Daily Trust Editorial, Friday December 19, 2025
Nearly three years on, the war in Sudan seems not to be abating. Rather, it is becoming more ferocious by the day, causing deaths, injuries and hunger for millions of innocent civilians. Unfortunately, the world watches or seems to ignore their suffering. Civil war broke out on April 15, 2025, pitting the military government of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan. The conflict between the two former allies followed a dispute over who would control the government after an earlier coup staged by them in October 2021.
Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has endured chronic instability marked by about 20 coup attempts, prolonged military rule, two devastating civil wars and the Darfur genocide.
The current conflict has taken its toll largely on civilians. Reports say that in a country of 51.7 million people, no fewer than 9.5 million are internally displaced, while 4.35 million have fled the country. At least 21.2 million people are believed to be facing acute food shortages.
But of even greater concern is the fact that the war has witnessed some of the worst and most flagrant violations of human rights. In October 2025, the city of El Fasher fell to RSF forces, and reports said thousands of civilians were killed in the process. Earlier this month, RSF forces were said to have launched multiple drone attacks on a kindergarten and a hospital, killing 114 people, including 63 children. Another attack also targeted first responders who were trying to get the wounded to safety, according to the World Health Organization.
Also on December 13, a drone strike hit a United Nations peacekeeping logistics base, killing six peacekeepers.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike on Saturday in the city of Kadugli in the central region of Kordofan.
“Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” said Guterres, who called for those responsible for the “unjustifiable” attack to be held accountable.
Sadly, despite these atrocities and their seeming continuation, the world has remained mute. The perpetrators of these dastardly acts are daily being emboldened by this silence.
Reports say that both sides are being supported by countries whose interests are largely economic. They believe that if their side wins, they will gain access to the vast untapped wealth of the country.
The countries with interests in the conflict include Russia, Iran, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, who are backing the Sudanese army, while the United Arab Emirates, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Khalifa Haftar’s Libya are backing the RSF.
We at Daily Trust note with sadness that the international community is staying aloof while massive human rights violations are taking place. Sudanese have known no peace since the country gained independence in 1956. For the better part of its existence, it has been at war, including with neighbouring South Sudan, which eventually gained independence in 2011, while the conflict in Darfur raged on.
The country has seen successive rule by military leaders whose tenures were marked by human rights violations and graft, while citizens wallow in poverty and deprivation.
We believe it is time for the international community to search for its humanity and move collectively and decisively to stop the carnage.
The African Union must take the lead by first calling on all its members supporting any of the belligerents to cease such support. The AU should also mobilise to ensure that external forces leave the country. Without such backing, the warring sides would be denied the arms needed to continue the war.
The African Union must also mobilise support at the United Nations for a common stand on the conflict to ensure the quick return of peace.
The UN must also initiate investigations into possible war crimes against the leaders of the warring sides. The international community must not allow the mass human rights violations witnessed in Sudan to go unpunished, as this would only encourage others to do the same.
It is time for the leaders of the world to search their conscience and stop the suffering in Sudan. The people have suffered for far too long, and it would be a shame to allow this to continue unabated. It is time to act.
