# War breaks out between the army and the RSF (15 April 2023)

URL: https://allhistories.com/sudan/timeline/2023-war-breaks-out-between-the-army-and-the-rsf
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Themes: main-event

On the morning of 15 April 2023 the Rapid Support Forces attacked army sites in Khartoum, including the presidential palace, Khartoum airport and the state broadcaster, and moved on Merowe airbase. The army responded with air strikes. Both sides blamed each other for starting the fighting. Within days Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri became battlefields, and civilians were trapped without water or electricity. The conflict grew from a power struggle between Burhan and Hemedti over security-sector integration after the Framework Agreement. Foreign embassies evacuated their citizens and millions fled. By 2026 the war had killed tens or hundreds of thousands (estimates vary widely) and displaced about 14 million, the world's largest displacement crisis. Hemedti accused Burhan of starting the war; the army called the RSF a rebel force and banned it as a militia. At the date of this event the principal authority over the largest part of historic Sudan, by the convention of this dataset, lay with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Military Council and of the Sovereignty Council; Commander of the SAF (2019–present). The government was headed by Prime Minister Osman Hussein. It transformed Sudan into one of the worst humanitarian emergencies of the century, with famine, mass displacement and atrocities across Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum and Gezira. At October 2026 no ceasefire had been reached. Fighting began with attacks in Khartoum and spread to Darfur, Kordofan and Gezira within days.

## Why it matters
A rivalry between two generals unleashed a nationwide war.

Ruler at the Time: [Abdel Fattah al-Burhan](https://allhistories.com/sudan/rulers/abdel-fattah-al-burhan)

Acting Prime Minister: Osman Hussein

## Sources
- [Sudanese civil war (2023–present)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanese_civil_war_(2023%E2%80%93present))
- [Timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2026)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Sudanese_civil_war_(2026))
- [sudan-42.php](https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2026-10/sudan-42.php)