After nearly 23 months of war, on March 21, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allies regained control of the presidential palace in central Khartoum, along with all the ministries and government buildings surrounding it. As the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops withdrew from Khartoum city, a move the group called strategic, the SAF announced full control of Sudan’s tri-city capital on March 26. The recapture of Khartoum city thus marks a critical moment in the conflict: To most observers, it appears the SAF has now gained the upper hand, particularly in central Sudan.
Humanitarian situation update
In the view of Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Executive Director on Sudan, the two-year war has produced widespread famine and the world’s most pressing displacement crisis.
According to UNOPS, two years of relentless conflict has rendered Sudan one of the world’s largest and most devastating humanitarian crises, with nearly half of the population in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, as the war has generated the world’s most pressing displacement crisis. Around 12.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan since the outbreak of war in 2023, while as many as 24.6 million face acute hunger within the country, according to some estimates.
The war has destroyed critical infrastructure, including hospitals. Much of Sudan’s health infrastructure has been devastated. In both rural and urban areas, access to water, electricity and sanitation, as well as waste management and the removal of debris are a real challenge.
The conflict has led to large numbers of civilians fleeing their homes, including people who were already internally displaced and refugees from other countries who had sought safety in Sudan. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled into neighbouring countries or returned home in adverse circumstances. Others moved elsewhere within Sudan.
The G7 countries released the following statement on April 15, 2025:
G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement Marking Two Years Since the Beginning of the Devastating War in Sudan
“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, as the world marks two years since the beginning of the devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
As a direct result of the actions of the SAF and the RSF, the people of Sudan, especially women and children, are enduring the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises, and continued atrocities, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, ethnically motivated attacks and reprisal killings. These must end immediately.
Over two years of brutal conflict.
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) April 15, 2025
Nearly 13 million people forcibly displaced.
Unimaginable destruction and loss.
Countless gross human rights violations.
People in Sudan need peace.
The world must not look away.#KeepEyesOnSudan pic.twitter.com/LSMNOfjrcW
We strongly condemn the RSF attacks carried out in and around El Fasher on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk IDP camps, which have caused numerous casualties, including humanitarian workers. Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.
As famine continues to spread across Sudan, G7 members are disturbed by reports of the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and reiterate that such actions are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
We call on the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which include the crucial responsibility to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military targets.
We call on all parties to the conflict to lift impediments to effective crossline humanitarian assistance, provide assurances of safety and security for local and international humanitarian actors, and allow humanitarian access through all border crossings into Sudan, including through South Sudan and Chad. We recognize the important role of Emergency Response Rooms in providing for and protecting civilians and call for their protection. We further call on all parties to refrain from attacks on critical infrastructure that civilians rely upon, including dams and telecommunications systems.
We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urge both the SAF and the RSF to engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations. All external actors must cease any support that further fuels the conflict, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles adopted at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighbouring Countries in Paris in 2024 and the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur. We condemn all violations and unlawful attacks by the SAF, the RSF, and their allied militias.
For sustainable peace in Sudan, any resolution to the conflict must be rooted in the voices of Sudanese civilians. Women, youth, and civil society must be meaningfully included in all peace processes.
We reaffirm our support for a democratic transition and express our solidarity with the people of Sudan in their efforts to shape the future of their country that reflects their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice.
The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan are paramount.
G7 members remain committed to deepening collective diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and secure an end to the conflict, including through the London Sudan Conference.”
