Sudan timeline January-March 2026: Communities shattered by conflict amid explosive international events
Art from the 1000 Days of War exhibition (Image: WhatsApp)
“Across Sudan and the region, families are being forced into impossible choices – whether to remain displaced without basic services, or return to communities shattered by conflict,” says IOM Director General Amy Pope.
Since the conflict broke out in April 2023, over 12 million people have been displaced by the violence of a protracted and complex conflict, which on the surface is fought between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). An estimated 33.7 million people are in need of assistance in the country, as millions of refugees and migrants in Chad, South Sudan, Libya, and Egypt face dangerous escape routes and risk trafficking, exploitation, gender-based violence, and family separation.
Sudanese people continue to struggle for relief from limited resources and economic pressures. Economist Abdel Halim Timan laments “the loss of a large number of sources of income for Sudanese people, not only farmers but also artisans, daily wage workers, merchants and vehicle drivers,” explaining that the middle class in Sudan is rapidly shrinking.
Despite this, International Women’s Day welcomes a celebration of Sudanese women as entrepreneurs and community leaders. Civil society seeks to empower civilian actors to coordinate, develop practical and actionable approaches, converge around a shared vision for peace, and generate momentum for a civilian-led, non-partisan path. Nonetheless, political life and civic spaces in Sudan remain deeply polarised, with international actors “failing to understand the nuances of these divisions and how they impact organising,” says Bakry Eljack Elmedni in an interview with Radio Dabanga.
Offensives in the Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile regions seem to openly target civilians, with the SAF repeatedly accused of drone strikes on hospitals. Humanitarian organisations continue to gather evidence of crimes against humanity on both sides. Reports from flashpoint areas, where the war is being fought most heavily, tell of mass civilian casualties. The RSF killed more civilians in 2025 than any other non-state armed group in the world, reports Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED). “The RSF’s ruthless tactics, including extrajudicial killings, shelling of residential areas, and ethnically motivated violence,” rekindle accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Darfur’s non-Arab population.
Ongoing regional tensions could likely affect the level of support the United Arab Emirates provides to the RSF, which is highly dependent on Emirati backing. The SAF is well placed to benefit from explosive international events, which reshape priorities as the spotlight falls away from Sudan.
On the 70th anniversary of independence, January 1, calls to end the war coincide with escalating fighting in Sudan. Drone strikes on civilians and infrastructure kill dozens and disrupt essential services, while control of key areas in the Darfur and Kordofan regions shifts amid ongoing clashes. Political efforts continue, including the Cairo Charter, but economic decline worsens, and agriculture is faltering. Reports document grave human rights abuses, including mass graves, detentions, and widespread sexual violence. The humanitarian crisis deepens, with displacement rising, disease spreading, and access to aid restricted. Millions of children remain out of school, as warnings grow that global inaction risks enabling further atrocities.
January 1: On the 70th anniversary of Sudanese independence, prominent political figures call for an end to the conflict, and Sami Abdelhalim Saeed explains justice in Sudan in an interview with Radio Dabanga. In North Darfur, field reports reveal a dire educational situation, as the SAF and RSF continue to spar for control of El Obeid, North Kordofan, amid conflicting reports.
January 3: An SAF drone strike on a hospital and market in North Darfur allegedly kills 64 civilians, as part of an escalation in the number of drone strikes in the region since the start of the year. Sudan Falcons face Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.
January 4: An RSF drone attack on El Obeid power station and Kenana Airport cuts off power supply in White Nile state, as RSF-allied forces claim control of El Bardab in South Kordofan. Former Energy Minister says that “even if 70 tons of gold were exported, it wouldn’t cover Sudan’s budget deficit.”
January 5: The Central Bank of Sudan raises the daily transfer limit to SDG 3 million. An RSF drone strike kills 10 in El Obeid, as 45 political parties, movements, trade unions and public figures sign the Cairo Charter in Egypt. The Heglig oil deal “highlights economic drivers behind Sudan’s war,” says Arwa El Siddig, assistant president of the National Youth Party.
January 7: Sudan’s sovereignty is in jeopardy following US aggression against Venezuela, says prominent Sudanese politician Yassar Arman, as the Cairo Charter organisers search for broader support.31 Sudanese lawyers lose their licences due to affiliation with the RSF or involvement with political or armed organisations.
