UN warns of “epic” crisis looming in war-torn Sudan
The year-long war in Sudan has sparked a crisis of epic proportions fueled by weapons provided by foreign supporters reports Asharq Al-Awsat plus agencies.
In April 2023, war broke out in Sudan over disputes about the powers of the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under an internationally backed plan for a political transition towards civilian rule and elections.
At a security council meeting on the 19th of April, Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said that the fighting has spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas and the western Darfur region.
She described the unbearable suffering from the impact of the war on the Sudanese people. The war has devastated the country’s infrastructure as famine looms over the country as 25 million people suffer from hunger and are in need of life-saving assistance. Over 14,000 have been killed with tens of thousands wounded and over 8.6 million have been forced to flee from their homes.
READ: War-torn Sudan faces world’s largest hunger crisis
She describes multiple reports of the widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, the recruitment of children by parties to the conflict and the extensive use of Torture by both parties.
“Thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, and other essential civilian infrastructure have been destroyed. The war has wrecked large swathes of the country’s productive sectors, crippling the economy,” the UN political chief told the Security Council.
DiCarlo described the situation in Sudan in short as “a crisis of epic proportions. It is also wholly man-made.”
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, High Representative for the Silencing the Guns initiative of the African Union Commission, said that external interference has been “a major factor” stymying efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and to stop the war.
During a video from Post Sudan, he stated “External support in terms of supply of war material and other means has been the main reason why this war has lasted so long,” he described the issue as “the elephant in the room.”
Though neither DiCarlo nor Chambas named any of the foreign support, Chambas has said their contribution to the “ongoing year-long war has already set Sudan back several decades.”
RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo has reportedly received support from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. UN experts said in a recent report that the RSF has also received support from Arab allied communities and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan.
READ: US envoy voices hope for Sudan peace talks
“I find it particularly distressing to see what has happened in Sudan, given where the country was before this conflict started. A safe refuge for more than 1 million refugees. A regional hub for medical facilities and universities. So much of this is now gone.” Said Edem Wosornu, the UN humanitarian office’s director of operations.
Speaking on behalf of UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, she called on all warring parties to uphold their obligations under international law.
“Extremely concerning levels of conflict-related sexual violence continue to be reported, and aid workers, health workers and local volunteers are being killed, injured, harassed and arrested with impunity,” she said.
Aharq Al-Awsat/ Agencies.
