Why is Sudan still at war a year on? | Explained

Sudan's conflict-driven displacement crisis, ethnic violence, and power struggle between the army and RSF explained.

A conflict in Sudan that erupted a year ago has wreaked havoc across swathes of the country, unleashed waves of ethnic violence in Darfur, driven millions into extreme hunger and created the world's largest displacement crisis.

Also read: The Sudan conflict explained in 8 charts

Tensions had been building for months before fighting between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in the capital Khartoum on April 15, 2023.

The Army and RSF had been in a fragile partnership after toppling a civilian government in an October 2021 coup, a move that derailed a transition from the rule of Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted amid a popular uprising in 2019.

The rivalry between the two sides burst into the open over an internationally backed plan that would have launched a new transition with civilian parties and was due to be sealed just before the war broke out.

Both the army and the RSF were required to cede power under the plan and two issues proved especially contentious. One was the timetable for the RSF to be integrated into the regular armed forces. A second was the chain of command between the army and RSF leaders and the question of civilian oversight.

The warring parties have also been in competition over sprawling business interests that reach beyond Sudan's borders.