A desperate situation in Sudan
Summary: Sudan’s civil war passed the one year mark this week
with millions displaced and thousands killed by the fighting; peace
talks are scheduled in three weeks but as the fighting continues the
humanitarian crisis deepens.
This week marked the one year anniversary of Sudan’s catastrophic
civil war which has pitted two ruthlessly ambitious generals against
each other with the Sudanese people caught between them. The cost has
been staggeringly high
with nearly 2 million fleeing Sudan, most to neighbouring Chad, another
highly unstable country, while nearly 7 million are internally
displaced. The death toll of civilians is in the thousands and the
forces of both sides – General Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and
Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – are guilty of committing war
crimes. Hospitals, schools and other essential infrastructure have been
destroyed. In a 14 April video message
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of “eighteen million
children, women, and men in Sudan (who) face acute food insecurity, with
the UN warning that the country is on the brink of famine.” He added
that “without a significant influx of aid, 220,000 children could die
from malnutrition in the coming months”
Efforts to secure at least a temporary ceasefire, led by Saudi Arabia
and heavily backed by the US failed miserably last year. Now the Saudis
have said they will reconvene the talks
in Jeddah within three weeks. The talks were supposed to begin today
and it is unclear why they have been delayed. However the UAE which
backs Hemedti and Egypt which backs Burhan have said they will attend
the talks.
The presence of the UAE, which had shunned
previous efforts in Jeddah is perhaps a sign that pressure from
Washington is beginning to pay off. The State Department was not best
pleased when in September last year a New York Times investigation
revealed that the UAE under the guise of delivering humanitarian aid
had established a field hospital in Chad for wounded RSF fighters. The
investigation also alleged that the Wagner group had supplied surface to
air missiles to the RSF via the Central African Republic where the Russian mercenary force has been engaged since 2018.
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