No Results Found: Sudan, Global Indifference, and the Scroll Past Genocide

EDITORIAL, 15 Jun 2026

#955 | Raïs Neza Boneza – TRANSCEND Media Service

Let’s begin with a moment of gratitude for British efficiency. When the British and Egyptians finally packed their bags in 1956, they left Sudan with the kind of parting gift that only colonial powers can give: a structurally divided country, a map drawn to maximize ethnic friction, and a warm wish of “good luck.” It was the geopolitical equivalent of handing someone the keys to a burning house while smiling and saying, “Mind the smoke.”

That house has been on fire ever since.

Sudan gained independence, but independence, as it turns out, is not the same as stability. From the outset, the country was conveniently sorted: North—Arab, Muslim, deemed “civilized” by the people who had just left; South—African, Christian/animist, apparently in need of guidance. Nothing says “stable nation-building” like importing racial hierarchies and calling it governance. The result was so predictable that it barely qualifies as a surprise: civil war, rebellion, and the slow realization that the country’s unity was a sentence, not a promise.

For a brief moment, there was a reasonable man with a reasonable idea. John Garang of the SPLM wanted a united Sudan—not one built on forced identity, but one where diversity wasn’t treated as a security threat. That idea was, of course, far too sensible to survive. By 2011, South Sudan voted to leave. Problem solved? Not quite. The disease remained in the body left behind, and instead of pivoting toward pluralism, Sudan doubled down on the same old recipe: Arabization, Islamization, and the weaponization of identity.

Enter Omar al-Bashir. A man later indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Indicted, yes. Meaningfully held accountable? Justice, like everything else in this story, is subject to visa restrictions.

When communities in Darfur protested marginalization, Bashir did what any modern manager would do: he outsourced. He armed the Janjaweed—literally “devils on horseback.” Not a metaphor, not a poetic exaggeration. That was the actual name. Their methods were a masterpiece of low-cost, high-impact terror: mass rape, village burnings, ethnic cleansing, all delivered with the efficiency of a government subcontractor.

Fast‑forward. Bashir falls in 2019. One might expect reform, accountability, institutional rebuilding. Instead, Sudan chose continuity—with sophisticated branding. The Janjaweed became the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Same actors, same ideology, new uniforms. Led by Hemeti, a former militia commander who somehow transitioned from warlord to power broker without the awkwardness of a job interview. Opposite him stands General Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces. In other words, the state is now fighting its own shadow, and the shadow is armed to the teeth.

This is not merely a civil war. It is a multi‑layered extraction project with bullets. Gold, guns, patronage networks, foreign arms—British weapons reportedly found, regional players like Egypt and the UAE picking sides, mercenaries recruited as far as Mauritania (in the Sahel region) or Colombia and  Ukraine. Sudan is not collapsing in isolation. It is being mined, funded, and strategically ignored.

Now let’s review the “minor inconveniences” currently unfolding: millions displaced across Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Congo,  Ethiopia, Egypt; children unvaccinated for years; polio resurging; water systems contaminated; unexploded ordnance everywhere; and, for the dystopian bingo card, modern slavery is back. Trafficking into Libyan brothels. Forced recruitment into armed groups—including Boko Haram. Fighters exported to conflicts as far as Syria. This is not a humanitarian crisis. It is the systemic disintegration of a society in real time, and the world’s response has been to treat it as background noise.

Even memory is not safe. Khartoum’s museums have been looted, artifacts now appearing in Europe, South America, Asia. Because even in collapse, someone is always running logistics. Hegemony doesn’t disappear; it simply buys the ruins at a discount

And now comes the most impressive performance of all: global indifference. The United Nations: missing in action. The African Union: quiet. ECOWAS and SADC: silent. Major media: algorithmically uninterested. Apparently, Sudan failed the basic requirement for coverage—it is not strategically fashionable enough. No trending hashtags, no coordinated outrage, no prime‑time moral clarity. Just a war politely labeled “The Forgotten Conflict,” as if forgetting were an accident rather than a choice.

Here is the uncomfortable question: if the world ignores Sudan, can Africa afford to do the same? Because silence here is not neutral. It is complicity by omission. And there are credible reports that African actors themselves are supporting factions in this war. This is not only a story of external neglect; it is also a story of internal failure. A truth that no press release can rebrand.

Darfur today is not merely “in crisis.” It is being erased. Entire communities—Fur, Zaghawa, and others—face systematic destruction. A country’s population has reportedly dropped by nearly 30 percent. Let that number sit for a moment. Then ask yourself: when was the last time you saw an emergency summit with actual urgency? When was the last time a world leader interrupted their schedule for Sudan?

In a world where satellites can track a missile within seconds, where markets react to rumors in milliseconds, where celebrities trend globally for breakfast choices, Sudan remains invisible. Not because it is hidden. But because it is inconvenient to see.

Sudan does not need sympathy. It needs political will, regional accountability, international pressure, and immediate humanitarian re‑engagement. Because if this continues, we will not be discussing “conflict resolution.” We will be discussing the post‑mortem reconstruction of a nation that was allowed to die while the world refreshed its feed.

And history, as always, will ask the most uncomfortable question: who knew? Everyone. Who acted? Scroll down. No results.

____________________________________________

Raïs Neza Boneza is the author of fiction as well as non-fiction, poetry books and articles. He was born in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Former Zaïre). He is also an activist and peace practitioner. Raïs is a member of the TRANSCEND Media Service Editorial Committee and a convener of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment for Central and African Great Lakes. He uses his work to promote artistic expressions as a means to deal with conflicts and maintaining mental wellbeing, spiritual growth and healing. Raïs has travelled extensively in Africa and around the world as a lecturer, educator and consultant for various NGOs and institutions. His work is premised on art, healing, solidarity, peace, conflict transformation and human dignity issues and works also as freelance journalist. You can reach him at rais.boneza@gmail.com – http://www.raisnezaboneza.no

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 15 Jun 2026.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: No Results Found: Sudan, Global Indifference, and the Scroll Past Genocide, is included. Thank you.

If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

There are no comments so far.