Three years since the outbreak of war between Sudan’s two primary militias—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti)—Sudan remains trapped in a brutal counter-revolutionary struggle between rival warlords.
This is not a war for democracy or liberation. It is a war between two reactionary forces, both rooted in dictatorship, both responsible for crushing the Sudanese revolution, and both fighting to control the state, land, and wealth of the country. The SAF and RSF are two sides of the same counter-revolutionary coin.
The origins of this catastrophe lie in the derailment of the 2018–19 revolution. Sudanese workers, youth, and the poor overthrew Omar al-Bashir and opened the road to civilian rule and social justice. That process was blocked by a “transition” imposed under pressure from Western and regional powers, which kept power in the hands of the military and legitimised the very forces now tearing the country apart—culminating in the October 2021 coup, when those same military leaders overthrew the civilian forces.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been devastated. Cities reduced to rubble. Millions displaced. Famine spreading. Systematic sexual violence, ethnic massacres, and the destruction of hospitals, infrastructure, and livelihoods. This is not collateral damage—it is the logic of a war waged by militias that treat human life as expendable.
Imperialist and regional powers have fuelled this war. Britain, the United States, the European Union, Israel, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the African Union, and others have all played their part—through arms flows, political backing, and diplomatic manoeuvres that entrench military rule while claiming to seek “stability”. Their priority is control, not justice.
The hypocrisy is stark. Britain has been complicit in a war that has displaced millions—yet both the Conservatives and now Labour have shut the door on Sudanese refugees. Victims of Britain’s foreign policy are denied safe and legal routes, while racism is stoked at home and the Prime Minister brands Britain an “island of strangers”. Now the UK has gone further—announcing new restrictions, including stopping the issuing of study visas to people from several countries, including Sudan. This is the same logic: war abroad, borders at home.
Yet the revolution lives. Across Sudan and in exile, resistance committees, emergency response rooms, trade unionists, women’s organisations, grassroots networks, and activists continue a slow, determined process of organising and resistance under impossible conditions. Despite repression, war, and fragmentation, they remain the only force capable of rebuilding Sudan on democratic, civilian, and social foundations.
Our position is clear: no to both militias of the counter-revolution (SAF and RSF). No deals with warlords. No solutions imposed from above. The only way forward is through the independent power of Sudan’s working class, its revolutionary movement, and the strength of international solidarity.
We call on activists, the labour movement, and anti-imperialists in Britain and internationally: break the silence. Oppose arms sales. End complicity. Stand with Sudan’s workers and revolutionaries.
— MENA Solidarity Network
Download a PDF version of this statement here.
Take action:
- Read and share our Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026 Statement and Demands widely across your networks, workplaces, unions, and community organisations – download here.
- Share this motion with your union branch and advocate for its adoption: Model Motion – Stand with Sudan: Stop the War, Support the People
- 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.
- Read our analysis, “The Illusion of Choice: Why People Should Reject Both Sides of the War in Sudan”, “Sudan’s Militia War and the Battle for Truth: A new Interview Series“, and “El-Fasher Falls — What It Tells Us About Sudan’s War, The Revolution, And The Fight For Solidarity“, for essential background on the warring factions and the revolutionary alternative.
- Download / order our newly released “Sudan’s Revolutionary and Popular Movements: a research report”.
- Book your ticket for the new film “Sudan, remember us” at a screening near you.
Download resources:
- Sudan Update July 2025 – download the leaflet >>here
- ‘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
MENA Solidarity Network 