Africa's largest war: Atrocities, alleged war crimes and countless civilians caught in the crossfire

Wracked by violence in which thousands of civilians have been slaughtered, Africa’s largest war has torn Sudan apart.

Wracked by violence in which thousands of civilians have been slaughtered, aid camps burned to the ground and hundreds of children raped, Africa’s largest war has torn Sudan apart and forced more than 12 million people from their homes. 

The cataclysmic battle for supremacy has pitted the Sudanese military, controlled by the country’s top commander, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Daglo Mousa — a former camel dealer widely known as Hemedti.  

The conflict has created the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations, which says at least 24,000 people have been killed, though activists say the number is far higher.

Both sides face war crimes accusations from the United States, which sanctioned the northeast African nation's government for using chemical weapons Thursday — a claim it denied.

The RSF meanwhile, has denied accusations of ethnic cleansing in the country where “some 30.4 million people — over two thirds of the total population — are in need of assistance, from health to food and other forms of humanitarian support,” according to a February report from the United Nations refugee agency.