The current war in Sudan has caused extensive human suffering and destruction, and has acquired significant regional dimensions. Egypt, Turkey, and Iran have sided with the Sudanese Armed Forces, while the United Arab Emirates is supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces. The involvement of these regional actors indicates how Sudan has politically and strategically gravitated away from the African political context toward the Middle East. This paper provides an overview of conflict dynamics, regional actors and mediation efforts regarding the current war. It focuses on challenges related to the involvement of regional powers and examines how the regional dimensions have been addressed (or not) in mediation efforts.
This article is part of the “Mediation in regionalized conflicts: lessons from recent peace processes” project, led by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.