'The street was covered in dead women and children': Inside Sudan's counter-revolution

'The street was covered in dead women and children': Inside Sudan's counter-revolution

With over 10 million displaced people, Sudan’s civil war has turned the country into the source of the largest refugee population on earth. Yet the conflict in Sudan is not merely a contest for power between two military factions—it’s also a counter-revolution seeking to undo the gains of the democratic movement’s victories from 2018-2022. The Real News speaks with Sudanese author and political analyst Kholood Khair on the situation in her country.

Producer: Belal Awad, Leo Erhardt
Videographer: Khalid Mohamed
Video Editor: Leo Erhardt

Narrator: 

For over 18 months, Sudan has been consumed by a brutal civil war, claiming up to 150,000 lives. In April 2023, a rivalry between two generals escalated into open conflict, sparking intense street battles in the capital Khartoum and triggering a massive wave of migration. 

Kholood Khair, Political Analyst: 

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This conflict in Sudan is the only one globally, where it is the capital that is the epicenter of the fighting. And it is the capital where the fighting began and was the most fierce and in many ways, at least for several months. And what that has meant is that there is a potential for the complete collapse of the Sudanese state 

Narrator: 

Kholood Khair is a Sudanese political analyst. She evacuated the country at the outset of the conflict and has been a vocal advocate ever since. 

We asked Kholood why Sudan receives such little media attention and if it is being overshadowed by other conflicts, like Ukraine or Gaza. 

Kholood Khair, Political Analyst: 

Sudan has been overlooked since well before Gaza. 

What we have seen was that since the war in Ukraine broke out, there was sort of less attention to goings on in Sudan than even before the war. But certainly, you know, the world, I think, can pay attention to more than one crisis at the same time: The world has to be able to show that it can walk and chew gum, simultaneously. 

Narrator: 

The conflict centers on two factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by General Hemedti. The SAF faces allegations of war crimes including attacks on civilians and blocking aid. While the RSF is born from the Janjaweed militia, behind the 2003 Darfur Genocide. They are accused of ethnic violence, looting and widespread sexual assaults. 

The RSF have even posted videos online appearing to document their own war crimes.