Relentless fighting is devastating Sudan and escalating in Darfur’s capital, UN says

UNITED NATIONS — Unrelenting violence has devastated Sudan and large-scale fighting has escalated in and around the only capital in Sudan’s western Darfur region not held by paramilitary forces, the United Nations a senior humanitarian official said on Wednesday.

Acting humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya told the UN Security Council that famine has already hit the Zamzam campabout 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the besieged capital of North Darfur, El Fasher. She said a large-scale humanitarian operation was “a matter of life and death.”

Sudan came into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between military and paramilitary leaders erupted in the capital Khartoum and spread to other regions, including Darfur. According to the UN, more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 wounded.

Msuya urged the council to demand that the warring government and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force cease attacks on civilians, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, and allow them to deliver humanitarian aid unhindered through all border crossings and across conflict lines.

She also called on the UN’s 193 member states to press the parties “to agree to a humanitarian pause to save lives, give civilians respite and allow us to deliver aid.”

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, most notably by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations identifying as Central or East African. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were displaced from their homes.

That legacy appears to have returned, as International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan said in January that there are grounds to believe that both sides may be committing war crimescrimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

Msuya said: “The world must not tolerate in El Fasher the atrocities we saw in West Darfur.”

In June, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “an immediate cessation of fighting and de-escalation in and around El Fasher.”

Unfortunately, Msuya said, both sides ignored the call and the fighting escalated over the past week with “constant and heavy” shelling and bombardments.

“Civilians, particularly women and children, have been hit (and) civilian sites and infrastructure — including hospitals and camps for displaced people — have been hit,” she said. “Of the three main hospitals in El Fasher, only one is functioning, although only partially following an attack that caused extensive damage in August.”

In August, international experts confirmed that there is famine in zamzam campwhere approximately 500,000 displaced people reside.

Msuya said nearly 1.7 million people in North Darfur face “acute food insecurity,” adding that 13 other places in Sudan have been identified as areas at risk of famine.

In February, Doctors Without Borders reported that one child died every two hours in Zamzam camp, she said. The latest screening by the medical aid agency and the Ministry of Health between September 1 and 5 indicates that the situation is deteriorating.

“About 34% of children are malnourished, of which 10% are severely malnourished,” Msuya said.

The delivery of aid has been hampered by fighting and flooding, but Msuya said that once the waters recede in the coming weeks, the UN could begin delivering food and other aid to El Fasher and other areas at risk of famine.

The Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs stressed that there are two keys to addressing the “appalling humanitarian situation”: de-escalation in the battle and the willingness of both parties to facilitate access to those in need.

“Have no doubt: without safe and predictable access and a steady supply of food and humanitarian aid, we will see a dramatic increase in deaths – including those of children – in Zamzam and other areas around El Fasher,” she said.

“The same applies to the situation across Sudan,” Msuya said, particularly the capital Khartoum and the neighboring states of Sennar and Jazeera in southeastern Sudan, which continue to be plagued by “relentless violence.”