Sudan Civil War News & Analysis

Warlord’s Portfolio: Mapping the RSF Economy from Darfur to Dubai

Generated by Google Gemini AI on March 24, 2026. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

The RSF has leveraged a combination of territorial control and family-based corporate networks to create one of the richest statelets in existence, with geopolitical weight that extends far beyond Sudan’s borders.

Eritrea Succession: A War Waiting to Happen

cc kremlin.ru, modified, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71830

The highly personalized nature of the Eritrea regime has allowed Isaias Afwerki to remain in power for decades, but there’s neither a plan nor an institutional mechanism to stabilize the country when he passes away.

Sudan at a Crossroads: Renewed US–Saudi Alignment and Red Sea Geopolitics

MBS White House visit, November 2025, modified, https://www.whitehouse.gov/gallery/president-donald-trump-participates-in-a-bilateral-meeting-with-crown-prince-and-prime-minister-mohammed-bin-salman-al-saud-of-saudi-arabia/

Renewed US–Saudi alignment, a structured Quad framework, and consistent behind-the-scenes diplomatic are fueling hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Sudan civil war. But the odds remain stacked against peace.

Permanent Partition? Frontline Hardens in Sudan Civil War

On January 24, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of black smoke pouring from the location of an oil refinery located east of the White Nile River in Sudan. The dark plume was the result of a fire at the Al-Jaili refinery, which is located about 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan and home to more than 6.5 million people. Strong winds carried the dense smoke more than 182 kilometers (113 miles) southward, passing over Khartoum where skies darkened from the smoke and noxious plume. Oil refineries handle a number of potentially dangerous chemicals, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and many other harmful substances. Exposure to smoke can cause respiratory problems, irritation of the skin and eyes, and headache in the short term. Long term exposure can result in kidney, liver, and nervous system. The fire is the result of fighting between Sudan’s military and rebel Rapid Support Force (RSF) who are engaged in a brutal civil war that begin in April 2023. The refinery, which is owned by Sudan’s government and the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation, was overtaken by RSF shortly after the start of the fighting. It has been attacked repeatedly, with both sides blaming the other for the disastrous fire caused by this latest assault on the refinery. The Al-Jaili refinery has been in operation since 2000 and was designed to produce 100,000 barrels a day, supplying roughly 45 percent of Sudan’s needs. Since the start of the conflict, output has been significantly reduced and accurate estimates of damage from the current blaze are not yet available. / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Refinery_Fire_in_Sudan_(MODIS_2025-01-26).jpg

Both the SAF and RSF may accept a short-term truce owing to international pressure or tactical regrouping, but neither will make the concessions required for lasting peace. The current partition of Sudan is here to stay.

Gold, Gulf, and the Fall of El Fasher: RSF Redraws Sudan War Map

Al Fashir, North Darfur capital, Sudan. Urban area in saltpepper. To its N are 2 large UN refugee camps, Abu Shouk and Al Salam, with +200K people, in brown to the right of rectangle, wich is where international assistance agencies are based, parking lots and warehouses. Agriculture in green at wadi near town, temporary rainy season running only river lowlands. Cattle ranching happens at yellow area, with some vegetation, greenish polygons, this year wich was quite rainy., modified, / cc Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Fasher,_Darfur_do_Norte,_Sud%C3%A3o.jpg

The fall of El Fasher was more than another battle lost. It marked the moment a war began to redraw Sudan’s map and, in many ways, its meaning.

Drone Warfare Over Sudan: The “Siege from the Air”

Generated by ChatGPT on October 14, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Drone warfare continues to evolve in Sudan in ways that blur culpability and maximize civilian suffering, ultimately putting an end to the civil war further out-of-sight.

The Battle for Khartoum: Geopolitics of the Sudan Civil War

Khartoum from the sky. Control over the city's bridges has dictated the ebb and flow of the Sudan civil war. / cc Esam Idris , modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sudan_from_sky.jpg

The Sudanese Armed Forces have recently seized the initiative in the battle for Khartoum, but an end to one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts remains as elusive as ever.

A Vicious Cycle: War and Famine in Sudan

A village in Nuba, South Sudan, abandoned during an earlier civil conflict. cc Maureen Didde, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abandoned_Nuba_village.jpg

Examining the nexus of violence and famine that fuels the Sudan civil war.

Growing Internationalization of the Sudan Civil War

SudanMap

The Sudan civil war is increasingly drawing in extra-regional powers and spilling its borders, imperiling the stability of vulnerable states in the region.

