Red cross president speaks on Sudan crisis

Mirjana Spoljaric, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has described the situation in Sudan as “horrific”, Ashqarq Al-Awsat via Reuters reported on 3rd November.

Humanitarian conditions have been rapidly worsening across Sudan as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have continued their attacks across the Darfur region of Sudan in hopes of seizing full control of the region. The RSF are reported to have committed atrocities against the civilian population with claims of summary executions, mass abductions, drone strikes, sexual violence and ethnic cleansing.

In October, the RSF took over the city of El-Fasher following 18 months of siege and repeated attacks. Meanwhile, the country is continuously devastated by mass starvation and disease.

Spoljaric spoke to sources last weekend while visiting the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. In the interview, she spoke about tens of thousands of people having fled El-Fasher following the RSF’s city siege, while thousands of others are trapped with no access to food, water or medical aid.

In an official statement, she said: “It’s history repeating, and it becomes worse every time a place is taken over by the other party.”

Spoljaric went on to share her concern about a massacre that saw at least 460 patients dead in El-Fasher’s last functioning hospital. Despite what happened at the hospital not yet being substantiated, she went on to describe the events in Darfur as “absolutely beyond what we can consider acceptable.”

When asked about foreign backers of parties involved in the conflict, Spoljaric made an appeal for the restraint of conflict and prioritised the protection of civilians. She said the world has been in the midst of a “decade of war”, urging parties involved in conflicts from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan to uphold the rules of war and not violate international humanitarian law.

Spoljaric’s comments as an important representative of the Red Cross link with the increasing global recognition of Sudan as a humanitarian crisis. Along with official statements from other international organisations such as the UN and WHO, there is an awaited global response as more suffer and die in Sudan daily.