Claire Scafidi
Executive Summary
Since achieving independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced three civil wars totaling 40 years of conflict. Unfortunately, these civil wars have been the defining feature of its post-colonial history. Sudan’s third civil war began in April 2023, and the country currently experiences the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today. The American public is widely unaware of this large-scale human suffering in Sudan, a country located in the heart of Sub-Saharan Africa. While the United States government has provided aid and taken a leading role in the effort to broker a ceasefire, the American public is generally uninformed of the current Sudanese civil war as a result of a lack of cover in American media, often overshadowed by the Israel-Palestine Conflict and the Russia-Ukraine War. Therefore, despite the level of aid the U.S. currently sends to Sudan, a critical lack of media coverage exists that relates to both national interest and colorism.
The Current Sudanese Civil War
The most recent Sudanese civil war began on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The SAF’s General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been in direct conflict with his former deputy, RSF’s General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, more commonly known as Hemetti. Al-Burhan and Hemetti were responsible for two previous coups in 2019 and 2021, but issues regarding how Hemetti and the RSF would be integrated into the SAF’s government recently arose. The conflict began in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, with no clear indication of who made the first move. Currently, the fighting is concentrated around Khartoum and the western Darfur region, causing more than two million Sudanese people to flee to neighboring countries. However, these countries experience an abundance of internal issues, including internally displaced members of the Sudanese population. So far, there have been sixteen failed ceasefire agreements, some of which have been sponsored by the United States of America and Saudi Arabia. Egypt supports the SAF, and Libya (backed by Russia) has sent weapons to the RSF, making the conflict a regional issue. The RSF claims its goals are to establish and support democracy, which does not seem plausible given its war crimes and weaponization of citizens. The RSF and SAF often target humanitarian aid workers and volunteers who serve to help citizens, though both groups are also blocking and looting humanitarian aid. Currently, the RSF controls the eastern and western parts of Sudan and has captured critical cities, such as Khartoum and the state of Sennar’s capital, Singa.
Humanitarian Crisis
Prior to the current civil war, Sudan was already in the throes of a humanitarian crisis, with more than 15 million people facing food insecurity, 3.7 million internally displaced persons, and 1.3 million refugees from the neighboring nation of South Sudan. Today, Sudan also suffers from a preexisting starvation crisis exacerbated by the civil war; estimates find that between 18 to 25 million people are suffering from acute food insecurity. Close to a million of those suffering are on the brink of starvation. Both sides are weaponizing starvation and other human needs, and only in August, more than a year after the war began, did the SAF and RSF agree to allow two access paths to humanitarian aid. Furthermore, the war has also led to the severe destruction of infrastructure such as fields, schools, and hospitals, with both sides targeting and killing journalists as a form of warfare.
The International Rescue Committee ranked Sudan as the country most at risk of humanitarian deterioration, as more than 25 million people need aid. Additionally, the RSF frequently commits gang rapes and forces girls into marriages. For instance, the Masalit, an ethnic group in western Darfur, have been targeted in mass killings and sexual violence by the RSF. In 2023, between 10,000 and 15,000 Masalit civilians were massacred in the city of El Geneia. 600,000 Sudanese civilians have fled to Chad, while South Sudanese refugees have returned home despite the high level of human rights abuses in their country of origin.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, there have been 30,000 civilian casualties, 3.7 million displaced people, 6.5 million refugees, and, in total, around 14.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. In Gaza, there have been 40,000 civilian casualties and an internal displacement of 85% of the population. While the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are significant in their own right, the human toll is numerically greater in Sudan. Although both the wars in Ukraine and Gaza could escalate to regional conflicts and eventually surpass the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, the scale of human suffering in Sudan currently outweighs both wars.
U.S. Aid
Since September 2023, the U.S. has donated $1.6 billion in humanitarian assistance to Sudan. Currently, the U.S. is Sudan’s most prominent humanitarian donor. In July, the U.S. promised $203 million, part of the $1.6 billion, in humanitarian aid to Sudan for schools, shelters, rent for refugees, food, and health services. However, the United Nations has only received 48.6% of the $2.6 billion that experts believe is required to alleviate the suffering in Sudan for 2024. Meanwhile, Ukraine has received 74.7% of the aid the U.S. promised, which UN experts believe is needed to address the human suffering that has resulted from the Russian invasion. Humanitarian aid organizations recognize that the Sudanese Civil War competes with Gaza and Ukraine for international support. The U.S. has sent $55.7 billion in military assistance to Ukraine and $9 billion for humanitarian aid since February 2022. In comparison, the U.S. announced $404 million for humanitarian aid to Gazans in June 2024. The U.S. has given $237.5 million per person in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, $192.4 million per person in aid to Gaza, but only $34.2 million per person in aid to Sudan. Despite being a country with more people and greater needs, Sudan receives less aid from the U.S. overall.
