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What Started The War In Sudan?
Today, April 15, 2026, marks the fourth anniversary of a war that has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. But while the war in Sudan is often simplified as a “clash between two generals,” the reality is much darker: this is the story of a UAE-sponsored attempt to dismantle the Sudanese state through a g*nocidal proxy.
Born from the Janjaweed militias of the 2003 Darfur g*nocide, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were formalised by then-Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir to protect himself from coups. Led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti), the RSF seized control of Sudan’s gold mines, paving the way for a partnership with the UAE.
As it prepared for a post-oil future, Sudan became a key part of the UAE’s sub-imperial ambitions to dominate the global gold and food trades and control the Red Sea’s strategic maritime routes. The wealthy Gulf petro-state exploited the power vacuum created by the 2018-19 revolution in Sudan, which led to Hemedti becoming the second-most powerful man in the country.
During the democratic transition that followed, the RSF’s growing power and autonomy threatened the army. After army leader Abdulfattah Al-Burhan faced coup attempts for failing to bring the RSF under control, he staged his own coup on 25 October 2021 to reassert the army’s authority and end the democratic transition.
Then, the UAE pushed for the December 2022 “Framework Agreement” to restart the transition. However, this increased RSF-army tensions as the militia resisted a key stipulation: integration into the army.
The RSF then launched a failed coup on 15 April 2023, sparking four years of slaughter that has seen the UAE sponsor the militia’s campaign of massacres, r*pe and g*nocide.
The war has also changed Sudan’s political scene. While RSF advances trigger displacement, army victories are met with public celebration.
Sudan is not fighting a civil war; it is fighting a war for its very existence against an Emirati-funded machine that exports death to secure resources. Four years on, the struggle for a sovereign, united Sudan continues.
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