As we celebrate May 16 the Feast of the Martyrs of Sudan, it is fitting to remember the toll taken by the civil war in Sudan, which has entered its fourth year. The Council on Foreign Relations in its “Global Conflict Tracker” reminds us that the estimated death toll ranges for 61,000 to 200,000; nine million are displaced – the worst displacement crisis in the world; four million have fled to other countries – most also very unstable, like Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan; and more than 33 million are enduring “the world’s largest hunger crisis.”
The Iran war has once more taken the spotlight off Sudan. The Trump Administration is focused on bringing that conflict –now almost 15 weeks old – to an end. Iran’s attacks on the UAE, perhaps the country that has most fueled the Sudan war with arms, has pushed it into closer alliance with the U.S. and Israel. There could be an opportunity to press the UAE to halt its arms sales to the RSF, but no attention is being paid.
Executive Director