Policy Brief, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung/SWP, 9 April 2026 (with Talal Salih)
The devastating war in Sudan centres, by definition,
on those waging it: the army, the Rapid Support Forces
(RSF), armed groups, militias, mercenaries. It seems to
relegate civilians to the passive position of victims of
the hostilities, of mass atrocities, forced displacement,
starvation and gender-based violence. Conventional
approaches to ending the war, based on Sudan’s long
experience with conflict, tend to be narrow elite bargains
that privilege those with guns through power and wealth
sharing arrangements. Impunity reigned, either through
blanket amnesty or long-delayed implementation of
official commitments.
Dr. Gerrit Kurtz 