January 8: Over 100 political and civil forces in Sudan protest an allegedly biased statement by the African Union (AU) chair. The Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees) creates a banking system in the areas under its control in the Darfur region. The RSF downs a drone over Nyala, South Darfur, as clashes continue in South Kordofan.
January 11: The government of Prime Minister Kamil Idris officially resumes its activities in Khartoum, and police recover 6,000 stolen vehicles from the state. After 1,000 days of war, the Bahri Observatory for Human Rights reveals evidence of secret graves, 4,000 people detained, and 1,000 people disappeared.
January 12: A six-month jail term over a Facebook post sparks outrage in El Gedaref. The RSF claims control of Jargeira, North Darfur, following fierce fighting.
January 13: December 2025 witnessed a marked surge in grave human rights violations, especially in South and North Darfur, according to the Adala Centre for Studies and Research. In Jargeira, the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements announces its recapture of the area. In Port Sudan, the Ministry of Culture and Information celebrates the recovery of 570 stolen antiquities.
January 14: This season, wheat cultivation has halved in the El Gezira and El Managil agricultural scheme, despite efforts to disinfect irrigation canals and provide fuel to farmers. The Eastern Sudan Movements Alliance declares its readiness to continue security agreements with the government.
January 16: 12 Sudanese girls are gang-raped in eastern Chad, prompting refugees to appeal for increased security measures.
January 17: Trade unionists, activists, and international campaigners gather in London, UK, for the Sudan Solidarity Conference, despite waning international attention on Sudan as the war is eclipsed by major events in Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Venezuela.
January 18: The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) warn of possible siege preparations by the SAF and allied groups around the North Kordofan capital, as the United Nations (UN) warns that RSF atrocities in North Darfur could be repeated in Kadugli.
January 19: The International Criminal Court confirms evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the RSF in El Fasher last year. The RSF clashes with the Chadian army near Jargeira, following an “unintentional mistake,” and protests and arrests spread across eastern Sudan.
January 20: The Children Not Soldiers campaign reveals a dangerous escalation in the rate of child recruitment in Sudan, as an extensive survey conducted by Radio Dabanga shows that conflict has diminished young peoples’ aspirations for a secure and stable future.
January 21: “Aid alone cannot resolve this suffering,” says the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, warning that the ongoing war in Sudan will not be contained by its borders. Sudan records the world’s longest school closure, with eight million children out of school for 484 days. The RSF detains the local mayor and civilians in East Darfur.
January 22: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expresses deep concern about the situation of civilians cut off from aid in North Darfur. The Ugandan elections, punctuated by the sight of security planes flying over Kampala, trigger traumatic memories of war for Sudanese refugees.
January 23: Local leaders and human rights activists accuse the SAF of committing violence against civilians in North Kordofan.
January 24: A South Kordofan mine collapse kills six and injures twelve, with dozens missing. A measles outbreak ravages children in Darfur’s Jebel Marra, and dengue fever and malaria emerge in Khartoum. Sudanese artist Yasser Ali participates in a virtual exhibition displaying one hundred paintings about the Sudanese war every month.
January 25: Thousands of people flee South Kordofan amid escalating drone attacks by the SAF and RSF. Meanwhile, the RSF begin a new offensive in Blue Nile state as a “diversion from the Kordofan front.” State neglect and illegal logging leave forests under threat, sparking outrage and anger.
January 26: The war in Sudan has shifted from a military confrontation to what feminist and human rights groups describe as “a widespread and systematic assault on women and girls.”
January 27: Five people are killed in a drone strike in South Kordofan, conflict in Blue Nile state reignites comeptition for control of central Sudan, and Kassala state announces it will dismantle three displacement camps. Former PM Abdallah Hamdok says: “We would like you to remember that there is a country called Sudan which is passing through the most catastrophic and humanitarian crisis in the world today, larger than Gaza and Ukraine combined,” during an exclusive interview with Radio Dabanga.
January 28: “Global silence is enabling genocide,” writes Ikhlass Ahmed, women’s rights defender and crisis response advocate, as 62 rights organisations warn that the international community remains “incapable of preventing the return of genocide, widespread atrocities, and the weaponisation of the justice system.” The IOM says that 88,316 people were displaced from the Kordofan region between October 25 and January 15.
January 29: The EU sanctions five RSF and two SAF members for the “dramatic escalation of violence” in Sudan. Displaced people report severe health and water service shortages in Kalma camp, South Darfur. In an exclusive interview with Radio Dabanga, Yale HRL professor Nathaniel Raymond warns of a mass casualty event in Sudan.
