By: Aeden Evenson-McDermott

With the recent natural disasters to the conflict of two generals fighting for control, Sudan finds itself caught in the crossfire of a serious combination of issues.

Going back to the fall of 2020, heavy rains brought flooding which caused much destruction to homes and resulted in people dying and many being displaced.

Over the last few years, rainfall is becoming more mainstream; it has increased the odds of further flooding and even drought. With the increase in temperatures, it also limits the water that does fall to evaporating and therefore reduces the normal amount of soil moisture.

With the reoccurring global warming issues, the flood waters have separated communities and created islands where families and communities are no longer necessarily connected.

It has furthered the call for various agencies to help with providing aid but is also creating challenges to getting around to reaching people. This also is impacting the current political crises at the moment.

The fierce fighting in Sudan has made civilian life all the more challenging. The two opposing generals are challenging each other for control with civilians being caught in the middle.

With over 450+ killed and thousands injured, according to the World Health Organization, Khartoum is essentially a war zone with intense fighting and much unrest.

The U.S. managed to broker a peace deal between the sides to stop the fighting while also allowing for civilian and government personnel to try and evacuate.

The diplomatic strategies are designed to ramp up evacuations along with trying to get both sides to negotiate a peace deal.

Officials and health agencies have become more concerned with what the effects of this will be to many already struggling. Healthcare facilities have been attacked and the current crisis is only deepening. A biological lab was also seized and this is quite concerning as there are many biological hazards that could occur if something were to go wrong. The World Health Organization (WHO) has spoken out and has expressed deep concern on this matter.

As the armed conflict escalates and deepens the unfortunate circumstances in Sudan, there has been no shortage of various foreign government involvements. The Russian mercenary group Wagner, headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has provided the RSF’s (The Rapid Support Forces) surface-to-air missiles. It has deepened the ties between Russia and the RAF.

Egyptian and American influence has also grown as it is a way for the two countries to eliminate instability in the region while also providing ways of brokering a peace deal and offering resolutions to end the conflict in diplomatic matters. The SAF (Sudan’s Armed Forces) has been backed more by Egypt, than the RAF, due to the RAF’s history of humanitarian violations and terrorism. The U.S. has stayed more distant from the groups but is still trying to help broker the peace deal.