War in Sudan | Sudan is experiencing an endless apocalypse
The war has been going on for more than three and a half years. Gold for guns is a bad deal for the people. A comment.
Deutsch (original) ·Auto-translated to English
There is no shortage of weapons: fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Photo: AFP It is in full swing: “Apocalypse Sudan” was the title of the Sudanese writer Fatin Abbas in her essay in August 2024, which began with haunting words: “The power struggle between two generals has led to 150,000 deaths and ten million displaced people. A child starves to death every two hours. And the world? He’s busy with other things right now.”
More than two years later, the numbers of dead and displaced people have continued to rise. This week alone there have been drone attacks in several locations in Sudan. The information minister for the Abyei region, Yohana Akol Ngor, said 153 people were killed in a market on the border between South Sudan and Sudan. The Sudanese Army (SAF) is considered responsible for this. Both sides commit war crimes, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are certainly not inferior to the SAF. The genocidal massacre in Al-Fasher in October 2025 was documented by RSF fighters themselves.
According to UN information, more than 33 million people now need humanitarian assistance. Around 11.3 million people have fled within or outside the country, according to the UNHCR aid agency.
The two war leaders and former partners - Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, army general and president of Sudan, and Mohammed Hamdan "Hemeti" Daglo, former vice president and head of the RSF - were supported as new rulers by the West, namely the USA and the EU, after the overthrow of their employer Omar Al-Bashir. Contrary to the demands of the Sudanese democracy movement.
The United Arab Emirates supplies the RSF with weapons in exchange for gold. 97 percent of Sudan's blood gold ends up in the UAE, where it is re-declared and sold on the global market as clean gold. The SAF also finances arms purchases with gold sales to its supporters - primarily Saudi Arabia. A multi-billion dollar business. As long as the supporters of the warring parties continue to obtain the coveted raw materials, the suffering of the population will be accepted with approval. The apocalypse in Sudan continues unchecked.
Other media have corporations or billionaires behind them. We have the nd.Genossenschaft and readers like you. That makes us independent and that’s exactly how we want to remain. But it also means: without you the calculation won't work. We need 300,000 euros by the end of the year.
You can donate directly here, one-time or regularly, so that nd stays.