Since clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, Sudan has descended into a devastating civil war. Peace talks between the armed factions have fallen short, leaving over 25 million people in need of assistance to survive. With more than 11 million individuals displaced from their homes, Sudan now faces the world’s most severe displacement crisis. For over two decades, USIP has worked to foster inclusive peace in Sudan through training, expert advice and convening to develop policy options. The Institute is currently working with women, youth, civil society, academics, faith leaders and local communities from across the country to examine options to end the war as well as equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to actively participate in any future dialogue, peace talks and political deliberations.

Featured   Publications

For Sahel Stability, U.S. Needs Broader, Coordinated Policy

For Sahel Stability, U.S. Needs Broader, Coordinated Policy

Thursday, March 21, 2024

By: Kris Inman;  Matthew Reitman

As military coups and violent insurgencies have spread across Africa’s Sahel over the past decade, U.S. policy has professed to recognize and address their interconnections across the region, notably through the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership. Yet this effort remains insufficient to meet the scale and complexity of the violence and the underlying failures of governance.

Type: Analysis

Violent Extremism

Civil War Pushes Sudan to the Brink of Humanitarian Disaster

Civil War Pushes Sudan to the Brink of Humanitarian Disaster

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

By: Ashish Kumar Sen

Away from the headlines dominated by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, a civil war between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is pushing the country to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. As an allegedly genocidal RSF gains the upper hand, a U.N. official has warned that Sudan is “facing a convergence of a worsening humanitarian calamity and a catastrophic human rights crisis.”

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionHuman Rights

After Six Months of Civil War, What’s the State of Play in Sudan?

After Six Months of Civil War, What’s the State of Play in Sudan?

Thursday, October 19, 2023

By: Alex Rondos

What started as clashes in Khartoum this April between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devolved into a civil war. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the SAF, and his former deputy, the RSF’s General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, had worked together in toppling the Bashir regime in 2019 and orchestrating a military coup in 2021. But tensions over how the RSF would integrate into the SAF eventually led to fighting that has metastasized over the last six months. Caught in the crossfire are Sudanese civilians, who are experiencing a growing humanitarian crisis.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

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Current   Projects

Peacemaking in a Turbulent World: Lessons from Intrastate and Interstate Conflicts

Peacemaking in a Turbulent World: Lessons from Intrastate and Interstate Conflicts

Peacemaking in a Turbulent World answers the following central question: What lessons for effective management of intrastate conflicts emerged from the post-Cold War period that are relevant for managing contemporary conflicts which include intrastate, internationalized (featuring direct engagement by outside powers), and interstate conflicts? ​

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & DialogueDemocracy & GovernanceFragility & Resilience

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