A year after the start of the war in Sudan, thousands of people continue to desperately flee the country every day “as if the emergency situation had started yesterday”, the UN warned on Tuesday.
The war in Sudan has forced around 1.8 million people to leave the country and left 6.7 million internally displaced.
“One year later, the war in Sudan continues to rage, and the country and its neighbors are experiencing one of the largest and most challenging humanitarian and displacement crises in the world,” said spokesperson Olga Sarrado Mur. from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
“The ongoing conflict has shattered people’s lives, causing them to experience fear and loss. Attacks on civilians and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence continue unabated,” she added at a press conference in Geneva.
“Sudan has experienced the almost total destruction of its urban middle class: architects, doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers and students have lost everything,” she continued.
The war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and those of Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, his former deputy and commander of the rapid support paramilitary forces.
The conflict has left thousands dead and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
“Thousands of people cross borders every day, as if the emergency situation had started yesterday,” said Ms. Sarrado Mur.
Those fleeing the country, mostly women and children, arrive in remote areas across the border “with little or nothing and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care,” she added.
“As the conflict continues and the lack of assistance worsens, more and more people will be forced to flee Sudan to neighboring countries or move further afield, risking their lives in long and difficult journeys. dangerous to reach safety.”
Pressure
Marie-Hélène Verney, UNHCR representative in South Sudan, indicated that 635,000 people had arrived in the country since April 15, the equivalent of 5% of the Sudanese population.
“This is the poorest country in the world, so you can imagine the pressure,” she said by video conference from Juba, South Sudan’s capital.
Many unaccompanied children arrived, as well as single women with “heartbreaking stories” of sexual violence during their journey, she added.
“This violence is being committed by all parties to the conflict in this absolutely senseless war,” Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, declared Monday, deeming the situation “absolutely horrible.”
The Red Cross and Red Crescent have also called on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians.
“When homes, hospitals and schools are damaged and people not involved in the fight are injured, it not only causes immediate harm, but also makes healing much more difficult for communities,” they said. declared.