January 30: Experts report an “illegal crackdown” on Sudanese refugees in Egypt.
In February, fighting between the SAF and RSF intensifies across Kordofan and Darfur, with drone strikes and shelling killing dozens of civilians and displacing thousands. The lifting of Kadugli’s siege marks a shift, but retaliatory attacks and clashes over strategic routes and borders continue. Diplomatic efforts struggle on, including proposed peace plans, UN discussions, and new envoys, though doubts remain about their impact. Sanctions target key figures, while regional tensions grow, including border closures and refugee crackdowns in Egypt. Human rights abuses persist, including massacres, deaths in detention, and child soldier recruitment. The humanitarian crisis deepens, with aid disruptions, disease risks, and economic collapse worsening conditions countrywide.
February 1: Heavy clashes between the SAF and RSF break out along the road linking Kadugli to Delling.
February 2: Perpetrators of sexual violence are being dealt with legally, including members of the regular forces, says Sudan state minister. An SAF drone strike on Yabous Hospital in Blue Nile state kills four people.
February 3: The SAF enters Kadugli as the siege on the South Kordofan capital is lifted after more than two years. Retaliatory RSF drone strikes kill 15 people, as the Quartet reportedly agrees on a peace plan which could be escalated to the UN Security Council (UNSC). The New York Times publishes an investigation alleging the existence of a covert Egyptian military airbase being used to launch drone strikes against the RSF. Sudanese journalist Almigdad Hassan is named as Newcomer of the Year at the Free Press Awards 2025.
February 4: Whilst some commentators say that the Quartet peace plan is the first serious attempt to stop the war, others see it as a mere “expectation” that does not touch reality. Two women from El Gedaref and Blue Nile face death by stoning in prison.
February 5: UK hits six key figures with fresh sanctions in a bid to “dismantle Sudan’s war machine,” as SAF drone strikes injure 12 in West Kordofan and RSF shelling kills 22 people in South Kordofan. Sudanese refugees in Ugandan and South Sudanese camps endure dire conditions as food subsidies shrink and financial support fails.
February 6: 29 people are injured by drone strikes near the Sudan-Chad border, and one person is killed by an RSF attack against a World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy in North Kordofan. Female genital mutilation (FGM) rates are ranked among the highest globally in Sudan, where years of fragile progress are now under threat.
February 7: The Sudan Doctors Network reports “another massacre” by the RSF in North Kordofan, killing at least 24 people. Meanwhile, the Tasees government and RSF deny the recent spate of strikes, with an estimated 115,223 people now displaced from the Kordofan region.
February 8: Two people are killed by an RSF drone attack on El Rahad mosque in North Kordofan. Activists report that at least 300 detainees have died due to neglect over the past two months inside Shala Prison, West Darfur.
February 9: The UNSC holds closed consultations on Sudan. UN High Commissioner Volker Türk says, “the events that unfolded in El Fasher last October were a preventable human rights catastrophe,” as reports stream in of entire neighbourhoods being destroyed in North Darfur in the present day. Khartoum airport reopens in a “new phase in managing Sudan’s crisis,” while Sudanese refugees in Egypt face a steady rise in arrests.
February 10: The Civil Democratic Alliance of Revolutionary Forces (Sumud) prepares for an AU summit.
February 11: The Quintet committee expresses its grave concern over the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Sudan. At least 15 people drown in a ferry tragedy in River Nile state.
February 12: The African Peace and Security Council declines to lift Sudan’s AU suspension. Landmines and unexploded shells litter streets, homes, and even places of worship in West Kordofan, which has seen a massive influx of returnees in the last two months.
February 13: Salma Abdeljabar, a member of the Sovereignty Council aligned with the de facto authorities in Port Sudan, resigns amid “a land dispute controversy.”
February 14: 12 people are reported missing in White Nile after a second ferry sinks within a week.
February 15: Fires leave one child dead and over 60 households homeless in the Kordofan region. A Sudan analyst says the “AU summit sends a strong signal to the Sudanese military on civilian rule,” as an EU envoy says that two women being sentenced to death by stoning represents a “dangerous return to extremism.”
February 16: Egyptian authorities reportedly detain seven Sudanese women working in Cairo and hold them incommunicado, as others continue to be arbitrarily detained and deported. Over 60 people are killed in a series of drone attacks across Darfur, Kordofan, and Sennar states in a 48-hour period.
