Resilience in times of war: how WRI members in Sudan are sustaining their work for peace
Op 15 april 2025 ging de burgeroorlog in Soedan zijn derde jaar in en het einde van de ergste humanitaire catastrofe van dit ogenblik is nog lang niet in zicht. De wereld kijkt liever de andere kant op, zelfs als er op één dag meer dan 400 mensen worden afgeslacht op een markt in het overvolle vluchtelingenkamp van Zamzam in de westelijke regio Darfur.
Het gruwelijke conflict tussen het Soedanese regeringsleger (SAF) en de paramilitaire Rapid Support Forces (RSF), waarbij beide kampen onnoemelijke oorlogsmisdaden begaan, heeft volgens cijfers van de Verenigde Naties al ruim 13 miljoen mensen op de vlucht gejaagd. Hongersnood bedreigt de helft van de bijna 50 miljoen Soedanezen. Oproepen van hulporganisaties blijven grotendeels onbeantwoord. Het conflict dreigt nu ook buurlanden Tsjaad en Zuid-Soedan aan te tasten die al honderdduizenden oorlogsvluchtelingen opvangen.
“Het conflict heeft geleid tot de ontheemding van 13 miljoen mensen, onder wie 8,6 miljoen intern ontheemden en 3,8 miljoen externe vluchtelingen”, zei Abdourahouf Gnon-Konde van de VN-vluchtelingenorganisatie UNHCR in een recent interview met AFP.
Sinds de oorlog op 15 april 2023 uitbrak, zijn er tienduizenden doden gevallen, worden grote delen van Soedan met zware hongersnood geraakt en is het land meer dan ooit verdeeld in gebieden die door rivaliserende facties en de daarbij aanleunende milities worden gecontroleerd.
De inzet is vooral hoog in de westelijke regio Darfur, waar de RSF begin april een nieuw offensief lanceerde om de stad el-Fasher (Noord-Darfur) in te nemen – de laatste belangrijke stad in die er nog onder controle van het regeringsleger staat.
Paramilitairen van de Rapid Support Forces (RSF), braken vrijdagavond 11 april 2025 door de omheining van het Zamzam-kamp na urenlange beschietingen. Ze verwoestten vervolgens honderden huizen en de belangrijkste markt van het kamp voordat ze de aanval richtten op de laatst overgebleven medische hulppost van het kamp, volgens Relief International, de groep die de faciliteit beheert.
Negen medewerkers van de kliniek werden daarbij gedood, onder wie de hoofdarts. “We hebben het ondenkbare voor onze ogen zien gebeuren”, aldus de verklaring. “Dit is een diepe tragedie voor onze organisatie.”
De aanval begon al op donderdag en duurde tot zondagochtend. Het doelwit waren el-Fasher en de nabijgelegen ontheemdenkampen, waaronder Zamzam en Abou Shouk, die beide zwaar getroffen zijn door hongersnood.
De aanval op het Zamzam-kamp, dat plaats biedt aan 500.000 mensen, was volgens de VN opmerkelijk, zelfs naar de maatstaven van een burgeroorlog die de wreedheden opstapelt en talrijke beschuldigingen van genocide heeft gekend.
De VN, die ‘geloofwaardige bronnen’ citeert, meldde dat meer dan 400 mensen zijn gedood bij het meest recente geweld in Darfur.
Dat er in Soedan, ondanks de verschrikkingen van de oorlog, nog altijd mensen van de civiele samenleving proberen om de ergste misdaden in kaart te brengen met het oog op latere vervolgingen voor oorlogsmisdaden, mag opmerkelijk heten en komt al helemaal niet in onze media aan bod.
We publiceren daarom hieronder een tekst die Andrew Metheven, medewerker bij het secretariaat van de WRI in Londen, onlangs schreef op basis van een gesprek dat hij had met Mamoun, een Soedanese activist van SONAD, die blijft doorwerken in het totaal verwoeste land.
Jan Van Criekinge
“The world must stop ignoring Sudan”
I recently had the privilege of speaking to Mamoun, a Sudanese activist and organiser involved in conflict monitoring and peacebuilding efforts across Sudan. Like everyone living in Sudan in recent years, Mamoun’s life and work has been deeply impacted by the ongoing civil war that has raged across the country since April 2023, when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) started their armed conflict.
Throughout our conversation it was clear that its impossible to understand what Mamoun is experiencing without some understanding and knowledge of Sudan’s recent history and the wider conflict, so before sharing some of Mamoun’s story I will give a brief outline of what has occurred in Sudan in recent years.
