Millions of Sudanese face acute hunger, increased health risks, and death from recoverable injuries because UN agencies have been forced to suspend lifesaving activities in Sudan, where fighting has it made it too dangerous for them to operate in many regions. Clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continued for 15 consecutive days since 15 April, despite the announcement of an extension of the ceasefire for an additional 72 hours from the evening of 27 April.
As hostilities flare in Sudan, UN agencies are warning that the conflict is having a devastating impact on the civilian population, including refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) across the country.
Goods are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centers, especially in the capital, Khartoum, and many civilians are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other critical goods. The cost of transportation out of conflict-affected areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to afford ticket prices. Telecommunications and internet connectivity have been affected by the lack of fuel and damage to infrastructure.
Civilians have been killed, injured and forced to flee their homes as a result of the conflict. The Sudanese Ministry of Health says 512 people have been killed and 4,200 wounded, although the actual toll is expected to be much higher.
The World Health Organization has verified 25 attacks on health care facilities, causing the death of eight people and injuring 18 others. Sixty-one per cent of health facilities in Khartoum are closed, and only 16 per cent are operating as normal, leaving millions of people without access to health care.
There have been further reports of killing of 96 civilians—including medical personnel—and looting of humanitarian and health premises in Ag Geneina, West Darfur.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says it is particularly concerned about the situation in the Darfur region, where the humanitarian situation remains extremely dire. A number of sites hosting IDPs have been burned to the ground, while civilian houses and humanitarian premises are being hit by bullets.
With Darfur one of the regions most affected by violence and high levels of criminality, even prior to the current situation, UNHCR fears that current hostilities may fuel pre-existing ethnic and intercommunal tensions over land and access to resources, and trigger greater displacement.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres continues to call for an immediate halt to fighting and has worked with the United States and regional organizations to extend a 72-hour cease-fire that went into effect at midnight on Monday. The truce was renewed Thursday for another three days, but reports of fighting continue.
In a joint statement issued Friday, members of the Trilateral Mechanism – which brings together the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development IGAD), and the United Nations – as well as the Quad countries, which are the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, welcomed the announcement by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to extend the current ceasefire for an additional 72 hours, and they called for its full implementation.
The members also welcomed their readiness to engage in dialogue toward establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that humanitarian organizations are delivering assistance wherever and whenever possible.
Heavy fighting and insecurity have driven tens of thousands to flee in search of safety and protection, with many people scattered throughout the country and in neighboring states.
According to OCHA, more than 75,000 people have been internally displaced in Sudan within the first week of fighting, mainly in Khartoum, Northern, Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North Darfur, West Darfur and South Darfur states. This number is expected to rise in the days ahead, as the full extent of displacement becomes known.
The crisis also has the potential to create a massive refugee situation. People are fleeing to neighboring countries, including the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and South Sudan.
The UN refugee agency estimates that 270,000 people could flee into South Sudan and Chad alone.
The United Nations reports some 20,000 people have fled to Chad and about 13,000 people have reportedly crossed the Sudan border in CAR and are living in spontaneous settlements. South Sudan, meanwhile, has received at least 10,000 people, most of them South Sudanese returnees. In Ethiopia, more than 4,700 arrivals were recorded. In Egypt, the Government has reported 16,000 border crossings.
UN agencies says those numbers are expected to increase as the crisis escalates, warning that the consequences, which will be severe and long term, already are being felt.
Clashes between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted on April 15 after months of rising tensions over the country's political future and the RSF's planned integration into the national army.
Humanitarian needs in Sudan were already at record levels before the fighting erupted – with some 15.8 million people – about a third of the population – requiring humanitarian assistance. A quarter of Sudan's population - 11.7 million people - were severely food insecure. Over 3 million children under 5 currently suffered from acute malnutrition in the country, with an estimated 650,000 children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
According to UNHCR, Sudan hosts about 1.2 million refugees, one of the largest refugee populations in Africa. Before the fighting started, some 3.7 million Sudanese were internally displaced, mostly in the Darfur region that has experienced a volatile security situation since 2003. More than 800,000 Sudanese had fled to neighboring countries.
Further information
Full text: Sudan: Clashes between SAF and RSF - Flash Update No. 8 (28 April 2023), report, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, released April 28, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-clashes-between-saf-and-rsf-flash-update-no-8-28-april-2023-enar
Full text: Joint Statement by the Trilateral Mechanism and the Quad on Sudan, published April 28, 2023
https://unitams.unmissions.org/en/joint-statement-trilateral-mechanism-and-quad-sudan
Full text: Press Briefing by the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, April 28, 2023
https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/bi-weekly-briefing/2023/04/press-briefing-united-nations-information-service-5