February 17: In El Gezira, displaced residents are blocked from returning to their dilapidated villages. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) holds talks on supporting Sudanese people displaced by war and appeals for lifesaving assistance to 5.9 million people.
February 19: The UN mission to Sudan reports that three acts of genocide were committed during the RSF’s late-October takeover of El Fasher last year.
February 20: Radio Dabanga and Bellingcat investigate Sudan’s “lion cubs,” the child soldiers going viral on TikTok. “The balance of social justice has been disrupted, and the middle class is almost entirely gone,” economist Abdel Halim Timan tells Radio Dabanga.
February 21: The RSF attempts to seize the strategic El Tina border crossing between Chad and North Darfur, but is repelled.
February 22: In North Darfur, RSF drone strikes on the headquarters of the Musa Hilal-led Revolutionary Awakening Council kill civilians. Hilal survives and reportedly flees to Chad. The war paralyses the gum arabic market in El Obeid as production falls and exports stall.
February 23: Chad closes its border with Sudan following clashes in El Tina, as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) closes its hospital there. 28 civilians are killed by an RSF raid on a stronghold of SAF-allied Musa Hilal forces.
February 24: Finnish Foreign Minister MP Pekka Haavisto becomes new UN Personal Envoy for Sudan, and a journalism panel event explores “the war of narratives” in the country. Several states ban collective Iftars across the country “in anticipation of any threat.”
February 25: The Sudanese Women’s Union calls for the activation of international accountability mechanisms for violations against women, as the Sudanese Teachers Committee warns that “separate exams will entrench division.”
February 26: The Sudan Core Group at the Human Rights’ Council – Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom – establish a “coalition of like-minded states” to prevent further atrocities in El Fasher.
February 28: 40 Sudanese civil society initiatives, organisations and actors present an “initial vision for a unified path to end the war and build peace.”
March sees food prices surge and farming decline, worsening hunger risks. Disease outbreaks and water shortages compound an already critical humanitarian situation, as access to aid remains severely constrained, despite the opening of Khartoum International Airport. There is sustained escalation in the conflict, with heavy fighting across Kordofan, Darfur, and Blue Nile. Drone strikes, artillery shelling, and coordinated ground assaults hit towns, camps, and hospitals, causing high civilian casualties and forcing tens of thousands to flee. Control of key strategic areas continues to shift, particularly around Delling and El Kurmuk. Reports continue to highlight widespread abuses, including sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and attacks on healthcare facilities. Fires and strikes further devastate displacement camps.
March 1: The SAF repels a three-pronged RSF assault on Delling, capital of South Kordofan. A fire in Kalma camp, South Darfur, destroys up to 1,000 homes and shelters.
March 2: The RSF claims control of El Kuweik, effectively cutting the road between Delling and Kadugli, tightening the siege on the state capital of South Kordofan. In Blue Nile state, the town of Kurmuk continues to endure intense drone strikes, as Ethiopia summons Sudan’s ambassador to Addis Ababa over drone attack allegations.
March 3: At least 167 people are killed, 68 injured, and 10 reported missing after an armed attack by an unidentified group in Abyei, a town in the disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan, and three children die after a fire breaks out at Abu Dhar camp in Central Darfur. In North Kordofan, the RSF escalates its drone campaign against El Obeid for the fourth consecutive day.
March 4: The Federal Ministry of Health declares Sudan free of the cholera epidemic, confirming no new cases since January 14, as the WFP successfully resumes flights to Khartoum Airport, prompting speculation. As the war between the US and Israel against Iran continues, concerns mount about the potential economic effects on Sudan.
March 5: At least nine people are killed, and 51 are reported injured after artillery shelling hits Delling.
March 6: The RSF arrests several women, including journalists, and transfers them to Korea prison in Nyala, South Darfur.
March 8: Production capacity for synthetic drugs expands dramatically under the cover of the ‘fog of war’ in Sudan.
March 9: On International Women’s Day, which offers an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary resilience of Sudanese women, Yale HRL publishes evidence that the RSF razed North Darfur farming communities to induce famine in 2024. The US designates the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood a global terrorist organisation, citing Iran links and Islamist ideology.
March 10: New artillery shelling launched by the RSF and the Popular Movement led by Abdulaziz El Hilu kills seven civilians, as the Emergency Lawyers Group warns of the escalation of violations against civilians in Sudan.
