The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it is extremely concerned by the escalation of fighting in Sudan's southwestern Sennar State, which has severely hampered humanitarian aid deliveries in large parts of the country. Meanwhile, the last open border crossing into Darfur from neighboring Chad is inaccessible due to heavy rains and flooding.
Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sennar State have forced more than 136,000 people to flee their homes since fighting erupted in late June, many for the second or third time since the start of the war.
“Fighting in Sennar cut off key supply routes for food and fuel into the state, leaving residents unable to access basic needs. WFP’s hub in Kosti is completely cut off,” said UN spokesman Farhan Haq, briefing journalists at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday.
“The route from Port Sudan to Kosti cuts through Sennar and is currently inaccessible. This route is a lifeline to get assistance to hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan, including many communities at risk of famine in the Kordofans and the Darfur region.”
So far, the World Food Programme has provided assistance to nearly 46,000 people displaced in Blue Nile State, further south, as well as thousands who have fled to neighboring Gedaref State.
The UN agency warns that the impact of this escalation goes far beyond displacement. It has severely affected WFP operations across the region, including in White Nile, Blue Nile, Kassala and Gedaref states.
“Getting assistance into the Darfur region from Chad has also halted. The Adre crossing from Chad is still closed and the Chad-Darfur crossing via Tine is inaccessible due to heavy rains and flooding brought by the rainy season. This means that many areas are cut off from assistance,” Haq added.
WFP reiterated its call for all possible humanitarian corridors to be opened so that aid agencies can reach all those in need.
The fighting in Sennar State follows an intensification of the conflict in El Fasher town since April 2024. Deadly clashes in the capital of North Darfur State have hit residential areas, markets, hospitals and sites hosting displaced people. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), up to 329,000 people were displaced from the city in April, May and June.
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for greater access to deliver humanitarian aid in Sudan as millions of people are left without basic means of survival.
Fifteen months into the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, millions of people lack access to basic services such as food, water and health care. Nearly a quarter of the country's population has fled their homes and lost their livelihoods, while months of fighting have taken a heavy toll on civilian infrastructure.
“The humanitarian situation in towns like Al Fasher [El Fasher], where people have been trapped in fighting for months, is critical,” Pierre Dorbes, head of the ICRC delegation in Sudan, said in a statement.
“Some areas of the country are not even reachable by phone, which makes it nearly impossible to operate. Meanwhile, throughout the country, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society volunteers have been working at great personal risk.”
Millions of Sudanese civilians struggle to access basic necessities such as water points and agricultural land. Fighting and displacement have forced farmers to miss planting seasons. In combination with rising food prices, many families are unable to feed themselves.
In the first half of the year, the ICRC, often in partnership with the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS), provided emergency assistance and helped improve access to basic services. However, difficult access, including deteriorating security and administrative hurdles, continue to hamper humanitarian efforts.
“What we managed to do in the past six months is very little compared to the vast suffering we see every day,” Dorbes said.
"People urgently need more help, and we call on the parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to do everything in their power to improve humanitarian access."
Sudan has been embroiled in a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and their respective allied armed groups since April 15, 2023. The war has killed and injured tens of thousands of people, caused massive displacement and led to large-scale atrocities, creating the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
Hunger in the country has reached catastrophic levels. The rapid deterioration of food security in Sudan has left 755,000 people in catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) with a risk of famine in 14 areas, including Darfur States, Kordofan States, Al Jazirah State and some hotspots in Khartoum State. 8.5 million people are projected to be in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4).
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase (IPC) analysis, published in June 2024, a total of 25.6 million people - 50 percent of the population - are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse). The worst conditions are in the areas most affected by fighting and where conflict-displaced people are concentrated.
Fourteen areas of the country are at risk of famine, largely due to obstruction of humanitarian aid by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
In a related development, UN-led "proximity format" talks between Sudan's warring parties concluded in Geneva on Friday. The UN envoy to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, who led the negotiations with representatives of the SAF and RSF, held a total of some 20 meetings with the delegations.
Lamamra met separately with the delegation of each party to the conflict during the talks, which took place from July 11 to 19.
“The humanitarian situation in Sudan remains catastrophic and is deteriorating every day. Urgent action is needed to ensure that humanitarian assistance safely reaches all those in need and to guarantee the protection of all civilians in Sudan,” he said in a statement today.
Lamamra said he was now counting on the parties “to promptly translate their willingness to engage with him into tangible progress on the ground” in Sudan.
The UN envoy has been working for months to broker further talks between the two sides in the conflict. He has also held regular talks with bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to support regional peace efforts.
“The discussions held in Geneva are an encouraging initial step in a longer and complex process,” he said.
Noting that unilateral commitments by the parties do not constitute agreements with the UN, he welcomed the commitments announced today “by one of the two parties to enhance humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians.”
Lamamra said he intends to remain in close contact with the leadership of the two parties to follow up on the implementation of the commitments and to engage them on critical issues. And he urged both parties to step up their commitment to peace "for the sake of the Sudanese people and the future of the country."
Further information
Full text: Statement of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, after the conclusion of the Geneva Proximity Talks, statement, released July 19, 2024
https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/press-release/2024/07/statement-personal-envoy-secretary-general-sudan-ramtane-lamamra