Sudan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe as the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to escalate, the United Nations warned on Friday.
According to the U.N.’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), some 18 million people urgently need humanitarian food assistance, the highest number on record for the country’s more plentiful harvest season.
They are concentrated in the capital Khartoum, where more than half face acute food insecurity, and the densely packed cities and towns that have seen fighting in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
The IPC said that if conditions don’t improve by May, families would start to experience “catastrophic” hunger, meaning they would starve to death without assistance, having depleted their assets and run out of options.
A famine is declared by a government when 20% of households in a particular geographic area are at the catastrophic stage.
The Impact of the Conflict
Based on a report by Reuters, the conflict has devastated Khartoum and sparked ethnically driven killings in Darfur. Both sides have been accused of seizing supplies and hampering aid workers’ access.
In al-Shajara, a southern Khartoum neighborhood around the army’s besieged Armored Corps, a volunteer said the RSF had taken most supplies heading for the 2,000 people who haven’t fled the area.
“The siege makes it difficult to do anything. Even if you have money, you can’t spend it,” said Gihad Salaheldin, who works in the emergency response room, a network of volunteer groups that have provided most on-the-ground assistance in Khartoum.
The Challenges of Aid Delivery
WFP and other aid agencies struggle to safely access people in the worst-affected conflict zones and have had to focus aid on more peaceful areas.
The agency has reached Khartoum, where a few million people still live, only once in the last three months, distributing food to 100,000 in the Karari locality during a lull in the fighting.
And funding shortfalls mean that even in safe areas, some are turned away.
“We have crowds lining up in places like Gezira where people have fled to, but we don’t have enough to support everyone,” said WFP spokesperson Leni Kinzli. The U.N.’s 2023 appeal for Sudan is only one-third funded, in line with similar crises apart from Ukraine, which is 56% funded.
It is asking for $4 billion next year to address the needs of people impacted by the war inside and outside Sudan.
The Hope for Peace
Despite the grim situation, some Sudanese remain hopeful that a peaceful resolution can be reached. The African Union and the Arab League have been mediating talks between the warring parties, and have urged them to respect a ceasefire agreement signed in November.
The talks have been stalled by disagreements over the role of the RSF, a paramilitary force that was formerly allied with the ousted president Omar al-Bashir. The RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, has demanded a share of power in a transitional government, while the army has rejected his claims.
The international community has also called for an inclusive dialogue that involves all segments of Sudanese society, including civil society groups, women, youth, and displaced people.
Many Sudanese hope that the talks will resume soon and lead to a lasting peace that will end the suffering of millions.
