from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – THE raging conflict between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has exacerbated the famine conditions for the more than 12 million displaced Sudanese refugees in quagmire.
According to Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s Famine Review Committee, the ongoing war has left more than 30 million from a possible total 50 million population in dire need of food aid while 12 million others remain displaced.
Independent expert, Samantha Power, said five regions comprising North Darfur, West and South Kordofan, Zamzam and two additional camps for internally displaced persons urgently required food relief before disaster strikes.
She said half of Sudan’s population was now facing acute levels of food insecurity pointing out 638,000 people were living under Famine conditions.
“This harrowing finding is made even more devastating by the fact that these conditions are man-made. The war between the SAF and RSF and bureaucratic access restrictions imposed by the parties to the conflict have greatly limited humanitarian access since the conflict began in April 2023, preventing lifesaving assistance from reaching people in dire need,” Power said.
She said in North Darfur, the ongoing impacts of severe flooding during the summer months and an escalation in clashes between the SAF and RSF in besieged areas have continued to limit humanitarian access to vulnerable communities.
She also pointed out that the above-average rainy season in Sudan had also caused the increase in prices of food while reducing access to farmland.
“If conditions do not improve, Famine is projected to spread to five additional areas of Sudan between now and May 2025, and there is a risk of Famine across additional parts of the country,” Power said.
She added: “We are working around the clock alongside our humanitarian partners in the region to get lifesaving assistance to the people who need it most despite ongoing conflict and access challenges.”
Other humanitarian partners involved in food relief comprise the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), who successfully coordinated with local response organizations to deliver enough aid to help tens of thousands of Sudanese in areas at risk of Famine.
“These UN and local organizations continue their tireless efforts to get critical assistance to vulnerable communities across Sudan,” Power said.
She called upon the SAF and RSF to allow the humanitarian organisations access throughout the country in order to reach the most vulnerable people with aid so that they prevent Famine conditions from taking hold across wider swaths of the country.
The conflict between Sudan’s two major rival factions of the military government of SAF under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary RSF and its allies (collectively the Janjaweed coalition) under the Janjaweed leader Hemedti, began during Ramadan on 15 April 2023.
– CAJ News