Background
In 2019 a popular uprising in Sudan led to the overthrow of then-dictator Omar al-Bashir, who took power in 1989 and has been accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The protests led to Bashir being arrested by the Sudanese military in a coup led by members of the military, who dissolved the government. Sudan was led by a joint civilian-military government for two years, but in 2021 General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – the leader of the SAF – took over the country.
The RSF is a paramilitary group formed in 2013 and has its roots in the Janjaweed militias responsible for horrific violence in Darfur. The Janjaweed were used by the Sudanese military and Omar al-Bashir as a counter-insurgency force against anti-government rebel groups in Darfur, and were accused of genocide.
One driver of the more recent conflict has been attempts to assimilate the RSF into the SAF, with leaders of both military groups refusing to relinquish control – the failure of talks has led to a ‘showdown’ between the two armed groups, which began on 15th April 2023 with violence breaking out in Khartoum, the capital, before spreading across the country.
The conflict has had a colossal impact on people across Sudan – it has been described as the “world’s most severe humanitarian catastrophe”. More than 14 million people have been displaced, and there are multiple reports of mass atrocities across the country perpetrated by both the RSF and the SAF, and attacks have destroyed hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.
Even as I write there are new reports of civilian casualties, with the military accused of killing hundreds of people in an air strike on a market in Darfur. However, it can also feel like the situation in Sudan has received relatively little attention from both the peace movement, or in more ‘mainstream’ political spaces.
War Resisters’ International (WRI) has maintained strong connections with activists in Sudan and South Sudan, and we want to share some of the story of what our members have experienced over the last few years.
Despite the fear and violence they have remained active and organised, supporting each other and working with other networks in Sudan to monitor the conflict and share information of the shocking impact on civilians.
Mamoun’s experience
When the conflict began, Mamoun and his colleagues in SONAD – the Sudanese Organisation for Nonviolence and Development – were based in Khartoum, where they had an office and ran various projects focused on nonviolence and peacebuilding.
Since the revolution and coup in 2019 they had been involved in collecting data about the revolution, deepening understanding of how the nonviolence movement worked, and meeting and helping people who were victims of human rights abuses.
Even before the most recent escalation the groups members didn’t feel safe – the government wasn’t democratic and the work they were doing wasn’t welcome.
Mamoun told me that the organisation was “training young people, political parties, students, all in nonviolence and human rights. The previous government that was removed in the September 2019 revolutions didn’t like the work of the NGOs but they couldn’t stop it because they were afraid of the international community and the UN. But they didn’t welcome our work so we weren’t completely safe”.
Religion and ethnicity are deeply interwoven into conflicts in Sudan, and SONAD sets itself apart by working with people from all religious communities, bringing together Christians, Muslims, non-believers and followers of traditional animist religions.
This in itself made SONAD unpopular with the government, which under Bashir had introduced Sharia law in Sudan; Mamoun explained that some elements of the government and military still believe that Sudan should be an Islamic country, and that “South Sudan is for the Christians”.
When the SAF and RSF started fighting, Mamoun didn’t immediately leave Khartoum, but it was no longer safe to go to the organisation’s office, where they stored their equipment and documents, and ran events and projects.
Some members of the group left to other areas of Sudan immediately, or travelled to other countries, and the focus of the group’s work rapidly shifted to monitoring the conflict. They began working alongside other civil society groups in Sudan, under the umbrella of the Youth Civic Observation Network (YCON), which has been responsible for collecting data about the war.
Mamoun and ONAD have been responsible for collecting data in Khartoum, where – despite significant risks – they are working to monitor crimes and collect data on the impact of violence by both warring parties. You can find YCON’s website and reports here: https://www.ycon-sudan.org/
Eventually Mamoun left Khartoum as well, but continues to travel to support the work of his organisation across the country, which continues to face the fear of arrest and violence: “Since the start of the war a lot of our members have been arrested by both parties of the war, because collecting information is seen as very serious.”
“We have three or four members who were arrested but released after several weeks and months… When they arrest any of our members it is very difficult for us to do anything because they can also target us. Our organisation doesn’t exist in a specific place so they are looking for the rest of the members, but they can’t find us because we are separated across Khartoum and Sudan.”
“We are able to communicate across the different areas, though sometimes there is no internet, electricity, or the phone lines go down. Sometimes the security situation means people don’t feel safe picking up the phone and talking to each other.”
It was hard to believe the resilience that Mamoun and his colleagues have shown, managing to sustain their organisation in the face of enormous challenges.
At times it reminded me of the sense of crisis when the covid-19 pandemic spread rapidly across the world, and our organisations had to find new ways to communicate in a changing world.
