Since Sunday, hundreds of diplomats and other nationals have been evacuated from Sudan by other nations. The evacuation, according to Sudanese, is an indication that foreign forces anticipate worsening situations in the country of North Africa. In more than 3,700 injuries and over 420 deaths, soldiers belonging to two prominent Sudanese generals have engaged in combat. The nation is in danger of collapsing, and the fighting may have far-reaching effects. General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads a paramilitary organization called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and General Abdel Fattah Burhan, the chief of the armed forces, are in charge of the two fighting groups.
The longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019 as a result of pro-democracy demonstrations, and the two generals assumed power. The two teamed up in 2021 to overthrow a civilian administration. There have been talks in the past few months to bring back a democratic political system. During the talks to come to a final agreement, the situation between Burhan and Dagalo became more tense. The primary points of contention are who would be in charge of fighters and weaponry and how the RSF would be integrated into the armed forces. Alex De Waal is a Tufts University expert in Sudan. This week, he stated in a memo to coworkers that the conflict ought to be viewed as “the first round of a civil war.”
By area, Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa. The nation shares the Nile River’s waters with Ethiopia and Egypt with unease. Egypt’s population of nearly 100 million people depends on the Nile for their sustenance. Ethiopia is building a massive dam upstream to control water flow. Egypt views Sudan’s military as an ally against Ethiopia, and the two have tight connections. Egypt is pressing for a cease-fire in Sudan and has contacted both sides. Egypt, however, is not going to watch helplessly if the military is defeated. Sudan shares borders with the Central African Republic, Eritrea, South Sudan, Libya, and Chad. Internal violence plagues nearly all of them, with various rebel factions operating along their borders.
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