Bleak Outlook for Sudan As Warring Parties Shift Allegiances

The conflict in Sudan has traditionally been between the central government on the one hand and rebel groups on the "periphery of the state". But a year after the recent fighting broke out, the country "finds itself deeply entrenched in the militarization of local communities -- a dynamic that is unlikely to be reversed in the short term", according to a new report by the Armed Conflict Data And Location.

''Communities that were once living in peace have now taken up arms to defend themselves from the RSF, marking a significant departure from the past," the report said. It noted that violence has been decentralized, with communities self-arming and national actors heavily dependent on their local proxies to achieve military victory.

What began as a power struggle between the regular army and a paramilitary group has now turned into a civil war that has "drawn several militia and rebel groups, along with their foreign backers", ACLED said.

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