Government Crackdowns Drive Sudanese Citizens Abroad

Introduction

The armed conflict that erupted in Sudan on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has produced one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in the world. Over 10 million people have been displaced—more than from any other conflict on earth at the time of writing—and famine has been declared in parts of the country for the first time in decades. The crisis has its roots not only in the April 2023 military confrontation, but in decades of state-sponsored crackdowns in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, and eastern Sudan that created the conditions for mass displacement long before the most recent war began. This article examines the patterns of military crackdown and displacement in Sudan, the applicable legal framework, and the implications for the millions of Sudanese who have sought refuge internationally.

Historical Background: A Legacy of Military Crackdowns

Sudan's history of military crackdowns against civilian populations dates to the early years of independence and intensified dramatically following Omar al-Bashir's seizure of power in 1989. The most extensively documented campaigns occurred in Darfur, where the government deployed Arab militias (the Janjaweed, precursors of the RSF) against non-Arab African communities from 2003 onwards. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for al-Bashir himself in 2009 and 2010, charging him with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur—the first time the court had sought the arrest of a sitting head of state.

Parallel campaigns were conducted in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile regions, where Sudanese Armed Forces operations—including aerial bombardment of civilian areas and the blocking of humanitarian access—were documented by the UN and international human rights organisations. These campaigns killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, contributing to the pre-2023 displacement crisis in which Sudan already hosted one of the world's largest internally displaced populations.

The 2023 War and Mass Displacement

When fighting between the SAF and RSF erupted in Khartoum on 15 April 2023, civilians in the capital—a city of six million people—found themselves trapped in an urban battlefield for the first time in the country's modern history. Residential neighbourhoods became combat zones. Hospitals were occupied by armed forces, forcing their closure. Markets were looted and destroyed. In the first months of the conflict, approximately 4 million people were displaced within Sudan, with hundreds of thousands crossing into Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

In Darfur, the RSF—which had its origins as the Janjaweed and had been recruited heavily from Arab communities—resumed attacks on non-Arab African populations with a ferocity that UN experts described as reminiscent of the 2003–2005 genocide. The massacre of non-Arab civilians in El Geneina, West Darfur, in June 2023—in which UN investigators documented the killing of between 10,000 and 15,000 civilians—was described by the UN as constituting war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. Survivors reported RSF fighters specifically targeting Masalit community members by ethnic identity.

The conduct of both the SAF and RSF has been characterised by disregard for civilian protection. The SAF conducted aerial bombardment of residential areas using unguided munitions, causing civilian casualties and destroying civilian infrastructure. The RSF systematically looted civilian property, occupied hospitals and aid agencies' premises, and used civilians as shields. Both parties restricted humanitarian access, contributing directly to the food crisis that resulted in famine declarations in 2024.

Comparison: Sudan's Displacement Crisis

International Legal Framework

Both the SAF and RSF, as parties to an armed conflict on Sudanese territory, are bound by international humanitarian law—specifically the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols. Common Article 3 prohibits the killing, torture, and cruel treatment of civilians and persons hors de combat. Protocol II, applicable to non-international armed conflicts, requires parties to protect the civilian population, prohibit attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and ensure access for humanitarian assistance. The systematic attacks on civilians, looting of civilian property, and blocking of humanitarian access documented in Sudan constitute serious violations of these obligations.

The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, while not a binding treaty, reflect international consensus on the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Principle 6 prohibits displacement of persons unless their safety or compelling military reasons require it. Principle 10 prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare or as a means to compel displacement. Both principles are directly engaged by documented conduct in Sudan.

Sudan is a party to the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention), the world's only binding international instrument specifically addressing the rights of IDPs. The Kampala Convention requires Sudan to prevent arbitrary displacement, protect displaced persons, and provide durable solutions. Sudan's compliance with these obligations during the 2023 crisis has been wholly inadequate.

Accountability and International Response

The ICC has jurisdiction over the Darfur situation under UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005). ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan visited El Geneina in July 2023 and stated there was reasonable basis to believe crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction had been committed. Arrest warrants for RSF commanders and other individuals are being actively pursued as of 2024.

The international humanitarian response to Sudan's crisis has been critically underfunded. The 2024 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan requested $2.7 billion in funding—one of the largest humanitarian appeals ever issued—but received less than 30% of the required amount by mid-year. The consequences of this funding gap have been measured directly in malnutrition rates and preventable deaths, particularly among children under five.

Expert Analysis

"Sudan is the world's worst humanitarian crisis that the world doesn't seem to be paying attention to. More people have been displaced from Sudan in one year than from Ukraine in the same period, yet the funding, the political attention, and the diplomatic effort dedicated to Sudan is a fraction of what Ukraine receives. This disparity has a cost that is measured in lives. Famine does not happen by accident in a country that was self-sufficient in food production a decade ago—it is the product of deliberate choices by armed actors to weaponise hunger and of an international community that chose not to look."

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, statement on Sudan (March 2024)

Conclusion

Sudan's crisis of military crackdowns and forced displacement is among the most severe humanitarian emergencies in the world. The pattern of state violence against civilian populations—which dates to the Darfur genocide and the campaigns in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile—has reached catastrophic scale in the war that began in April 2023. Both the SAF and RSF have committed documented violations of international humanitarian law, and accountability mechanisms at the ICC and UN level are engaged, though progress has been slow. Sudanese civilians who have fled—whether from Darfur, Khartoum, or other conflict-affected areas—face a well-founded fear of persecution and serious harm, and are entitled to protection under international refugee law. Receiving states must apply the refugee definition generously and avoid refoulement of Sudanese nationals to a country where their lives and safety remain at acute risk.