2023-05-02 13:14:27
Fierce fighting continued Tuesday in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries warring for power, ignoring a truce constantly violated. The international community is alarmed by a humanitarian situation that is turning into a “catastrophe”.
“We hear gunshots, warplanes and anti-aircraft fire”, reports to AFP a resident of Khartoum, the capital in the grip of chaos since April 15, the day when the fighting began between Abdel Fattah al- Burhane, head of state and of the army, and his number two, Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, known as “Hemedti”, at the head of the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR).
Violent clashes in Khartoum and other regions, particularly in Darfur (west), have left more than 500 dead and ten times more injured, according to largely underestimated reports. Sunday, a new truce almost never respected was renewed for 72 hours.
Flight of the inhabitants
Foreigners continue to leave the country and Sudanese flee by the tens of thousands. The UN expects “more than 800,000 people” seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
Those who remain face shortages of water, electricity and food, as the temperature in Khartoum soars above 40 degrees Celsius.
Call deaf responsible men
The conflict is transforming the already existing humanitarian drama into a “real disaster”, warned Abdou Dieng, coordinator of humanitarian aid in Sudan, during a meeting Monday at the UN.
For the Kenyan president too, the crisis has reached a “catastrophic level”. And the two men in conflict refuse “to hear the calls” of the international community, regretted William Ruto, calling for the delivery of humanitarian aid “with or without a ceasefire”.
Generals Burhanne and Daglo had joined forces to oust the civilians with whom they shared power since the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, during the 2021 putsch. But then differences emerged and the conflict between the two s It intensified when they failed to agree on the integration of the FSR into the regular army, before turning into an armed struggle.
Hospitals and humanitarians not spared
In an appeal to the Kenyan President, Secretary of State Antony Blinken “reiterated US support” for diplomatic efforts to “end the conflict” and ensure “unhindered humanitarian access”.
The UN chief for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, traveled to Nairobi on Monday on an emergency mission. The situation “since April 15 has been catastrophic,” he tweeted.
Especially since the violence and looting have spared neither hospitals nor humanitarian organizations, many of which have had to suspend a large part of their activities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also fears a “catastrophe” for the health system, already very fragile before the war in Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world and under international embargo for two decades.
Only 16% of health establishments are really functioning in Khartoum, but even there, equipment and staff, exhausted, are running out.
Help in dribs and drabs
However, the aid is coming in a trickle: six containers of WHO medical equipment have arrived, in particular to treat the seriously injured and patients suffering from acute malnutrition. Increasingly scarce fuel has been distributed to some hospitals that rely on generators.
The World Food Program (WFP) has also started to resume its activities, following a temporary suspension justified by the death of three employees.
Darfur engulfed in chaos
Beyond Khartoum, chaos has taken over West Darfur, where even civilians are now taking part in the violence, according to the UN, evoking a hundred deaths since last week, when the fighting began in this region already marked by a bloody civil war in the 2000s.
“The health system has completely collapsed in El-Geneina”, the capital of West Darfur, worries the doctors’ union, adding that the looting of dispensaries and camps for the displaced has caused “evacuations of emergency” of the humanitarian teams.
In total, more than 330,000 people have been displaced across the country, including more than 70% in West Darfur and South Darfur, according to the International Organization for Migration.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
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