In what both sides regard as an existential battle, the Sudanese National Army (SNA) has made considerable progress in recovering territory it had lost to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including most of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. It is now determined to definitively defeat the RSF, eliminating altogether. The insurgent militia remains tenacious, fighting fiercely to take back areas from which it had been forced to retreat or to seize previously un-targeted areas.
While the SNA announced it had surrounded the Republican Palace in Khartoum and nearly regained full control of the city centre, RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) released a pre-recorded video vowing that his forces would not leave the palace or the capital. The RSF would continue to fight and inflict heavy losses on the army which, he claimed, had lost 70 per cent of its warplanes.
Since the Civil War began in 2023, Hemedti forged an alliance that recently established itself formally as the “Founding Coalition”, also known as Taasis. Consisting of the RSF and several other militias and civilian entities, it aims to form a parallel government called the Government of Peace and Unity. Hemedti described it as the largest political, military and social alliance in Sudan, bringing the Sudanese together under a single roof to fight for just causes.
Some analysts dismissed Hemedti’s broadcast as a desperate attempt to raise the morale of his troops after a series of severe military defeats, on the one hand, and a move in the RSF’s psychological warfare against the SNA, on the other. Other analysts see it as sign of an impending escalation due to the addition of new forces in the alliance. Foremost among those are the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), led by Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu. There are also recent reports that the RSF has acquired advanced weapons, including long-range drones, anti-aircraft systems, and sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) equipment, such as powerful jamming devices.
His announcement of the intention to form a parallel government met with widespread criticism in Sudan and abroad. Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef declared such a government would be “stillborn” while the African Union warned of the risk of partition in Sudan. The AU stated that it would not recognise such a government and called on AU member states to do the same. The EU and the UN Security Council expressed concern that the parallel government would jeopardise Sudanese aspirations for democracy and a return to civilian rule.
Egypt has reiterated its opposition to any notion of a parallel government which can only complicate the situation in Sudan, hamper reconciliation efforts and aggravate the humanitarian crisis. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned that any parallel framework would precipitate the fragmentation of the Sudanese state, which was a “red line” for Egypt. “We support legitimacy and the institutions of the Sudanese state,” he said. “We support the state, not certain individuals. We are for the stability of Sudan and the state’s ability to assert its control over the whole of Sudanese territory.”
Both the SNA and RSF remain deaf to former Sudanese prime minister Abdallah Hamdok’s recent “Call for Peace” to end the nearly two-year-old Civil War. He proposed that the key leaders of the warring factions meet under the joint auspices of the UN Security Council and AU Peace and Security Council to agree on a humanitarian ceasefire, the establishment of safe humanitarian aid corridors, a series of confidence-building measures, and an effective ceasefire monitoring mechanism which would include regional and international peacekeeping forces. Hamdok urged regional and global powers to support this initiative which, in the view of many observers, requires concerted support if it is to succeed in breaking the vicious cycle of war. However, both sides have snubbed Hamdok’s peace drive, with some dismissing it as a prelude to an international initiative that is in the works.
Amid relentless warfare and political fragmentation, millions of Sudanese civilians continue to endure the killing, destruction, hunger and spread of fatal diseases. Reports continue to abound of human rights abuses and atrocities committed against unarmed civilians throughout the country. Recently, the Khartoum state government announced the discovery of a well filled with disintegrating corpses in the East Nile district of the capital that had been under RSF control.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese Group for Victims of Enforced Disappearance has confirmed that some 2,000 people have been forcefully disappeared during the nearly two years of war. The group warns that the number and geographical scope of the disappearances are increasing.
As always, children are the most vulnerable. “Sudan risks losing an entire generation,” UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes Lucia Elmi warned on 14 March. Sudan’s children are “trapped in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises… More than 16 million children in Sudan urgently need aid. Nearly 17 million children have been out of school for two years. Girls face grave risks, including sexual violence, trafficking, and forced marriage. Over 12 million people are at risk of gender-based violence. Children are being killed, maimed, and displaced, with grave violations reported daily. Many face recruitment and use by armed actors, child labour, and early marriage. The psychological toll is devastating—conflict, loss, and displacement have left children struggling with anxiety, depression, and trauma. Urgent action is needed to protect Sudan’s children.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 20 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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