KEY POINTS
- Sudan’s army has launched a major offensive to reclaim parts of Khartoum, currently held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
- The ongoing conflict has devastated the capital, with intense fighting resulting in massive displacement and civilian casualties.
- Despite months of violence, hopes remain for a resolution through diplomatic efforts and regional mediation.
Sudan’s army has launched a major military operation to regain control of strategic areas in the capital Khartoum that RSF has occupied since the conflict began in April 2023.
This is one of the largest offensives by the Sudanese military in the last few months and might be the turning point of the civil war.
Conflict for Khartoum which used to be a thriving hub of human activity has led to major destruction. As the army engages in a bitter battle against the RSF, basic infrastructure such as health care, power and water have been destroyed, and millions of civilians are living in a human disaster.
Khartoum: conflict escalates
The latest attack by the army is part of efforts to reclaim Khartoum and other surrounding areas that have been a theatre of violence. Military sources have said that the army is using artillery and air force to apply pressure on the RSF.
Both parties have blamed each other for attacking civilians and making the living situation for those who cannot escape the city even worse.
Reuters report that while the military advances in several districts, the RSF is still offering resistance and the progress is gradual and at a high price.
According to reports, the army’s offense is to reclaim key targets and locations to isolate the RSF from supplies to continue holding the capital.
Humanitarian crisis deepens
As the conflict persists, the IDPs and the vulnerable persons in Khartoum are suffering more.
The United Nations has sounded the alarm over the increasing violence noting that over 4 million people have been forced from their homes since the fighting started. Many of them are still living in cramped camps or even in tents, they get food, water and health care only in limited rations.
Humanitarian organizations have been unable to bring in assistance because of the fighting that continues. In some areas people are trapped in the conflict and they cannot run away from the fighting. Hospitals are stretched which is worrying and basic necessities like PPEs remain rare.
The WHO has indicated that diseases such as cholera may soon break out in the city because of the unhygienic state of most areas.
International calls for ceasefire
Yet, during the most fervent of the struggles, the efforts of regional and global actors to establish a possibility of bringing the conflict to a temporary halt are still being undertaken. Egypt and Saudi Arabia among other neighboring countries have urged an end to the violence and resort to negotiations.
The African Union (AU) has also been working tirelessly to negotiate for the solution but the outcome of such efforts has remained uncertain because the two parts are very inflexible on their position.
The United Nations and all the international organizations have called on both the Sudanese army and the RSF to cease hostilities to allow the delivery of assistance to millions of people affected by the conflict.
However due to violation of the truce by the two factions previous effort toward ceasefire have been a futility.
A diplomatic solution, however, seems to be still alive?
Altogether the picture to this point is not cheerful, yet it is not impossible that if the diplomacy is pursued, the fighting can eventually be stopped. Both the Sudanese army and RSF have suggested the willingness to negotiate, but only after improving their positions on the ground.
This has led to continued fighting between the two sides but analysts say that the international pressure may one day compel the two parties to talk.
However at the moment the direction the conflict will be moving remains uncertain as the Sudanese army advances towards Khartoum.
But, in the disclosed case, each subsequent rise of death rate causes more and more global and regional organizations, countries, etc., to demand that the conflict be solved.
