by Thomas H. Staal
While heads of state, including General al-Burhan of Sudan, were in New York in late September attending the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced nearly $424 million in additional humanitarian assistance for people in need in Sudan and in neighboring refugee-hosting countries.
The war in Sudan has become the largest humanitarian disaster in the world. More people need food aid and stand on the brink of starvation in Sudan than in all other disasters in today’s world combined. The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNet) of USAID shows close to 25 million Sudanese in need of humanitarian assistance. A large proportion are classified in the two highest need categories: Famine and Emergency.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that there have been 400,000 “excess deaths” per year due to the war in Sudan. Excess deaths are caused by direct war injuries, disease, and starvation. That means that there have likely been 600,000 deaths due to the war since the outbreak of hostilities in April 2023.
The warring parties show no interest in halting the fighting. They dishonor ceasefire commitments they made in 2023, and not even agreed to attend ceasefire talks this year. The two leaders — Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) leader Gen. al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Hemedti — have no real incentive to stop fighting. They would likely be either jailed or assassinated if and when the fighting ends. So the war continues, with serious human rights abuses being committed across most of the country, by both sides.
Sacks of sorghum flour await difficult delivery to hungry people Sudan.
Both warring parties actively and consistently disrupt and restrict humanitarian assistance to needy people. Active fighting in many locations has caused all international organizations to withdraw international staff from all but a few areas under the SAF control on the east side of the country. Where local staff remain, of both local and international organizations, they face harassment, bureaucratic restrictions, and physical abuse, including death.
When aid is delivered, it is often looted, or stolen by the warring parties. Some success has been achieved by providing financial transfers through Starlink to community-level groups, enabling them to purchase food or other supplies from the local market. Those supplies are very limited, and those groups are often harassed by the warring parties and their funds taxed or stolen.
Tom Staal