Sudan: Three years of war and new reports of meddling by Ethiopia

This week in Spotlight on Africa: Sudan’s war enters its fourth year, with no sign of easing since fighting erupted on 15 April 2023. The conflict is intensifying, amid fresh accusations of foreign interference – most recently involving Ethiopia.

The conflict, now nearing its three-year mark, has already killed tens of thousands, displaced more than eleven million people and created what the UN describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.

International summits and negotiations have done little so far to put an end to the fighting, which has been marked by violations on both sides.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Sudanese civilians continue to bear the brunt of the atrocities. 

The NGO’s latest report has found that forces affiliated with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and ill-treated civilians in areas under their control, denying them any due process for their rights.

Sudan is also directly affected by the US-Israeli war against Iran and Tehran’s retaliation in the Persian Gulf, reducing the supply of medicines to Africa – a sector already severely impacted by funding cuts. 

Sudan: rebels using sexual violence in Darfur as 'war weapon', says MSF

In this episode, you'll here from the newly appointed advisor to the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) chairman in Sudan, Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, on the line from Khartoum, then Omar Digna in Cairo, Egypt – a Sudanese author and analyst – who fled the country four months after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over Khartoum. 

Ethiopia's involvement

Meanwhile, the RSF have been accused by the Sudanese military of launching drone attacks "from inside Ethiopian territory" since March. This constitutes the first public allegation of Ethiopian involvement in the conflict.

Ethiopia has denied the claim and has also rejected allegations that it is hosting RSF camps.

But the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said analysis of satellite imagery and open-source data shows activity "consistent with military assistance to the RSF" at an Ethiopian base in Asosa, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, between late December 2025 and late March 2026.

To discuss Ethiopia’s involvement in favour of the RSF, and the recent changes on the conflict, we speak to Christy Cooney, Chief of the Sudan team for the NGO Avaaz, who is regular contact with its staff in Sudan.

"What the Yale team have been able to conclude with a high degree of confidence is that these vehicles are then being fitted at this Ethiopian military base, fitted with these mounted machine guns, and then being used in attacks that are where the RSF are crossing the border and launching attacks inside Sudan," Cooney said.

"So there you have the Ethiopian military colluding with the RSF to launch these attacks in Blue Nile. They're colluding with an organisation that has been credibly accused of of genocide in Darfur."

Chad relocates refugees amid rising tensions at border with Sudan

Saving Sudan's cultural legacy

One aspect that is less obvious to outsiders is the impact the war has had on the country’s culture and heritage. 

Important public buildings such as the Sudan National Museum have been ransacked since the fighting broke out, putting precious historical artefacts at risk of damage, theft and trafficking.

RFI's Ollia Horton looks into how Sudanese cultural institutions like the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) and the Louvre museum in France have been working together to preserve the country's heritage for future generations.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.