GOLD-rich Sudan is the coup-capital of Africa.
Once home to ancient kingdoms of pyramid-building pharaohs, the vast desert nation is now the world’s 15th biggest gold producer and major food and oil exporter.
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More than 2.5 million people have died in six coups, 11 attempted coups, two civil wars, partition and the Darfur genocide since Sudan gained independence from Britain in 1956.
The country has only been at peace for 12 of the previous 68 years.
It is bigger than Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine combined but has a population of just 45 million people.
Q: What is happening?
A: Deadly clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15 over plans to integrate their troops.
More than 400 people have died, thousands more have been injured and at least 20,000 have fled abroad.
The fighting is focused in the capital Khartoum and eastern Darfur.
Q: Who leads the factions?
A: The SAF is led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, a career soldier, who seized power in a coup in 2021.
The RSF is led by warlord general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, whose Janjaweed thugs helped crush Darfur uprisings from 2003 onwards.
They joined forces in 2019 to topple the former president, Omar al-Bashir, after months of protests.
Q: Why are they fighting?
A: Hemedti has long resented being Burhan’s deputy.
Plans to integrate Hemedti’s forces risked diluting his grip on gold mines and farms.
Q: Who are their backers?
A: Egypt supports Burhan while the US, UK, Germany and France have relied on his cooperation to evacuate their civilians.
The RSF is backed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, who in turn is backed by Russia.
Russia’s murderous Wagner mercenaries are also known to be active in neighbouring Central African Republic, close to Hemedti’s heartlands.
Q: Why does it matter?
A: Food, water and fuel are fast running out and the conflict could soon spark a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe.
It could also reignite conflicts in many of Sudan’s neighbours, which are battling insurgencies.
