In April 2023 war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), also known as the Janjaweed, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”

The fighting that began in Khartoum spread rapidly to Darfur and Kordofan. On 30 August 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) swore in a parallel government in Nyala, South Darfur, a move widely interpreted as cementing a de facto partition of the country: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) holding large swathes of the north and east, and the RSF consolidating control across Darfur and other western regions.

Simultaneously, the city of El Fashir (the capital of North Darfur), under an 18-month siege by the RSF – including walls and road-blocks designed to trap civilians and cut off humanitarian access – fell on 26 October 2025, when SAF forces withdrew from their last stronghold. With the RSF thereby fully capturing El Fashir, the rival forces’ territorial separation now underpins Sudan’s effective division into two hostile zones.

The UN warns of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Aid convoys are blocked from reaching hundreds of thousands trapped close to the frontlines. Across the country, more than 14 million people have been displaced, making it the world’s biggest displacement crisis. Malnutrition, cholera and dengue fever are spreading rapidly in the displacement camps. There are widespread reports of sexual violence being used systematically as a weapon against women and children. Now, more than at any other point since the war began, these atrocities are unfolding on an unprecedented scale in El Fashir, where countless civilians have faced horrific abuses. Women are being subjected to sexual violence and murder, children are being killed, and entire families have been executed.

The reports emerging from El Fashir paint one of the darkest chapters yet in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, a brutal reflection of the immense suffering endured by the civilian population. Yet, the world continues to turn a blind eye to Sudan.

What is really happening in Sudan? What is the situation like for the Sudanese population, and how are local grassroots organizations responding to the crisis? Which other countries are influencing the war – is this a civil war, or a proxy war?

Join us at Litteraturhuset Trondheim to learn more, and discuss how we can raise awareness and support those affected by the conflict.

Munzoul Assal, holds a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Bergen. Prior to joining CMI as a Senior Researcher he was Professor of social anthropology at the University of Khartoum, Director of the Peace Research Institute, and Dean of Scientific Research. Assal is Professor II at the department of social anthropology at the University of Bergen.

Sarya W. Medani, holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Oslo Nye Høyskole. Her work focuses on sexual violence, gender, and human rights in conflict settings. She follows the developments in Sudan closely, combining academic insight with lived perspective and advocacy for civilian protection.

Mohammed Haggar, is educated as a social worker from NTNU in Trondheim and currently works for the refugee service in Nav. Haggar is also a chairman of the board of the Darfurian Association in Norway. He also collected money and traveled to Chad to help Sudanese people in the refugee camp in 2023.

Abdelmageed Yahya is Associate Professor of Geography at Sudan Open University. He is a peace building expert, specialist of migration studies, natural resource management and resource-based conflict in Sudan. His work combines academic and practitioner approaches, and he serves as trainer, facilitator and consultant with diverse national and international NGOs, UN agencies and other international institutions.

We will also present a photographic exhibition by Mosab Abushama, whose images document his personal accounts and experiences from the war in Sudan.

This event is a part of the Norwegian Council for Africa’s political campaign to raise awareness about what is happening in Sudan.