Since the outbreak of the civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), this Arab-African nation has been living through one of the harshest and most dangerous moments in its modern history.
The destruction that has ravaged the capital Khartoum and other major cities, the internal and external displacement of millions of civilians, the collapse of state institutions, and the disintegration of social structures all point to a war in which chaos and division are the only winners.
At the same time, the international community appears unable to forge a genuine will to halt the bloodshed, while regional actors are divided, their interests entangled in a way that turns Sudan into a field of competition rather than a space for consensus and rescue.
Sudan entered the war burdened with a heavy legacy of political and economic crises, but the current collapse has exceeded all expectations. Armed confrontations have evolved into an open struggle over power, resources, and territory, bringing with them escalating risks of national disintegration.
Entire regions have slipped beyond central control, and ethnic and tribal divisions have deeply penetrated the fabric of the state. As the conflict drags on, the spectre of Sudan’s partition has become a tangible danger, particularly in the light of worsening humanitarian conditions, the breakdown of services, and the erosion of state institutions.
Yet, Sudan’s plight cannot be viewed as a purely domestic matter. The country lies at the heart of a region where its stability intersects directly with the interests and security of all its neighbours, foremost among them Egypt. Sudan’s northern and eastern borders touch Egypt’s national security in critical ways, especially regarding the Nile Basin’s water security, the more than 1,000-km shared frontier, and the humanitarian, political, and security repercussions of the ongoing conflict.
Sudan also constitutes strategic depth for Egypt in Africa and a natural extension of its geographic and economic spheres. Therefore, Sudan’s stability is not a political luxury for Cairo; it is an existential necessity for Egyptian and regional security.
From this perspective, Egypt has approached the crisis with a balanced and realistic vision. Avoiding alignment with one side against another, Cairo has prioritised preserving Sudan’s unity, ending the fighting, and launching an inclusive negotiation process.
This encapsulates the essence of Egypt’s role: promoting de-escalation and dialogue and warning both regional and international actors of the grave consequences of allowing Sudan to sink deeper into division and localised wars. Egypt also understands that rebuilding Sudan’s state institutions cannot occur without an inclusive national accord, supported by a stable and responsible regional environment and a sincere international commitment that recognises that Sudan’s collapse would destabilise the entire region.
However, Egypt’s efforts alone cannot bear fruit in the absence of a converging regional and international will. The current polarisation among influential powers over potential settlement paths and the continued supply of money and arms to warring factions by certain regional and global actors prolong the conflict and undermine prospects for negotiation.
What is needed today is a genuine regional consensus bringing together Egypt, Sudan’s Arab and African neighbours, the African Union, the Arab League, and the United Nations around a realistic roadmap built upon an immediate ceasefire, the opening of secure humanitarian corridors, and the initiation of an inclusive political dialogue among all Sudanese parties without exception.
The solution in Sudan cannot be imposed from the outside, yet it also cannot be left hostage to internal power struggles or narrow regional rivalries. What is required is an authentic Sudanese national commitment to negotiation, a collective regional determination to prevent the fuelling of the conflict, and sustained international support to restore Sudan’s rightful place within the Arab and African systems.
Only such an integrated convergence between domestic, regional, and international levels can halt the deterioration, prevent Sudan’s fragmentation, and restore the Sudanese state as a cornerstone of stability on the African Continent.
The international community, for its part, must move beyond statements of concern and diplomatic caution towards concrete measures: supporting regional mediation initiatives in earnest, providing urgent funding for humanitarian relief, protecting civilians from widespread violations, and exerting pressure on all the parties to engage in an inclusive dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations and the African Union.
Sudan, with its vast human and economic potential and its exceptional geographic position, deserves to become a model of recovery rather than a theatre for power rivalries.
At the Arab level, calls for solidarity with Sudan must be translated into a coherent collective policy. Sudan’s stability is inseparable from the stability of the broader region. The security of the Red Sea, trade routes, the balance of the Horn of Africa, and the security of the Nile are all tied to Sudan’s future. Accordingly, Arab states, especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the North African countries, should coordinate their efforts to support negotiation, de-escalation, and eventual reconstruction, rather than allowing competing interventions to perpetuate chaos.
Today, Sudan stands at a crossroads: either regional and international will converges to end the war and launch a new political process, or the country slides into a disintegration that will be difficult to contain. This choice does not concern the Sudanese alone; its repercussions will extend to their entire Arab and African neighbourhood. Allowing Sudan to sink further into chaos would mean accepting yet another collapse in the regional order and losing a key pillar of stability in the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa.
Our collective Arab and human responsibility demands that we act now, not tomorrow, to save Sudan from a catastrophic fate. The convergence between Sudan’s national will, the balanced regional engagement led by Egypt and its partners, and a serious international commitment is the only viable path to end this tragedy.
Sudan must not become an arena for settling scores; it is a nation that needs the world’s support to restore its unity, state institutions, and future.
The writer is a political scientist and former MP. He is currently director of the Middle East Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 November, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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