After three years of war, killing, displacement within Sudan, and exile beyond its borders, violence continues to rage across large parts of Darfur, the Kordofan region, and Blue Nile State. There is no near hope for the war to end. On the contrary, Sudan forced recruitment has become rampant, as have arbitrary arrests, massacres, sexual violence, exploitation, and abuse in the conflict zones, amid mutual accusations between the two warring sides- though most of these accusations are directed at the Rapid Support Forces and the territories under their control.
Serving the interests of Sudan and its people requires Sudanese leaders to recognize that domination by force will not bring the stability sought by either political factions or the people. It will only end with the exclusion of the defeated side and its political exclusion.
It is natural for the Sudanese army to exercise control over the entirety of its national territory, but it is equally necessary for this army to represent the state in all its components. This issue could be addressed by integrating everyone willing to voluntarily leave the Rapid Support Forces into the Sudanese army, alongside efforts to restructure the army around a national doctrine that excludes no Sudanese component, provided that integration occurs on an individual basis. Otherwise, battalions within the army whose outward appearance is national military service could emerge, with their true loyalties remaining with commanders, tribes, or regions.
The staggering cost of war in Sudan began to accumulate in April 2023, and it has resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions, while millions more remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The scale of the suffering underscores the absolute necessity of stopping the machinery of war that has crushed all Sudanese people without exception. What remained of Sudan after the South’s secession is in turmoil: the price of a loaf of bread has become ten times higher because of shortages in flour and liquidity, to say nothing of the prevalence of looting, killing, rape, fear, and now thirst in a land through which two branches of the Nile flow: the White Nile and the Blue Nile.
The brutal war in Sudan has displaced most of its children. According to a United Nations report, more than 58,000 children have arrived alone in neighboring countries after being separated from their families during their flight from the country. The report also contains horrifying figures: more than 21 million Sudanese are currently facing acute food insecurity, among them 6.3 million living under dire conditions. These terrifying numbers demand urgent efforts to stop the war.
To end the war, the Sudanese parties must sit down for negotiations instead of calling for the annihilation of one side or the other. There is no other path to a realistic solution to the crisis.
Reintegrating members of the Rapid Support Forces into the Sudanese army would be one way to quell the chaos of arms and rebellion against the state. However, this cannot be achieved through the logic of one side annihilating the other in order to survive; it requires accepting negotiation and dialogue.
The Sudanese must choose the peace of the courageous. For this reason, returning to a peaceful and negotiated solution is essential to closing the chapter of war.
The humanitarian situation in Sudan cannot withstand further delays, as it is deteriorating rapidly. The country faces severe humanitarian crises involving food shortages and shelter for the displaced and homeless. The war also has repercussions for neighboring countries, which calls for regional and international action to put an end to it. Sudan will not be governed through domination, but through participation.
Today Sudan faces grave threats to the cohesion of its state, including fragmentation and disintegration, especially given the fertile ground for both. Among the factors feeding into this threat are the country’s numerous and heterogeneous ethnic groups, which threaten the cohesion of what remains of Sudan and may divide what is already divided. Some may even call for the return of the Darfur Sultanate, with its gold and oil, leaving poverty to the North.
For this reason, sitting down to negotiate without seeking domination remains the solution: voluntary disarmament of the Rapid Support Forces and the integration of its forces into the Sudanese army on an individual basis, reparations for damages, and rebuilding what the war has destroyed.
