Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan gestures to soldiers inside the presidential palace after the Sudanese army said it had taken control of the building in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, on March 26, 2025.
Khartoum falls to the Sudanese Army, but war rages on
The Sudanese Army says it has captured full control of Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group it has been battling in a brutal civil war for over two years. The army has seized key locations, including the presidential palace and the airport.
Regaining control of the capital marks a major triumph for the army and could provide a strategic advantage in the ongoing conflict.
Since the war began in April 2023, the RSF had held most of Khartoum but has steadily lost ground to the Sudanese Armed Forces in recent months. A military spokesperson confirmed that the army has now secured Manshiya Bridge — the last bridge previously under RSF control — as well as a military camp in Jebel Awliya, the group’s main stronghold in southern Khartoum.
Is this the nail in the coffin for the RSF? Not quite. The war is far from over. Although the RSF is retreating from Khartoum, it still maintains control over nearly all of the Darfur region in western Sudan. Meanwhile, foreign powers continue to supply both sides with weapons, fueling the conflict, while international efforts to broker peace have failed.
Sudan Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrives to offer condolences to the families of an officer and a journalist, who were killed during a battle with Rapid Support Forces at the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan, on March 21, 2025.
Could the Sudan crisis tip South Sudan into civil war?
But while Sudan’s government makes gains, the coalition government in South Sudan has been destabilized following last week’s collapse of a peace deal between the main parties of President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar. On Thursday, Kiir dismissed the governor of Upper Nile state – a member of Machar’s party - where government forces are now battling the Nuer White Army militia, whom they accuse of being aligned with Machar, a charge he denies.
South Sudan has been hampered by political instability and violence since becoming independent in 2011. It is also likely that the SAF and RSF are supporting opposing sides in the current conflict. The rivalry between Kiir and Machar has further been compounded by a mass exodus of over 800,000 refugees last year into South Sudan, straining the country’s limited resources.
What could be next? While the SAF has made gains in Khartoum, the RSF maintains its stronghold in regions like Darfur, leading to concerns of a de facto partition of Sudan. In South Sudan, the deteriorating relationship between Kiir and Machar threatens to plunge the nation back into full-scale civil war, leading Western nations to close their embassies amid fears of escalating violence.
Representatives of political and military groups in Sudan take part in a meeting to form a counter-government in the areas occupied by the Rapid Support Forces militia.
Sudan’s RSF declares ‘Government of Peace,’ but war continues
After nearly two years of armed conflict, Sudan’s rebel Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, signed a charter with allied groups on Saturday to establish a “government of peace and unity” in territories now under their control. The signing took place behind closed doors in Nairobi, Kenya, prompting Sudan torecall its ambassador and accuse Kenyan President William Ruto of “encouraging a conspiracy” that could permanently partition the country, along the lines of Libya and Yemen.
Who’s in on the deal? In addition to the RSF, signatoriesincludeAbdelaziz al-Hilu, leader of a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, which controls much of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and Abdel Rahim Daglo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
What is next? The government's formation will reportedly be announced from inside Sudan this week, but it is unlikely to get widespread international recognition. The RSF stands accused of genocide in a war that the United Nations estimates has killed over 24,000 people and driven 14 million people from their homes. Meanwhile, the Sudanese army has intensified its military operations, recently regaining control of el-Gitaina and breaking the RSF’s siege of the key southern state capital of el-Obeid, and it may be on the verge of retaking the capital of Khartoum in the next few days.Congolese civilians who fled from Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, carry their belongings as they gather at the Rusizi border crossing point to return home, in Rusizi district, Rwanda, on Feb. 17, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Rebels advance in DRC, Yuge trade corridor, Tragic flooding strikes US, UN seeks billions for Sudan, Taliban visits Japan, Plane crashes in Toronto
350,000: M23 rebels are meeting little resistance in their advance on Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, further challenging Kinshasa’s rule. This move comes after the Rwandan-backed rebels seized control of Goma late last month and just two days after the UN warned that unrest in the country has displaced 350,000 people.
600: Israel and India are working on a free trade agreement they hope to announce as early as 2025. Israeli and Indian business leaders held over 600 meetings in New Delhi last week, on cybersecurity, smart agriculture, renewable energy, digital health, and water technologies, AI, and big data. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump continues to push for the rail and shipping corridor advocated by his predecessor, Joe Biden, to connect India to the Middle East, Europe, and the US, which he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi call “one of the greatest trade routes in all of history.”
10: Severe flooding claimed the lives of at least 10 people in the United States over the weekend, including nine in Kentucky and one in Georgia. Storms walloped Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear saying that nearly 1,000 people had to be rescued.
6 billion: The United Nations announced on Monday that it wants to raise $6 billion for Sudan to help alleviate one of the world’s worst hunger crises caused by nearly two years of civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The need, the agency says, has increased 40% from last year’s appeal.
1: While Afghanistan’s Taliban government makes regular visits to countries close to home, such as Russia, China, and parts of Central Asia, this weekend it went further afield. The Taliban sent its first-ever delegation to Japan on Sunday to seek humanitarian support and to discuss establishing diplomatic ties with Japanese leaders. One Afghan leader said that the Taliban seeks “dignified interaction with the world for a strong, united, advanced, prosperous, developed Afghanistan.” Japan’s foreign ministry has not commented yet on the visit.
