Sudan’s Year-Old War: The Build-up and the Turmoil 

A boy holds bullet cartridges as clashes between Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army continue, in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 13, 2023.  (Reuters)
A boy holds bullet cartridges as clashes between Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army continue, in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 13, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20

Sudan’s Year-Old War: The Build-up and the Turmoil 

A boy holds bullet cartridges as clashes between Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army continue, in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 13, 2023.  (Reuters)
A boy holds bullet cartridges as clashes between Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army continue, in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Sudan is now a year into a war between rival military factions that has killed thousands, forced millions to flee and created a humanitarian catastrophe.

Below is a timeline of the events that led up to the conflict and the turmoil that followed:

THE BUILD-UP

Dec. 19, 2018 - Hundreds protest in the northern city of Atbara against soaring bread prices. Demonstrations spurred by a broader economic crisis soon spread to Khartoum and other cities. Security services respond with tear gas and gunfire.

April 6, 2019 - Hundreds of thousands begin a sit-in outside army headquarters in Khartoum. Five days later the army overthrows and detains President Omar al-Bashir, ending his three-decade rule.

Aug. 17, 2019 - After a deadly raid on the sit-in at army headquarters in June causes outrage, the military and civilian groups sign a deal to share power during a transitional period leading to elections. Abdalla Hamdok, an economist and former UN official, is later appointed to head a government.

Oct. 25, 2021 - Security forces detain Hamdok and other top civilians in pre-dawn raids, following recriminations between civilian and military factions and a failed coup attempt. Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says the civilian government has been dissolved.

Nov. 21, 2021 - After several rallies against the coup and the suspension of most international financial support for Sudan, military leaders and Hamdok announce a deal for his reinstatement as prime minister. He resigns less than two months later.

Dec. 5, 2022 - Civilian groups sign an initial deal with the military to start a new, two-year political transition and appoint a civilian government.

April 5, 2023 - The signing of a final deal is delayed for a second time amid disputes over whether the army would be placed under civilian oversight and over plans for the integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the army.

THE TURMOIL

April 13, 2023 - Sudan's army says mobilization by the RSF risks confrontation. Two days later, battles break out between the two forces in Khartoum and other cities.

April 21, 2023 - The number of residents fleeing Khartoum accelerates as army air strikes, clashes and looting hit the capital. Diplomats and expatriates rush to airstrips, borders and other evacuation points in the days and weeks that follow.

May 20, 2023 - At talks in Jeddah, the warring factions agree to a seven-day ceasefire, but fighting barely pauses. The US-Saudi brokered negotiations are the first of several failed international attempts to settle the conflict.

July 2023 - Violence spreads in the strife-torn western region of Darfur, where the RSF makes further advances in the following months.

Dec. 14, 2023 - Families in conflict zones could experience famine-like conditions in 2024, the UN warns. Some 30 million, almost two-thirds of the population, need help, double the number before the war. Humanitarian alerts mount in the following months.

Dec. 19, 2023 - The army withdraws as the RSF advances to take Wad Madani, the capital of al-Gezira state. The RSF largely controls neighboring Khartoum, almost all of Darfur and much of Kordofan, while the army holds the north and east including Sudan's main Red Sea port. Both sides have committed abuses, the UN and the US say.

March 12, 2024 - The army says it has taken control of the state broadcaster's headquarters in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, part of its biggest advance against the RSF in months. Sources say Iranian-made drones are helping the army turn the tide.

April 9, 2024 - Fighting spreads to the up-to-now calm farming state of al-Gadaref, where almost half a million people have taken refuge.



Sara Netanyahu: The Ever-Present Wife of Israel’s Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Sara Netanyahu: The Ever-Present Wife of Israel’s Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)

Whether dining opposite US President Donald Trump or accompanying her husband on an official Pentagon visit, Sara Netanyahu's front-row role in Washington this week has sparked fresh questions over her place in Israeli politics.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's third wife and the mother of two of his children, Sara Netanyahu has long made headlines, notably for her alleged involvement in the political decisions of her husband.

"My wife and I..." is a phrase often used by the Israeli premier in his official statements, helping to cement Sara's position at the forefront of public life.

This week, as the prime minister visited Washington for a series of high-level meetings in which he discussed a potential Gaza ceasefire deal with the US president, his wife was noticeably present.

On Tuesday, she was photographed sitting opposite Trump at an official dinner following a meeting between the two leaders.

Two days later, she appeared next to her husband, as well as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, as they arrived for meetings at the Pentagon.

But speculation had swirled even before the Netanyahus' departure for Washington.

On the eve of the trip, the prime minister's office announced the resignation of his spokesman Omer Dostri.

A few hours later, following media reports claiming that his wife had been involved in the decision, another statement was issued denying she had any role.

Sara Netanyahu has been the subject of several investigations, including for corruption, fraud and breach of trust, and has also been questioned in connection with her husband's ongoing graft trial.

Married to Benjamin Netanyahu since 1991, the 66-year-old is the target of frequent media attacks which are regularly denounced by her husband.

She has been caricatured in satirical programs for her fashion choices or her profession as a child psychologist, which she has often appeared to boast about.

But above all, she has been targeted for her alleged interference in state affairs.

- 'The real prime minister' -

In a video released in December 2024, Netanyahu denied that his wife was involved in his cabinet appointments or that she was privy to state secrets.

It followed an investigation into Sara Netanyahu aired by Israel's Channnel 12 which the prime minister slammed as a "witch hunt".

In 2021, a former senior official said he had seen a contract signed by the Netanyahus stipulating that Sara had a say in the appointment of Israeli security chiefs.

To that claim, the prime minister's office responded with a brief statement denouncing "a complete lie". The official lost a libel suit brought against him by the Netanyahus' lawyer.

And when the prime minister appointed David Zini as the new head of Israel's Shin Bet security service in May, Israeli journalists once again pointed to the possible influence of Sara Netanyahu, who is thought to be close to Zini's entourage.

Almost two years since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, Sara Netanyahu seems to have established herself as more indispensable than ever, with some even attributing her with increasing influence on strategic issues.

In May, when Sara Netanyahu corrected the number of living Gaza hostages given by her husband during a recorded meeting with the captives' families, speculation swirled that she had access to classified information.

Journalist and Netanyahu biographer Ben Caspit went as far as to describe Sara Netanyahu as the "real prime minister".

"It has become public knowledge. It is an integral part of our lives... we are normalizing the fact that someone has dismantled the leadership of the state in favor of chaotic, family-based management," Caspit said in an opinion piece published on the website of the Maariv newspaper.

In an interview with US news outlet Fox News on Wednesday, Netanyahu described his wife as a "wonderful partner" and praised her help over the years.