VOA新闻杂志2023--Why Sudan’s Conflict Matters to the World

Why Sudan’s Conflict Matters to the World

Foreign governments have evacuated¹ hundreds of diplomats² and other citizens from Sudan since Sunday.

For Sudanese, the evacuation is a sign that international powers expect conditions to worsen in the North African nation.

The fighting between forces loyal to two top Sudanese generals has killed over 420 and injured more than 3,700. The country is at risk of collapse³ and the fighting could affect others far beyond its borders.

Who is fighting?

The leaders of the two fighting forces are General Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the armed forces, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The two generals came to power after pro-democracy protests led to the 2019 ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. In 2021, the two joined forces to seize power from a civilian⁴ government.

In recent months, negotiations⁵ were underway for a return to a democratic political system. Tensions between Burhan and Dagalo worsened during negotiations to reach a final agreement. The main dispute is over how the RSF would be mixed into the military and who would have control over fighters and weapons.

Alex De Waal is a Sudan expert at Tufts University. He wrote in a note to colleagues this week that the conflict should be seen as "the first round of a civil war."

How does the fighting affect Sudan's neighbors?

Sudan is Africa's third-largest country by area.

The country uneasily shares the waters of the Nile River with Egypt and Ethiopia. Egypt relies on the Nile to support its population of over 100 million. Ethiopia is working on a huge dam to contain water upstream.

Egypt has close ties to Sudan's military, which it sees as an ally against Ethiopia. Egypt has contacted both sides in Sudan to press for a cease-fire. But Egypt is unlikely to stand by if the military faces defeat.

Sudan borders five other countries: Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, and South Sudan. Nearly all of them face internal conflict, with different rebel groups operating along the borders.

"What happens in Sudan will not stay in Sudan," said Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group. "Chad and South Sudan look most immediately at risk of potential spillover. But the longer (the fighting) drags on the more likely it is we see major external intervention⁶."

Which foreign powers are involved in Sudan?

Arab Gulf⁷ countries have looked to Africa in recent years as they have sought to project power across the area.

The United Arab Emirates has close ties to the Rapid Support Forces. The group sent thousands of fighters to aid the UAE and Saudi Arabia in their war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Russia has long had plans to build a naval⁸ base at Port Sudan that could support up to 300 troops and four ships. The Red Sea port is on the busy trading route for energy shipments to Europe.

The Wagner Group is a Russian mercenary organization with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's government. The group has been operating in Sudan since 2017. The United States and the European Union have established economic measures against two Wagner-linked companies. The gold mining companies were accused of smuggling⁹.

Sudan became an outsider nation when it sheltered Osama bin¹⁰ Laden¹¹ and other militants¹² in the 1990s. Omar al-Bashir, the country's ruler at the time, had led a hard-line Islamist government.

Sudan's isolation¹³ deepened over the conflict in western Darfur in the 2000s. At the time, the Sudanese forces and tribal¹⁴ fighters were accused of carrying out war crimes while suppressing a local rebellion. The International Criminal Court later charged al-Bashir with genocide.

Controls over economy

The U.S. removed Sudan from its list of state supporters of terrorism after the government in Khartoum agreed to establish ties with Israel in 2020.

But billions of dollars in loans and aid were suspended after the 2021 military takeover. The lack of foreign support, inflation and the war in Ukraine have all hurt Sudan's economy.

Armed groups in Sudan have long enriched themselves through the control of minerals and other natural resources.

Dagalo has large farm animal holdings and gold mining operations. He is also believed to have been paid by Gulf countries for the RSF's services in fighting rebels in Yemen.

The Sudanese military under Burhan controls much of the country's economy. It also depends on businessmen who grew rich during al-Bashir's long rule.

De Waal of Tufts University said control over money is as important as over the battlefield. "(The military) will want to take control of gold mines and smuggling routes. The RSF will want to interrupt major transport arteries¹⁵ including the road from Port Sudan to Khartoum," he said.

Words in This Story

evacuated –n. to remove people, usually quickly, from a dangerous place; to leave a place

external –adj. outside; used on the exterior¹⁶ of something

project –v. to expand influence onto a place

route –n. a road or way taken for trade or travel

mercenary –adj. relating to fighters who are paid for their services but are not part of a country's military and might not be citizens of the country employing them

smuggling –n. the act of trafficking in goods illegally from one area to another

isolation –n. the condition of being alone

1 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

10 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

11 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

12 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

13 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。