A New Sudanese Civil War?

[mongers]

Situation doesn't look good, maybe we're seeing the start of a new Sudanese civil war, which given the population size, ethnic conflicts and the wider region has the potential to be as bad as Syria?

Haven't seen much comment on it here, so I think it 'deserves' it's own thread as it's into the third week of fighting.

[viper37]

Situation doesn't look good, maybe we're seeing the start of a new Sudanese civil war, which given the population size, ethnic conflicts and the wider region has the potential to be as bad as Syria?

Haven't seen much comment on it here, so I think it 'deserves' it's own thread as it's into the third week of fighting.

I don't know if it will be a new ethnic conflict.  It seems to be a purely military faction conflict now.  Two strong men going at each other and killing anyone that stands in their way, regardless of whom god they pray to.

[Josquius]

I thought it was the army vs Islamic extremist sorts?

[Duque de Bragança]

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE fanned the fires so I could see some islamist agenda behind but I think it's not that dichotomy.

[viper37]

I thought it was the army vs Islamic extremist sorts?

No.

It's actually a lot more complex than that.

Did you ever read Asterix and the Goths?  There's the Asterix wars (Guerre Astérixiennes) at the end of the book, where Panoramix the druid and Asterix gives every Goth a bit of magic potion so they can fight one another and keep on fighting after they run out of magic potion.  That about describes Sudan.

The army overthrew the democratically elected government.  The army fought the Islamic insurgents.  Two of the army's strong men fought against one another and then together against the insurgents. Now they're back against one another each vying for power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanese_Civil_War

[Crazy_Ivan80]

les visigoths sont les goths de ouest qui sont a l'est de nous...

[Duque de Bragança]

les visigoths sont les goths de ouest qui sont a l'est de nous...

Bref, tout le monde est à l'ouest. 

[viper37]

les visigoths sont les goths de ouest qui sont a l'est de nous...

Exactement!

[mongers]

Can any effective international pressure for peace/talks be applied to the warring 'factions'?

[viper37]

Can any effective international pressure for peace/talks be applied to the warring 'factions'?

I find it doubtful.

They're probably getting their weapons from the Middle East, like Duque said.

We don't do much commerce with Sudan, they're in a constant flux of civil war since, forever.

We can cut international aid, but that's it.

[mongers]

More terrible stories now emerging, like the orphanage in Khartoum housing hundreds of now largely abandoned children, fifty of whom have now died of hunger/neglect.

[Josquius]

More terrible stories now emerging, like the orphanage in Khartoum housing hundreds of now largely abandoned children, fifty of whom have now died of hunger/neglect.

Yeah, really sad one. Quite a fucked situation.
Hard to see what could be done though even if the west cared. There's not really a clear "these are the guys to bomb"

[mongers]

Sudan seems to be the 'forgotten war', this bbc item explains more details of the conflict:

Sudan conflict: Risking lives to bury the dead in Omdurman

By Zeinab Mohammed Salih
Khartoum

With a dramatic escalation in the war in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries, my family buried my 84-year-old grandmother while bullets were flying over their heads at a graveyard in Omdurman - just across the River Nile from Khartoum.

My grandmother was diabetic and her blood pressure fell, but we were unable to take her for treatment as Omdurman - where millions of people still live, despite a massive exodus out of the city - has only one functioning hospital, with the rest ransacked or hijacked by fighters.

It only admits patients wounded in the war, and there are many of them - bullets, bombs and shells rain down every day in residential neighbourhoods. As a result, sick people are no longer receiving hospital treatment in Omdurman.

Without treatment my grandmother declined swiftly.

We wanted to bury her next to my grandfather - her husband - who died in 2005, but that cemetery is near the Central Reserve Police unit. So the area sees constant battles, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) trying to take control of the police base.

We took her body to another cemetery in a more peaceful area, but on that day heavy battles were raging on opposite sides of the graveyard.

The few relatives who went to bury her had to lie on the ground to duck the bullets, and used a quiet moment to lower my grandmother into her grave. It took them about six hours to leave the cemetery, as the gun-battles were ferocious, subsiding only around sunset.

Most of my grandmother's relatives remained behind at her home - and they too had to huddle together in rooms when heavy shooting erupted in the neighbourhood, lasting several hours.

But we were lucky to bury her at a cemetery, other people have laid to rest their loved ones at their homes.

The violinist Khalid Sanhouri was buried by his brother and neighbour in front of his house in al-Molazmeen, a neighbourhood in the old part of Omdurman.

In his 40s, he was diabetic and, according to his family, died after not eating for days, as there was no food in the house and it was too dangerous to go out because of heavy fighting.

Most people had fled the neighbourhood, and shops were shut. He was among the few who stayed behind.

Old Omdurman - where Sanhouri lived - is very badly affected by the conflict, as the army and RSF constantly fight for control of the bridges that lead to Khartoum and Bahri city.

There are frequent air strikes and heavy shelling in the area. Dozens of residents have been killed, and many homes and businesses have been reduced to rubble.

The conflict which broke out in Sudan in April shows no sign of ending
My grandmother lived in a part of Omdurman that was, until a few weeks ago, less affected by the war. She had strong connections with the residents of her neighbourhood.

Until her health started failing about 10 years ago, hundreds of little girls and boys used to crowd her house every Friday, when she used to give them gifts.

Those children - now grown up with families of their own - came to the mosque opposite her home to pay their last respects, before she was taken to the cemetery.

But in the three weeks since her burial, many of them have fled because the neighbourhood has come under intense shelling from the army as it attempts to beat back RSF fighters, who control much of greater Khartoum.

My mother also had a close shave with death. As she was walking to the market to buy some vegetables, there was a drone strike not far from her, causing a huge explosion. She stopped in her tracks, and immediately lay flat on the ground.

The tea lady next to her was so shaken that her tray fell out of her hands. She too then lay on the ground.

A fall-out between two generals has led to a war that has caused widespread destruction.

It is increasingly clear that 24 August - the day my grandmother was buried - was a turning point in the war. This was the day when the RSF's siege of the army chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, ended.

He managed to leave the military headquarters in Khartoum after being trapped in it since the start of the war on 15 April.

He said an operation by his forces had ended the siege, though some Sudanese suspect that foreign mediators had brokered an under-the-table agreement that saw the RSF allow him to leave.

Since then, Gen Burhan has based himself in the city of Port Sudan, and has travelled extensively abroad to drum up support for the war against the RSF.


.....

full article here:
Sudan conflict: Risking lives to bury the dead in Omdurman