The Sudanese army appears close to retaking the capital city Khartoum from the paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as momentum continues to swing in its favor following nearly two years of conflict. Reports suggest the army has been advancing on multiple fronts over the past week, having broken a bruising siege on its Khartoum headquarters last month. It has also won back significant territory in other parts of central Sudan, including Gezira state. Military control, however, has come at a significant cost, with the UN reporting that soldiers and allied militia have been carrying out summary executions of civilians they accuse of being RSF collaborators. Workers in self-organized "mutual aid" groups—the backbone of the humanitarian response in Sudan—have also been caught up in the crackdown.

The war that began in Sudan in April 2023 has produced the world's largest displacement crisis, uprooting over 12 million people, and the biggest hunger crisis too. Famine has been declared in at least five areas of the country, and is projected in five more by May.

From The New Humanitarian, Feb. 7