With over 10 million displaced people, Sudan’s civil war has turned the country into the source of the largest refugee population on earth. Yet the conflict in Sudan is not merely a contest for power between two military factions—it’s also a counter-revolution seeking to undo the gains of the democratic movement’s victories from 2018-2022. The Real News speaks with Sudanese author and political analyst Kholood Khair on the situation in her country. Producer: Belal Awad, Leo ErhardtVideographer: Khalid MohamedVideo Editor: Leo Erhardt Transcript Narrator:  For over 18 months, Sudan has been consumed by a brutal civil war, claiming up to 150,000 lives. In April 2023, a rivalry between two generals escalated into open conflict, sparking intense street battles in the capital Khartoum and triggering a massive wave of migration.  Kholood Khair, Political Analyst:  This conflict in Sudan is the only one globally, where it is the capital that is the epicenter of the fighting. And it is the capital where the fighting began and was the most fierce and in many ways, at least for several months. And what that has meant is that there is a potential for the complete collapse of the Sudanese state  Narrator:  Kholood Khair is a Sudanese political analyst. She evacuated the country at the outset of the conflict and has been a vocal advocate ever since.  We asked Kholood why Sudan receives such little media attention and if it is being overshadowed by other conflicts, like Ukraine or Gaza.  Kholood Khair, Political Analyst:  Sudan has been overlooked since well before Gaza.  What we have seen was that since the war in Ukraine broke out, there was sort of less attention to goings on in Sudan than even before the war. But certainly, you know, the world, I think, can pay attention to more than one crisis at the same time: The world has to be able to show that it can walk and chew gum, simultaneously.  Narrator:  The conflict centers on two factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by General Hemedti. The SAF faces allegations of war crimes including attacks on civilians and blocking aid. While the RSF is born from the Janjaweed militia, behind the 2003 Darfur Genocide. They are accused of ethnic violence, looting and widespread sexual assaults.  The RSF have even posted videos online appearing to document their own war crimes. Badria Mohamed – refugee from Khartoum:  Honestly, the war—it’s the first time we’ve ever seen anything like this. I am 60 years old. But something like this, we haven’t seen before. This is the first time we’ve experienced or heard about a war like this, that we used to see in other countries. But here, we never expected to see things like this. That’s why it’s made us depressed, and we’re emotionally not okay. In every way, we’re not okay. We left our homes and our belongings, and they killed our children. And I mean, a lot of things. Narrator:  Sudan now faces the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 11 million people displaced internally—more than half of them children—and 3 million fleeing the country entirely. In places like Atbara, refugees from Khartoum have sought shelter in schools, as mass starvation looms.  Badria Mohamed – refugee from Khartoum:  I have one brother who, since the war started, I don’t know where he is. My brothers are scattered, and my sisters are scattered. I mean, the war has hurt civilians. We’ve been crushed, and we thank God. Since we came here, we’ve been eating beans and lentils. We eat what we have and what they  bring, but now suddenly the food is not available anymore. Now we don’t have anything to eat. If you have your own food, you eat. If not, you don’t.  Tahani Ali – refugee from Omdurman:  The thing that hurt us the most was the artillery shelling of the RSF. The weapons killed people from our neighborhood—how many, I mean, children and young people. Women inside their homes were being hit. We were sleeping under the bed because of the shelling. Because the shelling was random, they could hit anywhere. People lost a lot. We stopped asking how people are. Because now when you ask, they tell you: “So and so has died. So and so has passed away.  Narrator:  Before the power struggle between Burhan and Hemedti engulfed the country, another struggle was taking place.  A popular, pro-democracy street movement had succeeded in ousting Sudan’s long-time dictator, Omar al-Bashir, and was poised to bring down the rest of the establishment.  Kholood Khair, Political Analyst:  Essentially, the two generals at the heart of this general Burhan of the Sudanese armed forces, or SAF and General Hemedti of the Rapid Support Forces or RSF were in cahoots with each other when they brought down Ahmed al Bashir, who had been leading Sudan in an autocracy for about 30 years. He was unseated through consistent and sustained and sort of anti-regime pro-democracy protests in 2018, 2019. And when he was finally deposed through a lot of pressure on the military, the resulting military institution, the Transitional Military Council, saw an opportunity to capitalize.  Narrator:  Remarkably, the pro-democracy movement continues its work despite the war. So-called ‘Neighborhood Resistance Committees’ are local centres set up by the movement which have been providing humanitarian aid and coordinating evacuations, saving thousands of lives, despite constant danger. Kholood Khair, Political Analyst:  We’ve seen the abductions, disappearances and human rights abuses, as well as the assassinations of Neighborhood Resistance Committee organizers and members who have been the backbone of the pro-democracy movement for about 13 years now. And we have seen that sort of citizens who’ve had hopes for a new Sudan, as Sudan is moving away from the legacy of the Bashir era. We have seen them sort of targeted as well, to the extent where even saying no to war has become a sort of controversial statement and attracts a lot of just sort of hate and abuse from sort of pro-army or pro-military actors.  Sami Musa – Refugee from Khartoum:  War is like fire. If it sparks somewhere, it could spread to anywhere. It will burn up both the green and the dry. So we say, god willing it will not come to this. But it’s a hope, we don’t know. This is war. In the end, this war, at its core, is absurd. A war that has no goals. Generations are dying over these wars. Dying over disagreements. As much as possible, people should live together. We’re all Sudanese, we should live together. This is our country.  Narrator:  Although the victims of this war are Sudanese, it is not solely a Sudanese conflict. International players have taken sides, funneling large amounts of resources, weapons, and even soldiers. The UAE is the main backer of the RSF. A recent Amnesty international investigation recently revealed the emirate is providing the RSF with French military technology.  The SAF’s biggest backer is neighboring Egypt. Russia, Ukraine and Iran reportedly have links to dierent sides.  Some countries, like Saudi Arabia and Israel, have close ties with both The SAF and RSF. International players may not want to talk publicly about what’s happening in Sudan, but they continue to fuel the conflict.  Kholood Khair, Political Analyst:  Sudan is a very resource rich country, has petroleum, it has minerals, it has gold, it has sort of a very large proportion of the world’s arable land, which is farmable land. And because of that, it has become sort of a target for international predatory actors.  And what we are seeing increasingly more of are these sort of proxy characteristics. There are enough conflict dynamics to keep this war going sort of internally. But certainly, the regional elements that cause some of these proxy factors, I think now are more apparent than before. Recently, both CNN and The New York Times had some reporting about how the United Arab Emirates was funneling weapons to the rebels, support forces through the Sahel.  Narrator:  Despite threats, Sudan’s revolutionary grassroots movement persists. Protecting civilians and demanding a role in shaping the nation’s future. Kholood Khair, Political Analyst:  There’s a sort of political science understanding that says that empires, if they don’t democratize, they disintegrate. And so I think there is an understanding, even within Sudan, that once this war is over, that the democratization project must go on.  And that’s the thing that gives me hope. And I’m sure it’s the same for many people in the region as no matter where I go, whether it’s within Africa or the Middle East, Europe or elsewhere, I often, you know, have people come up to me and say, we’re really impressed with what the people of Sudan have done, what they’ve been doing. And because of that sort of indefatigable spirit that continues even in the worst circumstances, to push for democratic change, I think that’s something that’s very dicult to extinguish once it has been lit.