Today marks two years since the start of the counter-revolutionary war on April 15, 2023, between Sudan’s two ruling militias – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).

This war is not about protecting Sudan and its people. It is a war for power and profit – a direct assault on the demands of the 2018 revolution, when millions rose demanding freedom, peace, and justice.

Both militias – once partners in repression – are now tearing the country apart. Hundreds of thousands have been murdered. Over 13 million people have been forced from their homes. Sudan’s health and education systems have collapsed. Factories and infrastructure have been destroyed. Rape is being used as a weapon of war. Food and medicine are blocked from reaching those who need them. Half of Sudan’s population – 25 million people – face hunger. Famine has already been confirmed in 10 areas.

This devastation is not just the work of Sudanese generals. Regional and international powers have been working actively to abort Sudan’s revolution and fuelled this war for their own interests. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran back the SAF. The UAE and Kenya support the RSF and profit from the smuggling of Sudanese gold. Russia, the UK, and the US supply arms to both sides – directly or through their regional proxies.

Western governments, under the cover of “peace talks”, offer platforms to the same warlords driving the country into the ground. These talks don’t bring peace – they bring legitimacy to counter-revolution. Every foreign actor involved in Sudan today is complicit in prolonging the war.

We in MENA Solidarity stand firmly with Sudan’s revolutionary movement – with the resistance committees, trade unionists, feminist organisers, and grassroots networks risking everything to build a different future from below.

We call on trade unionists, anti-war activists, and campaigners around the world to oppose all arms sales to Sudan’s militias and the states backing them, demand that governments open safe routes and provide asylum to Sudanese refugees and build active solidarity with Sudan’s revolutionary forces who are fighting for real democracy, justice, and an end to military rule.

Take action:

• Read our Sudan pamphlet “Sudan’s Revolutionary and Popular Movements: a research report“.
• Access our Stop the War in Sudan toolkit and sign the postcard addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging the British government to support the Sudanese people.
• Share this motion with your union branch and advocate for its adoption: Model Motion – Stand with Sudan: Stop the War, Support the People

Download resources:

• ‘Sudan’s Militia War on the People’ Sudan Update April 2025 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Reject both sides in Sudan’s war’ Sudan Update February 2025 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Famine is the new war’ Sudan Update September 2024 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Stopping Sudan’s hidden war’ Sudan Update March 2024 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Why is there a war in Sudan?’ Sudan Update May 2023 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Stop the war in Sudan’ Sudan Update April 2023 – download the leaflet >>here
• Stop the war in Sudan / Refugees welcome A4 poster – download >>here