The Sudan conflict and its impacts on the region

The crisis in Sudan is now in its sixth week, with no end in sight. Neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been able to gain decisive victories in the capital, Khartoum. On 22 May, the two sides signed a seven-day ceasefire, sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia. So, what are the current scenarios for negotiation, and what role should the West play in this process? This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Theodore Murphy, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Marie Dumoulin, the heads of ECFR’s Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Wider Europe programmes. They discuss why stability in Sudan is critical to the Middle East and North Africa, and what is at stake for other politically unsteady countries, such as South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Chad. Is there a risk of regional spillover, and where are the Sudanese refugees going? This podcast was recorded on 22 May 2023. Bookshelf: Putin’s Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine by Mark Galeotti A Stranger in your own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War by Ghaid Abdul-Ahad The Nonaligned World by Foreign Affairs A conversation with Henry Kissinger in The Economist