In the midst of the fighting in Khartoum four months ago, concerns arose not only about the immediate impact on civilians but also about the potential for the conflict to spread throughout Sudan, leading to further suffering, destabilization of neighboring countries, and ethnic violence in Darfur.
Unfortunately, these fears have become a reality. The international criminal court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, recently warned that Sudan is currently experiencing a human catastrophe rather than being on the brink of one.
The same crimes that made Darfur synonymous with genocide twenty years ago, such as mass killings, widespread sexual violence, and the destruction of villages, have returned to West Darfur. Human rights groups report that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militias are specifically targeting members of the Masalit minority. Unlike the conflict in Khartoum, these perpetrators are actively seeking out and attacking civilians.
The broader conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when rebel groups, frustrated with the marginalization of non-Arab populations, took up arms. The dictator Omar al-Bashir responded by outsourcing ethnic cleansing to the Janjaweed militia. Hemedti, the leader of the RSF, emerged from the ranks of the Janjaweed and later regularized their forces. In 2019, during the revolution in Sudan, Hemedti and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), initially agreed to a transition to civilian authority but eventually turned against the civilian leaders and each other.
The violence in West Darfur is not simply a continuation of the wider war but is enabled by it. The tensions between sedentary non-Arab populations and Arab tribes and militias over land rights were never properly resolved and have been exacerbated by climate change. RSF fighters, driven by the desire for war spoils, have become more ruthless. The withdrawal of Unamid peacekeepers from Darfur in 2021 was a serious mistake given the current uncertainty in Sudan.
It is crucial to provide increased support to the over 1 million people who have fled Sudan, including those from Darfur, and to advocate for humanitarian access to the 3.5 million internally displaced individuals. The investigation of crimes in the region by Mr. Khan is important for exposing and documenting these atrocities. However, the process of accountability will be slow. The first trial for atrocities in the region, against Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, only began last year. Gulf states and Egypt are contributing to the fueling and sustaining of the broader conflict, and it is necessary for other governments to urge them to de-escalate the situation. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to bring immediate relief to the terrorized populations.
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