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Watch this to understand the war in Sudan | Start Here

Al Jazeera English

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The war in Sudan has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. How did the fighting begin? Who are the two main sides – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)? And what are the main factors driving the war now?

Watch this #AJStartHere Sudan explainer with Sandra Gathmann to understand what’s happening.

Chapters:
00:14 - The two main sides and areas of control
00:54 - Sudan’s diversity and ethnic divisions
01:18 - Omar al-Bashir and the Janjaweed
01:32 - The Darfur genocide in the early 2000s
02:06 - How the RSF emerged from the Janjaweed
03:34 - The 2019 protests and the fall of Omar al-Bashir
04:11 - The 2021 military coup and outbreak of war
05:53 - RSF violence in Darfur
08:07 - How both sides are getting support from outside Sudan
09:40 - How gold is fuelling the war
11:18 - How diplomacy to end the war has failed so far

This episode features:

Mahitab Mahgoub | Non-resident Fellow, Tahrir Institute For Middle East Policy

Yassmin Abdel-Magied | Writer & Activist

Hiba Morgan | Sudan Correspondent, Al Jazeera English

Ahmed Soliman | Senior Research Fellow, Africa Programme, Chatham House

Kholood Khair | Founder & Director, Confluence Advisory

Hager Ali | Doctoral Researcher, German Institute for Global and Area Studies

Alan Boswell | Project Director, Horn Of Africa, International Crisis Group

Elbashir Idris | Sudan Analyst & Activist

You can find all Start Here episodes here: https://bit.ly/3o0BEIW
Subscribe Al Jazeera so you don’t miss future episodes: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe
Follow Sandra Gathmann on Instagram and TikTok: @SandraGathmann

#Sudan #SudanWar #SudaneseArmy #RSF #Burhan #Hemeti #DarfurCrisis #SudanConflict #SudanHumanitarianCrisis #SudanExplained #Janjaweed #Khartoum #ElFashir #StartHere

20 Comments

@aljazeeraenglish Creator 9 months ago Pinned

You can find the full Start Here playlist with all our episodes here ⤵
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTxodrArxXFPziklf0iqFdC5

@JiaHaoAndy 9 months ago

The saddest part is that outside countries are fueling and arming this war instead of trying to mediate it. The truth is the world wants an unstable Sudan because it’s easier to exploit and extract resources from.

@babatundeogunsanya6083 9 months ago

UAE is funding the conflict but is also part of the peace talks? Talk about hedging your bets!

@KachinElpis 8 months ago

No media have comprehensively reported on Myanmar: over the past five years, including the 2025 earthquake, total deaths in the country—both civilians and combatants—are estimated to be at least 43,000 to 100,000 since the military coup.

@AleciaCampbell-dz5un 9 months ago

I like the way you guys keep out Qatar 😢

@CastleLager-lf5eu 9 months ago

This is reality. All Arab nations are involved including UAE, Qatar, and Saudi.

@BolinFoto 9 months ago (edited)

It's about gold and oil.
It's all about the gold and the oil.
Follow the oil and the gold and you will find who's fault this is.

@Lensfilms67 9 months ago

Al Jazeera deserves a raise. They put so much efforts to simplify the perplexed and complex topics into simple and plain wording. So far I've watched all of the videos of this series. Thank you so much for waking me up. I was in the dark.

@nasim_tahir 9 months ago

Start Here is always spot on, capturing the essence of every hot topic in a nutshell.

@Sarai_Indie_Fada 9 months ago

This is the best video describing this convoluted conflict. Thank you for your work.

@pascalagu7928 9 months ago

WE KNOW THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WARS... WE KNOW

@robertmukono2363 9 months ago

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, Blessed Sensei, together with all here who are celebrating. 🎉

@FreedomFlamingo-1312 8 months ago

What are good books to read to get more information? Especially on the 2019 uprisings and the split between the democratic forces and the RSF

@brahmpendit3506 9 months ago (edited)

No worldwide uproar because it's not in the Middle East (a piece of land in an insignificant tiny planet) which, for some people, is the center of this unimaginably vast universe

@forfunwee 8 months ago

This is is a well made explainer. Thank you, Sandra and Aljazeera team.

@Stattskey 2 months ago

Thank you for clearly and informatively reporting on this when most of the world turns a blind eye.

@GASIMYOUSIF-67 2 months ago

The situation is truly catastrophic due to foreign interference in Sudan's affairs. For seventy years, the country has failed to find stability, plagued by the toxic hands that have torn at its very fabric.

@JGtho 8 months ago

Clear and concise. A great starting point.

@jonacanij 9 months ago

Great coverage without the fluff and editorializing. It's a pity that that world is not paying attention this this conflict as much as others. I have not seen any demontrations in the West about it or outrage voiced from college campuses.

@drsomto007 9 months ago

One of the dangerous things about removing a dictator from power, is that there are so many under him or her who would want to be the next dictator. Gaddafi's removal also caused crises