OPINION: Ethnic Cleansing in Al Fashir, Darfur: Misplaced Anger and the Glorification of the Sudanese Government

By Noon Nori | November 3, 2025

Children in a IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp in Darfur, Sudan.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Oct. 23, 2025 marks two and a half years since the beginning of a grueling, destructive, and forgotten war in Sudan; a conflict that has proven to be both devastating and deeply complex. 

Time has not been kind; every passing day has only worsened the country’s suffering. As homes turn to battlegrounds stained with the blood and tears of Sudanese civilians, the remaining diaspora across the globe are left to grapple with the painful nostalgia of their former lives and homes, which now remain as a dwindling memory.  

As of Oct. 29, 2025, an escalation of killings in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, has been occurring, particularly due to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recapturing control over the region's capital, Al Fashir.

As lifeless bodies of beloved elders, children, and parents fill the streets of Darfur, the media has chosen the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the perpetrator to blame.

The UAE is guilty of a myriad of crimes against Sudan. Aside from funding the RSF’s weapons, an issue the media has shone a light on is the active exploitation of Sudan's resources. 

However, reports indicate that the UAE, along with other foreign powers, has been smuggling a whopping 90% of Sudan’s resources through neighboring countries for over 20 years. With this being said, why are the UAE’s actions suddenly a problem? 

The anger of spectators worldwide is misplaced, and the genocide against people in Darfur has only been brought to the surface when there is a third party to blame. In reality, the Sudanese government and RSF have been ethnically cleansing civilians in Darfur for decades. 

The brutal killings of people in Darfur took a sudden rise in 2003. These actions were rooted strictly from the idea of Arabism, which is merely an ideology that emphasizes Arab identity, language, and culture at the cost of African ethnic groups in Sudan. 

It has shaped Sudan’s national identity and politics for decades, and has played a major role in fueling these ethnic atrocities. This could be due to the fact that Sudan geographically sits at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and the “Arab world,” further deepening this century-long identity crisis. 

The Sudanese government's actions spoke volumes, as these killings were rooted in the belief that they held total superiority over those who did not come from the three Arab-identifying tribes. Those living in Darfur, who come from indigenous and heritage-rich tribes like Fur, Masalita, and Zaghawa, were murdered in cold blood by the janjaweed, now known as the RSF, who were created and appointed by the Sudanese government to kill non-Arabs in Darfur. 

In essence, these ideologies of Arab nationalism merely reflect a fractured identity across the Sudanese diaspora, as their country’s government is still struggling to reconcile and accept their African roots.

It is simply convenient for people across the globe to point fingers when it’s time for accountability to be taken. However, the pressing issue that is failing to be addressed is that Sudan’s corrupt government is strictly to blame. Although the UAE is fueling the fire, they are not the ones who started it. The blood of innocent lives lost is not only on the hands of the UAE, but the Sudanese government as well.

There has been a clear yearning for freedom across the Sudanese diaspora. However, that yearning has subsided into desperation. While some remain wary of the Sudanese government's role in the war, others have begun to glorify the Sudanese government, appointing them as their “savior” in this war. 

Priorities have become skewed, as dreams of democracy have transitioned into desperation for freedom— a desperation so intense that a subconscious justification of genocide has occurred. This can be seen in the events of March 26, 2025, as those residing in Khartoum prior to the war celebrated the recapturing of the capital by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) across platforms like Instagram and Facebook. 

Though the victory seems like a step forward, the RSF’s movements westward led to continued violence in Darfur. People have become blind to the fact that the war has not ended, but simply shifted to the West.

The dehumanization has only risen from then; brutal killings have become normalized, rape has been used as a tool, and displacement in Darfur has been at its all-time worst. About 34.2% of civilians in Darfur are experiencing acute malnutrition, which is at an all time high since the start of the war in April 2023. 

Arab nationalism is a mindset that has shaped and completely controlled the minds of many across the Sudanese diaspora. Due to this, anger, betrayal, and blame have yet to be directed towards the Sudanese government, but instead, towards foreign powers.

Although the war shows no clear end, nor a definite timeline, I, a Sudanese-American still grappling with the painful memories of my destroyed homeland, believe that hope remains as our friend; nurturing it during difficult times like these could offer those across the Sudanese diaspora, who are caught between anger and pessimism, a fraction of peace amid the relentless hardships of the war.