Ripple effects: Without a swift end to fighting, consequences will travel far

Fears remain that Sudan riven by fighting between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces - could plunge into a protracted crisis, prompting a humanitarian disaster with broad geopolitical implications

- Dan Sabbagh

Failed or divided states already exist on Europe's peripheries, a crescent of instability stretching from the African Sahel and Libya through Yemen, Syria and Ukraine.

After the disaster of Iraq and the chaotic Joe Biden-led retreat from Afghanistan, the days of significant direct western interventions are over, although arms are being supplied in volume to Ukraine. In Sudan, the US has been reluctant to deploy its military even to rescue an estimated 16,000 of its civilians.

Washington's efforts have been largely diplomatic, although its principal security concern has been to avoid a repeat of the 2012 Benghazi disaster, where US diplomatic buildings were attacked and the ambassador killed, by rescuing Khartoum embassy staff.