The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has urged to immediately end the war in Sudan, a conflict that, in his opinion, has transformed into "a war against the civilian population." His words come a year after El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, came under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after 18 months of siege.
"In Sudan, a war for pure power, fueled by external actors, has become a war against the civilian population," Guterres pointed out in a message disseminated on social media, in which he also emphasized that "the fighting must cease" and that "the civilian population must be protected," in addition to "humanitarian aid must reach without obstacles."
The highest official of the UN has also insisted that "the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity" of Sudan must be preserved, whose future, he stressed, "must be forged by the Sudanese people through an inclusive political process."
International alarm over hunger and urgent call
In parallel, nearly 30 countries, including Spain and the United States, have warned of the "alarming deterioration" of food security in Sudan and have highlighted that "the risk of famine in the coming months, as warned by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, requires urgent action." "There is no time to lose to save lives and prevent famine," they emphasized in a joint statement.
These governments have detailed that around 19.5 million people, 41% of the Sudanese population, are suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity, including five million in emergency situations. "Without immediate action to reverse the current trajectory, the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could exceed the projected figure of 825,000. The number of areas with food insecurity, initially estimated at fourteen, is expected to double," they warned.
In their analysis, they have emphasized that "the conflict is the main driver of the hunger crisis in Sudan; it has caused the displacement of millions of people, damaged critical infrastructure, and interrupted the provision of health services, food production, supply chains, and markets," in addition to "the systematic obstruction of aid" and the impact of El Niño.
The signatories have recalled that "the parties in conflict have the primary responsibility to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people" and have demanded from the Army and the RSF "to remove all obstacles to humanitarian assistance, to allow and facilitate full, safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access, and to protect humanitarian personnel." "If not addressed, these impediments will hinder the capacity of the humanitarian response to cope with the risk of famine," they emphasized.
In the same vein, they have demanded that humanitarian operations be authorized "through all routes," with air access to Darfur — largely controlled by the RSF — that the presence and protection of humanitarian personnel throughout Sudanese territory be guaranteed, and that attacks against civilian infrastructure, including agricultural and food systems, cease.
"In the face of a possible famine, we call on all members of the international community to urgently increase funding in response to the growing needs and support efforts aimed at ensuring that assistance reaches those who need it most," the statement released by the U.S. Department of State states.
"We also urge development and financial institutions to adapt their ongoing programs to the food security situation and to focus on areas with the greatest shortages. We must act without delay to prevent a famine, supporting the winter crop season and strengthening locally-led responses," the signatory countries add, expressing their support for the population and humanitarian organizations that "work tirelessly" and "under extremely difficult conditions" to "provide vital assistance."
Khartoum rejects the criticisms and accuses of politicizing aid
In response to these warnings, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has defended that the food situation is "stable" and has assured that "strategic reserves and ongoing agricultural activities are sufficient to meet the food needs of the nation and ensure a high level of food security," according to a statement released on social media.
The Government has stated that, "while it appreciates the valuable humanitarian support provided by donors and international organizations," Sudan "has consistently managed to supply food and medicine even in the most extreme conditions of war and aggression," and has emphasized that the country "has not suffered famine" despite "the systematic destruction of its resources, the looting of its strategic reserves, the devastation of its infrastructure, and the forced displacement of its citizens from agricultural production areas."
Khartoum has also indicated that it is analyzing the effect of the lack of rain, "aggravated by El Niño, climate change, and the expansion of desertification," as well as "the consequences of the slaughter and forced displacement of citizens from agricultural regions." "Based on these assessments, the Government has begun to adopt the necessary measures to promptly address food shortages in the affected areas," it has maintained.
In this context, it has criticized "the attempts of certain States and organizations to politicize the humanitarian situation in some parts of the country" and has accused "these entities" of wanting "to take advantage of the humanitarian conditions to promote their own political agendas, specifically through the imposition of terms of agreement under the guise of a 'humanitarian truce,'" already rejected by the head of the Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan.
"Such proposals have, in reality, the purpose of rescuing the rebel militia from its chain of defeats, giving it the opportunity to rearm and redeploy," the Ministry has denounced, which argues that a ceasefire "would only encourage the militia to commit more atrocities, massacres, and acts of genocide, as has previously occurred in El Fasher and Geneina."
The statement adds that "the political project driven by certain Western nations, which uses the humanitarian situation as a tool to reach an agreement, serves to protect the rebel militia from new defeats and setbacks and seeks to force negotiations while the militia continues to occupy territory and civilian infrastructure, threatening the security and unity of the nation."
A conflict that undermines the transition and exacerbates the humanitarian crisis
The civil war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 due to deep discrepancies over the integration of the paramilitary group into the Armed Forces, which derailed the transition opened after the overthrow in 2019 of the regime of Omar Hasan al Bashir, already seriously damaged after the coup that removed then Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok from office.
Since then, the conflict —in which several countries are intervening to support the different factions— has plunged the country into one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet, with millions of displaced people and refugees and a growing international concern over the spread of diseases and the destruction of essential infrastructure, which prevents care for hundreds of thousands of affected people.