A video still of fighters from the Sudan paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum on 23 April. [Picture: Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP/Getty Images]
Deadly fighting between military factions in Sudan threaten to wreak havoc over Sudan, months after a civil war broke out. Thousands are dead, millions displaced and the humanitarian crisis deepens as more than 3 000 humanitarian organisations reportedly cease operations due to the conflict.
Speaking in an interview on Salaamedia, political analyst and activist Ayesha Cajee painted a dire humanitarian situation in the war-torn nation.
“Many people are now starving. There were severe water shortages in some areas. There is a lack of communication infrastructure and transport infrastructure, much of which has been destroyed as a result of this war,” she said.
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Humanitarian crisis
Fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Janjaweed leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in April 2023.
The conflict has since claimed 12 000 lives and displaced approximately 6.6 million people internally and externally. With disruption to internet and transport services, said Cajee, “it means that aid cannot get in even where aid is available”.
Furthermore, she said, the ongoing civil war has threatened the livelihoods of those affected by the fighting.
“There are people in Sudan who are at risk for their livelihoods because they have been unable to return home. They cannot continue with their day-to-day lives, therefore they cannot earn a living.”
Added to the humanitarian woes in the country, she warned there was the threat of famine over the medium and long term. Education was also threatened, even in areas not directly under attack.
