THE Sudan conflict, which began two years ago on Tuesday, is “the world’s most severe humanitarian and displacement crisis”, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) has said.
The fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support forces (RSF) has spread across most of the country (News, 21 April 2023).
About 150,000 people are estimated to have died during the conflict, the BBC reports. CAFOD reports that ten million people have been internally displaced, and more than three million have fled into neighbouring countries.
The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, is hosting ministers from donor countries and the wider region at a conference in London, on Tuesday, to encourage a ceasefire and the protection of civilians.
CAFOD and other leaders of faith-based networks and religious communities have issued a joint statement to mark the second anniversary. It calls on the UK Government and those attending the ministerial conference to strengthen diplomatic efforts to end the violence.
“The situation in Sudan is dire and without a concerted strong push for peace talks the conflict will only worsen,” the statement says. “The international community cannot continue to turn a blind eye to Sudan. We must act decisively to bring the parties to the negotiation table and work towards a sustainable resolution of the conflict.”
The statement is signed by: ACT Alliance, Caritas Internationalis, the World Council of Churches, the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, and Caritas Africa.
This follows the most recent attacks last Friday on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, as well as El Fasher and sites in North Darfur near by. The United Nations (UN) reports that more than 100 people are feared dead.
The RSF seized the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons after three days of concentrated attacks, CSW reports.
The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, condemned the attacks. “Zamzam and Abu Shouk are some of the largest displacement camps in Darfur, sheltering more than 700,000 people who have fled cycles of violence over the years,” she said. “These families — many of whom have already been displaced multiple times — are once again caught in the crossfire, with nowhere safe to go. This must end now.”
World Vision has warned that, owing to cuts to international aid (News, 28 February), humanitarian-assistance targets will be slashed from 20.9 million to 17.3 million participants.
World Vision’s Sudan National Director, Simon Mane, said: “Sudan is now facing a perfect storm of hunger, violence, and trauma . . . There is simply not enough aid to feed the vulnerable people. Thirty million people need humanitarian assistance, that’s three in every five people living in Sudan.”
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