Brutal violence between the country’s north and south persisted from 1955 to 2005. While the number of civilian deaths has never officially been calculated, more than 2.5 million people are estimated to have been killed or to have died of conflict-related starvation and disease. The north-south conflict ended in 2005 and eventually led to southern independence in 2011 with the creation of the world’s newest country, South Sudan.
Despite the successful separation of the north and south, government and rebel forces continue to commit violence against civilians in Sudan. Much like the north-south conflict, violence within Sudan has deep historical roots. Since the 1950s, the Arab-dominated government of Sudan, centered in the capital Khartoum, has tried to impose its control on the country’s minorities living along the state’s periphery. The result has been a deadly mix of ethnic, religious, and politically motivated conflicts.
In April 2023, fighting broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a powerful paramilitary group that evolved from the Janjaweed, known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). These groups had previously joined forces in 2019, following widespread protests in which the Sudanese people called for a transition to democracy, and to oust President Omar al-Bashir, who is alleged by the International Criminal Court to have committed genocide. However, in 2021, the SAF and RSF overthrew the transitional government that had replaced al-Bashir and installed their own leaders.