Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and millions displaced, but this is only part of the story. Every morning, there is fear of whether children will be fed or whether another day of bombardment will come. In the basements, teachers teach, and medical personnel do their job even without electricity. The latest atrocity, a drone strike at the al-Safiya market near Sodari in North Kordofan attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The point is, there are no longer safe spaces in Sudan.

This war, entering its third year, is fought along many frontlines. The struggle for control of physical territory, a downward spiral humanitarian crisis, a war for infrastructure and resources, shaping how Sudan’s society will survive and relate to its neighbours, and the region as a whole. This is now clear in Kordofan and Blue Nile areas where the SAF expand their ambitions for control of towns and roads under rivals like the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), or Harakat Al-Sha’abia Li-Tahrir Al-Sudan-Al-Shamal, threatening to drag South Sudan further into the conflict.

Following the fall of al-Fasher, the war has intensified. SAF escalation broke lines and entered Kadugli and Dilanj, as the Port Sudan forces increasingly rely on drones. “Former Sudanese Air Force pilots indicate that these drones are used to target troop concentrations, light armour, and snipers, as well as to restrict individual movements,” bombarding villages, markets and farms. In Blue Nile State, along borders with Ethiopia and South Sudan, reports highlight roadblocks, empty markets, fuel shortages, which hamper relief operations, and armed men roaming the countryside searching for supplies or recruits. 

The southern regions now threatened by SAF are not just new battlegrounds, they are a lifeline. The roads in Kordofan and Blue Nile states connect Khartoum with Darfur, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. The oil pipelines from South Sudan pass through the region, heading north towards Port Sudan on the Red Sea. A vital region with resources and transport routes. South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir reached an agreement with Sudan’s warring parties to protect the Hegling oil fields, which lie in a “very important strategic area for the two countries,”

The area of the Nuba mountains in South Kordofan remains highly coveted by the SAF. The region has a “majority Christian population,” where locals have accused troops of raping girls and taking boys to go and train them [as fighters].” The SPLM-N faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu has rejected Burhan’s overtures, while the faction under Malik Agar (split in 2017) have joined the Port Sudan government and given a seat on the Transitional Sovereign Council (STC). Agar’s faction was a signatory of the Jubba Agreement in 2020. 

Next door in Ethiopia, concerns grow over potential spill-over, politically and militarily. Instability along the Red Sea, with Islamist groups supported by Iran and Houthis expanding their presence along Port Sudan and the Horn of Africa, regional powers fear conflicts spilling over into their territories at a time of increasing instability. The conflict in Sudan has also dragged in European governments and as far as Pakistan, highlighting human trafficking routes and proliferation of weapons through new routes. Battles being fought in small towns across Sudan are having far-reaching implications and becoming more difficult to end.  

The outcome of the war will determine Sudan’s future and shape its sovereignty. If the SAF and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamist factions succeed, East Africa could witness the growth of extremist groups and grant actors like Iran new territories from which to threaten their regional rivals. The unseen battle lines of Sudan are not only the political fault lines but also the places where people’s lives are being dramatically affected. UN organizations continue to highlight the “world’s worst health and humanitarian crisis” with over 20 million people “desperately needing food.” To fully comprehend the war in Kordofan and Blue Nile, there is a need to tell the story of people suffering, beyond the fight for natural resources.   

© Eurasia Review