Causes and Consequences of the Sudanese Conflict

The current bloody armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under the military commandership of General Abdelfatah Al-Burhan – the Commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Head of the Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo resulted in gross violations of human rights, severe humanitarian crisis, further destabilization in the Republic of the Sudan and it endangered the sovereignty and existence of this nation-state which is a significant country famous for its cultural diversity. This conflict, which began in 2023, caused widespread destruction of basic infrastructure, internal and external displacement of Sudanese civilians and alien residents, and regrettable losses of human lives (civilians and combatants). The violence exacerbated the country's economic challenges, disrupted governance structures, worsened the already fragile political transition following the 2019 Civil-backed Sudanese Revolution and threatened the sovereignty and nationhood of the Republic of the Sudan. This in mind, this paper explores the origins, causes, conflict actors and the impact of this underway armed conflict on Sudan's political, economic and social fabric. Furthermore, it highlights the key challenges which are posed by the ongoing armed violence and suggests pathways towards a lasting peace, national stability and sustainable development in the Sudan through recommendations for conflict mitigation, conflict management, conflict resolution, post-conflict development and human positive mentality transformation. The main findings indicate that the SAF-RSF armed conflict has far-reaching consequences, not only for Sudan’s internal stability but also for the wider region as this harmful conflict is a dysfunctional armed conflict.