A conflict that broke out earlier this month in the country of Sudan has continued to escalate in recent days. The intense military clashes are creating a growing humanitarian crisis and have forced foreign nations, including the U.S., to evacuate their embassies.
The fighting is between two rival generals: Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who leads the Sudanese military, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. Caught in between are millions of civilians who have made their support for a democratic government clear.
“This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It’s unconscionable and it must stop,” President Joe Biden said a statement Saturday.
Here’s what you need to know about the conflict.
Where is Sudan?
Sudan is a country in Northeast Africa bordering the Red Sea. With a population of about 45 million, it is one of the continent’s most populous nations and largest geographically.
As the death count rises, thousands are fleeing the embattled region to neighboring nations including South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Who is fighting in Sudan?
The conflict represents a power struggle between two Sudanese generals: Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
Burhan leads the Sudanese military, the country’s official army, while Dagalo heads up the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that is vying for more power in the government.
The two generals have been sharing power since 2021 when they carried out a military coup. Prior to that Burhan had been leading alongside a civilian prime minister who rose to the government’s seat after a revolution ousted the nation’s dictator, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019.
The conflict, which has claimed over 400 lives and injured 3,700, erupted as the nation was poised to transition fully to democratic power. That transition presented a threat to military forces, whose own power would have been diluted, the New York Times reports.
While mediators hoped for a smooth transition, the bitter rivalry exploded in gunfire on April 15 and has continued despite efforts from other nations to calm the tensions. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Monday that the two sides had agreed to a three-day ceasefire after about 48 hours of negotiations.
US embassy evacuated in Sudan
Over the weekend, the United States evacuated the embassy in the capital of Khartoum, prompting a scramble from other nations to follow suit.
Elements of the elite Naval squad SEAL Team Six and the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group assisted with the mission, which lifted 70 staffers by helicopter to a nearby military base in Djibouti.
Why are so many Americans in Sudan?
About 16,000 private American citizens are in Sudan, authorities say. Most are either aid workers or Sudanese Americans, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner said.
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