Officials warn Sudan conflict has been ‘abandoned’ as war enters fourth year

Sudan is now entering its fourth year of a devastating conflict, marked by famine, massacres, and a critical shortage of essential supplies. This protracted crisis, which has displaced 13 million people, is increasingly overshadowed by the new Middle East conflict, leading some to label it an "abandoned crisis."The nation faces what has been termed the world's largest humanitarian challenge, particularly in terms of mass displacement and acute hunger. The relentless conflict between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces shows no sign of abating, with aid groups and witnesses detailing widespread devastation across the vast Darfur region.Evidence is mounting that regional powers, including the United Arab Emirates, are covertly backing combatants. Students attend Sudanese secondary school certificate exams under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), in Khartoum, Sudan (AP)Attempts by the United States and other regional powers to broker a ceasefire have largely failed, now further complicated by their focus on the ongoing conflict involving Iran.United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher starkly summarised the situation: "This grim and chastening anniversary marks another year when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan." Numbers tell a tale of pain At least 59,000 people have been killed. At least 6,000 died over three days as the RSF rampaged through the Darfur outpost of el-Fasher in October, according to the U.N., with U.N.-backed experts concluding the offensive bore “the defining characteristics of genocide."The war has pushed parts of Sudan into famine. The number of people with severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous and deadly kind, is expected to increase to 800,000, the world's foremost experts on food security, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, said in February.Sudan war in numbers59,000At least this many people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, or ACLED. Aid groups say the true toll could be much higher as access to areas of fighting across the vast country remains limited.11,000The number of missing people over the course of the war, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.4.5 millionAbout this many people have fled the country to places like Egypt, South Sudan, Libya and Chad.9 millionAbout this many people remain displaced in Sudan.19 millionMore than this many people face acute hunger, according to the World Food Program.24%This is the amount that fuel prices have shot up in Sudan since conflict in the Middle East escalated.354This is the number of community kitchens that have closed over the last six months after providing a lifeline for millions of people, according to Islamic Relief.Over 4,300About this many children have been killed or maimed in the war, according to UNICEF.8 millionAt least this many children are still out of school, according to UNICEF.11%About this many schools are being used by warring sides or are shelters for displaced people, according to UNICEF.63%This many of Sudan's health facilities are fully or partially functioning, according to World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.217This is the number of verified attacks on health facilities since the war began, according to the WHO.1,032This was the number of civilians killed by air and drone strikes in 2025, according to ACLED, as a surge in drone strikes took a growing toll.About 34 million people, or almost two of every three Sudanese, need assistance, the U.N. says. Only 63 per cent of health facilities remain fully or partially functional amid disease outbreaks including cholera, according to the World Health Organization.And now fuel prices in Sudan have increased by over 24 per cent because of the Iran war and its effects on shipping, driving up food prices.“A plea from me: Please don’t call this the forgotten crisis. I’m referring to this as an abandoned crisis,” the top U.N. official in Sudan, Denise Brown, said Monday, criticizing the international community for failing to focus on ending the fighting. The war could spill over Sudan's bordersThe war exploded from a power struggle that emerged following Sudan’s transition to democracy after an uprising forced the military ouster of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.The tensions sparked between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who chairs the ruling sovereign council, and RSF commander Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who was Burhan’s deputy there.Sudan is now essentially divided between a military-backed, internationally recognized government in the capital, Khartoum, and a rival RSF-controlled administration in Darfur.Neither side can achieve a decisive victory, said Shamel Elnoor, a Sudanese journalist and researcher, adding that Sudanese “have become powerless and are subjected to foreign dictates.”The military has established control over the north, east and central regions, including Sudan’s Red Sea ports and its oil refineries and pipelines. The RSF and allies control Darfur and areas in the Kordofan region along the border with South Sudan. Both regions include many of Sudan’s oil fields and gold mines.While Egypt supports Sudan's military, the UAE is accused by U.N. experts and rights groups of providing arms to the RSF. The UAE has rejected the accusation.Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who chairs the ruling sovereign council, (AP)The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which tracks the war through satellite imagery, said this month that the RSF had received military support from a base in Ethiopia. The RSF didn't comment on the allegation.Josef Tucker, senior analyst for the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group, told The Associated Press that the war could spill over Sudan’s borders, making the conflict “even more intractable.” Experts look at possible war crimes Three years of fighting have seen widespread atrocities including mass killings and rampant sexual violence including gang rapes.Hospitals, ambulances and medical workers in Sudan have been attacked, with over 2,000 people killed, the WHO has said.The International Criminal Court has said it was investigating potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly in Darfur, a region that two decades ago became synonymous with genocide and war crimes.Most of the latest atrocities have been blamed on the RSF and their Janjaweed allies, Arab militias that were notorious for atrocities in the early 2000s against people identifying as East or Central African in Darfur. The RSF grew out of the Janjaweed.“We have … no reason at all to believe it will stop the mass atrocities that we saw in el-Fasher," Brown, the UN official, said.The military's seizure of Khartoum and other urban areas in central Sudan in early 2025 did allow the return of about 4 million people to their homes, the U.N. migration agency said in March. But they struggle with damaged infrastructure and other challenges.“It’s not really a return to normal. It is trying to survive amidst a new normal,” said Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, CEO of aid group Mercy Corps.