By Dr Ameena Al Rasheed
Sudan is currently engulfed in one of the world’s most brutal and underreported conflicts—a proxy war marked by extreme violence, mass atrocities, systemic sexual violence and the deliberate destruction of civilian life. This war is not just a domestic tragedy; it is the outcome of deeply embedded geopolitical interests, ideological oppression and regional power struggles, with the Sudanese population paying the highest price.
At the center of the violence are foreign powers, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, whose interventions have drastically exacerbated the brutality of the conflict. These states, acting out of strategic and economic self-interest, have supported various factions within Sudan to gain control over its agricultural lands, mineral resources, and gold reserves. The conflict is not merely political—it is deeply rooted in the economic plundering of Sudan’s vast wealth.
These countries have shown a sustained interest in derailing Sudan’s path to civilian governance, a goal many Sudanese have struggled for since the revolution began in December 2018. In pursuit of this, UAE and Egypt have employed proxies and direct support to military groups like the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose reign of terror has included war crimes such as ethnic cleansing, public hangings, rape, torture, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Evidence increasingly suggests that genocide and demographic engineering are not accidental outcomes but deliberate tools of geopolitical manipulation.
The RSF, originally a paramilitary group, now operates with a level of impunity that is enabled by foreign military and financial backing. While the UAE profits from land grabs, mineral extraction, and smuggled gold, Egypt continues its historical exploitation of Sudan’s agricultural production and is now complicit in gold mining operations in regions marred by violence.
Despite the horrifying scale of the atrocities, the international community remains disturbingly silent. This silence is not neutrality—it is complicity. While ordinary Sudanese suffer, Sudan’s wealth—gold, crops, and even cultural artifacts—are being looted and exported, especially to Gulf nations. Credible reports confirm that Sudanese antiquities have been transported to the UAE, and weapons manufactured in the European Union have been used in massacres by RSF forces. This represents one of the largest and most coordinated looting campaigns in recent modern history, unfolding in plain sight while the world looks away.
The human cost is staggering. Recently, in the Al-Gamoia massacre, over 100 civilians were brutally killed by RSF forces. This atrocity follows many other massacres committed across central Sudan, Darfur, Omdurman, and numerous other towns and cities throughout the country. The victims included medical professionals, young men, and women—many of whom had no connection to any combat operations. Thousands more have been subjected to unlawful detentions, forced disappearances, starvation, and torture. Women and girls face some of the most horrific violence, including systematic rape, public executions, and suicide-inducing trauma. Entire generations are being psychologically scarred, with trauma and grief becoming the norm for families across Sudan.
The war also reflects a deeper historical wound: the collapse of Sudan’s Arabic-Islamic ideological project, which has fueled division and violence since independence. For decades, the Sudanese ruling elite has enforced a rigid Arab-Islamic identity, erasing the country’s ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. After the 1989 coup by Omar al-Bashir, the regime deepened its control through Islamic fundamentalism, weaponizing religion to oppress, divide and control.
Under this ideological regime, non-Arab and non-Muslim communities—especially in Darfur—were targeted for extermination. Bashir’s regime conducted genocidal campaigns, particularly against those who did not conform to the dominant narrative of Sudanese identity. The violence was not limited to policy—it was deeply racialized and militarized, often justifying murder, torture and destruction through religious and ethnic rhetoric.
The current revolution, sparked in 2018, was a rejection of this oppressive order. But instead of transition, Sudanese civilians have been met with renewed militarization, foreign interference and a betrayal of their democratic hopes. Even now, resistance committees, civil society leaders, teachers, lawyers, and human rights activists are being targeted and silenced through killings, disappearances, and intimidation. And yet, the people persist.
Sudan’s war is sustained not just by guns and gold but by a network of regional alliances that seek to benefit from its collapse. The UAE, Bahrain, and other Gulf states have expanded their land acquisition and economic interests in Sudan, continuing a pattern of neo-colonial exploitation across Africa. These powers benefit from instability, using it to acquire land, minerals, and influence at minimal cost, while Sudanese lives are treated as expendable.
This war is also a reflection of the global order’s failures. International mechanisms of accountability have failed. Global institutions meant to uphold human rights have largely ignored the situation. The fact that weapons made in Europe are being used in war crimes, and that known war criminals still walk free, is an indictment of the system that claims to champion justice and peace.
The Path Forward: A Pluralistic Sudan
Despite the despair, the Sudanese people remain unwavering in their fight for freedom, dignity, and justice. They envision a pluralistic, inclusive, and democratic Sudan—one that reflects its true identity as a multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multi-religious nation. The revolution has opened the door to rethinking Sudan’s national identity and dismantling the ideological dominance of the Islamic regime.
However, the path ahead is perilous. To achieve real change, Sudan must not only defeat its internal dictatorship but also confront entrenched regional powers and global complicity. The international community must abandon its silence and take concrete steps: impose sanctions on complicit regimes, hold war criminals accountable, and support Sudanese civil society and resistance movements.
Conclusion:
Sudan stands at a crossroads. The people are fighting not just a violent regime, but a global network of economic and political interests. Their struggle is one of survival and self-determination. As long as the world remains silent, weapons will keep flowing, land will keep being stolen, and lives will continue to be lost. But the Sudanese people have not given up. They are still resisting—with hope, courage, and the unshakable belief in a free and just future
Dr Ameena Al Rasheed is a Sudanese activist and political analyst, and member of Liberation’s Central Council.
She was former Regional Advisor for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, worked as programme manager for gender and economic policy management with the UNDP.
She graduated with an honours degree in political science, and holds two master degrees in public Policy and administration and in gender culture and politics.
