Translated by Alessandra Fumagalli
Since April, Sudan has been involved in a civil war between the national military corps, The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The already uncertain humanitarian situation in the country has further degraded due to the ongoing violences, which continuously damage the population. The resulting migratory crisis, with hundreds of thousands asylum seekers, who flee towards the surrounding countries, could potentially destabilize the Sahel’s region and the Horn of Africa.
Before the conflict
The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has broken out in a moment of sever humanitarian pain in the country, with more than 15 million people who struggle with a serious food uncertainty and more than 3,7 million displaced people. The country hosted also around 1,3 million refugees, most of them coming from the South Sudan.
The chance in a civil government, fostered by the collapse of the dictator and war criminal Omar al-Bashir in 2019, has faded away within two years, due to a coup d’etat, that brought economic difficulties and intercommunitarian conflicts, especially in the problematic region of Darfur and in Blue Nile and Kordofan. What have worsen the situation are the temperatures and the extreme weather phenomena, like floods and drought, that have destroyed the plantation and flooding, making the struggle against hunger even worse.
The coup d’etat has caused big protests, and the United Nations have registered around 7700 demonstrators, who were severely injured between October 2021 and August 2022. In December 2022, some tensions between the military leaders al-Burhan and Hemedti have emerged, and the 5th December they have signed an agreement bringing about a civil coalition in order to start a political process, whose aim was to make a civil democratic transition in the country. However, the agreement has been criticized by several local actors, because it lacked some benchmarks and time limits to make some reforms that guarantee justice, compensation and security to the Sudanese people. Moreover, there was a spreading skepticism about the interest of the two leaders for the popular requests of justice, democracy and human rights.
This skepticism has revealed well-founded at the beginning of 2023, when SAF and RSF, that fear a reciprocal power imbalance, didn’t manage to agree on the timings of the latter’s integration into the national army. In mid-April, the tension has transformed into a real civil war.
The humanitarian crisis
The conflict has destroyed and continues to destroy the country’s infrastructures, particularly around the capital, Khartoum, where airstrikes and bombings have damaged hospitals, prisons and densely populated areas. The latest Amnesty International’s report on the conflict shows civil’s slaughters in intentional and indiscriminate attacks, sexual assaults against women and girls, and raids, creating a clear view of war crimes.
“Civilians are killed in their houses or while they are desperately looking for some food, water, and medicaments. They died due to the crossfire when they try to escape and they are deliberately murdered in targeted attacks. Dozens of women and girls, some of them are only 12 years old, have been raped or suffered other forms of sexual violence. Nowhere is safe”, stated Agnès Callamard, general secretary of the organization.
According to the United Nations, 6,3 million sudanese people suffer from acute hunger and more than 9 million people depend on the humanitarian assistance. As the conditions continues to worsen, the World Health Organization reports that this year other 500.000 people will need international assistance. Among the most vulnerable there are children.
The uncertainty, the raids, the bureaucratic obstacles, the network and phone connection problems, the lack of cash and the shortage of technic and humanitarian staff are a challenge for the supply of the human assistance in many parts of Sudan. The lack of fuel affects also on the production of the needed energy to the conservation of frozen food. Nevertheless, the humanitarian countries coordinated by the OCHA (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) continues to provide for the vital assistance to the vulnerable people who are able to rescue.
Escape from Sudan
In mid-April, at the beginning of the conflict, around 5,4 million people have left their houses and sought refugees in Sudan or in the bordering countries. Among them, 4,3 million are internally dispersed in Sudan. The country has now the highest humber of internal dispersed at a global level.
Outside Sudan, Ciad has hosted the highest number of people, followed by Egypts, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Lots of the countries near Sudar are dealing with the difficult management of the refugees’ flow due to their internal problems. Five of the seven Sudan neighboring countries have recently been the center of conflicts, and the refugees, who have previously flown from violences and famines in Ethiopia and South Sudan, are now coming back to their home countries together with the Sudanese citizens.
Without a solution to the crisis, other thousands of millions people will be obliged to flee looking for safety and assistance. The UNHCR and its partner state that the number of refugees and returnees reaches 1,8 million by the end of 2023.
Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ® 2023
Consulted sources for this article:
image: https://unsplash.com/photos/9cx4-QowgLc
https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/what-extent-sudans-humanitarian-crisis
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr54/7037/2023/en/
https://www.amnesty.it/sudan-crescono-le-violenze-e-i-crimini-di-guerra-contro-i-civili/
https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/five-things-know-about-crisis-sudan
https://www.voanews.com/a/south-sudan-faces-growing-health-and-hunger-crisis-/7292162.html
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Gaia De Salvo
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HumanRight Sudan war war crimes humanitarian crisis