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Why is there a civil war in Sudan and how did it spread?

Sudan's army and a paramilitary group it once worked with have been at war for about three and a half years. The fighting is now done mostly with drones, and it is reaching power grids far from the front lines and a neighbouring country's border region.

Published 26 Oct 2026 By Implica 8 sources 8 min read

THE SHORT ANSWER

Because two armed forces that were once allies fell out over who would hold power in a planned transition to civilian rule. Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting on 15 April 2023, after disagreements that included how to merge their forces. The RSF grew out of militias used in Darfur, and the army-led government came out of a 2021 coup. Aid workers estimate the war has killed more than 200,000 people, and it is now spilling into the Central African Republic.

What happened

On 20 October 2026, Valentine Rugwabiza, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), known as MINUSCA, told the UN Security Council that the war in Sudan is spilling into her host country. She said violence is multiplying in the east, even though nearly 2,000 fighters have been disarmed. She pointed to an attack on 30 June on Am-Dafock, on the Sudan border. It displaced 17,000 civilians and injured six peacekeepers. Armed groups held the town for five days before the mission's rapid response helped restore state authority, and the fighters retreated into Sudan. She asked the council to keep the mission at adequate strength as it prepares to renew the mandate.

On Monday 26 October 2026, the RSF launched a coordinated drone attack on five power stations, a government official told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity. Two stations in Al-Jazira state, two in Gedaref state and one in White Nile state were hit, cutting power across large parts of all three. The army controls those states. Reuters reported a slightly different count from the state electricity company, which said power was cut in four states, including Sennar, covering about half the territory the military holds. The company warned that the whole national grid was at risk. Reuters could not verify this independently, and the RSF did not immediately respond.

Why it matters

The war has produced what the UN calls the world's largest hunger crisis, with nearly 20 million people facing extreme hunger. Most of Sudan's hospitals have been forced to close and at least 8 million children are out of school. When power stations and dams are hit, outages can last for days, which affects medicine storage, water and farming. The Am-Dafock attack shows that the fighting no longer stays inside Sudan's borders.

  • For civilians in army-held eastern Sudan, power cuts threaten medicines that need refrigeration and the pumps farmers use to irrigate. Babiker Youssef, a resident of Al-Fao, said his diabetic son's insulin has to be kept in a fridge.
  • For farmers in Al-Jazira, a hit on a repaired station sets back hopes of replanting. One farmer said he had been unable to work his land for nearly four years.
  • For people in eastern CAR and the UN mission, cross-border attacks and arms flows add to threats from other armed groups. Rugwabiza says the Sudan war is complicating plans to reduce the number of peacekeepers.

The background: a army-backed state, an armed militia and a failed handover

A long history of outside rule and internal wars

Sudan's modern borders were set by foreign powers. From 1805, Egypt under Muhammad Ali Pasha sought to expand south into Sudan. In 1881 a religious leader, Muhammad Ahmad, proclaimed himself the Mahdi and began a war to unify tribes in the west and centre. In 1953 the United Kingdom and Egypt agreed to Sudanese self-government, and the modern Republic of the Sudan was formed in early 1956.

Conflict came almost at once. An army revolt in the southern city of Torit on 18 August 1955 led to a low-level guerrilla insurgency. Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry took power in a coup on 25 May 1969. In 1983 the civil war in the south reignited after the government's Islamisation policy, which would have introduced Islamic law. South Sudan became independent in 2011.

Darfur and the militias that became the RSF

The war in Darfur, in the west, began in February 2003, when rebel groups started fighting the government. They accused it of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government used militias known as the Janjaweed, and the conflict was marked by ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs.

In August 2013 the government restructured and reactivated the Janjaweed as the Rapid Support Forces, under Muhammad Dagalo, known as Hemedti. In 2014 and 2015 the RSF attacked villages in Darfur with air and ground support from the army. In November 2017 Hemedti used the RSF to take over gold mines in Darfur. According to Wikipedia, this made him one of the richest people in Sudan by 2019.

The fall of al-Bashir and the 2021 coup

In April 2019, after months of street protests, President Omar al-Bashir was ousted. Sudan was then ruled by a Sovereignty Council made up of military and civilian representatives, as the highest power in a transitional period. The RSF is reported to have killed 100 protesters in the Khartoum massacre of 3 June 2019.

On 25 October 2021 the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, took control of the government in a coup. Civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok refused to support it and was put under house arrest. The army and the RSF were then the two armed powers at the top of the military government.

April 2023: the allies go to war

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF broke out on 15 April 2023. It started in Khartoum and Darfur, and it spread across the country. The two sides fell out over several issues, including how to integrate their forces in a planned transition to civilian rule. The reports so far do not say more about why talks failed at that moment.

The war has been marked by atrocities that Human Rights Watch and others attribute to both sides, with the RSF singled out for crimes against humanity and ethnic targeting of the Masalit people. In December 2024 the RSF took Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazira state. The army recaptured it in January 2025. In October 2025, after an 18-month siege, the RSF captured El Fasher, the largest city in Darfur, and reports describe massacres of civilians.

2026: a drone war that reaches beyond the front

By August 2026, Implica reported drone strikes on civilians in Kordofan and on vehicles, and the UN human rights office said it had documented over 1,000 civilian deaths from drones between January and May. On 13 August more than 35 drones struck Khartoum, El Obeid and cities in River Nile state, far from the front lines.

Reports in September said the army chief defied ceasefire calls after Washington refused General al-Burhan a visa, and drone and aerial attacks hit a fuel depot and Nyala. On 1 October RSF drones struck El Obeid. In the first three weeks of October, drone strikes killed more than 300 people, according to a UN tally. The week of 20 October brought the CAR warning and the strikes on power stations.

GOOD TO KNOW

Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed militia leader from the Darfur war, was arrested in the Central African Republic on 9 June 2020, thirteen years after the International Criminal Court charged him. The court convicted him of war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2025.

Who are the Rapid Support Forces?

The RSF is a paramilitary force that was formerly operated by the Sudanese government. It traces its roots to the Janjaweed militias used in Darfur and was formalised in August 2013 under Hemedti. Its size was estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers in February 2014 and 40,000 members in 2016 and 2017. Besides fighting in Darfur, it has sent troops abroad, including to the Yemeni civil war, and it has business interests in gold. Wikipedia describes its foreign relations as complex and largely veiled.

What is MINUSCA and why does its size matter?

MINUSCA is the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR. It has been deployed there since 2014 and is one of the UN's largest. Its mandate comes up for renewal, and the UN Secretary-General has recommended renewing it for a further year. A statement to the council also backed returning military personnel to restore the quick reaction forces to their original strength. Rugwabiza says the mission's rapid response limited deaths at Am-Dafock. Wikipedia notes a parallel from Sudan itself: the UN withdrew its peacekeepers from Darfur in early January 2021, and fighting between Masalit people and Arab nomads in West Darfur killed 84 two weeks later. The material does not say the withdrawal caused that violence.

Timeline: 1955 to today

INDEPENDENCE AND EARLIER WARS

  1. An army revolt in Torit, in the south, leads to a low-level guerrilla insurgency.

  2. The modern Republic of the Sudan is formed.

  3. Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry takes power in a coup.

  4. The civil war in the south reignites after the government's Islamisation policy.

DARFUR AND THE RSF

  1. The war in Darfur begins, with the government using militias against rebel groups.

  2. South Sudan becomes independent.

  3. The Janjaweed militias are restructured as the Rapid Support Forces under Hemedti.

  4. President Omar al-Bashir is ousted after months of protests.

  5. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan leads a military coup against the transitional government.

THE WAR

  1. Fighting between the army and the RSF breaks out in Khartoum and Darfur.

  2. The RSF takes Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazira state.

  3. The army recaptures Wad Madani.

  4. The RSF captures El Fasher in Darfur after an 18-month siege.

THE DRONE WAR

  1. Drone strikes kill dozens of civilians in Kordofan, with rights groups reporting attacks on water stations and health centres.

  2. The UN human rights office reports over 1,000 civilian drone deaths between January and May.

  3. An army drone strike kills at least 35 at a customary court in North Darfur.

  4. More than 35 RSF drones strike Khartoum, El Obeid and River Nile state cities over two days.

  5. Strikes hit a fuel depot and Nyala as the army chief defies ceasefire calls.

  6. RSF drones strike El Obeid, killing five and wounding 47.

  7. The UN warns the Security Council that the war is spilling into the Central African Republic and urges against an early peacekeeper exit.

  8. RSF drones hit five power stations, cutting electricity across army-held eastern states.

What to watch next

  • MINUSCA's mandate. The Security Council is preparing to renew the CAR mission, and the UN Secretary-General has recommended a further year.
  • Restoring power. Reports say outages after past strikes have lasted days, and it is not yet clear when electricity will return to the affected states.
  • The RSF's response. The RSF did not immediately respond to the power station allegations, and Reuters could not verify the electricity company's account.
  • Ceasefire calls. The army chief defied calls for a ceasefire in late September, and no new truce talks are reported in the material so far.

Sources

How this article was made: Implica's editorial system wrote it from the news reports above, with the background drawn from Wikipedia: History of Sudan, War in Darfur, Rapid Support Forces, War crimes in the Sudanese civil war (2023–present).

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