The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group is making major territorial gains in the long-running civil war, forcing some rebel groups to pick up arms and unite. The war is between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF has made significant gains in the support base of rebel groups in Darfur. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) have joined the army to fight the RSF after the RSF made these major gains.
The government mobilized Arab militias against JEM and the SLM when they took up arms in Darfur in 2003. This led to what is described as the 21st Century’s first genocide. Since then, these militias have transformed into the RSF, which has been fighting the army for control of the country since April. JEM and the SLM rebel leaders signed a peace deal in 2020 and have been closer to the Sudanese military than ever. Seven months of fighting have resulted in at least 10,000 people killed and nearly 12,000 others injured.
The increased fighting in Sudan has resulted in a larger number of people estimated to need humanitarian assistance. Many millions are in desperate need of food, clean water, and medicine. Despite being better armed, the SAF is considered a corrupt military institution short of actual combat experience, while the RSF are better fighters with more extensive combat experience. The RSF control most of Darfur, including the country’s second-largest city, Nyala.
The involvement of two Darfuri militia groups in the war has created chaos and raised the possibility of an even larger humanitarian crisis. The U.S. lawmakers criticized the Biden administration’s diplomatic strategy in the country for “wrongly empowering” the belligerent parties, and the attempt to follow a minimalist strategy since the military coup of October 25, 2021, has been called a failure.