2023 in review: From Sudan to Syria, here are Mideast's forgotten conflicts

The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia's war in Ukraine continue to capture much of the world’s attention as 2023 comes to a close, but that many other deadly conflicts are silently happening in the Middle East and North Africa. The war in Sudan escalated this year, as did Syria's north and Iraq's border with Turkey. 

The following is a look at significant conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa this year.

Sudan

The war in Sudan, between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, erupted in April. More than 12,000 people have been killed so far. In December, the RSF launched an attack on the previously calm Wad Madani, in the east-central part of the country. Wad Madani was a center of humanitarian operations and a safe haven for Sudanese fleeing the fighting in Khartoum, the capital.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the RSF had committed crimes against community and that both the RSF and the armed forces have committed war crimes over the course of the fighting.

Syria

Forces loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad control most of Syria, but rebel groups continue to operate in the north, including in Idlib province. The Syrian government and its ally Russia continue to strike rebel groups in the northwestern province.

The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control much of northeastern Syria. Turkey considers the groups constituting the SDF to be affiliates of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Turkish military has continued striking Kurdish forces in the northeast, Al-Monitor’s Amberin Zaman reported from Qamishli earlier this month.

Moreover, clashes in September between the SDF and Arab tribes in Deir Ezzor province left 90 dead.

ISIS also continues to carry out attacks in Syria. In November, a suspected ISIS attack left more than 30 Syrian soldiers dead in the central desert of Rasafah.

As of the start of December, a total of 941 civilians had been killed in Syria this year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Syrian government, the SDF, Turkish forces, and landmines were responsible for the deaths, among other causes, according to the UK-based monitor.

Iraq

Turkey continued striking PKK forces in northern Iraq in 2023. In October, it struck targets across the autonomous Kurdistan region in response to a suicide bombing in Ankara.

According to the International Crisis Group, 151 PKK fighters, 41 state security forces and four civilians have been killed in the Turkey-PKK conflict thus far in 2023. The Brussels-based organization did not specify the nationalities of those killed.

As in Syria, ISIS also remains active in Iraq. In August, a member of the French special forces was killed in a fight with ISIS in Salahuddin province, in the north.

Overall, however, “ISIS capabilities remained degraded and the group operated in survival mode in Iraq and Syria,” according to a US Defense Department report on the fight against ISIS for the third quarter of 2023.

Yemen

The Yemeni civil war between Iran-backed Houthi forces and the Saudi-backed government has slowed since a truce was reached last year. In September, however, three Bahraini soldiers were killed near the Saudi-Yemeni border in an attack Manama blamed on the Houthis.

The Houthis and Saudi Arabia have yet to reach a lasting peace agreement, and Houthi attacks on Israel in connection to the Gaza war are threatening the Yemeni peace process, Elizabeth Hagedorn reported for Al-Monitor last month.

Libya

Fighting broke out between rival militias in the Libyan capital of Tripoli in August, leaving 55 dead before a truce went into effect. Libya is still in the midst of attempting to unify following a six-year civil war.

The Tripoli-based government and the eastern-based forces of Gen. Khalifa Hifter agreed to a cease-fire in 2020 to end the civil war.