civil war

The balance of power between the army and the militia that controls Darfur may be shifting, but which way is not yet clear

There are fears that a divided country could yet splinter into a patchwork of overlapping fiefdoms led by warlords and terrorists, with neither a military nor diplomatic solution looking likely

The powerful militia controls half the country, battling the Sudanese Armed Forces for the rest, but has had several setbacks as of late, including defections to the other side

More than 21 million Sudanese face acute food shortages, despite no shortage of arable land. With war in Iran sending the cost of fuel and fertiliser soaring, famines are now being declared

Created by then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Rapid Support Forces have ripped the country in two. This is what happens when a state gives up its monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

After over 500 days of a crippling blockade, the city finally fell to the RSF, cementing their control of the giant Darfur state in western Sudan and giving them full access to key supply routes

The army and the RSF rely on the assets at their disposal to sustain governance and fund their war efforts, while trying to win over the international community by seizing larger swathes of Sudan

Classified documents from the 1970s obtained by Al Majalla show what led to the killing of the Lebanese Druze politician and how Syria came to occupy Lebanon

The Druze leader, whose forces were winning Lebanon's civil war, disagreed with Syria's president over it. Now, Al Majalla publishes a letter he sent to Assad, aiming to put them on the same page.

The country has all the ingredients that enflame tensions: acute social inequality, an unformed national identity and myriad ethnic groups, all of which were exacerbated by colonial rule