Sudan Is Burning - Africa and The World Cannot Afford To Look Away

allAfrica

Leading Sudanese and International Voices Call for Greater African Engagement in Resolving Sudan War - HALA AL-KARIB is an activist and research practitioner from Sudan. She is the Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) and the editorial head of the annual journal "Women in Islam". JOHN RIAGA is media manager for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Eastern Africa KHOLOOD KHAIR is the founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a 'think and do tank' formerly based in Khartoum. BAYADIR MOHAMED-OSMAN is a Sudanese-American social impact consultant, public health professional, poet, community organizer, and social media activist. Follow her on Instagram and X: @yourbaya

14 April 2025

allAfrica.com

By Melody Chironda

Two years ago, on April 15, war erupted in Sudan - a war that has since spiraled into one of the world's most devastating humanitarian catastrophes. Yet, the suffering of the Sudanese people is being met with silence, indifference, and a staggering lack of African and global action.

In response to the lack of sustained media attention on the crisis, allAfrica, in partnership with civil society and international organisations, hosted a critical briefing to spotlight the escalating violence and rally African media to take a more active role. allAfrica Managing Editor Juanita Williams opened the discussion by calling on African journalists and broadcasters to amplify coverage of Sudan's suffering.

Williams said hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and millions more are displaced, starving, and trapped in a cycle of unspeakable violence. Women and children endure systematic atrocities, being used as weapons of war in a conflict fueled by external actors and enabled by impunity. The Rapid Support Forces stand accused of genocide in Darfur, while the Sudanese Armed Forces face allegations of crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts have failed, and the world's attention remains elsewhere.

"Sudan is too big to fall apart. Not alone."

"What's happening in Sudan is definitely the outcome of years and years of impunity and silence against… the violence against women and girls and civilians that has been happening in Darfur," said Hala al-Karib, a Sudanese activist and the Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa that exposes the escalating violence, particularly against women and children, and explore how African leaders and media can confront the political, economic, and geopolitical forces at play. Founded in 1995, SIHA strengthens the capacity of women's rights organizations and addresses violence against women and girls in the Greater Horn of Africa.

Speaking at the briefing, Al-Karib described the severity of the conflict in Sudan, saying it is not only a national crisis but a continental one.

"This conflict… is a proxy war. It's a war that's using… the bodies of women and girls and civilians and children as a weapon of war and as a war strategy," she said. "The atrocities never stopped… It was ongoing throughout the past 22 years."

She criticized the ending of the African Union - United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur in 2020, saying it eliminated the only monitoring body on the ground. "The only thing that has happened… is that the international community stopped speaking about Darfur," she said.

Despite early warnings to the UN Security Council about Sudan's volatile security dynamics, including its "multiple armies", they lamented the global community's neglect.

Today, she said, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and crimes against children are widespread and intentional, with women and girls being disproportionately targeted.

"Sudan, at the moment, is the capital of sexual violence," said Al-Karib.

al-Karib reflected on how the momentum for democratic change in Sudan has repeatedly been derailed by recycled political arrangements that ultimately reinstate the very forces that oppress civilians. "There is no interest in a democratic Sudan," she said. She said that following popular uprisings, transitional governments often include the perpetrators of past violence, especially those with weapons, who assert power through force. According to her, systemic violence has intentionally targeted hopes for democracy, equal citizenship, and women's participation in public life.

"Sudanese have resisted and died for democracy," she said, adding that women, in particular, have led the charge - placing their bodies on the front lines of protest.  "Many of the women who were raped and assaulted...they were told that this is happening to you because of you being present in public spaces."

"This violence didn't happen all of a sudden," she said. "It was enabled by impunity and by turning a blind eye to it."

It's one thing to engage and fail, another thing to not engage at all.

Kholood Khair, a Sudanese policy expert and founding director of "think and do tank" Confluence Advisory, expressed deep concern over what she sees as a widespread disengagement from Sudan's crisis by African nations. "It's not just that African nations have failed Sudan," she said.

She said that even public awareness of the war within African countries is shockingly low. "It's that they're just not engaged at all... I haven't seen much coverage across African TV stations... it's a glaring issue of no engagement with what's going on in Sudan," said Khair.

She attributed part of this disconnect to poor media coverage, noting that Africa's largest war right now is largely absent from television and news outlets across the continent.

