Two years after the war in Sudan, the country remains surrounded by one of the world’s largest and fastest growing evacuation crisis.
Since April 15, 2023, the brutal struggle for power between the Sudanese Army (SAF) led by Abdel Fatta al-Burhan and the Paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemetti” Dagaro has transformed the city into a battlefield and forced over 14 million people.
In recent weeks, the SAF has taken the capital Khartoum and was forced to retreat to the RSF.
Over 11,000 recorded attacks
From April 15, 2023 to March 28, 2025, there were at least 11,292 attacks recorded, with an average of 16 attacks per day, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Ecled).
According to it, Sudanese troops were behind 50% (5,615) of all recorded attacks, with the RSF performing 38% (4,291). The remaining 12% (1,386 attacks) came from various other groups, including the Darfur Joint Militia, the Darfur Arab Militia, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, and the Twic Family Militia.
These attacks include armed conflicts, air or drone strikes, artillery fire, artillery or missile attacks, looting or property destruction, and remote explosives or landmines.
The map below shows the geographical spread and intensity of conflict events in 18 states of Sudan.
Almost three-quarters of all attacks are centered around three major regions.
Khartoum
The Sudan capital is the epicenter, with 5,519 attacks, or 49% of all recorded incidents, were attacked.
The Army says it aims to maintain operations in and around the capital and remove remaining RSF positions.
Gyzilla
Just south of Khartoum, Ghazira – Sudan’s key agricultural state – recorded 1,485 attacks. This is 13% of total incidents.
Once considered relatively stable, it became an important battlefield as the RSF power expanded south.
North Darfur
In North Darfur, the RSF launched several attacks on displacement camps and local militias. There have been 1,388 attacks in the area. This is 12% of the total nationwide amount.
The rest of Sudan
The remaining 26% of combat spreads across the country, including:
South Darfur: 511 Attacks (5%) North Code Fan: 463 Attacks (4%) West Darfur: 310 Attacks (3%)
Tens of thousands of people have been killed
According to Acled, at least 32,973 people have been reportedly killed throughout Sudan, but the actual death toll could be much higher, especially when considering deaths caused by indirect reasons such as spreading disease, malnutrition and lack of proper medical care.
Half of the recorded deaths occurred in Khartoum and North Darfur, with the highest casualty rates.
Attack timeline
After months of tensions escalated, on April 15, 2023, heavy gunshots and explosions broke out in Khartoum, a city of 10 million people. The shootings were heard near major locations, including the Army Headquarters, the Ministry of Defense, the Presidential Palace and Khartoum International Airport.
By the end of August 2023, the attacks had reached its highest intensity, with 675 attacks recorded. The United Nations reported that one million people had fled the country, with internal evacuations exceeding 3.4 million.
After a brief decline in attacks, violence escalated again in January 2024. By then, the United Nations reported that eight million people had been exiled by the war as hunger loomed across the country.
In September 2024, the SAF carried out an air raid on the RSF position at Khartoum, the biggest attack in months.
A slight decrease in attack frequency has been observed since January 2025. The violence remained concentrated in important areas, but there was a short rest from the intensity of the previous months.
Khartoum Airport has become an aircraft cemetery
Using satellite imagery over the past two years, Sanad, the Al Jazeera fact-checking agency, mapped massive destruction at Khartoum International Airport.
Analysis reveals that the conflict has destroyed at least 49 aircraft and severe damage to around 70 airport structures, including runways, infrastructure and other facilities.
14 million people have evacuated
The UN says Sudan is facing the world’s worst evacuation crisis.
Ongoing conflict has forced over 14 million people to flee their homes.
Of these, at least 11.3 million people have been displaced within Sudan, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
At least 3 million people have crossed the border and placed a major burden on their neighboring countries, including Chad, South Sudan and Egypt.
Main areas of origin for displaced people:
Khartoum: 3,500,400 excluded (31% of total) South Darfur: 2,082,537 evacuation (18%) North Darfur: 1,844,175 evacuation (16%)
Main destinations for internally evacuated people:
South Darfur: 1,837,706 displacements (16% of total) North Darfur: 1,786,909 displacements (16%) River Nile: 935,723 evacuation (8%)
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