Two years ago, on April 15th, a war broke out in Sudan. This is a war that swirled into one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian catastrophes. However, the suffering of the Sudanian people has come across silence, indifference and an incredible lack of African and global action.
In response to the lack of sustained media attention to the crisis, Arafrika has partnered with civil society and international organizations to highlight escalating violence and host critical briefings to bring together African media to play a more active role. Allafrica managing editor Juanita Williams opened the debate by calling on African journalists and broadcasters to amplify reports of Sudan’s suffering.
Williams said hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions have been evacuated, hunger and trapped in an unspeakable cycle of violence. Women and children endure systemic atrocities, are supported by external actors and used as weapons of war in conflicts made possible by immunity. The swift support forces are accused of Darfur’s genocide, but Sudanese troops face allegations of crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts have failed, and the attention of the world remains elsewhere.
“Sudan is too big to fall apart. I’m not alone.”
“What is happening in Sudan is undoubtedly the result of years and years of violence and silence against women, girls and civilians taking place in Darfur. Geopolitical power. Founded in 1995, SIHA strengthens the capabilities of women’s rights groups and addresses violence against women and girls in the great horns of Africa.
Speaking at the briefing, the alkalineb explained the seriousness of the Sudan conflict, saying it was a crisis not just on a national crisis, but on the continent.
“This conflict is… a proxy war. It’s the war that we are using… the bodies of women and girls, civilians and children as weapons of war and as strategies,” she said. “The atrocities never stopped…it was ongoing for the past 22 years.”
She criticized the end of the African Union-UN peacekeeping mission held in Darfur in 2020, saying it removed the only watchdog on the ground. “The only thing that happened is… the international community has stopped talking about Darfur,” she said.
Despite early warning to the UN Security Council about Sudan’s unstable security dynamics, including Sudan’s “multiple troops,” they lamented the negligence of the global community.
Today, she said sexual violence, forced loss of failure and crimes against children are widespread and intentional, disproportionately targeting women and girls.
“Now, Sudan is the capital of sexual violence,” said Al-Caribbean.
The al-Caribbean reflects the repeated derailment of Sudan’s democratic change momentum through recycled political arrangements that ultimately restore its power to suppress civilians. “I don’t care about democratic Sudan,” she said. She said that following popular uprisings, past governments often include perpetrators of past violence, especially those who claim through power, by those with weapons. She said systemic violence deliberately targets democracy, equal citizenship and hopes of women’s participation in public life.
“The Sudanese people resisted and died for democracy,” she said. In particular, the woman led the charges — she added that she would put her body at the forefront of the protest. “A lot of women who were raped and assaulted… they were told this was happening to you because you are in public.”
“This violence didn’t happen all of a sudden,” she said. “That was made possible by disclaimer and by turning a blind eye to it.”
There is one thing to do and fail.
Kholood Khair, a Sudan policy expert and founder of the “Think and Do Tank” Confluence Advisory, has expressed deep concern about what is considered to be the broad liberation of the Sudan crisis by African countries. “It’s not just that African countries have failed in Sudan,” she said.
She said that even the public’s perception of war in African countries is surprisingly low. “It means they’re not engaged at all… I don’t see much coverage across African television stations…it’s an obvious question that has no connection to what’s going on in Sudan,” Khair said.
She attributes part of this mutilation to poor media coverage, noting that Africa’s biggest wars today are barely present in television and press across the continent.
Khair criticized the African Union (AU) and IGAD-led peace initiatives as ineffective, saying it lacks a political will to promote beyond strict state-to-state diplomacy. She argued that African states, particularly democracy, must engage in promoting democratic transition not only in factions but in Sudan’s civil society. This gives justification to peace efforts as genuine Africans, not “Western.”
She said African countries need to be involved more widely, not just the political parties they fight. “In a war that is counter-revolutionary and indicted by military actors, the path to peace will not only come through those actors,” he said. She urged African nations, especially those with democratic traditions, to support democratic transformation as it helps to engage in Sudan’s civil society and dispel the notion that the promotion of democracy in Sudan is only Western or internationalist efforts.
Khair also criticized the lack of African champions at the international forum who are willing to stand up against Sudanese civilians. She noted that countries like the Gambia and South Africa spoke for the Rohingya and Palestinian light letters, respectively, but that African countries are not doing the same thing about Sudan. “We need African champions with clean hands to support the Sudanian people,” she said.
“The Sudanese military itself lacks credibility due to past and ongoing human rights abuses, including genocide allegations and the use of chemical weapons.”
Khair said that Africa’s credible voice could provide much needed legitimacy for Sudan’s legal efforts, including the cases that Sudan brought against the UAE in the International Court of Justice. Even if the trial hasn’t gone as far as it goes due to jurisdictional agendas, she said “the Sudan community can still get a day in court” through the support of legitimate African advocates.
The violence encountered with Sudanese people is basically unacceptable.
The collapse of the healthcare system has made it difficult for MSF to provide medical care, and there is a shortage of medical supplies.
“What we witnessed in Sudan is simply unacceptable,” said John Riaga, East Africa media manager at Medesin Sands Frontiers (MSF). ”
“Civilians, especially women and children, are bearing the brunt of violence. We have treated thousands, but many do not reach our facility in time. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Due to the whimsical wurfews, they arrive with a fatal infection like sepsis.
Movement is a major challenge.
Riaga said they are facing a serious shortage of medical supplies as aid is blocked. Their team encounters obstacles and obstructions every day. In some cases, warehouses and facilities have been looted.
“We’ve also seen direct attacks on hospitals. We’re forced painful decisions to close some businesses to protect our staff,” he said.
“But in the end, there’s one thing we’re saying in our call as doctors without borders, that all medical facilities are spared from attacks, humanitarian workers are spared from attacks, and civilians are spared from these attacks. We provide medical services to those who need it the most,” he said.
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Riaga said MSF handles thousands of people at its Sudan facility. What we care about is women, children and other vulnerable individuals. However, Sudan’s overall health care system is now abandoned, making their work not only urgent but incredibly difficult.
Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has reached devastating levels
Sudanese-American poet, community organizer and activist Bayadir Mohamed Osman said African audiences need to recognize the extraordinary resilience of the Sudanese people.
“The people of Sudan are extremely resilient and have been working in global institutions since the start of this war,” Mohamed Osman said. “We’ve become the United Nations. We’re local responders, fundraisers, journalists. It’s tired and not the job we have to do.”
She said Sudan’s ground youth have become the country’s first responders, organising evacuations, distributing sanitation kits, running food kitchens and providing medical assistance. This task is done by a distributed emergency response room, often with minimal resources and under threat. Mohamed Osman said that despite the large-scale efforts by these youth-led groups, more than 80% of food kitchens have been closed due to cuts in funding from USAID, including those serving women in particular.
Sudan’s people are very resilient
“They are putting their lives at risk to do this job… local Sudan young people, young defenders, frontline defenders… they are volunteering and putting their lives at risk,” she said. “I don’t believe in ‘giving voice to people who have no voice’. That’s passing the microphone. Let’s amplify our work and lead it,” she said.
Mohamed Osman said the biggest lesson she learned is that the real villain could just be bystanders. She urged African media and global platforms to speak for the people of Sudan.
“What we’re looking for is a simple opportunity to give us the microphones to enable local responders to speak and lead the conversation,” she said. “That’s what caught us in this mess in the first place. We never had the autonomy or democracy to lead us.”