March 11: At least 52 people are killed when a drone, allegedly launched by the SAF, targets a convoy on the way to El Fula in West Kordofan. Meanwhile, an RSF bombardment of a village in White Nile state kills nine and injures 17 people.
March 12: The Federal Health Ministry reports over 1,200 cases of dengue fever in a week, as South Darfur launches a measles and rubella vaccination campaign for 390,000 children. In an escalation of violence across the Darfur and Kordofan regions, RSF artillery bombardment resumes in Delling and two separate SAF drone attacks hit West Darfur markets.
March 13: Official figures of sexual violence “do not reflect the true scale of the violations,” says Hala El Karp, regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa.
March 15: Over three-quarters of Sudanese refugee families in Chad say their children have dropped out of school since fleeing the conflict, as a series of fires cause significant damage in several parts of Darfur.
March 16: Farmers in the New Halfa Agricultural Scheme in Kassala state warn that production costs have surged by 80 per cent compared with last year.
March 17: The SAF confirms that the RSF has taken control of Bara in North Kordofan, just ten days after the army recaptured it.
March 19: Chad shuts the 1,300-kilometre border with Sudan again after drone strikes kill civilians in El Tina, as Muslims around the world begin to celebrate Eid El Fitr.
March 20: An SAF drone strike at Ed Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur kills at least 64 people.
March 21: The World Health Organisation reports that over 2,000 people have been killed in 213 documented attacks on health facilities since the war began in April 2023. A major fire tears through El Omda camp in North Darfur, destroying 903 homes.
March 22: Joint RSF and SPLM-N forces launch coordinated assaults on El Kurmuk in the Blue Nile region, targeting Jurut East and Jurut West.
March 23: The RSF seizure of large parts of the strategic city of El Kurmuk prompts the displacement of more than 73,000 civilians to Ed Damazin.
March 24: Yale HRL reports that the SAF “deliberately targeted” Ed Daein Teaching Hospital in the “double tap” attack at the end of last week.In El Gedaref and Kassala states, people face a “historic” drinking water crisis.
March 26: “The war involving Iran is likely to reshape the balance of power in Sudan indirectly,” says Nohad Eltayeb, Senior Research Assistant at ACLED.
March 27: Rashid Mohamed Abbas is reported dead, marking the sixth recorded case of a Sudanese national dying in Egyptian custody in the past 45 days. As El Gezira’s health system collapses, patients travel 500 kilometres for treatment.
March 28: The SAF claims to have repelled a major assault by the RSF and allied fighters on the city of Delling, as at least 425 households flee the fighting. Sudanese university professors begin a nationwide strike, as security forces crack down on protest vigils.
March 29: Prices of staple crops rise sharply in El Gezira state, as ongoing agricultural disruptions deepen concerns over food security in the region.
March 30: The Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice in Sudan condemns the drone strike on a hospital in East Darfur earlier in the month, as the UN expresses alarm at attacks on civilians and ongoing restraints on humanitarian access across Sudan.
March 31: An MSF report provides comprehensive, documented accounts of sexual violence in Darfur. The university strike enters its third day, as Khartoum International Airport opens for both regional and international flights.
Previous timelines
Sudan timeline October-December 2025: ‘A collective failure’ to end a brutal war
Sudan timeline July-September 2025: Daily attacks, disease, and disaster obscure plans for peace
Sudan timeline April-June 2025: Bleak hope emerges against bloody reality of conflict
Sudan timeline January-March 2025: Power shifts as army wins major battle grounds in destructive war
Sudan timeline October-December 2024: Reports of famine and calls for peace overshadowed by war
Sudan timeline July-September 2024: Thousands starving as war continues without mercy
Sudan timeline April-June 2024: Sudan war ‘remains overlooked by international community’
Sudan timeline January-March 2024: Sudan becomes ‘the largest humanitarian crisis in the world’
Sudan timeline October-December 2023: War deepens Sudan’s suffering
Sudan timeline July-September 2023: Sudanese ‘in survival mode’
Sudan timeline April-June 2020: Covid-19 marks all aspects of life, inflation soars
Sudan timeline January-March 2020: Little relief to the country’s economic, security woes
Sudan timeline October-December 2019: Interim government put to the test
Sudan timeline July-September 2019: Turbulent transformation from tyranny
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