WAR IN SUDAN: ETHNIC CLEANSING AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN WEST DARFUR - After nearly sixteen months of fighting in Sudan, the country is facing the world’s largest internal displacement. Civilians remain caught in the middle of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Targeting against non-combatants and violence in Darfur continues to cause great concern around the potential for ethnic cleansing. More than eight million people are internally displaced within Sudan, and the war has killed more than 13,000 in the city of El Geneina alone, with the true cost of human lives simply unknown. The reports of  war crimes by both parties to the conflict and the deliberate targeting of civilians because of their ethnicity are the stuff of nightmares.

In fits and starts, regional leaders have attempted to mediate between the SAF and RSF but a cease fire remains elusive. With outside actors from the Middle East and beyond supporting, arming, and resupplying different sides, the potential for continued violence and a human rights disaster remains high. Following the launch of Human Rights Watch’s report “The Massalit Will Not Come Home” in May 2024, the Africa Center sits down with HRW’s Executive Director to outline the human rights abuses taking place in Sudan.

The Africa Center has closely followed the evolving political climate in Sudan with the goal of acknowledging Sudan’s geo-strategic importance on the crossroads between the Arab and African worlds. In 2018, the Africa Center created a Sudan taskforce, which has produced leading research and hosted public and private briefings on the situation in the country. Since the breakdown of the democratic transition in October 2021, the Center has ensured Washington remains engaged on the issue by organizing a series of high-level events that bring together policy experts, stakeholders, and peacebuilders following events in east Africa.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 06/27/2024