But throughout our conversation there was a sense that Mamoun didn’t feel he was doing the work he should be – he explained that before the war they “mobilised communities against the war and for nonviolence, advocating for democratic solutions to the conflict.”
And the Sudanese civil society networks, SONAD is part of, are being impacted by the massive cuts the Trump administration has made to USAID.
Despite these challenges, Mamoun is already thinking about the work of SONAD after the war and the role they can play as one of the few organisations in Sudan advocating for nonviolence: “So many people are being traumatised, killed, raped – so many people are militarised.”
“The impact will be felt for a long period of time, so our work as SONAD will be to teach nonviolence and help the traumatised people, and to advise people who have been impacted by the war. When the war is over we will have to regather SONAD. The economic impact of the war has been very big – lots of people lost everything – their jobs, their homes. Especially in the conflict areas, everyone has lost someone.”
Andrew Metheven
Andrew Metheven is medewerker bij het secretariaat van de WRI in Londen.
Dit artikel werd oorspronkelijk gepubliceerd op 11 april 2025 op de website van de WRI (War Resisters’ International, a global network of grassroots antimilitarist and pacifist groups, working together for a world without war): https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2025/resilience-times-war-how-wri-members-sudan-are-sustaining-their-work-peace
Lees ook:
- Sudan crisis, two years on (15 April 2023 – 15 April 2025)
Two years into Sudan’s brutal war, the conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes, creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis which is deepening humanitarian needs and exacerbating food insecurity in Sudan but also in the wider central and eastern African region.
The looming rainy season, combined with aid cuts by the US and other key donors, will severely hamper humanitarian efforts putting millions more lives at risk, a new report by Oxfam and other humanitarian agencies warned.
The report –The Unravelling of the World’s Largest Humanitarian Disaster: From the Sahel to the Red Sea – published jointly by humanitarian organisations responding in Sudan and neighbouring countries, highlights the staggering human cost of what is now the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/current-emergencies/sudan-crisis-two-years-on/
- Sudan: Two years of war and shameful international neglect https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/sudan-two-years-of-war-and-shameful-international-neglect/
- Two years into Sudan’s civil war, what lies ahead? Civilians in Darfur are under siege as peace talks stall and violence escalates https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-take-2/2025/4/15/aje-onl-sdn_armykhartoum_av_v3-150425
- Attacks in Sudan’s Darfur kill at least 300 as grim anniversary passes: UN report. Deaths and displacement continue to rise as Sudan marks two years of vicious conflict https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/15/attacks-in-sudans-darfur-kill-at-least-300-as-grim-anniversary-passes-un
- Sudanese Paramilitaries Kill Entire Clinic Staff in Famine-Struck Camp. Relief International said nine employees were killed when gunmen stormed the Zamzam camp in El Fasher, in the western Darfur region https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/world/africa/sudan-zamzam-clinic-staff-killed.html
- Soudan : la communauté internationale réclame un cessez-le-feu et promet 800 millions d’euros d’aide https://www.rtbf.be/article/soudan-l-ue-promet-522-millions-pour-l-aide-humanitaire-lors-de-la-conference-de-londres-11533733
- L’ONU dénonce l’afflux d’armes et de combattants vers le Soudan https://www.france24.com/fr/afrique/20250415-le-chef-de-l-onu-d%C3%A9nonce-le-flux-d-armes-et-de-combattants-vers-le-soudan
- Soudan: les paramilitaires des Forces de soutien rapide s’emparent d’un camp de déplacés au Darfour. Abritant plus de 500 000 réfugiés selon l’ONU, le camp de Zamzam est l’un des plus grands de cette région désertique de l’ouest du pays https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/04/14/soudan-les-paramilitaires-des-forces-de-soutien-rapide-s-emparent-d-un-camp-de-deplaces-au-darfour_6595840_3212.html
- Conférence à Londres sur le Soudan, où a lieu une « catastrophe humanitaire » majeure après deux ans de guerre https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/04/15/conference-a-londres-sur-le-soudan-catastrophe-humanitaire-majeure-apres-deux-ans-de-guerre_6596286_3212.html
- Guerre au Soudan : près de 400 000 déplacés ont fui leur camp touché par la famine après l’arrivée des paramilitaires. Des “sources crédibles” citées par l’ONU évoquent le chiffre de plus de 400 personnes tuées en une semaine dans la région occidentale du Darfour https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/afrique/soudan/guerre-au-soudan-pres-de-400-000-deplaces-ont-fui-leur-camp-touche-par-la-famine-apres-l-arrivee-des-paramilitaires_7189719.html
- Soudan : deux années dans l’enfer d’une guerre oubliée https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/04/1154736