18: A Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis crash-landed at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday, injuring at least 18 people, three critically. The plane crashed and flipped upon landing at the airport, which is located just outside Toronto. All 80 passengers and crew are accounted for, and crews are on hand to investigate what happened.
Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sept. 26, 2024.
A milestone moment in Sudan’s civil war?
That said, the recapture of Khartoum would not end the war. It would solidify the Armed Forces’ control of the east of the country, but the RSF’s hold on the west remains strong, particularly if the army allows RSF forces to retreat unchallenged from the capital. But it’s also possible the army will try to inflict maximum destruction on RSF fighters, making the final battle for Khartoum exceptionally brutal, even by the standards of this bloody civil war.
According to the International Rescue Committee, Sudan “now represents the largest and fastest displacement crisis in the world” and “the largest humanitarian crisis on record.” More than 30 million people, over half of Sudan’s population, need humanitarian help.FILE PHOTO: Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport before the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, in Beijing, China September 3, 2024.
US sanctions Sudanese leader
The United States on Thursday imposed financial sanctions on Sudan's army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The move came a week after Washington imposedsimilar sanctions on the leader of the rebel Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, whose militia has been warring with government forces for the past 18 months, ina conflict that has killed up to 150,000 people,displaced 11 million, and caused 26 million to go hungry.
Why sanction both sides? US officials said Thursday that the Sudanese army deployedchemical weapons against the RSF at least twice, and there are concerns they may use them in populated areas in the capital, Khartoum. They have also committed humanitarian violations and used starvation as a weapon of war.
As for the RSF, on Jan. 7, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the group ofperpetrating a genocide against the non-Arab Masalit people, killing boys and men and committing sexual violence against women and girls because of their ethnicity.
Washington doesn’t want to pick sides but to pressure them into a ceasefire. The RSF currently controlshalf of Sudan, including almost all of Darfur, Khartoum, and southern regions, and there are concerns thata partition of the country would lead to “state disintegration,” provoking an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024.
Turkey offers to mediate in Sudanese civil war
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Sudanese Armed Forces Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan on Friday offering to help resolve the country’s civil war by mediating negotiations with the rebels and their alleged backers, the United Arab Emirates. The offer comes just days after Erdoğan negotiated an agreement to avoid conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia over port access, as Turkey looms ever larger in the politics of the Horn of Africa.
An end to the fighting is desperately needed. Nearly 15 million Sudanese have fled their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration, one of the worst refugee crises in modern history. Aid organizations struggle to reach major population centers due to intense fighting, leading to widespread hunger and disease. And in the western region of Darfur, Rapid Support Forces are accused of carrying out genocidal violence and mass rape against Black ethnic groups like the Masalit and Fur.
US and Saudi-led negotiations produced a ceasefire in May of 2023, only for it to collapse within 24 hours. Since then, the violence has raged unchecked. SAF airstrikes have devastated the capital Khartoum, but they are unable to dislodge RSF infantry, allegedly supplied via UAE airlifts to neighboring Chad. Abu Dhabi denies any involvement.
Why is Turkey getting involved? For a shot at swaying the post-war order in its favor. Ankara and Abu Dhabi’s relations have been severely strained in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring, when they have found themselves backing opposing sides of crises in Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Qatar, as well as diplomatic normalization with Israel. Finding a mediated end to the war reduces the risk that the allegedly Emirati-backed RSF comes out on top.
Avoiding that outcome plays into Turkey’s broader strategy in northeast Africa, which it sees as a key source of future economic growth and political clout. Turkey spent the last decade actively encouraging investment and trade with Sudan and Ethiopia, and the military has provided major backing to Somalia in an effort to stabilize the strategically-placed country. A stable, Turkish-aligned Red Sea coast could present both a tempting market and a key check on regional rivals in the Middle East.People gather next to covered bodies, following shelling by the Rapid Support Forces, in Omdurman, Sudan, December 10, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Sudan world’s worst crisis, NYC shutters shelters, Haiti reels after massacre, FIFA awards Saudi the Cup
25: New York Citywill close 25 asylum shelters in two months, including one housing 2,000 people, as Mayor Eric Adams seeks to align the Big Apple’s immigration priorities with those of the incoming Trump administration. The closures, which will save NYC $2.3 billion, will see the number of asylum-seekers in city shelters drop to their lowest level in 17 months – a policy that’s being severely criticized by refugee advocates.
180: Over 180 people were massacred last weekend in Haiti's Cité Soleil after gang leader Micanor Altès blamed Voodoo adherents for the illness and death of his son. Micanor shot and killed at least 60 elderly individuals and, together with gang members, killed at least 50 more with machetes and knives, “who, in [Micanor’s] imagination, would be capable of casting a bad spell on his son,” according to local authorities. Haiti’s government has promised to hunt down the perpetrators of the massacre.
300: FIFA on Wednesday confirmed Saudi Arabia as the sole host for the 2034 World Cup, sparking accusations of “sportswashing.” Through its Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabiahas spent billions on international sports in recent years, including golf, boxing, esports, and Formula One. Critics argue FIFA is prioritizing financial and political goals over human rights, ignoring the fact that a record 300 people have been executed in the Kingdom this year.