The Ongoing Struggle in Sudan
By the time I reached the hilltop overlooking Kadugli in June, the conflict in Sudan had been raging for a staggering 1 year, 2 months, and 7 days. This duration surpassed that of the war in Gaza, yet it was still shorter than the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine. Despite claiming the lives of countless individuals and displacing millions, this brutal civil war has largely remained a mystery to the global audience.
Many non-governmental organizations have ceased operations within the country, and the United States Embassy evacuated to Ethiopia shortly after hostilities erupted. My entry into Sudan was facilitated by a rebel faction that controlled segments of the southern region. Armed personnel guided me across a muddy border road two weeks prior, without even a stamp marking my passport.
We had now ascended the hill to a vantage point recently captured by the rebels—a rocky outcrop that provided a sweeping view of Kadugli, a city home to over 100,000 residents, sprawling across a verdant African plain. Through a pair of binoculars, I observed the daily routines of Kadugli’s inhabitants, who continued their lives in an area still governed by the state. Kadugli had previously been a focal point for a slow, systematic ethnic cleansing, as the Sudanese regime sought to eradicate the rebels hidden in the adjacent mountains. In this grim reality, innocent villagers bore the brunt, with entire communities devastated by indiscriminate barrel bomb attacks. Many families sought refuge in caves, fleeing the violence. However, the oppressive dictatorship that had ruled was dismantled in 2019, and last year, the two generals who ascended to power in its aftermath turned their animosity upon one another, igniting a new civil conflict.
Now, in this valley, the dynamics had shifted dramatically: As the generals clashed elsewhere, the rebels were taking the initiative. The food supplies in Kadugli had significantly diminished since the rebels commandeered the main supply route into the city, a broad paved road visible through my binoculars. One might have anticipated a mass exodus from this beleaguered locale by now, yet nowhere in Sudan offers refuge. The capital, Khartoum, along with other major urban centers, has succumbed to the chaos of war, leading the de facto government to relocate to a port on the Red Sea. Instead of fleeing, Kadugli appears to be bracing itself for the arrival of the very faction that dispatched the armed fighters stationed on the hilltop: The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, commonly referred to by its initials, S.P.L.M., which has been engaged in a struggle against Sudan’s government intermittently since 1983.
Source: The New York Times
