Why Sudan's civil war is far from over

DW (English)

Sudan's capital, Khartoum, may be almost entirely back under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces, but with much of the country still in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces, what does the battle for Khartoum mean for the Sudanese people?

Transcript

00:00The Sudanese Armed Forces celebrated taking control of Sudan's capital Khartoum from the

00:08Rapid Support Forces. Some have hailed this as a turning point in the war. Could this

00:18be the beginning of peace and normality in what the United Nations has called the largest

00:23humanitarian crisis in the world? The RSF is still very present in the western region

00:30of Sudan. This is the flip side. First up, the civil war in Sudan is far from over. Both

00:39the SAF and RSF claim to be the legitimate powers of Sudan. The RSF still controls vast

00:46tracts of land and is even still not completely pushed out of Khartoum. Aid is needed by an

00:52estimated 30 million people, of which 16 million are children. Between June and December

00:582024, more than 900 incidents of grave violations against children were reported. Civilians

01:05have been subjected to unimaginable suffering.

01:33So how close are we really to seeing a semblance of peace and normality? Politically, both

02:02the SAF and RSF have established parallel governments and both have regional allies.

02:08So how likely is it that Sudan could return to the unified state it was before?

02:32And to be honest, it's not just the size of the area that matters, but also the resources

02:51in that zone of influence.

03:21And there's another factor that's worrying. Whatever happens in Sudan is likely to impact

03:32the fragile peace in South Sudan.

03:49So if the prospects for peace look this dim, how can multilateral efforts by regional players

03:55and by Sudanese authorities end the suffering? Because so far, the two-year civil war seems

04:01to suggest martial law has failed.

04:04The past two years alone have shown that our neighbors do not care for there to be governance

04:10or a sense of calm in the country. As Sudanese, we need to realize that it is in our hands

04:18and we need to ensure that our country, our home, our people, we cannot be played by other actors

04:24for their own benefits at our expense.

04:27So in effect, the SAF recapturing Khartoum could mean nothing if a peace deal and demobilization

04:34programs are not immediately implemented. And that's the flip side.

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