Ten Most Significant World Events in 2024

8. The Sudanese Civil War Rages on. The civil war that began in Sudan in April 2023 continued unabated in 2024. The fighting pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. The two men jointly seized power in a coup in October 2021, but eventually had a falling out. The RSF, which grew out of the infamous Janjaweed that were responsible for the Darfur genocide two decades ago, seized control of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as well as much of Darfur. In late September, the SAF launched a major offensive to retake Khartoum. They retook parts of the city but failed to dislodge RSF forces entirely. As the fighting has ground on, the Sudanese people suffered. The exact death toll is unknown. Some estimates put the number at 20,000 killed, with the number rising to more than 60,000 or even higher when war-related disease and starvation are included. War crimes are appallingly common, and a famine has been declared in Darfur. Not surprisingly, the Sudanese who can move have done just that. The conflict has displaced some eleven million people out of a total population of nearly fifty million. Mediation efforts like last week’s UN Security Council meeting on Sudan have produced fine speeches but little on action. Not only do the SAF and RSF each believe they will prevail, they also both have powerful external backers enabling them to keep fighting.