Civil war · North Africa
Sudan's civil war
Fighting since April 15, 2023Updated October 31, 2026
Sudan's army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has fought the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 15, 2023. The RSF is a paramilitary force led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. The army holds Khartoum and the north, east and center. The RSF holds almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. About 13 million people are displaced, and the UN calls it the world's largest displacement crisis.
- Started
- April 2023
- fighting broke out in Khartoum
- Deaths in 2025
- 75,174
- UCDP, second only to Ukraine
- Displaced
- 13 million
- a quarter of all Sudanese
- Refugees abroad
- About 4 million
- most in Chad and Egypt (UNHCR)
- Need aid
- 33.7 million
- the most of any country
Who backs whom in Sudan?
The two sides, and the countries that arm, fund or shelter them.
EgyptMain backer; Turkish-made drones reported flying from an Egyptian air base
TurkeyBaykar sold the army drones under a 2023 contract
Saudi ArabiaSet up a joint strategic council with the army's government in August 2026; also a Quad mediator
EritreaTrains army-aligned militias in camps in Eritrea, AFP reported
IranMohajer-6 drones reported since 2024. Sudan denies getting arms from Iran.
Army
Sudanese Armed Forces
Led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Holds Khartoum, Port Sudan and the north, east and center, and runs the government recognized abroad.
Paramilitary
Rapid Support Forces
Led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). Holds almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan, with a rival government in Nyala since August 2025.
United Arab EmiratesUN experts called reports of supplies through Chad "credible". The UAE denies arming anyone.
ChadSudan's army says supplies reach the RSF through Chad. Chad denies it and closed the border in February 2026.
Libya (Haftar's forces)The army accuses Khalifa Haftar's forces of helping the RSF. They deny it.
United States · Pushing a 90-day truce with the Quad. The RSF accepted it in November 2025. The army wants the RSF out of the cities first, and al-Burhan ruled out talks on October 6, 2026.
ConfirmedReported, denied
Where is the fighting in Sudan?
The cities that changed hands. The front now runs through Kordofan, between the army's east and the RSF's Darfur.
- Port SudanArmyThe army's wartime capital from 2023. RSF drones hit it for six days in May 2025.
- KhartoumArmyRetaken by the army in March 2025. The government moved back from Port Sudan on January 11, 2026.
- El ObeidArmyHeld by the army and under RSF drone attack. The army said it reopened the highway to Khartoum in July 2026.
- El FasherRSFTaken by the RSF on October 26, 2025 after an 18-month siege. The UN documented more than 6,000 killed in three days.
- NyalaRSFSeat of the RSF's rival government, sworn in in August 2025.
- AbyeiA drone strike near the Amiet market killed at least 80 people on October 19, 2026, by UN counts. Local officials counted 153 dead. South Sudan blamed Sudan's army, and Sudan denies it.
Why is there a war in Sudan?
The RSF grew out of the Janjaweed, the Arab militias the government armed against rebels in Darfur from 2003. In 2013 the state turned them into an official force under Hemedti.
In 2019 al-Burhan and Hemedti removed President Omar al-Bashir together. In 2021 they pushed out the civilian government that was meant to share power with them. The plan was then to merge the RSF into the army. The two men could not agree on how fast, or on who would command the merged force. On April 15, 2023, fighting broke out in Khartoum. The army calls the RSF a rebel militia that tried to seize power. The RSF says it is fighting Islamists from al-Bashir's era who control the army.
The army retook Khartoum in March 2025. The RSF took El Fasher, the army's last city in Darfur, in October 2025. The fighting is now mainly in Kordofan, where the army said it took al-Mazroub, an RSF stronghold in North Kordofan, on October 2, 2026.
How the war unfolded
- 2003The government arms the Janjaweed militias in Darfur.
- 2013The Janjaweed become the Rapid Support Forces.
- 2019The army and the RSF remove Omar al-Bashir.
- 2021A coup ends the civilian-led transition.
- Apr 2023War breaks out in Khartoum.
- Jan 2025The US determines that the RSF committed genocide.
- Mar 2025The army retakes Khartoum.
- May 2025The US determines that the army's government used chemical weapons. It denies it.
- Aug 2025The RSF swears in a rival government in Nyala.
- Oct 2025The RSF takes El Fasher after an 18-month siege.
