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Sudan enters the sixteenth day of fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (FAR) paramilitary group, in a conflict that, so far, has left 528 dead and around 4,599 injured, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. . The United Nations Organization warned about the danger of the Sudanese humanitarian crisis spreading to other countries in the region and getting out of control.
“More than two weeks of devastating fighting has passed in Sudan, a conflict that is turning the Sudanese humanitarian crisis into a total catastrophe,” said Abdou Dieng, United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, during a meeting with some member countries of the institution. .
In addition, Dieng stressed the danger that the political crisis in Khartoum represents for the region of the Horn of Africa, a historically unstable area. “The regional contagion effect of the crisis is a serious concern,” added the UN official.
On the other hand, concerns about a new refugee crisis in the region as a result of the conflict in Sudan are growing. So far, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recorded that some 73,000 people have left the country fleeing the conflict.
a mass exodus
UNHCR, through its deputy chief Raouf Mazou, warned that around 815,000 people are expected to leave Sudan. Among them, 580,000 would be Sudanese and refugees from other countries who sought asylum in the country, but now find themselves facing this latent conflict.
Countries like Germany, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia are continuing efforts to evacuate their citizens who are still in the African nation.
For their part, Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Egypt are the main destinations for Sudanese citizens who are not subject to foreign evacuations. Egyptian authorities report that nearly 40,000 Sudanese have crossed its borders seeking refuge.
The possibility of a long-term conflict is latent
Despite the fact that in recent days the United Nations envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, mentioned that both sides had agreed to send representatives to negotiate a UN-brokered peace, no mention was made of a possible date for the event. In addition, other efforts by regional bodies to activate the negotiations have failed.
“The protagonists have refused to heed calls from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the international community for a ceasefire,” said William Rutto, a Kenyan president who has been one of the regional leaders who has tried to mediate. the conflict.
The lack of trust between the parties involved has caused the peace process in Sudan to be hampered. None of the announced temporary armistices have been fully respected, and both the army and the FAR blame each other for not having respected the ceasefire.
With Reuters and local media