UAE: A New Player in African Geopolitics

cc Yogendra Joshi, Dubai skyline, modified, https://flickr.com/photos/yogendra174/38104564545/in/photolist-214aRuM-MpZcnD-7u1nJV-wkeREM-25aCaTD-PW1egy-nfZPAn-PxwUxC-6KnT1-RVGaEH-HEJFWf-Nwwi2G-etL47J-ALx9qn-Pdy7bf-bL2UKr-r1tCFS-CtJS6o-dRDSHw-bDhXUL-iPyGq2-8yAvA-AXdiwX-bL3adZ-etLUps-Czc4uP-etMyn3-4fx9b6-FhbBWd-wjswys-denWUK-xNf9nH-aEotsf-9xb8qP-DRVRM-B9nzqm-aj3TtF-NwwfKh-dN8an4-m4GpdR-sdS4ft-9Ftw8N-Avo41q-aj66wq-s8tkCR-qBBjk1-imtMC6-dBuYuq-pSdsEb-MpnRg1

The UAE has become increasingly active in African geopolitics as it looks to ensure domestic food security and secure critical supply chains.

The Sudan Civil War: An Invisible Catastrophe

Sudan protests 2019, CC M. Saleh, modified, Wikicommons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&title=Special:Search&redirs=0&search=khartoum+protests&fulltext=Search&fulltext=Advanced+search&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns14=1&advanced=1&searchToken=1a26j4o5p9lklfiy2kh8biz98#%2Fmedia%2FFile%3ASudanese_protestors_chanting.jpg

Largely unnoticed by global headlines or great powers, the Sudan civil war has devolved into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Sudan Geneva Talks Fizzle as Civil War Drags On

cc Henry Wilkins VOA, modified, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanese_civil_war_(2023%E2%80%93present)#/media/File:Screengrab_of_refugee_camp_from_Number_of_Refugees_Who_Fled_Sudan_for_Chad_Double_in_Week.jpg

Failed US-led peace talks in Geneva illustrate the difficulties in ending the bloody Sudan civil war absent newfound political will from regional and global powers.

Sudan Civil War: Violence Fears as RSF Completes Takeover of Darfur

Picture of IDP camp in Sudan resulting from the Darfur conflict. Original captions states:

The final act in the Rapid Support Forces’ takeover of Darfur could be the bloodiest.

Sudan Civil War: Peace Prospects Dwindle as Both Sides Dig In

cc Mojtaba Abdlbagi, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?sort=last_edit_desc&search=Khartoum+filetype%3Abitmap&title=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&advancedSearch-current=%7B%22fields%22%3A%7B%22filetype%22%3A%22bitmap%22%7D%7D&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1#/media/File:%D9%86%D9%87%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%84_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B2%D8%B1%D9%82_%D9%88_%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%A8_%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_02.jpg

Prospects for peace remain bleak in Sudan as both sides increasingly view a decisive military victory as the only acceptable outcome.

Sudan Crisis Sets Stage for Possible Egypt Intervention

cc Kremlin.ru, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?limit=500&offset=0&profile=default&search=Fattah+El-Sisi&title=Special:Search&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1#/media/File:%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%95%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%90%D0%B1%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%84%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%85_%D0%A1%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B8.jpeg

Examining the complex geopolitical and domestic issues at stake for Egypt as Sudan hurdles toward civil war.

Sudan Launches Border Strikes against Ethiopia

cc AMISOM Public Information, flickr, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2014_02_17_Ethiopia_Belet_Weyne-8_%2812606641173%29.jpg

Recent border clashes in the disputed region of al-Fashaqa risk triggering a wider regional war.

The Geopolitics of the Sudan Coup

On 7 April 2019, the second day of the sit-in, protestors were gathering infront of the Military Headquarter chanting for freedom, piece, and justice. People in the crowd told each other to turn on their phone torches., cc Ola A .Alsheikh, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=khartoum+protest+filetype%3Abitmap&title=Special%3ASearch&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&advancedSearch-current=%7B%22fields%22%3A%7B%22filetype%22%3A%22bitmap%22%7D%7D&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns14=1#/media/File:Sudan_sit-in.jpg

Examining internal and external forces at work in the latest military coup in Sudan.

Sudan Protesters Return to the Streets as Negotiations Stall

Sudan Protests, cc Flickr sari omer, modified, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Weeks after paramilitaries unleashed a wave of brutality on Khartoum, Sudan’s civilian protest movement does not appear to be losing any momentum.

Sudan Military Clamps Down on Protestors

Sudan protests, cc Flickr Hind Mekki, modified, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Sudan’s military leaders have swapped words for bullets in their ongoing effort to remain at the apex of Sudanese politics.

Sudan-South Sudan Relations and the Fall of Al-Bashir

alBashir, cc Kremlin.ru, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/56163, modified,

The fall of al-Bashir will resonate not just in Sudan, but South Sudan as well.

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