Sudan War: RSF Massacre, Gold Funding and Global Indifference

In October 2025, militiamen from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) indiscriminately shot hundreds of people, including patients, children, and their families, inside a hospital in Alfaser, Sudan. This atrocity was part of a broader siege on the strategically important city in northern Darfur. Since the RSF encircled El Fasher in May 2024, thousands have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced or trapped without adequate food, water, or medical aid.

Sudan's Unfolding Catastrophe

Since 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating war, leading to one of the world's greatest humanitarian crises. Millions are fleeing internally and abroad, and much of the population faces starvation. This crisis stems from a military power struggle, with both sides receiving indirect international support. Despite Sudan's potential—fertile farmland, access to the Red Sea, resources like gold and oil, and a young population—civilians are paying the ultimate price, largely unnoticed by the international community.

Before the war, the capital, Khartoum, was a vibrant metropolis where young people like Muhammad Zacharia pursued dreams of democracy and freedom. Now, its streets are deserted, buildings burned, bridges destroyed, and families torn apart, with bullet holes scarring every view.

The Combatants: SAF vs. RSF

The conflict pits two major powers against each other, effectively dividing the country:

• Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): The official army, led by General Abdal Fata al-Burhan, the de facto head of state. The SAF controls large parts of the northeast and center, including Khartoum.
• Rapid Support Forces (RSF): A paramilitary force led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. The RSF is decentralized, mobile, and controls significant areas in the west, particularly the Darfur region.

Al-Burhan and Hemedti initially shared power but became rivals, escalating into open war in April 2023. The conflict began with heavy fighting in Khartoum, with the Sudanese Air Force conducting airstrikes on residential areas. Civilians found themselves in a war zone with no public transportation, gas, bread, or medicine. The capital saw months of fighting before the RSF gained initial control, and the violence quickly spread nationwide.

The Human Cost

The war's scale is immense: - Estimates of deaths range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. - Over 13 million people are internally displaced or have fled to other countries. - Sudan faces one of the worst famines globally, with nearly half the population dependent on humanitarian aid.

Despite the worsening crisis, aid organizations face massive funding gaps, with only about 20% of the UN's 2026 funding target met. This contrasts sharply with other conflicts that receive significantly more humanitarian aid.

Local Heroes and Unimaginable Conditions

In the absence of international support, tens of thousands of young Sudanese volunteers are risking their lives to provide aid. They run community kitchens, offer medical care for victims of sexual violence, and reach areas inaccessible to large international organizations.

Ahmed, a recent medical graduate, has been performing surgeries in trenches amid bombings and drone strikes, often without electricity, water, or medicine. He recounts a harrowing incident where a bomb hit an operating room during a C-section, yet staff continued working, refusing to abandon the patient.

Muhammad Zacharia, a journalist, began documenting the war after his house was bombed on the fourth day, killing four family members and injuring 19 others. He stayed in Alfaser for 15 months, documenting the daily violence, including massacres perpetrated by the RSF, who even filmed their own atrocities. For 18 months, El Fasher was encircled, and hundreds of thousands were systematically starved.

Historical Roots of the Conflict

The current conflict is deeply rooted in Sudan's past: - Ethnic Divisions: Sudan has over 50 ethnic groups, simplistically categorized as "Arab" or "African," a distinction that has fueled inequality and conflict. - Colonial Legacy: British-Egyptian colonial rule exacerbated these differences through unequal regional development. - Post-Independence Inequality: After independence in 1956, political and economic power remained concentrated in a small elite. - Omar al-Bashir's Rule: In 1989, Omar al-Bashir seized power via a military coup, ruling for 30 years with policies of Arabization and Islamization, favoring Arab elites and intensifying tensions. - Darfur Genocide: In 2003, rebels in Darfur rose against the government. Al-Bashir responded by mobilizing and arming Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, leading to a genocide that killed approximately 300,000, destroyed villages, and displaced millions. - Rise of Hemedti and the RSF: Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) rose through the Janjaweed, eventually integrating parts of it into the new paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in 2013, creating a powerful second armed force within the state. - Overthrow of Al-Bashir: In late 2018, mass protests led to Al-Bashir's overthrow by a military leadership comprising Al-Burhan and Hemedti. A transitional government was formed, aiming for power-sharing between military and civilian groups, but this hope was short-lived. - 2021 Coup: In 2021, Al-Burhan led a military coup, dissolving the civilian government. The planned integration of the RSF into the army highlighted the growing rivalry between Al-Burhan and Hemedti, culminating in the April 2023 war.

