In the war against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have relied on external backing and regional partnerships that extend well beyond Sudan’s borders. While these relationships have developed within different local and historical contexts, the ways in which armed actors mobilise support, resources, and legitimacy reveal important behavioural patterns that lend themselves to a comparative look.

This paper investigates how the war in Sudan is transforming Khartoum through acts of urbicide—the deliberate destruction of urban environments. It draws on satellite imagery, eyewitness testimony, and analysis of conflict dynamics to show how the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces have reshaped the capital’s geography. 

After almost two years of war, Sudan is in the grip of a humanitarian and political catastrophe. A conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to devastate the country. In recent months, the RSF has lost ground, and its efforts to create a government seem likely to come to naught. But what is the RSF, and what can learning about the paramilitary organization tell us about the future of Sudan?

Since the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in April 2023, there have been rising concerns about the physical
security of oil infrastructure and the sector’s overall operational capacity. Control of the country’s oil infrastructure has been split among different armed groups. The national military, Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), has retained control of the export terminal in the Red Sea port of Port Sudan. At the same time, a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), seized—and now maintain—command of Sudan’s primary refinery in Khartoum and at least one pumping station.
 

Tong Akeen Ngor, the governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, South Sudan, has consolidated his grip on power by buying support, detaining members of the opposition, and ingratiating himself with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Tong Akeen, however, lacks popularity. The state has traditionally been an SPLM stronghold, and he is seen as an NCP interloper from the north.

Situation Update: Port Sudan, Sudan

Although no official directive was made to relocate the capital to Port Sudan at the outbreak of war in April 2023, some government departments, diplomatic agencies, and international organizations have since set up shop in the eastern capital. This movement, however, seemingly ignores the fact that the city of Port Sudan does not possess the service competence, civil structure, or geopolitical stability to embrace a new capital for the fragile Sudanese state.