Time is rapidly dwindling to avert famine in Darfur, situated in western Sudan, as the nation grapples with escalating violence, cautioned a UN agency.
The regional director for Eastern Africa of the World Food Programme (WFP) emphasized on Friday that individuals have resorted to consuming “grass and peanut shells.” Without prompt aid, there’s a looming risk of widespread starvation and fatalities across Darfur and other conflict-affected regions in Sudan, remarked Michael Dunford.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in civil war, initially sparked by clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict quickly devolved into a brutal upheaval marked by reports of sexual violence, genocide, and civilian casualties, driving a surge of refugees.
On Thursday, two drivers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were fatally shot by gunmen in South Darfur, with three other staff members sustaining injuries in the attack, according to the humanitarian organization.
The ICRC convoy was ambushed while en route to assess the crisis affecting communities impacted by armed violence in the region, the organization stated.
The recent surge in violence coincides with the RSF’s encirclement of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
Within the city and its environs, there has been a surge in arbitrary killings, systematic destruction of entire villages, and escalating air strikes, reported the UN deputy humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Toby Hayward, on Thursday.
Hayward added that El Fasher remains the sole city in Darfur not yet seized by the RSF and accommodates thousands displaced by the conflict. According to the UN’s children’s agency (UNICEF), at least 500,000 of those displaced in the city have fled violence elsewhere in Sudan.
Over 36,000 individuals have been compelled to flee their residences in El Fasher in recent weeks, as per the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 43 casualties have been reported in and around the city since the upsurge in hostilities slightly over two weeks ago, disclosed UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on Thursday.
“Recent assaults on over a dozen villages in western El Fasher have led to horrifying reports of violence, including sexual assaults, injuries and fatalities among children, homes set ablaze, and destruction of vital civilian supplies and infrastructure,” Russell elaborated.
Meanwhile, food aid distributions in Darfur “have been sporadic due to combat and continuous bureaucratic obstacles,” and approximately 1.7 million individuals in the region are confronting emergency levels of hunger, stated the World Food Programme.
“The recent escalation of violence around El Fasher has halted aid convoys from Chad’s Tine border crossing – a humanitarian corridor recently established that traverses through North Darfur’s capital,” added the WFP. Restrictions imposed by authorities in Port Sudan have impeded aid deliveries, hindering the transport of relief via Adré, a town in neighboring Chad.
According to OCHA, more than 8.7 million people, including 4.6 million children, have been displaced by the conflict in Sudan, and 24.8 million are in need of assistance.
