The Observer view on Sudan: decisive action is needed to avert catastrophe, but where is the will? | Observer editorial
Despite UN speeches, the international community is largely absent as the African nation lurches towards catastrophe
After 17 months of civil war, the very last thing Sudan needs is another bloody battle. Yet that is exactly what its unfortunate people got last week when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched air and artillery attacks aimed at regaining lost ground in the capital, Khartoum. Heavy fighting with rival troops from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was reported around bridges linking the centre of the city to Omdurman and Bahri. It’s claimed the SAF have the advantage. But the broader reality is that the two sides are locked in a destructive stalemate across much of the country.
The latest clashes closely followed a renewed assault by the RSF on the besieged city of El Fasher in western Darfur region. This siege has continued for months, accompanied by reports of horrifying atrocities against the population, including widespread sexual violence. The RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or “Hemedti”, was formerly the Janjaweed. A notorious Arab nomad militia, it was behind the regime-backed genocide perpetrated against black African pastoralists that occurred in Darfur in the early 2000s.
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