3 June 2026 | 11:20 CAT
2-minute read

Sudan reels as clashes continue

During the Eid al-Adha holiday, dozens of civilians were killed as fighting intensified across Sudan’s Kordofan and Darfur regions. Clashes in the town of Bara in North Kordofan state killed at least 12 civilians, displaced more families, and aggravated the humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations has condemned the killings and issued a warning that the escalating insecurity has deepened the humanitarian crisis and disrupted aid operations.

An active famine crisis is unfolding in Sudan, making it the world’s largest hunger and internal displacement crisis. Since the conflict began in April 2023, nearly 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

“Millions of people have been displaced inside Sudan,” Saeed Abdallah, a Sudanese journalist based in Johannesburg, said during this week’s Africa Report.

Widespread violence, sexual assault, and ethnically driven massacres have been heavily documented, leading to UN warnings of genocide and war crimes.

An estimated 34 million people—65% of the population—urgently need humanitarian assistance. But aid in Sudan is systematically obstructed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), both of which intentionally weaponise starvation by blocking food and medical supplies from reaching civilian populations.

Analysts explain that Sudan’s crisis suffers from a chronic lack of global attention and funding due to competing geopolitical priorities, extreme operational dangers, and “donor fatigue” from overlapping global emergencies.

Sudan ceasefire negotiations are currently centred on a newly proposed renewable three-month truce and roadmap pushed by Sudanese civil, political, and armed forces. In May 2026, a coalition known as the “Sudanese Declaration of Principles Forces for Building a New Homeland” met in Nairobi and proposed a ceasefire, including a framework for ending the war, to be monitored by local and international mechanisms.

Abdallah explained that ceasefire discussions must prioritise an end to the violence, opening safe humanitarian corridors to alleviate mass starvation, and protecting vital civilian infrastructure.

“Sudanese stakeholders need to engage in an inclusive political dialogue to establish a roadmap for peace,” he said.

Meaningful peace efforts also require strict compliance with international humanitarian law and the active inclusion of Sudanese civil society. Additionally, peace efforts require that external actors work through a shared, integrated framework rather than launching fragmented, parallel negotiations.

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