The Guardian view on three years of war in Sudan: a vast humanitarian crisis persists because the fighting does | Editorial

A devastating ‘war of atrocities’ will continue as long as the United Arab Emirates and others back the belligerents

“Bloody unacceptable.” The UN’s top official in Sudan, Denise Brown, abandoned the language of diplomacy https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/apr/14/no-end-sudan-war-conflict-third-anniversary">in addressing the failure to tackle a devastating https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/nov/19/an-existential-battle-of-interests-what-the-sudanese-war-is-actually-about">three-year conflict which has been overshadowed by Ukraine, then Gaza, and now Iran.

The humanitarian crisis has dominated discussions of https://www.theguardian.com/world/sudan">Sudan, she argued: “How about focusing on finding a solution to end the war?”

The international conference convened in Berlin on Wednesday is intended to inject a sense of urgency, as the conflict enters its fourth year.

Since Sudan’s generals https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/20/sudan-outsider-hemedti-mohamed-hamdan-dagalo-leader-militia-army-war-conflict">turned upon each other, having overthrown the civilian government, tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.

Four million have fled abroad to other fragile nations, and millions more are displaced internally.

More than half the population – approaching 30 million people – are https://www.nrc.no/news/2026/what-it-takes-to-eat-new-report-reveals-how-war-is-cutting-off-access-to-food-as-hunger-deepens-in-sudan">acutely food insecure.

Much of the capital, Khartoum, lies in ruins.