Forgotten conflicts of 2025: Crises in the Global South that simmered throughout the year

Over the 12-month course, hundreds of people were killed, while thousands were displaced.

Here is a recap of a few:

Sudan

From April 2023, Sudan has been stuck in turmoil, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of people and left women and children vulnerable. The conflict erupted over power struggles between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. The conflict led to parts of the country facing famine. Millions were displaced, health systems collapsed, and reports of mass sexual violence mounted, yet funding and diplomatic engagement remained limited as donor fatigue developed. “Each passing day brings staggering levels of violence and destruction. Civilians are enduring immense, unimaginable suffering, with no end in sight,” Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the UN Khaled Khiari told ambassadors.

DR Congo

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fighting between armed groups intensified, particularly in North Kivu. Civilians faced killings, forced recruitment, and displacement, but the conflict received scant coverage outside Africa despite being a deadly one. The fighting resumed at the beginning of 2025 when the M23 rebel group made significant advances across the East. 

Haiti

Haiti continued to slide deeper into crisis as armed gangs expanded control over large parts of Port-au-Prince. Kidnappings surged, state authority eroded further, and humanitarian access shrank, yet international response stalled amid political paralysis. “Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups,” Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights, is quoted.

Myanmar

In Myanmar, clashes between the military junta and ethnic armed groups were reported, with airstrikes hitting civilian areas. The conflict’s impact on women, children and minorities remained severe, even as global focus drifted elsewhere. Four years after the military seized power in 2021, Myanmar’s junta controls just 21% of the country, while rebel groups and ethnic armed forces hold about 42%, according to a 2024 BBC investigation.

Smaller but persistent conflicts in Ethiopia’s border regions, Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado, and Burkina Faso also worsened. While some of these were short-lived, they were mostly driven by a mix of insurgency and political instability.