As Sudan enters its third year of brutal civil war, the scale of destruction, displacement, and human suffering has reached catastrophic levels. The country, once a key political and geographic player in northeast Africa, now stands shattered by the ongoing power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). What began as an internal conflict for control has morphed into one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian emergencies – with implications that extend far beyond Sudan’s borders.

Sudan today is virtually unrecognizable. The capital, Khartoum, once a bustling hub of commerce, culture, and administration, lies in ruins. Government buildings, hospitals, schools, and marketplaces have been reduced to rubble. Infrastructure across the country has been bombed, looted, or left to decay. Roads are impassable, power grids have failed, and water systems have been deliberately sabotaged. Entire towns are depopulated, and those who remain must survive without basic services, often relying on untreated surface water and makeshift shelters.

Luca Renda, the UN Development Programme representative in Sudan, recently described scenes in Khartoum as “massive destruction of infrastructure, no access to water, no electricity and, of course, a lot of contamination of unexploded ordnance.” This is not simply war damage – this is the annihilation of a state’s functionality.

The collapse of Sudan’s physical and institutional framework has created a vacuum in which governance is impossible. Warlords, militias, and criminal networks thrive in the chaos, and civilians are increasingly at the mercy of whichever armed group controls their area on any given day.

The human cost of the war is staggering. More than 13 million people have been internally displaced, making Sudan the site of the world’s largest displacement crisis. An additional 3 million have fled to neighboring countries like Chad, South Sudan, and Ethiopia – nations already struggling with instability and scarce resources.

The United Nations reports that over 25 million Sudanese – more than half of the country’s population – now require immediate humanitarian aid. In many regions, famine is not a distant possibility but a looming reality. Nearly 600,000 people face catastrophic hunger, and countless others live on the brink of starvation.

Equally distressing is the targeted violence against civilians. Massacres, ethnic cleansing, and sexual violence have become tools of war. These are not incidental horrors but deliberate strategies aimed at seizing territory, sowing fear, and dismantling social cohesion. Ethnic communities such as the Masalit in Darfur have been particularly targeted, with villages razed and entire populations driven into exile or extermination.

This war is no longer a Sudanese problem – it is a global crisis in the making. Sudan shares borders with seven countries and occupies a strategic position along the Red Sea, a crucial maritime trade route. Instability here threatens to ignite a much broader regional conflagration.

Refugee flows have already overwhelmed border areas in Chad and the Central African Republic, and the movement of fighters and weapons across porous frontiers is destabilizing entire regions. Armed groups, taking advantage of the power vacuum, are spreading violence beyond Sudan’s borders. In such a context, extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and Daesh affiliates could exploit the chaos to regroup and expand, posing serious risks to international peace and security.

Moreover, Sudan’s descent into chaos threatens global trade. The Red Sea corridor – vital for oil shipments and global commerce – could be imperiled by piracy or attacks originating from Sudanese territory or from militias emboldened by the conflict. In an already fragile international economic climate, any disruption to this route would have far-reaching consequences.

One of the most alarming dimensions of the Sudanese civil war is the external support pouring into the conflict. Despite numerous international calls for restraint, foreign governments and private actors continue to supply weapons and funding to both warring sides. This influx has emboldened the SAF and RSF to reject diplomacy and double down on military solutions, escalating the conflict and intensifying civilian suffering.

The widespread availability of weapons has turned what might have been a short-lived power struggle into a protracted war. It has allowed armed groups to carry out massacres on a massive scale and has deepened the ethnic and tribal fissures threatening to rip the country apart. Furthermore, it increases the likelihood of the conflict spilling over into neighboring regions, especially where state authority is already weak.

Unchecked arms transfers and foreign sponsorship are turning Sudan into a theater of proxy warfare, with regional and international powers vying for influence in a strategic but broken nation.

In the face of this spiraling crisis, international condemnation is not enough. The world must move from words to action. The United Nations, African Union (AU), and regional actors must urgently coordinate efforts to bring about a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid, and pave the way for a political settlement.

The African Union, with its deep regional roots and diplomatic networks, is particularly well-positioned to lead these efforts. It has already warned of the dangers of Sudan’s fragmentation and has called for urgent negotiations. The AU and UN should jointly establish a mechanism to monitor ceasefires, enforce compliance, and ensure that all sides engage in good faith diplomacy.

One potential framework for renewed dialogue is the Jeddah Declaration, brokered in 2023 by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Although its provisions – including civilian protection and humanitarian access – have not been fully implemented, the declaration is one of the few agreements recognized by both sides. Reviving and enforcing it, with strong international backing, could create the conditions necessary for de-escalation.

Sudan is rapidly sliding toward becoming a failed state – a breeding ground for terrorism, organized crime, and refugee flows. The longer the war continues, the harder it will be to reintegrate militias, rebuild state institutions, and restore national unity. The emergence of war economies and entrenched criminal networks will create powerful interests opposed to peace, complicating any future reconstruction efforts.

Should Sudan fragment further, it may resemble past crises in Somalia, Syria, or Libya – prolonged conflicts with global repercussions. These are not confined disasters; they spill over through migration, illicit trade, pandemics, and the spread of ideologies rooted in despair and violence.

The war in Sudan is no longer just a local or regional tragedy – it is a looming global security threat. The destruction of infrastructure, the humanitarian catastrophe, the destabilization of neighboring states, and the risk of international extremism all demand urgent and coordinated global action.

The international community must understand that ending this conflict is not a matter of charity but of strategic necessity. A ceasefire must be prioritized, the arms flow must be stopped, and both sides must be brought back to the negotiating table. Mechanisms like the Jeddah Declaration should be revitalized and enforced through diplomatic pressure and tangible incentives.

The longer the world waits, the deeper the crisis becomes. Time is running out to prevent Sudan from becoming a permanent source of violence, instability, and despair. It is not just Sudan’s future at stake – it is the peace and security of an entire region, and by extension, the world.

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Source: Weekly Blitz :: Writings