Khair criticized African Union (AU) and IGAD-led peace initiatives as ineffective, saying they lack the political will to push beyond rigid state-to-state diplomacy.  She argued that African states, especially democracies, must engage Sudanese civil society, not just warring factions, to push for democratic transition. This would lend legitimacy to peace efforts as authentically African, not "Western."

She said that African countries need to engage more broadly, not just with the warring parties. "In a war that is both counterrevolutionary and prosecuted by military actors," said Khair, "the pathway to peace isn't going to come only through those actors." She urged African states, especially those with democratic traditions, to engage with Sudanese civil society and support democratic transformation as this would help dispel the notion that democracy promotion in Sudan is solely a Western or internationalist effort.

Khair also criticised the absence of an African champion willing to stand up for Sudanese civilians at international forums. She pointed out that while countries like Gambia and South Africa have spoken out for the plight of the Rohingya and the Palestinians, respectively, no African country has done the same for Sudan. "We need an African champion with clean hands to support the Sudanese people," she said.

"The Sudanese Armed Forces themselves lack credibility due to past and ongoing human rights violations, including allegations of genocide and the use of chemical weapons."

Khair said a credible African voice could bring much-needed legitimacy to Sudanese legal efforts, such as the case brought by Sudan against the UAE at the International Court of Justice. Even if the case doesn't proceed far due to jurisdictional challenges, she said "Sudanese communities would still be able to get their day in court" through the support of a legitimate African advocate.

The violence meted out on the people of Sudan is basically unacceptable

The collapse of the medical system has made it difficult for MSF to provide medical care, with shortages of medical supplies.

"What we've witnessed in Sudan is simply unacceptable," said John Riaga, the East Africa Media Manager for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)." Even before the war erupted nearly two years ago, MSF was already in the country, supporting a fragile healthcare system. But now, what we're seeing is a complete collapse of medical services."

"Civilians, especially women and children, are bearing the brunt of the violence. We've treated thousands, but many don't make it to our facilities in time. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable; due to insecurity and curfews, they arrive late, sometimes with fatal infections like sepsis, and we lose lives that shouldn't be lost in any functioning health system."

Movement is a major challenge.

Riaga said that they are facing severe shortages of medical supplies because aid is being blocked. Their teams encounter roadblocks and obstructions daily. In some cases, their warehouses and facilities have been looted.

"We've also seen direct attacks on hospitals, forcing us to make painful decisions to shut down some operations to protect our staff," he said.

"But ultimately, what we are saying in our call as Doctors Without Borders is one, let all medical facilities be spared from attacks, let humanitarian aid workers be spared from attacks, and let civilians be spared from these attacks, because really, they have nothing to do with this war. And on top of that, we are also asking that we be given the space to move to move medical supplies and to move medical personnel where they are needed so that we can continue giving what is our ultimate call of providing medical services to those who need it the most," he said.

Riaga said that MSF has treated thousands of people in their facilities across Sudan. Most of those we care for are women, children, and other vulnerable individuals. However, the overall healthcare system in Sudan is now in ruins, and it makes their work not just urgent but incredibly difficult.

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has reached catastrophic levels

Bayadir Mohamed-Osman, a Sudanese-American poet, community organizer, and activist, said that African audiences need to recognize the extraordinary resilience of the Sudanese people.

"Sudanese people have been extremely resilient and have been doing the work of global agencies ever since this war has started," Mohamed-Osman said. "We've become the UN. We're the local responders, fundraisers, and journalists – it's exhausting, and it's not work we should have to do."

She said that young people on the ground in Sudan have become the country's first responders, organizing evacuations, distributing hygiene kits, operating food kitchens, and providing medical support. This work is carried out by decentralized emergency response rooms, often with minimal resources and under threat. Mohamed-Osman said that despite the massive efforts by these youth-led groups, over 80% of the food kitchens have closed due to USAID funding cuts, including those specifically serving women.

Sudanese people have been extremely resilient

"They're putting their lives at risk to do this work... The local youth in Sudan, the young defenders, the frontline defenders… they are volunteering and risking their life," she said. "I don't believe in 'giving voice to the voiceless,' it's about passing the mic. Amplify our work, let us lead," she said.

Mohamed-Osman said that the biggest lesson she learnt is that the real villain might just be the bystander. She urged Africa's media and global platforms not to speak for Sudanese people, but rather with them.

"All we're asking for is the simple opportunity to pass the mic to us… to allow the local responders to speak, and to allow us to lead the conversations," she said. "That's what got us into this mess in the first place - we never had autonomy or democracy letting us lead."