The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has raised a dire warning about the escalating food crisis in Sudan Wednesday as more than 20 million people are facing hunger and close to 4 million people have been displaced as a result of the conflict. Meanwhile, the international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) said in a new report Thursday, that extensive war crimes are being committed in Sudan as the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) ravages the country.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase (IPC) analysis, over 20.3 million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse) between July and September 2023. While 14 million people are facing crisis levels (IPC Phase 3), nearly 6.3 million people are experiencing emergency levels of acute hunger (IPC Phase 4).
The states most severely affected by the hunger crisis include Khartoum, South and West Kordofan, as well as Central, East, South and West Darfur, where over half of the population is facing acute hunger.
Since April 15, close to 4 million women, men, and children have been displaced as a result of the conflict, including at least 3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and more than 920,000 who have crossed into neighboring countries. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the majority have been displaced from Khartoum state and the western Darfur region.
FAO said, as conflict and economic decline continue to ravage the country, urgent and intensified humanitarian support for rural communities is urgently needed.
"The conflict has had devastating consequences on the food and nutrition security and well-being of millions of people. Families are facing unimaginable suffering, and it is vital that FAO is stepping in to support more than 1 million farmers this season to produce enough food for Sudanese people", said Abdulhakim Elwaer, FAO's Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.
The emergency seed distribution campaign aims to expand to reach up to 1 million farmers in time for the planting season, ensuring sufficient cereal production to cover the needs of up to 19 million people for a year.
But FAO's efforts to combat the food crisis are hampered by limited resources. The Organization urgently requires USD 65 million to reach 1,255,000 vulnerable households - almost 6.3 million people.
"We remain committed to supporting rural families in the Sudan during these challenging times. But this crucial work cannot be sustained without timely resources," said Hongjie Yang, FAO Representative in the Sudan.
“Agriculture is a lifeline; and as the main agriculture season begins, urgent action is required to prevent further deterioration of the food security situation and to save lives and livelihoods.”
On Thursday, the human rights group Amnesty International said in a new report that war crimes are rampant in Sudan as civilians are killed in both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks. The report focuses primarily on Khartoum and West Darfur.
“Civilians throughout Sudan are suffering unimaginable horror every single day as the Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces recklessly vie for control of territory,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Since April 15, thousands of people in Sudan have been killed and injured in deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been battling each other in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country – notably in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
The AI report documents mass civilian casualties in both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks by the warring parties. The document also details sexual violence against women and girls, targeted attacks on civilian objects such as hospitals and churches, and extensive looting.
“People are being killed inside their homes, or while desperately searching for food, water and medicine. They are being caught in crossfire while fleeing, and shot deliberately in targeted attacks. Scores of women and girls, some as young as 12, have been raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence by members of the warring sides. Nowhere is safe”, she said.
The human rights group says some of the violations documented – such as attacks targeting civilians, attacks on humanitarian infrastructure, rape and other sexual violence, and pillage – amount to war crimes.
Amnesty International is calling on regional and international powers, notably members of the UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council as well as state parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC), to take concrete measures to respond to the scale and urgency of the Sudan conflict.
Also Thursday, the United Nations mission in Sudan said that it is gravely concerned about the severe impact of the fighting between the Rapid Support Forces supported by Arab militias and the Sudanese Armed Forces on civilians in the Darfur region.
The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) strongly condemned the indiscriminate targeting of civilian populations and public facilities by the RSF and allied militias, particularly in the locality of Sirba, 45 kilometers north of El Geneina in West Darfur, in late July 2023.
UNITAMS said it is also concerned by similar incidents in Nyala, South Darfur, and Zalingei, Central Darfur. The UN mission urged all forces engaged in hostilities to cease their military operations immediately and called on them to resume the Jeddah-facilitated talks.
“I am alarmed by reports indicating that civilians are being prevented from leaving for safer areas, resulting in numerous casualties. These reports are reminiscent of the violations committed in El Geneina, West Darfur, last June”, said Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of UNITAMS.
Further information
Full text: The Sudan: Food security crisis intensifies amid ongoing conflict and economic challenges, FAO press release, published August 2, 2023
https://www.fao.org/neareast/news/view/en/c/1647272/
Full text: Sudan: “Death came to our home”: War crimes and civilian suffering in Sudan, Amnesty International, report, released August 3, 2023
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr54/7037/2023/en/
Full text: Statement by UNITAMS on the situation in Darfur, United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, released August 3, 2023
https://unitams.unmissions.org/en/statement-unitams-situation-darfur