Sudan, a country that for a long time hoped for peace and stability, now finds itself engulfed in a brutal conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Once representatives of the Sudanese state, the RSF and SAF have plunged the nation into civil war since the onset of hostilities on April 15, 2023.

But what is the cost of Sudan’s forgotten war on both lives and livelihoods?

With the war firmly in its second year, a staggering 25 million Sudanese, nearly half of the country’s population, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance while 8.6 million, about 16 percent of the total population, have fled their homes since the war started — making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world, according to the United Nations OCHA Report.

The full-blown conflict has wreaked havoc on the country’s economy, education, healthcare, and infrastructure, leading to a collapse in commerce, financial, and communications services.

The International Monetary Fund projects that Sudan's real Gross Domestic Product will likely decrease by 18.3 percent in 2024 due to halted production and the destruction of human capital and state capacity.

As Sudan’s economy crumbles, the country is also grappling with a significant loss of lives.

United Nation Panel of Experts on Sudan expressed deep concern over the escalating violence, including credible reports of ethnically motivated violence by the Rapid Support Forces.

Their final report highlighted that the RSF had progressively taken control of strategic cities, towns, and supply routes across Sudan; seizing four of the five Darfur states, including key locations and border areas.

Moreover, the battle for dominance between the two forces, characterized by aggressive tactics such as attacks on military bases, saw a disturbing event on May 8, 2024 when the RSF posted a video to their Telegram channel showing the capture and execution of prisoners of war.

In a longer, graphic video of the same incident posted on X, Rapid Support Forces soldiers are seen shooting at Sudanese forces lying on the ground from a distance while celebrating their triumph.

The Nation identified members of both forces’ by their military uniforms and geolocated the incident to the SAF 5th Infantry Division in El Obeid, North Kordofan (13.094570, 30.330383).

The war, with no resolution in sight, has resulted in significant civilian casualties, with women and children bearing the brunt.

The loss deeply resonates with Yasmin, who fled to the relatively safer Port Sudan. She recounts that more than four of her relatives have been killed in this conflict.

"This is the hardest period of my life, between leaving my family in Omdurman and living in Port Sudan. I have been greatly affected by this war, two of my uncles and cousins and their young children died in it and I lost my job and got separated from my friends due to migration and displacement”

Her relatives are part of the over 15,000 men, women, and children who are confirmed to have been killed in the war, according to Armed Conflict Location & Events Data (ACLED).

In recent times, The Wad Al-Noora massacre on June 5, 2024, saw the Rapid Support Forces attack the village of Wad Al-Noora in Al-Jazira state, Sudan, killing at least 100 civilians.

This prompted the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, to call for reliable evidence to support the ICC’s investigation into alleged rights violations and crimes in Sudan.

As the war rages on, the military tactics of fighting used by the forces, like shellings, have obliterated entire neighborhoods, with satellite analysis revealing a grim picture: thousands of homes reduced to ash and rubble.

The Nation also utilised NASA FIRMS, a web-based application for monitoring fires and thermal anomalies worldwide, to analyse arson incidents across Sudan.

The data collected from April to December 2023 revealed a persistent pattern of active fires occurring every month across most regions of Sudan.

Unlike the Sudan Armed Forces, the RSF has consistently documented their arson attacks through videos and photographs, exclusively posting this evidence on their Telegram channel since the war began in 2023.

We used this documentation, alongside social media posts, to trace the path of destruction resulting from the war, chronologically pinpointing when and where key infrastructure in Sudan was either damaged or destroyed, since the civil war began in April 2023.

Mapping out regions damaged or destroyed by fire.

The Nation analysed the burned areas in Sudan by comparing remote sensing fire detection data with satellite imagery.

Our findings were corroborated by the Sudan Witness Project at the Center for Information Resilience.

The analysis reveals gradual widescale damage and destruction across at least 146 villages, towns and major cities in Sudan.

No let-up: Latest from the frontline

Recently, the RSF has intensified its efforts to capture El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province in Sudan. This city is the last stronghold held by the Sudan military in the sprawling Darfur region.

A Human Rights Watch report indicated that the RSF’s actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, labeling the actions as "ethnic cleansing."

In a recent statement, the African Union voiced concerns about the ongoing war, reminding both warring parties of their legal obligations to respect international humanitarian law.

The statement emphasised that those responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable.

“The chairperson is alarmed that, despite the many efforts of the international community to achieve a ceasefire between the two parties, the situation in Sudan has continued to deteriorate, and is leading to acute hunger and even famine in various parts of Sudan, threatening the lives of millions of civilians. The chairperson calls on the two warring parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, to immediately return to the Jeddah ceasefire process, to end the fighting unconditionally, and to facilitate unhindered humanitarian access to the needy population,” the statement read.

Keeping hope alive

As the war between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military continues to intensify in its second year, Yasmin continues to live in fear of the war escalating further.

While she believes that this war has exposed a complete disregard for basic human rights and values, she equally holds that the war in Sudan has not received the attention it deserves.

"I do not think the war will end soon because it has brought out the worst in us, as Sudanese people including intolerance and racism among many other issues. However, if people reject the war and speak out against violence, then there will be hope for the end of this war."