Following the outbreak of violence that began on April 15 in Sudan, the Sudanese people and those of its neighboring countries “are bearing the burden of this terrible crisis,” said the General secretary of the UN during a high-level meeting on pledges to support the humanitarian response in that African nation and in the region.
“We must do everything we can to support them. It is not only our duty as members of the international community, it is crucial to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. Our humanitarian agencies and their partners on the ground are ready to redouble their efforts”, highlighted António Guterres.
The UN leader stressed that, if “strong international support” is not forthcoming, the African nation “could become rapidly into an anarchic focus that would spread insecurity throughout the region”, and warned about the conflict pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against a powerful rival militia known as the Rapid Support Forces.
“The situation in Darfur and Khartoum is catastrophic. The fighting is fierce and people are attacked in their homes and in the streets. There are entire neighborhoods without running water and with a limited electricity supply, and more than two thirds of the hospitals near the conflict zones are not operational,” he warned.
Guterres was especially concerned about the reports on cases of sexual and gender violence, as well as the ethnic nature of the violence in the city of Geneina. Added to this concern was the high number of people displaced by the hostilities.
“In just over two months, two million people have been forced to leave their homes, seeking refuge in safer parts of Sudan or across borders. About half a million people have already left for neighboring countries, ”she encrypted.
The delivery of humanitarian aid, increasingly difficult
Although Sudan was already facing a humanitarian crisis before the fighting began, the Secretary-General stressed that the current outbreaks of violence against aid workers and looting of goods and supplies make aid operations even more difficult. Despite this, he stated that emergency aid delivery by the United Nations and partners reached 1.8 million people.
“The convoys distributed food, water, health and educational supplies in eight states, including Khartoum. We are making great efforts to expand our operations, ”he specified. Likewise, he urged the parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Given the few contributions received to the Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan and the Regional Response Plan –of the 3 billion dollars needed for 2023, only about 17% was achieved -, Guterres called on the international community to provide the necessary funds “to provide vital humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions.”
Conditions conducive to human trafficking and arms trafficking
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, explained, for his part, that most of the 365,000 refugees produced since the start of the conflict are in Egypt and Chad, although there are people who flee to other neighboring nations.
Grandi added to that figure some 113,000 South Sudanese who were forced to return to their country of origin “with nothing”and that they have reached areas that are not prepared to receive them, which places an additional burden on impoverished communities, as well as constituting a destabilizing factor for a nation, South Sudan, which is trying to emerge from the devastating impact of a conflict .
“The lack of security generated by violence creates a propitious breeding ground for those who traffic in human beings and weapons. Both the President of Egypt and the President of the Central African Republic have expressed their concern in this regard to me in recent days. And I am sure that the rest of Sudan’s neighboring countries are equally concerned. Many have also expressed concern that the appalling violence in Darfur could spill over into Chad,” he warned.