- Oct 2026The army says it took al-Mazroub. Al-Burhan rules out talks.
How many people have died in Sudan's war?
No one knows exactly. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) counted 75,174 deaths from organized violence in Sudan in 2025, including attacks on civilians. Only Ukraine had more. ACLED, which counts reported violent events, recorded more than 58,000 deaths from violence by April 2026. Estimates that include deaths from hunger and disease run from 150,000 to 400,000.
Drones cause most civilian deaths, the UN says. The UN human rights office counted at least 306 people killed in the first three weeks of October 2026. On October 18 a drone strike on a truck in Al-Dibab, an RSF-held town in West Kordofan, killed at least 139 people, by UN counts. The RSF's political alliance blamed the army. On October 19 a drone strike near a market in Abyei, the area that Sudan and South Sudan both claim, killed at least 80 people, by UN counts. South Sudan blamed Sudan's army, and Sudan denies it. The UN also said a drone strike blamed on the RSF killed at least 31 people at Abu Shendi in Blue Nile on October 9. On October 26 a drone strike hit a market in Nyala, the seat of the RSF-led rival government. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) blamed the army, and its hospital there received 36 bodies. A spokesman for forces fighting with the army said the strike killed RSF recruits.
Deaths in wars, 2025 (UCDP)
Ukraine90,345
Sudan75,174
Palestine14,525
DR Congo9,172
How many people have fled Sudan's war?
About 13 million people are still displaced by the war, a quarter of Sudan's population. About 8.6 million are displaced inside Sudan (IOM, September 2026), down from a peak of 11.6 million in January 2025. More than 5 million have gone back home, the IOM says. UNHCR counts about 4 million Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries. About 940,000 have reached Chad since April 2023, and UNHCR has registered about 850,000 in Egypt.
Famine was confirmed in Zamzam camp in August 2024, and in El Fasher and Kadugli in November 2025. The IPC's analysis in May 2026 found no area in famine, but 14 areas at risk of it. The 2026 aid appeal asks for $2.9 billion, and 33.7 million people need aid, the most of any country.
Displaced
13 million
People driven from their homes
About 8.6 million are displaced inside Sudan and about 4 million have fled abroad, mostly to Chad and Egypt.
How does gold pay for the war?
Gold is Sudan's largest export, and both sides earn money from it. The state mining company reported a record 70 tonnes in 2025, but only 14.7 tonnes were officially exported. The rest was smuggled or kept in the country. Much of it reaches the United Arab Emirates, which took about 97% of Sudan's official gold exports in 2024. The RSF mines gold in Darfur. The EU banned imports of Sudanese gold in July 2026.
How could Sudan's war end?
Sudan now has two governments. The army's runs the country from Khartoum, and the RSF's runs Darfur from Nyala. No country recognizes the RSF government.
The United States is pushing a 90-day humanitarian truce, together with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt in a group called the Quad. The RSF accepted the truce in November 2025. The army says the RSF must first leave the cities it holds. The army's government also rejects a role for the UAE, which it accuses of arming the RSF. On October 6, 2026 al-Burhan ruled out talks with the RSF. On October 15 he said he had written to President Trump to back US peace efforts. On October 21, more than 20 countries met in Geneva at a meeting hosted by the UN and Switzerland and called for a humanitarian truce. No ceasefire has been agreed. Neither side has been able to defeat the other, and the fighting is now mainly in Kordofan.
Questions about Sudan's war
Who is fighting in Sudan?
Sudan's army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. The two were allies until April 2023.
Who is winning the war in Sudan?
Neither side has won. The army holds Khartoum, Port Sudan and the north, east and center. The RSF holds almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. The fighting is now mainly in Kordofan, in the middle of the country.
Does the UAE back the RSF?
UN experts called reports of Emirati supplies to the RSF through Chad "credible." The UAE denies arming anyone. Sudan cut relations with the UAE on May 6, 2025.
What is the RSF?
The Rapid Support Forces grew out of the Janjaweed, the militias the government armed in Darfur from 2003. The state made them an official force in 2013. The United States determined in January 2025 that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur.
How many people have died in Sudan's war?
UCDP counted 75,174 deaths from organized violence in Sudan in 2025 alone. Estimates that include deaths from hunger and disease since April 2023 run from 150,000 to 400,000.
