Sudan: Tragic Toll After Three Years of War - Over 150,000 Dead and 14 Million Displaced

Khartoum — Three years have passed since the start of the war in Sudan, and there seems to be no end in sight. The conflict, which broke out on April 16, 2023 (see Fides, 17/4/2023), remains in a stalemate with constant changes in territorial control. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have recaptured large parts of Khartoum (including Omdurman and Bahri) as well as areas in central and eastern Sudan and established their base in Port Sudan.

Their opponents, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have consolidated control over most of the western Darfur region after capturing El Fasher (the capital of northern Darfur) in October 2025 following a long siege (see Fides, 28/10/2025). The RSF have captured some areas in Kordofan and other regions, although Sudanese forces have pushed back the militants in areas such as South Kordofan (e.g., Kadugli and Dilling).

The war has claimed at least 150,000 lives, most of them civilians. In total, the conflict has displaced approximately 14 million people: around 9 to 10 million internally displaced persons have been resettled in other regions of Sudan, while about 4.4 million refugees and asylum seekers are living in neighboring countries (Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, and others).

The Sudanese civil war remains the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Many internally displaced persons live in precarious conditions, and those who have been able to return to devastated areas (such as Khartoum) are at risk due to unexploded ordnance and a lack of basic services such as healthcare. Women and girls constitute a significant proportion of the displaced and are among the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, Bishop Paul Swarbrick of Lancaster, the delegate of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales for Africa, called on Catholics in England and Wales to pray for peace in a message commemorating the three-year war in Sudan and asked the UK government not to lose sight of this crisis. "I am aware, through my links with the Church in Sudan and with Catholic charities working in the region that there is a fear that the conflict risks being overlooked by the international community." He continued: "The United Kingdom is 'penholder' for Sudan at the United Nations Security Council, and I hope it will use that position to promote continued diplomatic engagement and to support a peaceful resolution of this conflict."

Read the original article on Agenzia Fides.