Coverage
Internationally, the crisis in Sudan receives limited worldwide coverage, and in the U.S., the media coverage has been practically nonexistent. According to a study by the Norwegian Refugee Council, the media coverage of Sudan is negligible worldwide relative to the number of displaced persons, especially considering that media is prevented from entering Sudan; the Sudanese government refuses to let several foreign media outlets into the country. Many Sudanese people feel abandoned by the lack of media coverage, considering the conflict has caused the world’s largest current human displacement crisis. Currently, the most talked about crises in the U.S. are the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine War. From September 1st to September 20th, the New York Times posted 252 articles about the Ukraine War, 307 articles about the Israel-Palestine War, and only 11 articles about the Sudanese Civil War.
In a survey by YouGov, 44% of Americans responded that they understood the civil war in Sudan "not very well," and 31% responded "not at all," meaning roughly 75% of Americans do not understand the war in Sudan. Meanwhile, 67% of Americans feel they understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in some capacity, and 74% responded that they understand the Russia-Ukraine conflict. These findings are expected, given the much greater media coverage of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. However, some experts argue that the American public’s lack of media coverage and knowledge can be attributed to colorism and national interest.
Colorism
The lack of media coverage of the Sudanese Civil War may be partially ascribed to colorism, which is prejudice against dark-skinned persons, and racial empathy bias, which is the idea that white people are less likely to feel the pain that black people experience. In 2023, nine out of ten of the world’s most neglected displacement crises were in African countries, with Sudan placing 10th on the list. Given that Africa is the second largest continent in terms of population and land mass, it is difficult to ignore the lack of media attention African countries receive compared to other countries.
National Interest
The Sudanese civil war has little to no political or economic impact on the U.S., as Sudan is not a crucial military ally, nor is it a source of oil or a key American trading partner. Conversely, disturbances in Ukraine and Israel impact the American national interest: Europe serves as an important strategic ally and trading partner, while the Middle East is vital to the American economy and production of natural resources, specifically regarding oil and gas prices. The U.S. upholds its democratic-capitalist ideology and challenges Russian aggression by providing military funding to Ukraine, which likely explains why the war in Ukraine receives extensive coverage. For the Israel-Palestine War, the American interest in Israel’s security in the Middle East, which is related to oil prices, counter-terrorism, and regional stability, could explain the media coverage it receives. As a result, since the Sudanese civil war predominantly does not impact daily life in America, the war experiences less coverage by the media.
Future Implications
Without sufficient media coverage and general public understanding of the Sudanese civil war, global leaders, such as the U.S., face the risk of continuing to demonstrate the failure to provide adequate financial and political support to Sudan. Given the possibility of genocide in Darfur, the international community should look into protecting civilians by brokering a ceasefire agreement between the SAF and RSF. Furthermore, the Sudanese civil war threatens surrounding African countries as Chad and South Sudan struggle with refugees, poverty, and their respective conflicts. The ripple effect from the Sudanese civil war could lead to additional humanitarian concerns located in surrounding countries that do not have the resources or infrastructure to support incoming refugees. If the U.S. and the rest of the world continue to ignore Sudan and, on a broader scale, other humanitarian crises in Africa, they could be partially responsible for the deaths of millions.
Conclusion
Although the U.S. is donating millions of dollars to the U.N. to help Sudan, the war shows no signs of abating. Perhaps due to a lack of national interest and colorism, the Sudanese civil war is largely being ignored in the media and, as a result, is not receiving enough aid or attention from the U.S.. The crisis in Sudan requires more political will and a long-term and more generous humanitarian assistance plan to end the violence. The U.S. should also focus on rallying its allies to help support Sudan, as human suffering in Sudan necessitates greater awareness from the American media, policymakers, and the general public.
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