By El Tayeb Siddig and Nafisa Eltahir
Khartoum: The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis in Sudan as fighting continued on Monday between rival military factions despite a supposed ceasefire.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over 16 days of battles since disputes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15.
A house in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after it was hit during what now appears to be developing into a civil war.Credit: AP
There seems little prospect of a quick resolution to the crisis, which has unleashed a humanitarian disaster, damaged swathes of the capital Khartoum, risked drawing in regional powers and reignited a conflict in the Darfur region.
Both sides agreed on Sunday to extend a much-violated truce by 72 hours and the United Nations said it hoped to hold truce talks in Saudi Arabia, but air strikes and artillery rang out on Monday as smoke hung over Khartoum and neighbouring cities.
Sudanese who ventured out said the city was transformed.
“We saw dead bodies. The industrial area that was all looted. We saw people carrying TVs on their backs and big sacks looted from factories,” said Mohamed Ezzeldin.
Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan was being used by the US and the UK to evacuate military personnel and foreign nationals.Credit: UK Ministry of Defence via Getty Images
Many fear for their lives in a nationwide power struggle between the army chief and RSF head, who had shared control of the government after a 2021 coup but fell out over a planned transition back to civilian rule.
Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled their homes, some congregating in hubs like Atbara northeast of Khartoum while they work out their plans or heading for the borders with Egypt or Chad.
The United Nations on Monday warned that more than 800,000 people could flee the country as a result of the fighting.
“Without a quick resolution of this crisis we will continue to see more people forced to flee in search of safety and basic assistance,” Raouf Mazou, the assistant secretary-general at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a briefing of member states in Geneva.
Some of the last British nationals to be evacuated from Sudan.Credit: UK Ministry of Defence via AP
“In consultation with all concerned governments and partners we’ve arrived at a planning figure of 815,000 people that may flee into the seven neighbouring countries.”
The estimate includes around 580,000 Sudanese, he said, with the others existing refugees from South Sudan and elsewhere. So far, he said some 73,000 people had already fled to Sudan’s neighbours, South Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Central African Republic and Libya.
Foreign governments have pulled out their citizens over the past week in a series of operations by air, sea and land, though several countries. Those remaining face hardship and danger.
“I show up to work for two or three hours then I close up because it’s not safe,” said Abdelbagi, a barber in Khartoum who said he had to keep working as prices were rising.
Power and water supplies are uncertain, there is little food or fuel, most hospitals and clinics are out of service and soaring transport costs are making it harder to leave.
The United Nations and other aid organisations have had to cut services because of insecurity, although the World Food Programme said it was resuming operations on Monday despite staff being killed early in the war.
At least 528 people have been killed and 4599 wounded, the Sudanese health ministry said. The United Nations has reported a similar number of dead but believes the real toll is much higher.
‘Highly precarious’
The United Nations fears for the war’s impact both on Sudan and the broader region, said Martin Griffiths, a senior UN official for humanitarian and emergency relief matters.
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented,” he said.
About a third of Sudanese were already recipients of foreign aid before the war, with about a quarter receiving food support. United Nations agencies and the Red Cross are trying to get medical supplies through Port Sudan, but need security guarantees to take them on to Khartoum.
UN World Food Programme head Cindy McCain said operations were starting again in the areas of Sudan that had been mostly unaffected by the conflict.
“The security situation is highly precarious,” she said.
Victoria, one of the tea sellers who used to work along Khartoum’s streets before the fighting began, said her children were struggling to understand what was happening.
“So I risk my life to try to work and, if God helps me, I’ll get them some food and, if he doesn’t, I’ll keep trying. But just sitting useless doesn’t help and being scared doesn’t help,” she said.
Another woman, Jamila, is only eating one meal a day because so little food is available. RSF troops are stationed in front of her house and refuse to leave.
“The sound of fighting is in our ears all day,” she said.
Reuters
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