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Tell Pres. Biden to work for a truce in Sudan and expansion of corridors for humanitarian aid and safe passage for civilians to evacuate Darfur.
Darfur may be on the brink of another genocide and a famine beyond imagination, the UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on June 30.
The International Crisis Group reported on June 24 that a “showdown” is unfolding in Sudan’s North Darfur region, where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has attacked the town of El Fasher. More than a year into Sudan’s civil war between the army and RSF, more than eight million people are displaced and an estimated 750,000 are on the brink of starvation.
The independent research organization, highly regarded for its policy analysis in conflict areas around the world, recommends that the UN and United States work urgently to mediate a de-escalation and local truce. “All should support a UN-led initiative to negotiate evacuation corridors for the suffering population in El Fasher and the surrounding camps for the displaced – and insist on immediate cross-border access for UN aid agencies into all areas of Sudan to stave off famine.”
The capital Khartoum and surrounding areas were the first to sink into violence in April 2023 which has expanded into the Darfur region. The El Fasher area of Darfur is home to more than one million civilians, many of whom are already displaced by the conflict and struggling to survive. An escalating battle for the city could lead to mass slaughter and other atrocities. “All sides appear to be either targeting civilians they deem supportive of the enemy or showing scant regard for these people,” said the ICG.
In conjunction, the ICG calls for influential Arab and African leaders to press both sides in the conflict to stand down. “All should insist on safe corridors for fleeing civilians, immediate aid access to Darfur’s starving people and a return to national talks,” said the ICG.
“With millions of Darfuris edging toward starvation, world powers must act soon,” the ICG said.
“For this reason, as Crisis Group has consistently urged, every actor with influence over the warring parties must press them toward a truce in El Fasher and a nationwide settlement. In the meantime, they must also prevail upon the government in Port Sudan, and other parties as applicable, to lift the restrictions that have prevented aid workers from delivering adequate food to starving people in Darfur and pushed El Fasher and other locales toward humanitarian catastrophe.”
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Photo of Salma Ibrahim washing kitchenware at her home in Djabel Refugee Camp, Eastern Chad in October 2023. Salma’s family fled Sudan during the War in Darfur. Credit: GPE/Michael Knief/AP via Flickr.