Why genocide keeps repeating in Sudan

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s commentary argues that Sudan is again facing the risk of mass atrocity because earlier warnings were not met with effective international action. The piece focuses on el-Obeid, a commercial centre and logistics hub in North Kordofan, where UN human rights chief Volker Turk recently issued a “red alert” amid intensified fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The article says the RSF carried out 27 drone attacks on the city in June, damaging fuel depots, water systems and the power grid, while blocked routes and seasonal rains have made escape increasingly difficult for residents.

The analysis links el-Obeid’s vulnerability to previous RSF abuses in other parts of Sudan. It points to el-Fasher in North Darfur, where a UN investigation reportedly found that RSF crimes amounted to genocide after large-scale killings and other abuses, and to el-Geneina in West Darfur, where civilians were trapped as aid was blocked and people were prevented from fleeing. According to the article, earlier genocide labels and warnings did not produce a decisive response from global powers.

The author places Sudan in a broader historical context, comparing international inaction in Rwanda and Bosnia and discussing how later efforts to prevent genocide, including the Responsibility to Protect and the International Criminal Court, have been weakened by politics and failed interventions. The piece also criticizes current diplomatic handling of the war, saying outside powers continue to back rival sides while issuing condemnations. Its central claim is that without stronger pressure, Sudan could see repeated atrocities rather than prevention.