Sudan’s current conflict, which erupted in April 2023, is the latest chapter in a story of rival
predatory networks competing for control over formal and illicit economies, the information
environment and the use of organized violence. As the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid
Support Forces (RSF) spread death and destruction across the country, fuelling a humanitarian crisis,
their battle is driven by the desire to preserve their vast economic empires and the systems that
support them.