What began in April 2023 as a power struggle in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has spiraled into one of the world’s deadliest wars and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. More than two and a half years into the war, the balance of power in Sudan remains fragile in what has become a protracted conflict. In March 2025, the SAF recaptured Khartoum, reclaiming the presidential palace, the airport, and major urban centers in and around the capital. In recent months, the RSF’s siege on El Fasher in the western region of Darfur has intensified after more than 500 days. Seeking international legitimacy, the SAF has set up a “Government of Hope” in Port Sudan, while the RSF and its allies have formed a rival, parallel “Government of Peace and Unity” in areas under RSF control. The competing claims to governance by the belligerents to the conflict risk further extending the conflict. Last month, the US administration convened the Quartet, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, all of whom support the various warring parties in Sudan, to call for a three-month humanitarian truce, to be followed by a transition process set to be launched and concluded within nine months. How the Quartet’s plan impacts the fighting on the ground has yet to be seen.
On Tuesday, October 21, at 10:00 AM EST, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy will host “Sudan’s Power Chessboard: Rival Governments and the Battle for Legitimacy,” a virtual event featuring Mahitab Mahgoub, Hamid Khalafallah, and Kholood Khair, moderated by Douglas Christensen. In a moderated discussion, speakers will unpack key issues: What does the SAF’s recapture of Khartoum and the RSF’s continued siege of El-Fasher mean for the war’s balance of power and, most importantly, for the Sudanese people on the ground? How does the establishment of rival governments affect conflict dynamics? And what does the Quartet’s recent announcement mean for what’s to come in Sudan?
Watch the discussion:
Speaker Profiles:
Mahitab Mahgoub
Mahitab Mahgoub is a Nonresident Fellow at TIMEP focusing on women, economy, and conflict in Sudan. She is a Sudanese feminist programs and advocacy professional with over a decade of experience working at the intersection of gender justice, governance, and socioeconomic rights. She has contributed to various high-level policy initiatives collaborating with governments, multilateral organizations, feminist coalitions, and academic networks. Currently, she works on Gender Equitable and Transformative Social Policies in the Africa project at SOAS University of London, where she continues to champion feminist policy agendas. Mahitab holds a Master’s in International Political Economy from King’s College London and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Central European University.
Hamid Khalafallah
Hamid Khalafallah is a former Nonresident Fellow at TIMEP focusing on inclusive governance and mobilization in Sudan. He is a development practitioner, researcher, and policy analyst. Hamid is currently pursuing a PhD degree at the Global Development Institute (GDI) at the University of Manchester in the UK, researching democratic transitions and grassroots movements in Africa. Over the years, he has worked for various international and national organizations in Sudan on governance and development issues. Hamid is an alumnus of the Young African Leaders Program of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute in Italy. He holds an MA in International Development Management from the University of Bradford in the UK, where he studied as a Chevening Scholar and was awarded the 2019 UK Development Studies Association best dissertation prize. In his free time, Hamid has been active with various civil resistance groups in Sudan, promoting democracy and advocating for human rights.
Kholood Khair
Kholood Khair is the founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a ‘think and do tank’ founded in Khartoum, that works on three priority policy areas: peace and security, economy, and governance. This year, Kholood is part of the inaugural Yale Peace Fellows. In Sudan, during its short-lived transition to democracy, Kholood also hosted and co-produced Spotlight 249, Sudan’s first English-language political discussion and debate show aimed at young Sudanese. Kholood’s career has, for almost two decades, spanned the fields of research, aid programming, mediation, and policy in Sudan and across the Horn of Africa. She has written research and analysis pieces for several international publications and has provided analyses for research and policy institutions worldwide. Kholood has briefed the UNSC twice, as well as testified in the US Congress twice and the UK Parliament. Kholood has an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development from SOAS, University of London, and an MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford.
Douglas Christensen
ModeratorDouglas Christensen is the Advocacy Manager at TIMEP. He holds an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and a BA in Government with minors in Arabic and Mathematics from St. Lawrence University. Prior to joining TIMEP, he was the Liaison for US Government Affairs at Arab Center Washington DC as well as a research intern with the State Department’s Bureau of Human Rights, Democracy, and Labor. He has published numerous policy papers with the Arab Center Washington DC and has published an academic article in the journal Protest.