UN warns of dire conditions in Sudan as the war between two generals drags on into its sixteenth month.
The following article was published in the September-October 2024 issue of NewsNotes.
In a UN press briefing on August 13, UN officials warned that famine conditions are present in Sudan and the situation grows worse by the hour. Officials warned that tens of thousands of Sudanese children could die of starvation and malnutrition if the situation is not reversed.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns has followed the Sudan Crisis closely since fighting erupted on April 15, 2023, between two generals over control of the country’s rich natural resources. In the past 16 months, glimmers of hope have been rare. On the contrary, Sudan has seen a resurgence of ethnic killings in the Darfur region, the location of the country’s most lucrative gold mines. These killings are similar in kind to the genocide from 2004 that targeted the darker-skinned Masalit ethnic group. The U.S. State Department confirms war crimes were committed by both sides of the current conflict.
Out of a population of under 50 million in 2022, over 10 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan and over two million displaced abroad, according to the UN. This makes Sudan the largest internal displacement crisis in the world. Nearly one out of every six displaced persons in the world is Sudanese.
The International Crisis Group, an international non-governmental organization, issued a report in June 2024 that emphasized the sway that larger world powers could have on the conflict, and has recommended that the UN and United States work urgently to mediate a de-escalation and local truce.
Faith in action
Tell Pres. Biden to work for a truce in Sudan and expansion of corridors for humanitarian aid. https://mogc.info/Sudan
Photo of Sudanese women and children walking through the new Djabel refugee camp in Eastern Chad courtesy of the Global Partnership for Education, GPE/Michael Knief/AP via Flickr.