Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
The war that has gripped Sudan for more than two years and cost 150,000 lives is a shifting mosaic of alliances and rivalries, lumped under two main groups. There’s the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force, led respectively by two men who were once allies but are now locked in a titanic power struggle that has displaced 13 million people and is causing widespread famine.
Today we’re joined by Ahmed Kodouda, a humanitarian policy and operations expert who’s worked with NGOs, governments, and international institutions around the world. He also served as a senior advisor to Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government following the country’s democratic uprising in 2019.
Ahmed explains the complexities of the conflict, the groups involved, the background, the impact on the country’s roughly 50 million people, the influence of outside countries in particular the United Arab Emirates, and the inadequate response of the international community.
Show notes
Foreign Affairs article, “Sudan is unravelling” (foreignaffairs.com/sudan/sudan-unraveling) , by Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda
The war that has gripped Sudan for more than two years and cost 150,000 lives is a shifting mosaic of alliances and rivalries, lumped under two main groups. There’s the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force, led respectively by two men who were once allies but are now locked in a titanic power struggle that has displaced 13 million people and is causing widespread famine.
Today we’re joined by Ahmed Kodouda, a humanitarian policy and operations expert who’s worked with NGOs, governments, and international institutions around the world. He also served as a senior advisor to Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government following the country’s democratic uprising in 2019.
Ahmed explains the complexities of the conflict, the groups involved, the background, the impact on the country’s roughly 50 million people, the influence of outside countries in particular the United Arab Emirates, and the inadequate response of the international community.
Show notes
Foreign Affairs article, “Sudan is unravelling” (foreignaffairs.com/sudan/sudan-unraveling) , by Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda
