Image by ammar nassir.
The brutal and seemingly intractable conflict taking place in Sudan appears to have no end in sight. According to the UN, large parts of Sudan have been impacted by the fighting, after hostilities involving heavy weapons and fighter jets spread from the capital, Khartoum, to other regions and states including the Darfurs, located in the west of the vast country.
Sudan’s war broke out in April 2023 when the military tried to subdue the Rapid Support Forces.
Since then, fighting has ravaged much of the country, including the capital Khartoum. At least 15,500 people had been killed by June 2024. Over 25 million pushed into acute hunger, according to the United Nations and the nonprofit war monitor ACLED.
According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, there are about 10 million internally displaced people in Sudan, making it the country with “the largest internally displaced population ever reported.”
Four million of the displaced are children, according to UNICEF.
“Child displacement goes along with multiple other crises as a result of the war,” said Mandeep O’Brien, UNICEF’s country representative for Sudan. “Children face disease, malnutrition and hunger and close to 8.9 million are acutely food insecure.”
According to a report in The Guardian, a further two million people have fled to neighboring countries. Chad and South Sudan have received the largest numbers of refugees, followed by Egypt and Ethiopia.
The Guardian report noted that El Fasher, the last major government-held city in the vast western Darfur region, is home to tens of thousands of refugees who have fled brutal RSF offensives. In recent months, people living in the city have endured a tightening RSF siege and daily indiscriminate fire.
According to a UN World Health Organization (WHO) official, “The situation in Darfur is particularly alarming, where in places like El Fasher…the wounded cannot get the urgent care they need; children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are weak due to acute hunger.”
“All refugees I met said the reason why they fled Sudan was hunger,” said WHO country director Dr. Shible Sahbani to reporters after visiting refugees from Darfur, the source of half of the displaced population, in Chad.
Existing healthcare stockpiles have been used to supply a few hospitals in El Fasher, but “it’s not enough and it’s not sustainable”, Sahbani insisted, adding that the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, was continuing to negotiate with the various parties at war to allow relief supplies to be trucked in wherever possible.
According to the UN, humanitarian access and protection of civilians are among the main points under discussion at the UN-led talks between representatives from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that began last week in Geneva, under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.
UN Geneva spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci told journalists that both delegations were “engaged” and that Lamamra and his team have had several interactions with each throughout the weekend.
Notwithstanding the discussions, millions of people continue to suffer from disease, malnutrition, and hunger.
Certain steps must be taken immediately to prevent this tragedy from continuing and worsening.
First, international bodies like the UN, African Union (AU), and regional organizations should engage in active mediation between conflicting parties.
The United States and European Union should impose sanctions on those individuals and entities fueling the conflict. At the same time, incentives should be introduced for those who commit to peace and reconciliation.
The US, EU, and surrounding African countries should commit and act immediately to increase humanitarian aid and provide food, water, shelter, and medical care to the Sudanese population in safe areas.
To fully protect the millions of civilians suffering in this conflict, the US and EU should consider immediately deploying international peacekeeping forces to provide protection in volatile regions as well as in the safe zones.
Using a carrot and stick method, efforts should be made to implement disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs for RSF combatants to reduce the number of armed forces and reintroduce them back into civilian life.
Without serious intervention by the international community, Sudan will continue to spiral out of control and it is the civilians who will suffer the most.
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