Sudan-the battle of the generals

Charlie Gershinson, News Editor, writes about the situation in Sudan

AVIOLENT conflict in Sudan has broken out between two factions of the country’s military, which has seen hundreds killed and 450,000 civilians displaced since fighting began on 15th April.

The conflict is raging between two powerful generals: Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and deputy leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti). The two men have, until recently, been allies on the country’s military-controlled executive council which successfully launched a coup against the joint military-civilian government in 2021. They have come to blows over plans for RSF integration into the main army, which would lead to a power struggle between the generals and a fight for dominance within the military hierarchy.

Sudan has had a chequered past, which the recent fighting has only been the latest chapter of. The civilian-military council which preceded the military junta was a break from the brutal thirty-year dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir who, among other things, is under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court because of the brutal fighting against rebels in the Western region of Darfur. Al-Bashir’s actions have since been characterised as racial cleansing. The genocide in Darfur also saw the founding of the RSF in 2013 and the

Easter around the world

Livvy Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor, discusses Easter traditions

DESPITE the fact that your Easter may involve egg hunts, church services, and chocolate, Christians around the world look at Easter in a variety of ways. Having come back from Easter break, it gives us the perfect opportunity to delve into some of the different Easter celebrations that happen around the world.

In countries in the Pacific, such as Australia and New Zealand, Easter isn’t celebrated there in the spring; it’s in the autumn. Many New Zealanders enjoy eating hot cross buns during Easter, like people in England. Some Australians don’t use rabbits for their Easter celebrations due to their reputation as pests. Instead, they use the occasion to honour the bilby, an endangered Australian species. Its big ears and resemblance to a rabbit have earned it the name “Easter Bilby.”

The 55 days preceding Easter are known as Faskia in Ethiopian Christian churches. Faskia is significantly more important to people than Christmas, which explains why it is celebrated for a longer period. For 55 days leading up to this holiday, people abstain from eating meat and other animal products.

For 55 days leading up to this holiday, people abstain to eating meat and other animal products rise of Gen Dagalo. The RSF has since expanded in power and intervened in nearby Yemen and Libya with a significant interest in Sudan’s gold mines.

During Easter, there are two processions in the Philippines: one for the men, who follow a statue of a risen Jesus, and one for the women, who follow Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is draped in a black veil. The two groups come together at the church as a representation of Jesus consoling Mary after his resurrection. Then lambongs, or Mary’s veil, are removed by Easter-themed angelic girls, and everyone cheers.

Easter celebrations vary across the world but have much in common as families join together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of contemplation and worship.

Sudan has had a chequered past

Both generals claim to be fighting the conflict for the benefit of the people of Sudan with Gen Dagalo claiming the army to be radical Islamists and Gen Burhan saying he wants a transition to a democratic, elected government but most believe that the conflict is purely over each man’s position of power.

While it is not clear where the

RSF bases are, they are thought to be in heavily urban areas – like the capital Khartoum – leading Gen Burhan’s forces to conduct air strikes on civilian populations. The United Nations have attempted to call multiple ceasefires to evacuate civilians, but these have largely been ignored. The most promising sign of a possible solution for peace comes as “pre-negotiation talks” begin in Jeddah, sponsored by the USA and Saudi Arabia. The talks will be led by Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan who has said that he hopes the talks will “lead to the end of the conflict and the return of security and stability to the Republic of Sudan”.