THE SQUIZ
There are 2 competing militaries in Sudan going at it, dashing hopes for a peaceful transition back to civilian rule. Gunfire in the streets of the capital city of Khartoum kicked off on Saturday with intense fighting that continued yesterday for control of the presidential palace and airport. While precise numbers are hard to come by, reports say 59 civilians had been killed by the end of the weekend, including 3 United Nations’ World Food Programme workers. Adding to their woes: Sudan, which is home to 45 million people, has also recently become a strategic proxy in the struggle between Russia and Western nations.

WAIT, WHO’S FIGHTING WHO?
To understand the current conflict, let’s wind back a bit. Up until 2019, Sudan had been ruled by authoritarian dictator President Omar al-Bashir for 30 years. That year, a dramatic civilian uprising overthrew the President and installed a civilian government with a power-sharing agreement between civilians and the military. The idea was the nation was meant to transition to democratic rule… But in late 2021, Sudan’s 2 most prominent military leaders – General al-Burhan (from the nation’s formal military) and Lieutenant General Hamdan (who leads the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries) – joined forces to seize power in a military coup, ousting the civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok. Now they are fighting, each blaming the other for escalating tensions. Civilians are said to be sheltering in their homes, and it’s unclear who has control of Sudan at this point in time.

THAT SOUNDS BAD…
The worry is that Sudan will be tipped into a full-on civil war, wiping away any hope that the 2019 popular uprising would result in democracy for Sudan. Other nations are also concerned about the fighting becoming entrenched. Russia’s Wagner group of mercenaries runs a gold processing plant in Sudan, and Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement calling for “immediate steps towards a ceasefire”. Western nations had been pushing the Sudanese military leaders to transition the country to civilian rule – a transition meant to happen this month. As for the US, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he was “deeply concerned” by the violence and called for negotiations to end the fighting.