KHARTOUM — Sudan's civil war entered its fourth year on April 15, 2026, with fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces continuing to drive mass displacement, famine, and allegations of widespread atrocities across all 18 of the country's states. At least 59,000 people have been killed since the war began on April 15, 2023, according to the United Nations, while the World Health Organization has put the death toll at 40,000.

The war erupted from a power struggle between military chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who chairs Sudan's ruling sovereign council, and RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who had served as the council's deputy chair. The two cooperated to lead a military coup in October 2021, overthrowing a transitional government that came to power after mass protests forced the removal of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

"This grim and chastening anniversary marks another year when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan," United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said. An estimated 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and about 34 million people need assistance, according to the U.N. Denise Brown, the top U.N. official in Sudan, said: "A plea from me: Please don't call this the forgotten crisis. I'm referring to this as an abandoned crisis."

The war has pushed parts of the country into famine. The number of people with severe acute malnutrition is expected to increase to 800,000, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Only 63% of health facilities remain fully or partially functional, according to the WHO, and disease outbreaks including cholera have occurred. Hospitals, ambulances, and medical workers have been attacked, with over 2,000 people killed in those attacks, according to the WHO.

Violence has included summary executions, attacks on civilians along escape routes, house-to-house raids, and sexual assaults. Most of the latest atrocities have been attributed to the RSF and its Janjaweed allies, the militia network from which the RSF originated. At least 6,000 people died over three days in October when the RSF attacked the Darfur outpost of el-Fasher, according to the U.N. U.N.-backed experts concluded that the RSF offensive in el-Fasher bore the defining characteristics of genocide. The International Criminal Court is investigating potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan, particularly in Darfur. Nearly 700 civilians were reported killed in drone strikes during the first three months of 2026.

The country is now divided between a military-backed, internationally recognized government controlling the north, east, and central regions — including Khartoum, Red Sea ports, oil refineries, and pipelines — and an RSF-controlled administration in Darfur and areas of the Kordofan region along the border with South Sudan. "The war could spill over Sudan's borders, making the conflict even more intractable," said Josef Tucker, senior analyst for the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group.

Egypt supports the Sudanese military. U.N. experts and rights groups have accused the United Arab Emirates of providing arms to the RSF, an accusation the UAE has rejected. The Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab said the RSF had received military support from a base in Ethiopia; the RSF did not comment on the allegation.

Diplomatic efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire. A mediation initiative known as the Quad, led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE, has sought to reduce arms flows and pressure the warring parties. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union have also pursued diplomatic initiatives to unite opposing Sudanese political factions, but those efforts have not achieved progress.