Time is running out to avoid famine in Darfur

United Nations humanitarian agencies warned this Friday that time is running out to prevent famine in Darfur due to intensifying fighting around El Fasher, the capital of the northern province of that Sudanese region, which is hampering efforts to deliver essential aid.

Since fighting broke out last April between rival armies, Sudan has witnessed shocking levels of violence, plunging the country into a devastating humanitarian and protection crisis.

It is estimated that about 25 million people, more than half of the population, need assistanceand approximately 17.7 million of its inhabitants face acute levels of food insecurity.

Crisis of epic proportions

The crisis, described as of “epic proportions” by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is exacerbated by the limited access to vulnerable communities due to ongoing violence and restrictions by authorities, particularly in Darfur, as fighting continues between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.

The latest escalation in the vicinity of El Fasher halted aid convoys from the Tine border crossing in Chad, while Port Sudan authorities are preventing the transport of aid through Adre, the other viable cross-border corridor.

Civilians caught in the middle of armed clashes

Michael Dunford, regional director for East Africa at the World Food Program (PMA), highlighted the civilian despair caught in the fighting.

“Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more urgent: WFP urgently requires unrestricted access and security guarantees to provide assistance to families struggling to survive amid devastating levels of violence,” he said.

“The situation is terrible. People are resorting to eating grass and peanut shells.. If assistance does not arrive soon, we will witness widespread famine and death in Darfur and other conflict-affected areas of Sudan,” added Dunford.

Aid workers must be allowed to transit the Adre border crossing and bring aid across the front lines from Port Sudan to reach people across Darfur, the regional director stressed.

murdered children

For her part, Catherine Russell, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)highlighted the impact of the fighting on children.

At least 43 people, including women and children, have been killed since fighting intensified in North Darfur. Recent attacks on more than a dozen villages have led to sexual violence, and more deaths and injuries among children.

There are concerns that the siege of El Fasher by armed groups, coupled with restrictions on movement on key roads out of the city, prevent families from leaving that city.

“All of these deeply worrying developments are occurring at a time of continued brutal violence across Sudan. pushes the country towards an induced famine due to the conflict and an even more catastrophic loss of life, especially among children,” Russell stressed.

In this sense, called on the warring parties to reduce tensionto allow the safe movement of civilians – including the sick and injured – who want to move to safer areas, and to guarantee the protection of the population and civilian infrastructure.

“Children in Sudan continue to suffer excessive violence, while their parents and grandparents still carry the scars of previous cycles. “We cannot allow this to continue happening,” declared the head of UNICEF.

Diplomatic efforts

Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, continues his efforts with the parties in Sudan to reduce tensions.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN, reported that Lamamra asked the Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese authorities to refrain from fighting in El Fasher.

He warned them that an attack on the city “could have devastating consequences for the civilian population,” Haq said.

He also noted that, since participating in the Paris conference in April, Lamamra has traveled to Chad, Ethiopia and Eritrea to discuss with the African Union and regional leaders the way forward.

Traumatized civilians

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) gave an account of the obstacles his staff has faced in reaching those in need, detailing that for the first time since the start of the war they were able to get from Khartoum to Omdurman, a city on the other side of the river.

That town hosts at least 12,000 refugees and more than 54,000 internally displaced people.

“Displaced people, including Sudanese and refugees who were in Sudan before the war, told our staff their difficulties in getting enough food due to rising pricesraising fears that children will suffer from malnutrition,” said UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado Mur.

Likewise, he specified that children do not have access to schools or places to play and that they are traumatized by the sound of fighting. Shelters for the displaced are inadequate and many live in overcrowded conditions in abandoned classrooms.

“Although two hospitals remain open, there are not enough medications, especially for those suffering from chronic diseases. Pregnant women cannot access prenatal care. People also shared serious concerns for their safety, reporting an increase in sexual violence as well as limited legal support,” she added.

“Many civilians are severely traumatized,” Mur said.