Doha: As military operations between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue for more than 21 months, the humanitarian suffering among displaced and refugee civilians in various Sudanese states intensifies, amid growing international concern and a near-total absence of solutions.
International organizations have warned of obstacles hindering the flow of aid to over 30 million people trapped in conflict zones and displaced in relatively safer cities in the country, in addition to the dangers posed by aerial bombardments in some regions.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in mid-April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF, which has spread to over 70 percent of the country, more than 11 million civilians have been displaced internally, amid complex humanitarian conditions, as they live without sources of income, and with very limited access to food and health aid.
According to relief organizations, reaching the most vulnerable populations remains a major challenge. Intensified fighting and obstruction of humanitarian convoys further hinder the flow of aid that is urgently needed.
Acting Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Sudan Alex Marianelli stated, "we urgently need to get a constant flow of aid to families in the hardest hit locations, which have also been the most difficult to reach." He added that the WFP aims to double the number of people it supports, reaching 7 million.
He further emphasized that the highest priority is to provide life-saving assistance to areas facing famine or on the brink of it.
According to Emergency Operations Manager at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Ozan Agbas: obtaining long-term visas for the organizations staff, most of whom are foreigners, has been difficult in certain areas, affecting their ability to respond.
Relatedly, the UN Security Council condemned in a press release on Saturday the ongoing and escalating attacks by the RSF on the city of Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, over recent days. It expressed concern over the intensifying violence in and around the city and the Darfur region, and denounced the attack that targeted the Saudi Maternity Teaching Hospital in Al Fasher in late January.
The Council members stressed the need to implement resolution 2736, adopted in June 2024, which calls for the RSF to lift the siege on Al-Fasher and urges de-escalation in the surrounding areas while withdrawing all fighters threatening the safety and security of civilians.
The Security Council also urged all member states to refrain from external interventions that could exacerbate the conflict and destabilize the region, calling for support for efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace.
In this regard, members reminded all parties and member states of the need to comply with the arms embargo imposed on all non-governmental entities and individuals in North, South, and West Darfur states, as outlined in paragraphs 7 and 8 of resolution 1556, adopted in July 2004, and reaffirmed in resolution 2750, which renews the arms embargo on Darfur.
Health situation in Sudan is on the brink of collapse, with the Sudanese hospitals suffering from severe dearth of medicines and medical practitioners, according to health figures, after they left the country following the flare-up of fighting.
The Sudanese Minister of Health highlighted that Al Naou Hospital received all casualties and summoned all medical practitioners to save lives, where critical cases were admitted for urgent surgeries, while the remaining injured individuals were provided with immediate medical assistance.
The surgical operations are underway after urgent medication has been provided, alongside paramedics to hospitalize critical cases, with entities denouncing the act of using lethal weapons against citizens in markets, transit stations, shelters and homes, something that requires condemnation as a crime that contravenes the international humanitarian law and all international charters and norms.
The hope for Sudan to be stable for civilians to enjoy full safety and protection hinges upon the end of fighting with the help of international community, and this is what the Sudanese civilians are aspiring to after a high cost of humanitarian suffering.
Meanwhile, the national liquidity crisis led to a widespread cash shortage, delaying the distribution of aid to millions for over a month due to insufficient cash to pay daily laborers.
For the past two months, Sudan has faced a severe liquidity crisis following the currency change implemented by the central bank in December, with the nation experiencing a catastrophic humanitarian situation, while approximately 24.6 million people, or half the population, face severe food insecurity.
Additionally, 27 locations are either in famine or at risk, while over a third of children in the hardest-hit areas suffer from acute malnutrition, surpassing the famine threshold.
The situation is aggravating dramatically in the eastern and northern states that are facing pressure on services after millions of displaced people arrived there coming from the areas of combat operations.
The continuation of power blackout in most regions of the country causes widespread crop damage, as long as most projects depend on electricity in operating the irrigation systems.
With most areas of Al Jazirah and Khartoum states being out of the agricultural production sites due to war, concerns rise that the loss of more agricultural areas will worsen the food security crisis and expand the growing food gap.
According to the Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO,) Sudan's grain production fell by 46 percent in 2024, thereby exacerbating the hunger crisis that affects half number of populations.
Emergency rooms in Khartoum reported that many charity kitchens, relied upon by hundreds of thousands for daily meals, had to halt or significantly reduce operations due to water shortages and the difficulty of purchasing food, worsened by widespread power outages affecting electronic payments amid scarcity of cash.
