After a year of war, Sudan is a failing state

When the conflict in Africa’s third-largest country began a year ago it might have been mistaken for a clear-cut fight between two generals, each vying for control of the central state. On one side were the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan; on the other the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit under the command of Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (a Darfuri warlord universally known as Hemedti). Even after fighting exploded in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread to Darfur, some observers still imagined it could be contained or that the two sides would grind themselves to a stalemate, and then strike a power-sharing deal.