Trump could end the worlds forgotten war with | Political News

It’s U.S. President Donald Trump who holds the key to fixing the world’s “forgotten war” in Sudan with one step, according to an knowledgeable.

“I think Trump could change the dynamics very quickly. Trump would essentially rein in the UAE. Trump has very strong personal ties across the Gulf, and if the U.S. coupled diplomatic pressure with the demand of particular assurances from the UAE, which potentially could cut back the RSF’s exterior provides.” says Daniel Herszberg, Researcher at the Faculty of Law and China Centre, at the University of Oxford.

“That could bring everyone to the table very quickly, and also weaken the RSF’s position in West Kordofan and wherever they’re taking territory at the moment,” continues Herszberg.

For Sudan, villages at the heart of the “world’s forgotten war” make up the world’s largest humanitarian disaster on report – but for the Middle Eastern nations concerned, the war is a “monetary opportunity” that could have a “ripple effect” around the world.

The latest intense fighting is unfolding in West Kordofan, where experts warn that an RSF takeover would trigger a catastrophe. On Sunday, the army announced it had successfully defended its headquarters in the town of Babnusa against repeated RSF assaults.

“West Kordofan clearly issues because… it type of sits on the strategic transit hall between Darfur, which is RSF heartland, and central Sudan, and the coast. This is like a lot of Sudan, resource-rich, and very important to livestock economies. So, if the RSF does take control… that will actually change the method provide strains work as effectively as any type of future negotiation, bargaining leverage between the two events,” Daniel Herszberg, Researcher at the Faculty of Law and China Centre, at the University of Oxford.

“I believe what we are able to say is that whatever occurs in the next few weeks will in all probability intensify the humanitarian disaster on the ground, ” added Herszberg.

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The strategic city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the last major stronghold of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region, was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 27, 2025.

The International Organization for Migration reported on Thursday that an estimated 99,000 people have been displaced from the city since its fall. The city’s capture followed an 18-month siege during which civilians were forced to survive on animal feed amid widespread hunger.

Recently, Médecins Sans Frontières revealed that its teams at the nearby Tawila displacement camp are witnessing “staggering” levels of malnutrition among those fleeing from El Fasher. In the week following the city’s fall, 60% of adults and 70% of children examined at their clinics were acutely malnourished. Half of these children and more than half of the adults were suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

“We concern that many people in and around El Fasher stay stranded, held for ransom, and unable to escape,” the organization stated.

Sudan’s brutal civil war pits the army, commanded by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country’s de facto president, against the RSF, under the leadership of Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. The conflict has reignited ethnic violence across the sprawling Darfur region.

The RSF’s ranks are primarily composed of Arab militias, evolved from the infamous Janjaweed, or “devils on horseback,” who perpetrated widespread atrocities, including rape, in Darfur two decades ago. RSF fighters are notoriously known for their brutal attacks on indigenous African groups like the Masalit and Zaghawa, seizing their land in what many call ethnic cleansing.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a major foreign actor in the ongoing Sudanese civil war, widely accused by U.N. experts, the U.S., and human rights organizations of providing critical military, financial, and logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

The UAE has consistently and vehemently denied these allegations, while the Sudanese army (SAF)-aligned government has formally cut diplomatic ties and filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Global powers involved in the conflict are primarily interested in the gold deposits and securing the Red Sea trade corridor. While the UAE has been accused of being a main sponsor, other Arab states have taken various sides in the conflict. Some support the SAF, or official government forces, while others have sided with the RSF militias, despite their human rights records.

If the RSF manages to take over, experts predict a scenario similar to Syria, where world leaders are now engaging with a President who was once an Al-Qaida member with a bounty on his head.

“Let’s say we’ve got a hypothetical RSF victory. How the worldwide group responds to that, whether or not they reply tactically for pragmatic security or industrial causes, is clearly a matter of concern. I’m sure that all the gold and the ports are a key focus, and Saudi Arabia is especially involved with Red Sea security. Obviously, neighboring nations are going to need to ship refugees back,” said Herszberg.

For the UAE, the main external sponsor in the war, a victory for the RSF equates to a win for them – “all the gold that’s popping out of Sudan will likely be going through Dubai gold market,” says Herszberg.