The current clashes were expected for a long time because the RSF has occupied an unusual position in the state’s security bureaucracy since the fall of the Omar al-Bashir regime in 2019. The history of the RSF goes back to the 1980s, when the government of Sadiq al-Mahdi (serving his second term as prime minister from 1986-89) armed Arab tribes in Southern Kordofan to fight rebel groups in the South. Bashir then led a military coup that removed the Mahdi government but continued the same policy of recruiting militias among tribe members.

The morning of April 16 was not a typical morning in Khartoum. The capital city of Sudan woke up to the sounds of heavy gunfire and shelling after clashes erupted the night before between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The situation was so dangerous that I could hear the gunfire and airstrikes clearly from my home in Khartoum East. While Sudan has faced multiple civil wars before, this clash is the most catastrophic because of its threat to civilians and state institutions.

The morning of April 16 was not a typical morning in Khartoum. The capital city of Sudan woke up to the sounds of heavy gunfire and shelling after clashes erupted the night before between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The situation was so dangerous that I could hear the gunfire and airstrikes clearly from my home in Khartoum East.