4.3.2. Armed conflict (international or internal)

Table of contents

COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: June 2025

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in separate non-international armed conflicts (NIAC), primarily between the SAF and the RSF, as well as among other armed groups. According to the analysis by the Assessment Capacities Projects (ACAPS), the severity level of the conflict is very high.

The conflict has seen the involvement from multiple domestic and international actors, notably the SAF, under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, controlling conventional military forces, and the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (‘Hemedti’), operating as a paramilitary force with heavy reliance on tribal militias​. Reports indicate various forms of foreign involvement, including political and military support from Iran, Egypt, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia to the SAF, and from the UAE, although denied by the UAE, Russia’s former Wagner Group, now renamed ‘Africa Corps’, and Libya to the RSF​. During the reference period, the Russian government gradually backed away from supporting the RSF and shifted towards supporting the SAF.

The SAF is still involved in separate non-international armed conflicts against other non-state armed groups, including the SLM-AW in Darfur and of the SPLM-N Al Hilu in the Kordofans and in the Blue Nile state, adding an additional layer of complexity to the conflict.

[COI reference: Country Focus 2024, 1.1.1., 1.1.3.; Security 2025, 1.1.; COI Update, 1.]

Sudan is currently affected by multiple internal conflicts, which fall within the scope of Article 15(c) QD/QR, notably between the SAF and the RSF. Also, the SAF is involved in separate non-international armed conflicts against other non-state armed groups.

These conflicts affect different areas in Sudan at different degrees. At the moment of writing, the situation remains volatile with some actors shifting positions and/or side of the conflict. For further information, see 2. Actors of persecution or serious harm and a) Security situation in Sudan: recent events.

With regard to the regions and/or states where confrontations and incidents take place, it has to be further examined whether the remaining criteria under Article 15(c) QD/QR are also cumulatively met.