Sudan's nearly two-year-old war between the army and rival paramilitaries has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million, according to the United Nations.
The conflict pits the regular army of Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Following a 2021 coup that ousted the transitional government which came to power after the 2019 overthrow of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir, relations between Burhan and Daglo soured.
Here is a look at key events in the war.
- April 2023: Fighting erupts -
On April 15, 2023, war breaks out between Burhan's troops and Daglo's paramilitaries.
The fighting comes after a deal towards a civilian transition fell apart during a power struggle that included wrangling over how to integrate the RSF into the regular army.
The army carries out air strikes on paramilitary bases, but the RSF quickly takes control of Khartoum airport, the presidential palace and other key buildings.
Fighting also erupts in the western region of Darfur, which is still reeling from a major conflict that began in 2003.
Foreign governments rush to evacuate their citizens from Sudan, and millions of residents flee Khartoum.
The United States and Saudi Arabia negotiate a 72-hour truce but it is quickly violated, as are a series of subsequent deals.
- May 2023: army quits talks -
In late May, the army walks out of ceasefire talks with the RSF and its forces bombard the paramilitaries' positions in Khartoum.
On June 7, the paramilitaries announce they have taken the country's biggest military complex, and later in the month they claim the police headquarters in Khartoum.
- June 2023: mass killings -
In June, between 10,000 and 15,000 people are killed in an ethnically-based campaign by the RSF and its allies in West Darfur state capital El-Geneina. It primarily targets the Massalit minority, according to a report by a UN panel of experts published in January 2024.
- July 2023: war crimes probe -
The International Criminal Court opens a probe into alleged war crimes in Darfur, including sexual and gender-based crimes.
The UN says famine stalks the whole of Sudan.
- 2024: humanitarian crisis -
By 2024 the paramilitaries control most of the capital, almost all of Darfur and have seized large portions of Al-Jazira state south of Khartoum.
In May, the RSF besieges El-Fasher in North Darfur, the only state capital in the region it has not conquered.
In August, new peace talks in Switzerland end without agreement. The following month, the Sudanese government rejects a UN call for an independent force to protect civilians.
In late October, the UN says the people of Sudan are living a "nightmare" of hunger, disease and massive ethnic violence, including widespread rape and sexual assaults.
- February 2025: rival government -
In January 2025, Washington accuses the RSF of "genocide" in Darfur through systematic killings and rapes. It also accuses the army of committing atrocities, including executions of civilians.
On February 23, the RSF and its allies agree in Nairobi to form a rival government.
The military breaks through a nearly two-year RSF siege of the North Kordofan state capital of El-Obeid, a key crossroads linking Khartoum to Darfur.
In March, Sudan's army-backed government files a case against the United Arab Emirates at the International Court of Justice arguing it is "complicit in genocide" over its alleged support for the RSF, which Abu Dhabi denies.
- March 2025: army retakes Khartoum -
In January 2025, the army begins an advance on Khartoum after the tide of the war turned in its favour the previous November. Fighting also intensifies in El-Fasher.
On March 21, the army recaptures the presidential palace from the RSF, which responds with a deadly drone attack. On March 28, the army says it has wrested back full control of Khartoum.
The paramilitaries vow there will be "no retreat and no surrender".
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