Khartoum Recaptured: Is An End to Sudan’s Civil War In Sight?
Sudanese civilians are seeking refuge from the ongoing civil war that has displaced millions and plunged the nation into a humanitarian crisis. Some hope that the recapture of Khartoum will lead to an end to their suffering. (Courtesy: The Urban Legend)
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) recaptured the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on February 15, signifying a pivotal development in what many experts describe as the world’s most dire humanitarian crisis.
From 1989 to 2019, dictator Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan, restricting his citizens’ political rights and overseeing the genocide of non-Arabs in the Darfur region, killing over 300,000 and displacing over 2.7 million Darfurians between 2003 and 2008 alone. In 2019, a popular uprising ousted al-Bashir from office and a transitional military-civilian government was formed to stabilize the country, with free and fair elections scheduled for 2023.
However, in 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, dissolved the transitional council and installed a military dictatorship, similar to al-Bashir’s regime. Two years later, in April 2023, al-Burhan and Hemedti fell out over the issue of whether to integrate the RSF into the regular Sudanese military, an act which would effectively remove all of Hemedti’s power. To preserve his grip on power, Hemedti ordered a surprise attack on the Presidential Palace on the morning of April 15, leading to the outbreak of Sudan’s current civil war.
The war has unfortunately coincided with a significant famine during the summer of 2024, and as a result, over 11.5 million Sudanese civilians have been displaced, over half of Sudan’s 53 million citizens are facing food insecurity, and around 150,000 people have died since the civil war’s outbreak.
International organizations have accused both al-Burhan’s SAF and Hemedti’s RSF of committing war crimes, with sexual violence and the killing of innocent civilians becoming increasingly common throughout the wartorn country. In fact, the U.S. State Department labeled the RSF a genocidal regime in January 2025, citing its horrific crimes against non-Arab civilians. Just this week, the RSF killed another 200 unarmed civilians in the White Nile state, highlighting the brutality of this conflict.
The recapture of Khartoum is a major victory for the SAF, which effectively controls the Eastern half of the North African nation. With the capital in SAF hands, General al-Burhan has ordered the creation of a 'caretaker government,' appointing military-aligned politicians to a wartime cabinet to finish off the RSF and reinstate a stable Sudan. Al-Burhan has revealed that this government would be unilaterally editing the country’s interim constitution and appoint a technocratic prime minister in charge of unifying the country.
As Sudan’s civil war drags on, the humanitarian toll continues to mount, and the future remains bleak. Yet, this may be the beginning of the end of the suffering for the millions of Sudanese trapped in this crisis, as the SAF consolidates its power. With the SAF gaining the upper hand in Sudan’s civil war, it remains to be seen how the RSF will respond and how civilians will be treated on both sides. The jury is still out on whether the SAF will deliver on its promises to respect human rights once the war has concluded, and international onlookers and organizations will likely be holding their breath for the next few months.