Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
5 May 2026 | 13:05 CAT
4-minute read

Sudan Crisis Deepens

Intensified drone attacks in Sudan

A barrage of drone attacks in recent days has shattered months of relative calm in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum. On Monday, May 4, drone attacks targeted Khartoum International Airport, disrupting the airport’s recent efforts to resume operations. This followed a drone strike on Saturday, which hit a civilian vehicle in the Jammouiya area of southern Omdurman, killing five civilians. The surge in drone warfare has caused significant civilian casualties and disrupted the progress in the war-torn city after government forces regained control last year.

Sudan’s armed forces blamed Monday’s airport attack on the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia. Neither country commented on the allegations made late on Monday. The UAE has often been accused of supporting Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries – a charge the gulf state denies. Meanwhile, Sudan accused Ethiopia of getting involved in the conflict earlier this year.

During this week’s Africa Report, Saeed Abdallah, a Sudanese-born journalist and foreign correspondent based in Johannesburg, highlighted the toll of the prolonged war on Sudanese civilians.

“Civilians in Sudan are enduring what the United Nations and humanitarian agencies describe as one of the world’s largest and most severe humanitarian and displacement crisis,” he said, adding that civilian protection often fails when conflicts become prolonged, fragmented and driven by external interests – a pattern now clearly unfolding in Sudan.

Abdallah outlined solutions to the problem, including real accountability through international justice mechanisms, sustained pressure from countries that can influence both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF, more stringent limits on the flow of weapons into the country, and ending the conflict through sustained diplomacy.

World Food Programme forced to suspend food aid in Sudan

Severe funding shortfalls and security challenges are forcing the World Food Programme (WFP) to significantly reduce or suspend food aid to millions in Sudan, despite the confirmation of famine conditions. While not at a complete halt, operations are being severely disrupted, with some families receiving nothing.

“For many families, food aid is the difference between survival and starvation. So any disruption has immediate life-threatening consequences for the people there,” Abdallah said.

The WFP reportedly needs $610 million to continue operations.

“What’s needed now is urgent funding to keep aid flowing and stronger diplomatic pressure to secure humanitarian access and real efforts towards a ceasefire. Because without reducing the fighting, even the best aid response would struggle to reach those who need it the most,” Abdallah said.

Estimates in 2025 show that nearly 25 million people were facing crisis levels of food shortages, including about 4.2 million children under the age of 5.

UN declares Sudan world’s biggest displacement crisis

As of May 2026, the United Nations has designated the conflict in Sudan as the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crisis. Since fighting erupted on April 15, 2023 between the SAF and RSF, over 14 million people—approximately a quarter of the population—have been forced to flee their homes.

Analysts observe that the fighting has continued for so long because it evolved from a two-sided conflict between the SAF and RSF into a complex, multi-layered power struggle that involve regional and global actors, primarily driven by interests in the Red Sea, gold mining and agriculture.

“As it continues, it becomes more complex with multiple armed groups, as we are seeing at the moment. And there’s some sort of shifting alliances between these two factions, and deep rivalries, particularly between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. And that adds to weak state institutions and competition over resources and external involvement. And the conflict starts to sustain itself,” Abdallah observed.

Key external players in the war are primarily regional and global actors who are fuelling the conflict through military and financial support, prolonging the war. The UAE is widely reported as the main supporter of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia back the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Neighbouring country Chad serves as a logistical corridor, with reports of UAE-Backed weapons for the RSF passing through. Libya, meanwhile, is linked to the supply of weapons to the RSF, while Eritrea provides logistical support to the SAF to protect its borders.

What could bring peace?

Abdallah suggests that genuine internal dialogue among all Sudanese political and societal actors combined with a unified international mediation effort are necessary steps to bring the fighting to a halt. He urges unification among key external actors, including the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

“Ultimately, peace will require internal compromise and consistent external pressure. Without both, or if you lack any one of these factors, the war is remaining a prolonged and devastating stalemate for the Sudanese people,” Abdallah said.

Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat concluded the interview with a du’a to Allah to ease the plight of the people of Sudan, as well as of all those suffering oppression and occupation across the globe.

Listen to the Africa Report with Saeed Abdallah on Sabaahul Muslim, presented by Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.