Geopolitics › Sub-Saharan Africa › African Union (AU)
Sudan civil war (army vs RSF)
Since Apr 15, 2023· Conflict or rivalry
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
A war since April 15, 2023 between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, causing the world's largest displacement crisis.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, seized power together in 2021, then fell out over merging their forces. The army retook Khartoum in March 2025; the RSF captured El Fasher in October 2025 amid mass killings and set up a rival government. Deaths: tens of thousands to over 150,000 (estimates vary widely); 12–13 million displaced; famine confirmed in parts of Darfur and Kordofan. As of 2026, fighting centers on Kordofan.
Why it matters
It is splitting Africa's third-largest country, destabilizing its neighbors, and drawing in the Gulf states, Egypt, Turkey and Russia.
Key facts and numbers
UN and IPC famine reports, ACLED data, satellite imagery of El Fasher, and the January 2025 US determination that the RSF committed genocide.
What to watch
How many have died, whether US-backed truce proposals can work, and whether Sudan ends up split between rival governments, like Libya, as some officials warn.
Connections (3)
▸United Arab Emirates is accused of arming the RSF in Sudan civil war (army vs RSF)Disputed
The relationship
UN experts, journalists and rights groups have traced weapons and supply flights through Chad and Libya to the RSF and linked them to the UAE, which knows RSF leader Hemedti through the gold trade and his fighters' service in Yemen. The UAE denies arming either side and says it sends only aid.
Since when and why
Allegations since 2023, centered on flights to Amdjarass in Chad; Sudan's army-led government cut ties with the UAE in May 2025.
How solid?
A UN panel called the reports credible in 2024; Amnesty traced Emirati-supplied weapons. Sudan's genocide case against the UAE was dismissed in 2025 on jurisdiction, not merits.
What to watch
Disputed: the UAE calls the charges army propaganda. How much of the RSF's arsenal comes via Abu Dhabi, and why, has not been tested in court.
▸Egypt backs the army in Sudan civil war (army vs RSF)Widely agreed
The relationship
Egypt sees Sudan's army as the guardian of a stable southern neighbor and an ally in the Nile dam dispute, and fears an RSF-run state. It hosts army leaders, lobbies for them abroad and, according to reports Cairo does not confirm, has supplied arms and air support.
Since when and why
Since April 2023; the RSF captured Egyptian troops at Merowe air base in the war's first days, later releasing them. Egypt hosts over a million Sudanese refugees.
How solid?
Egyptian official statements, the Merowe incident and press reports on drones and aircraft; Egypt says it backs state institutions, not a faction.
What to watch
How deep Egypt's military role goes, and how it squares with the UAE, a key Egyptian financier accused of backing the RSF.
▸Sudan civil war (army vs RSF) caused the largest displacement in Migration and border politicsFact
The relationship
The war between Sudan's army and the RSF has displaced about 12–13 million people, the world's largest displacement crisis. Most fled within Sudan; around 4 million crossed into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and other neighbors, straining poor host states. A growing number try to reach Europe through Libya.
Since when and why
Since April 15, 2023, from Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Libya and Uganda.
How we know
UNHCR and IOM displacement tracking, host-government registrations and satellite imagery of camps; counts in a war zone are estimates.
What to watch
How many will return as front lines shift, and whether 2025 aid cuts by the US and other donors worsen hunger and push more people to move.