Le Diplomat: War Devours Sudan Amid Global Silence
Sudan Events – Agencies
A report published by the French outlet Le Diplomat has shed light on the devastating consequences of the civil war that has ravaged Sudan since April 2023, pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The article’s author, Alexandre Raoul, argues that this war—witnessed by the world in silence—has become a proxy battleground for several external powers, exacerbating divisions and threatening to expand the conflict regionally.
Collapse of a Fragile Balance
Raoul explains that Sudan plunged into open war on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.” The war, he says, is the result of a political unraveling that began in 2019.
Following the fall of Omar al-Bashir’s regime, Sudan entered a fragile political transition, based on an unstable balance between civilian and military forces.
That delicate equilibrium collapsed in October 2021, when Burhan and Hemedti staged a coup against the civilian government. Since then, the future status of the RSF and its integration into the regular armed forces has become a deeply divisive issue. The absence of effective mediation eventually led to armed confrontation.
Raoul provides an overview of the human and material losses the war has inflicted over the past two years.
Foreign Power Struggles and Failed Mediation
According to the author, Sudan has gradually become an arena for indirect confrontations between regional and international powers with divergent interests. He mentions several countries that support either side in the conflict, along with their motivations for doing so.
He also highlights failed mediation efforts by multiple actors—including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and joint U.S.-Saudi initiatives—all of which failed to persuade the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire.
In April 2025, a conference held in London aimed at rallying financial support for the Sudanese people ended in partial failure, raising only 10% of the expected funds.
Raoul argues that diplomatic inaction and media neglect contribute to obscuring the nature and scale of the conflict on the global stage.
Toward State Collapse
Raoul affirms that Sudan now exhibits clear signs of long-term collapse. State institutions have disintegrated, and no central political authority remains. The country has fragmented into areas controlled by the army, others by the RSF, and a mosaic of independent factions.
He notes that the economy heavily depends on illicit resources such as mining, arms trafficking, and illegal taxation. Public services are virtually non-existent in both rural and urban areas, forcing the population to rely on informal networks, NGOs, and foreign aid to survive.
This situation, he warns, is fostering the rise of warlords and strengthening the influence of local militias, shifting the conflict from a war over sovereignty to a war of plunder.
Perpetual Chaos
Raoul concludes that the conflict in Sudan embodies the dynamics of modern civil wars: state collapse, military rivalries, and foreign interference all contribute to creating a state of lasting chaos.
In his view, neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the RSF has the capacity to achieve a decisive victory. This military stalemate is compounded by a catastrophic humanitarian collapse that remains largely ignored by the international community.
He warns that without a coherent and independent diplomatic initiative, Sudan faces an escalating risk of sliding into prolonged chaos—mirroring the fates of Somalia or post-Gaddafi Libya.
Source: French Press
