What Facebook Does (and Doesn't) Have to Do with Ethiopia's Ethnic Violence" by William Davison, Jane Esberg, and Alessandro Accorsi.
The commentary discusses the responsibility of social media companies, in this case Meta, for dealing with inflammatory content concerning Ethiopia that has the potential to lead to violence.
World Politics Review published on 25 April 2023 an analysis titled "For Civilians in Sudan, Self-Protection Is the Only Option" by Charli Carpenter, University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
This analysis looks at the options facing both foreign and Sudanese civilians as fighting continues to rage in the country. The options are not good and the future bleak so long as the two military organizations continue to put their interests ahead of the needs of the country.
The Washington Post published on 18 April 2023 an opinion piece titled "The Eruption of Violence in Sudan Shows the Generals Can't Be Trusted" by Jeffrey Feltman, Brookings Institution and former US special envoy for the Horn of Africa.
An end to the violence in Sudan predicated on power sharing by the two contending military leaders, Sudan Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, will not result in a sustainable end to the conflict. Feltman argues that the two generals "are not reformers--and that they will never be reformed."
The Middle East Institute published on 17 April 2023 my brief titled "Military Power Struggle Explodes in Sudan."
My remarks offer a brief background of the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and efforts by the Biden administration to encourage a return to civilian government in the country. This conflict would seem to doom any prospect for a return to civilian rule in the foreseeable future.
