UN agencies report deteriorating conditions across North Darfur and neighbouring Kordofan, driven by the civil war between Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). This means restricted aid access and mass displacement of local populations; and now the UN is also warning of widespread trafficking, sexual violence and child soldier recruitment.
The RSF seized control of El Fasher, capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, on 26 October. The city had been the government’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region. Fighting there followed an 18-month siege which saw residents access to food, medicine and other supplies cut off.
Below, CND member Jessica Freeman offers her own take on the horrors of Darfur.
JESSICA FREEMAN
perspective on Sudan’s civil war
The dire situation in Darfur finally reached international headlines this past month after years of near silence. The conflict is intense, multilayered, and influenced by a web of international actors. Its impact extends far beyond Sudan’s borders, with displacement visible in Chad, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan, each grappling with their own instability.
I recently completed six months with an NGO working in the region, focused primarily on conflict between herders and farmers. Yet it is impossible to operate in such a context without feeling the weight of the broader confrontation between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Even at the local level, these dynamics seep into daily work and community relationships.
RSF grievances toward other communities in Darfur are deeply intertwined with longstanding farmer–herder tensions. The RSF draws much of its support from the Rizeigat tribe in northern Darfur, a predominantly pastoralist community. As in many parts of the Sahel and Horn of Africa, competition over land, water, and grazing routes has fuelled friction for generations.
These grievances are not the sole cause of today’s violence, but they form an essential part of its roots. Similarly, ignoring SAF’s role is unhelpful. Until recently, many of their airstrikes targeted markets and civilian-populated areas.
The conflict in Sudan resembles so many others. There are no heroes, only bad actors and worse ones with the fate of ordinary Sudanese lying in the hands of those who show little regard for their well-being.
What struck me most during my time with the organisation was the resilience and courage of my colleagues on the ground in South Darfur. Working in a context where maintaining communication with armed groups responsible for horrific abuses is essential for even the most basic operations is unimaginably difficult, delicate, and potentially dangerous. Yet they do it, every single day for their communities.
The broader Horn of Africa region continues to be shaped by greed, self-interest, competing geopolitical agendas. Resource-rich land that invites exploitation. It is a region scarred by decades of conflict, often overlooked by the international community until the violence becomes impossible to ignore.
Too many African tragedies go unheard, and even fewer are truly understood.
Jessica Freeman is a London CND committee member and editor of PeaceLine newsletter.
This report first appeared in in the November-December 2025 issue of London Region CND’s PeaceLine.