A War of Total Destruction

The conflict is often described as a civil war, but Sudanese political scientist Holler argues it's more complex: "It's about influence, resources, and geopolitical interests." Both the SAF and RSF are fighting each other and the Sudanese people. Civilians are the most vulnerable, facing massive violence from both sides. Hospitals, markets, power stations, and water supplies are being bombed, leading to "total destruction."

International Involvement and Geopolitical Interests

The war is not solely waged by two military rulers; it is financed by external actors:

• SAF Supporters:
  • Egypt: Provides logistics and ammunition, fearing an uncontrollable militia in a neighboring state.
  • Turkey and Iran: Supply combat drones.
  • Qatar and Saudi Arabia: Offer political and diplomatic support, recognizing the SAF as the central state authority.
• RSF Supporters:
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE): Provides crucial financial, military, and logistical support. Despite a UN arms embargo on Darfur, heavy weapons supplied by the UAE have reached the RSF, often via legal transfers to the UAE as an end-user.
  • Russia: Supports the RSF with weapons, training, and tactical advice through mercenaries and military advisers, while also negotiating a naval base in Port Sudan with the Sudanese army.

International involvement is driven by "geopolitics, geography, and gold": - Gold: Sudan is one of Africa's largest gold producers, with unregulated deposits worth billions. Control over these mines finances the war, and buyers of Sudanese gold support the conflict. - Geography: Sudan's 850 km coastline along the Red Sea, a vital global shipping route, offers influence over international trade. The country also borders seven other nations, many of which are conflict-ridden. - Geopolitics: Europe's "fortress Europe" migration policy has inadvertently strengthened security forces in Sudan, including the RSF, by providing technology, legitimacy, and financial support to curb migration across the Mediterranean.

The El Fasher Massacre and International Indifference

RSF drone footage from October 2025 showed civilians attempting to flee El Fasher but being blocked by earth walls. Civilians were forced to acknowledge RSF leader Hemedti before being shot. Ahmed, the doctor, survived on animal feed, weighing only 37 kg when the city fell. When he tried to leave, the hospital was attacked, and immobile patients were killed "in cold blood."

Journalist Muhammad Zacharia, now in exile in Uganda, witnessed friends and relatives killed in videos published by RSF soldiers. Nathaniel Raymond, a human rights investigator at Yale, warned the US government of an impending genocide in El Fasher as early as 2024. He claims these warnings were met with "significant internal pushback" from the Biden administration, which prioritized diplomatic conditions with the UAE. Raymond states that El Fasher was "the most accurately monitored and warned mass killing in human history," yet inaction prevailed.

Many attribute this indifference to racism, arguing that the victims being Black Africans in a country like Sudan means their suffering does not resonate with centers of power in the West as much as conflicts in Ukraine or the Middle East.

Regional and Global Consequences

The war's impact extends beyond Sudan's borders: - Over 9 million internally displaced people, plus over 1 million Sudanese refugees in Chad alone, one of the world's poorest countries. - Refugee camps are overcrowded, with severe shortages of food, water, and medical care. - Similar situations exist in Egypt, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, threatening further regional escalation. - Instability along the Red Sea affects global supply chains and energy prices, impacting Europe. - A prolonged crisis could lead to renewed irregular migration towards Europe, driven by desperate youth.

The Path Forward: A Call for Action

Despite the global impact, US President Donald Trump, in November 2025, expressed surprise at being involved in Sudan, calling it "crazy and out of control." The Biden administration has relied on the Quad (US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt) to facilitate talks, but this group includes major supporters of both warring factions, creating a conflict of interest that hinders a political solution. Sanctions against the UAE, a key RSF supporter, have not yet materialized, though the EU has sanctioned parties from both the RSF and SAF.

The conflict is now a strategic stalemate, with no clear military victory for either side. Drone strikes are increasingly causing civilian casualties. Young Sudanese continue to use social media to highlight their suffering, but the world's attention remains elsewhere.

The war in Sudan is not an unimportant, faraway conflict. It is a humanitarian catastrophe driven by geopolitical interests, resources, and a historical legacy of inequality. The inaction of the international community has a profound cost, leading to the deaths of countless men, women, and children. As one expert stated, "These people died because there was no demand." The world's indifference makes us all responsible.