- Le Tchad débordé par l’afflux de réfugiés soudanais fuyant une guerre «absurde» https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/04/1154621
- Soudan : la plus grande crise humanitaire au monde https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/04/1154666
- Soudan : les civils pris au piège après la destruction de Khartoum https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/04/1154546
- Soudan : l’ONU consternée par les exécutions extrajudiciaires à Khartoum https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/04/1154501
- Soudan : la violence sexuelle utilisée comme arme de terreur https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/04/1154491
- Au Soudan, des « souffrances inimaginables » dans l’indifférence générale https://news.un.org/fr/story/2025/03/1153941
- Zwei Jahre Bürgerkrieg. Droht die Teilung des Sudan? Vor zwei Jahren begann der Bürgerkrieg im Sudan. Beide Kriegsparteien werden aus dem Ausland unterstützt – ein Ende der weltweit größten humanitären Krise ist nicht in Sicht. Droht nun die Teilung des riesigen Landes? https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/afrika/zwei-jahre-buergerkrieg-sudan-100.html
- Sudanese Paramilitary Group Declares Parallel Government as 400,000 Flee Offensive. The United Nations said that at least 300 people were killed when the armed group, the Rapid Support Forces, stormed a camp in Darfur https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/world/africa/sudan-rsf-zamzam.html
- The human cost of two years of war in Sudan. After two years of war in Sudan, millions of people are on the brink of starvation in what’s being called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis” https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/4/15/the-human-cost-of-two-years-of-war-in-sudan
- Animated maps show two years of war in Sudan. About 30 percent of Sudan’s 48 million people – more than 14 million – have been forced to flee their homes due to the ongoing conflict https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/4/14/animated-maps-show-two-years-of-war-in-sudan
- Millions displaced as Sudan war enters third year, displacing 13 million amid famine, violence, and deepening humanitarian crisis. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated that civilians in Sudan are “trapped in a relentless nightmare of death and destruction” after two years of war. A UN fact-finding mission warned that “the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold,” amid rising ethnic violence and reprisals across the country. “As Sudan enters into its third year of conflict, we must reflect on the catastrophic situation in Sudan and honour the lives of all Sudanese who have been lost or changed forever,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the mission https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/4/15/millions-displaced-as-sudan-war-enters-third-year
- Sudan war to enter third year as RSF assaults in Darfur intensify. Rights groups urge protection of civilians and aid access as millions of people are displaced and many face famine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/14/sudan-war-to-enter-third-year-as-rsf-assaults-in-darfur-intensify
- Sudan’s RSF claims control of famine-hit Zamzam camp in Darfur. The paramilitary group says it ‘liberated’ the camp from the control of the army after launching ground and aerial assaults on Friday https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/13/sudans-rsf-claims-control-of-famine-hit-zamzam-camp-in-darfur
- Sudan’s RSF accused of ‘sickening’ sexual violence on women, girls: Amnesty International documents 36 cases of women and girls as young as 15 subjected to many forms of sexual violence https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/10/sudans-rsf-committing-horrific-sexual-violence-on-women-girls
- Sudan: Rapid Support Forces’ horrific and widespread use of sexual violence leaves lives in tatters https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/sudan-rapid-support-forces-horrific-and-widespread-use-of-sexual-violence-leaves-lives-in-tatters/
- Sudan: “They Raped All of Us”: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Sudan. Amnesty International Report (10 April 2025) https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr54/9201/2025/en/
- South Sudanese children die as US aid cuts shutter medical services: NGOs says. US aid cuts force South Sudanese clinics to close, as children die while on a desperate trek for medical care https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/9/us-aid-cuts-leave-south-sudan-children-dead-as-medical-services-collapse
- “War in Sudan is impacting South Sudan” https://www.aljazeera.com/program/quotable/2025/4/6/war-in-sudan-is-impacting-south-sudan
- Armes européennes au Soudan (1/5) : des obus bulgares au milieu du désert. D’une usine bulgare aux milices soudanaises, les Observateurs de France 24 ont réussi à retracer le parcours d’armements dont l’exportation au Soudan est pourtant prohibée par l’Union européenne. Cette enquête – déclinée en cinq volets – commence au beau milieu du désert, avec une séries de vidéos publiées en novembre dernier par des combattants soudanais
https://www.france24.com/fr/afrique/20250417-enquete-armes-europeennes-soudan-volet-1-obus-bulgarie
Lees verder (inhoud april 2025)
