Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war

Fire at a livestock market in Darfur, Sudan

A total of 9 million people have fled their homes, seeking safety

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

published 16 April 2024

What happened

A year after war broke out in Sudan, aid agencies warned Monday that the country is on the edge of total collapse. The United Nations says Sudan is experiencing "one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory" and "the largest internal displacement crisis in the world," with 9 million people having fled their homes, seeking safety.

At the start of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), "optimists hoped that the two sides would grind themselves to a stalemate" and negotiate a power-sharing deal, The Economist said. Instead, the battle has "metastasized into a nationwide conflagration so vast and anarchic it could yet destabilize several of Sudan's neighbors." Fighting in Sudan is "on an uptick and most concerning is that it is spreading into new areas," Cameron Hudson at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said to Semafor.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.