2023 was an exceptionally catastrophic year across the world with many natural disasters hitting countries such as Turkey (+45,000), Syria (+7,000), Libya (+5,000), Morocco (+2,900) and Afghanistan (+1,000), killing more than more than 80,000 people all together.
War and conflict ravaged the world this year. The reignited Israel-Hamas war has left more than 17,000 people killed, including 7,112 children, and more than 1.7 million people internally displaced. In Sudan, war broke out in April 2023 between two armed forces, which according to the UN, is the ‘worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history‘.
Here are some of the most significant events that took place in Sudan and South Sudan in 2023:
War in Sudan between Sudan the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by the de facto ruler and army chief General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), erupted in 15 April 2023 with the fighting concentrated in and around the capital city of Khartoum and Darfur.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and more than 7 million have been displaced. At least 3 million people have been internally displaced, and at least 4 million have fled the country to neighbouring countries such as Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia. According to UNICEF, more than 1 million children have been newly displaced due to the ongoing war. Those still in Sudan are struggling with access to electricity, food and water.
UN experts also reported widespread use of rape and sexual violence against women and girls by RSF in Sudan. There are at least 105 women and girls have reported to have been sexually assaulted.
Al Burhan vs Hemedti: Everything You Need to Know
End in sight?
At talks on 9 December 2023 in Djibouti, the current chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Al Burhan agreed to a one-on-one meeting with Hemedti. The Djibouti meeting was organised by IGAD, an eight-country trade bloc comprising countries in East Africa, and the African Union.
According to the adviser to Djibouti’s president, Alexis Mohammed, Hemedti and Al Burhan accepted the principle of meeting within 15 days in order to pave the way for a series of confidence-building measures between the two parties that lead to the launch of a political process.
In addition to the many lives lost in the ongoing war, including celebrities such as actress Asia Abdelmajid, singer Shaden Gardood, flutist Hafiz Abdelrahman Mukhtar, musician Abu Araki Abdelrahim, a member of the popular Sudanese music group Igd AlJalad, this year Sudan also witnessed the loss of singer Mohammed El Amin and flutist Hafiz Abdelrahman Mukhtar.
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Goodbye Julia
In May 2023, Goodbye Julia, the debut feature from Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, has been selected to screen at Cannes Film Festival 2023 or Festival de Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, a milestone for Sudan, marking the country’s first ever selection to the internationally renowned festival.
‘Goodbye Julia’ Historic Debut at Cannes Film Festival 2023
In addition, Goodbye Julia has been selected by Sudan to be its second-ever Academy Awards submission for best international feature film.
Sudan Selects ‘Goodbye Julia’ as Official Entry for Oscars 2024
In November 2023, it was announced that the Oscar-winning Kenyan actor Lupita Nyong’o joined Goodbye Julia as an executive producer.
The feature film has been screening at film festivals across the world prior to its commercial release in Egypt on 25 October 2023. It has set the record as the highest-grossing Arab film at the Egyptian box office, amassing over EGP 2 mn within the initial two weeks since its commercial release. The film then screened in cinemas in the Gulf region in December 2023.
Accomplishments from the Sudanese diaspora
Iman Abuzeid, a Sudanese-American physician and entrepreneur, has been named one of America’s Richest Self-Made Women 2023 by Forbes.
The annual list was released on 1 June 2023. As the co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health, a digital nurse hiring platform, 38-year-old Iman ranked 77th out of 100 women with a net worth of USD350 million, ranking a little below Ellen DeGeneres (#73, USD380 million) and above Serena Williams (USD290 million), Shonda Rimes (USD250 million), and other well-known women.
Sudanese-American Iman Abuzeid Among Forbes’s America’s Richest Self-Made Women 2023
Novelist Reem Gaafar has received The Island Prize for African Novels 2023 for the manuscript of her upcoming debut novel, A Mouth Full of Salt, on 16 June 2023. She is the first Sudanese novelist to be nominated for and win the award.
Interview with Reem Gaafar, The First Sudanese to Win The Island Prize for African Novels
Popular Sudanese digital creator Tasabih Diab has been named Miss Sudan 2023 in the Miss Global beauty pageant in November 2023. She is the first Sudanese to compete in the Miss Global beauty pageant.
Tasabih Diab is Miss Sudan 2023 in Miss Global Beauty Pageant
2023 in South Sudan
After gaining independence in July 2011, a civil war broke out in South Sudan on 15 December 2013. Since then, the conflict has fuelled a humanitarian crisis resulting in devastating social and economic consequences. Today, South Sudan is one of the poorest nations in the world, ranking 186 out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index.
The situation in South Sudan is deeply concerning. In 2023, an estimated 9.4 million people, roughly 76% of the country’s population, need humanitarian assistance. That’s an increase of half a million people compared to 2022. Suffering the most are women and children, who bear the brunt of this crisis.
The impact of war in Sudan on South Sudan
The war in neighbouring Sudan has significantly aggravated South Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, triggering a wave of refugees and returning citizens seeking safety within South Sudan’s borders. According to UNHCR, over 6,800 Sudanese refugees have crossed the border to seek safety in South Sudan since the fighting erupted in mid-April. South Sudan was already hosting more than 300,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Sudan, in addition to more than 2.2 million internally displaced people.
Pope’s and Archbishop’s Historic Peace Mission to South Sudan
On 31 January, Pope Francis began his Apostolic Journey, dubbed as “a pilgrimage of peace”, to the Democratic Republic of Congo and concluded on 5 February in South Sudan.
The Pope and archbishop were greeted with fanfare at Juba’s airport before travelling through singing, cheering and ululating crowds to the Presidential Palace.
The Pope took part in an Ecumenical Prayer service on 4 February with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland at the John Garang Mausoleum. On 5 February, Pope Francis returned to the John Garang Mausoleum, where he presided at Holy Mass, the final liturgy and the final major event on his Apostolic Journey. Approximately 37% of South Sudan’s total population are Catholic.
South Sudan Prepares for Pope Francis’s First Visit in February
South Sudan Makes History by Qualifying for Paris 2024 Olympics
South Sudan has secured their first Olympic basketball place after beating Angola 101-78 on 2 September in Manila, Philippines. Paris 2024 will host the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games from 26 July to 11 August 2023.
Pope Francis elevates Stephen Ameyu as South Sudan’s first Cardinal
Pope Francis installed Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla as the first Cardinal of the Catholic Church in South Sudan on 30 September at the Vatican City. He now joins a group of 137 cardinals eligible to elect a new Pope.
He is the first to be elevated as Cardinal in South Sudan since the independence, but he is not the first South Sudanese. In 2003, Sudan welcomed the first Sudanese Cardinal at that time, Gabriel Cardinal Zuber Wako the Archbishop of Khartoum Archdiocese who elevated by Pope John Paul II.
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