Sudan conflict develops into unimaginable humanitarian crisis: UN

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As the world focuses its attention on the dramatic and evolving crisis in Gaza, the nearly  7-month conflict in Sudan continues to unfold as an unimaginable humanitarian crisis, UN officials say.

The war that erupted in April between military factions has seen some 6 million people displaced, 4.5 million internally while 1.2 million refugees have since fled to equally fragile neighbouring countries in the region.

There is also growing concern about ethnically driven killings in Sudan’s West Darfur region where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has assumed control of the main army base in the state capital of El Geneina.

The conflict in Sudan continues to rage away from the eyes of the world. According to conservative estimates, more than 10 000 people died. With grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and according to the United Nations, it’s happening with impunity.

UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says, “The UN Refugee Agency tells us that 4.5 million people have been internally displaced, while 1.2 million others have fled to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, as well as Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. That is almost six million people who have been forced to move since the start of the fighting in April of this year. UNHCR described the unfolding humanitarian crisis as unimaginable across Sudan, adding that they are very concerned that recent fighting in the Darfur region has caused even more displacement, where many do not have access to food, shelter, clean drinking water, or other basic essentials.”

Video: Tensions remain high in Sudan

Last week, Dominque Hyde with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees visited Upper Nile State, just south of the conflict-riddled capital, Khartoum, and across the border in South Sudan.

“The scenes are dramatic. We’ve seen over 3 000 people coming on a daily basis for the past three days. I’m a few kilometers away from our transit center. The transit center is overwhelmed. It was built for 3, 000 people. It now hosts 20 000. The situation is unbearable. Humanitarians are overwhelmed. We are reaching a point where it is undignified for the people of Sudan to be in this situation. The South Sudanese government has opened its borders and has let the people in. We are grateful to them. But now we need the world’s support. We need health, we need shelter, we need food, we need water and sanitation, need protection,” says Hyde.

Reports from the region also point to the targeting by Arab militias and the RSF of the Masalit ethnic group, a majority African tribe in the Darfur region with unconfirmed reports of men being lined up and executed amid growing concerns of ethnic cleansing while equally alarming are reports of women and girls being abducted and abused as Liz Throssell, a spokesperson with the UN’s Human Rights Office explains.

“We are deeply alarmed by reports that women and girls are being abducted and held in inhuman, degrading slave-like conditions in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur, where they are allegedly forcibly married and held for ransom. Credible information from survivors, witnesses, and other sources suggests more than 20 women and girls have been taken, but the number could be higher. Some sources have reported seeing women and girls in chains on pick-up trucks and in cars. Initial allegations arose early in the conflict in the Khartoum area, which has remained largely under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.”

The Regional Refugee Response Plan of $1 billion remains only 39% funded while a separate appeal of $2.6 billion for the humanitarian needs of 18 million people inside Sudan remains only one-third funded.

This growing colossus of a humanitarian crisis comes amid renewed peace talks in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah that remain focused on a narrow set of objectives between the Sudan Armed Forces and the RSF to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, establishing local ceasefires and other confidence-building measures towards a broader, permanent cessation of hostilities.

The co-facilitators which include IGAD, the AU, the US and Saudi Arabia expressed regret this week that the parties remain unable to agree on terms of a ceasefire as this military stalemate only exacerbates the desperation of civilians on the ground.