Preamble
The eruption of violence on April 15, 2023, in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has resulted in dire humanitarian crises with reports of about 600 civilian fatalities and more than 5,000 injured persons within the first three weeks of the conflicts. A June 2023 report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported the spread of inter-communal clashes within the Darfur Region during the same period; with a total of about 2.5 million displaced persons resulting from the conflicts that has escalated through the perpetration of arson, sexual violence, and hate killings against non-Arabs. The impunity that has characterized the war that emerged from the tensions between the army chief Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF Commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, reflected in the recording of the abduction and killing of the West Darfur governor, Khamis Abakar. Abakar had earlier accused the RSF and Arab mercenaries for randomly killing large numbers of civilians who did not have adequate protection from the military, an act that he labeled genocide. With the SAF and RSF trading blames for the governor’s killing on each other, the crises in Sudan have worsened as civilians in local communities called out the government for failing to protect them from the Arab militias that have taken over the administration of their communities. Against this backdrop, the second quarterly meeting of the Africanist Scholars’ Forum, held on June 9, focused on the recent crises in Sudan with particular attention to the challenges of evacuating civilians from the country.
Observations
We noted the widespread nature of the conflicts across the country, which has impacted civilian lives, with the Federal Ministry of Health reporting over 1,000 deaths and almost 12,000 injured persons after the first two months of the conflicts. The displacement of civilians has taken place both internally and to neighbouring countries (Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Egypt), with El-Geneina specifically noted for the commission of mass atrocity crimes allegedly by the RSF and Allied Forces. These have included the shooting and killing of some refugees who were fleeing the violence. The irresponsible machinations of some African leaders, who leverage ethnic tensions to mobilize citizens against each other, have again reared their ugly head as the legacy of former president Omar-al-Bashir’s deployment of Janjaweed Arab militia is being reinforced in the activities of the RSF, who have reportedly been committing mass atrocity crimes against non-Arabs within a crises situation lacking adequate provision of a safe humanitarian corridor.
In the post al-Bashir era, the transition to civilian rule has so far been enmeshed in violence, with the struggle for power between al-Burhan and Dagalo reflective of the insatiable quest of military personnel holding onto political power under the guise of working for sustainable transitions. Since the al-Burhan 2021 military coup that toppled the Military-Civilian joint government, these two figures leading the military council have so far reneged on the promise to hand over power to civilians by April 11, 2023, and failed to implement the much-desired military reforms.
The escalation of the 2023 crises resulted in the evacuation of diplomats and citizens of foreign countries from Sudan, primarily due to the potential of the horizontal spread of the conflicts to neighbouring countries (South Sudan, Libya, Eritrea, Egypt, Ethiopia and Chad), most of which are also undergoing different phases of political and socioeconomic instability. The absence of the state in guaranteeing protection for civilians has also heightened internal socioeconomic problems, worsening the endemic poverty that had hitherto affected 15 per cent of the population; even as more persons lost their jobs and fled their homes in search of safety nets.
Due to insecurity, the UN had to suspend its humanitarian interventions, which hitherto catered to the needs of 12.5 million people. These have subsequently been deprived of access to food and medical needs. Several countries initiated moves to evacuate their citizens from the crises with the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire on April 25. These included the United States, Canada, Egypt, France, Sweden, Turkey and Italy amongst others. There have also been collaborative efforts to evacuate Germans, Palestinians, Syrians and Iraqis to Jordan; while Saudi Arabia also helped evacuate Libyans and Lebanese from the country. Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti and South Sudan governments have also been commended for providing safe passages to the evacuees before being airlifted back to their countries. The proactive responses and collaborative efforts of governments in bringing citizens of the countries to safety remain of immense benefits to avert the worsening of humanitarian crises.
Recommendations
It is important that the drivers of the transition to democracy in Sudan remain civilians with commitment to creating sustainable political processes. Regional and economic bodies should support the formation of a coalition by civilians seeking to liberate the country from the shackles of militarily-induced political and socioeconomic suppression by helping to institutionalize their interventions and providing enduring leverages for their pro-democracy activities. One significant step would be to ensure the cessation of hostilities through negotiations, so as to provide a climate for progressive discussions around charting the path to political progress, disarmament and sustainable development. As some analysts opine, Egypt could play a leading role in this based on the political history of both countries.
While virtually all the countries have successfully evacuated diplomats and other citizens from Sudan, the coordination challenges due to lack of proper logistics arrangements, especially by some African countries, need to be adequately addressed. Thus, the continent’s regional bodies could initiate collaborative arrangements to proactively engage in joint operations for more efficient and faster means of evacuating citizens from conflict contexts across the globe. There is also need for better synergy between diplomats and citizens of their countries and regions for effective coordination of such efforts in the future.