from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – UP to 9 000 people killed, more than 5,6 million driven from their homes and 25 million people in need of aid.
Half a year of war has plunged Sudan into one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history.
For six months, civilians, particularly in Darfur, the capital Khartoum and Kordofan have known no respite from bloodshed and terror.
Disturbing reports of rape and sexual violence continue to emerge.
Clashes are increasingly taking place along ethnic lines, particularly in Darfur.
Aid workers continue to be obstructed in reaching people in need, hampered by insecurity and red tape.
At least 45 aid workers have been killed or detained since 15 April – almost all of them are national staff.
“Even in areas we can access, humanitarians are hamstrung by underfunding,” lamented Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Only 33 per cent of the US$2,6 billion required to help those in need in Sudan this year has been received.
This at a time cholera is stalking the country, with more than 1 000 suspected cases detected in Gedaref, Khartoum, and Kordofan states.
Basic services are crumbling.
More than 70 percent of health care facilities in conflict areas are out of service.
The fighting is keeping 19 million children out of school.
Sudan has been unstable since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
The latest conflict broke out on April 15 between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
– CAJ News