More than a half Sudanese in need of humanitarian assistance, announced yesterday, Wednesday, UNafter more than a month of clashes between the army and the paramilitary group, with diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis yet to bear fruit.

Yesterday, clashes raged in Khartoum, the streets were empty, and thick black smoke swirled over the Sudanese capital.

At least 1,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of hostilities on April 15, about 840,000 have been internally displaced and 220,000 have fled to other countries. Yesterday, the UN revised its appeal for resources, saying it needs $2.6 billion to help Sudan.

“Today, 25 million people — more than half of Sudan’s population — are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection,” said Ramesh Rajasingam, head of the UN Humanitarian Affairs Division.

Half a billion is added to this money to help refugees who have taken refuge in neighboring countries. This year, the UN predicts that the number of Sudanese refugees will reach one million.

Negotiations stalled

Prior to the clashes between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, one in three people in the country of 45 million people had already suffered from hunger.

Now there is even less food. In Khartoum, home to five million people, those who have not fled remain in their homes, forced to limit their food intake and without money as the banks are closed.

Sudan’s agri-food sector, already on its knees after a 20-year embargo under Omar al-Bashir’s dictatorship that took effect in 2019, has been further hit by shelling that damaged homes, hospitals and government buildings in Khartoum and others cities.

The Samil factory, which produced, according to Unicef, “60% of food for malnourished children”, was destroyed.

Humanitarian aid was looted. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced that “armed men entered a warehouse in Khartoum on Tuesday and robbed” at least “two food trucks.”

Despite chaos in Khartoum and Darfur province on the border with Chad, where fighting has clashed between tribals and civilians, negotiations for a humanitarian truce appear to be heading nowhere.

“We need to tell these generals to stop fighting completely,” said Kenyan President William Ruto.

Yesterday, the official Sudanese news agency aired for the first time a video showing General Burhan among soldiers in front of the fire-ravaged army headquarters building in Khartoum.

Representatives of the warring parties, meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, agreed to designate humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to leave and help to arrive. But there has been no progress since the initial agreement.

The risk of “mixing” external factors

But Michael Dunford, Regional Director of the World Food Program (WFP), emphasizes that “it is imperative that humanitarian workers have access, resources and security guarantees to effectively support those who depend on them for their survival.”

In Jeddah, where the Arab League summit will take place tomorrow, Friday, the heads of the diplomats of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as the head of the Arab League, spoke in favor of a truce, but did not offer a framework for achieving it.

The Arab countries are deeply divided over Sudan: Egypt is an ally of Burhan, the United Arab Emirates is Daglo, and Riyadh has ties to both sides.

But diplomatic efforts are intensifying because neighboring countries fear the spread of the conflict. The Rift Valley Institute warns that “it’s hard to imagine how two generals can be forced to stop the violence.”

The two men, who became rivals after taking part in the October 2021 coup, “view each other’s existence as a threat,” the institute said in a report.

Behind this war, experts explain, is competition between tribes that have historically monopolized power and the resources of others, more marginalized.

“If the conflict continues, the risk of involvement of external players will increase,” adds the Rift Valley Institute.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}