Top diplomats meet in Paris: As politicians and humanitarian organizations assemble in Paris to rally support, Sudan, which has been ravaged by a yearlong battle, teeters on the edge of famine.
Disarray hit Khartoum and the country as a whole in April of last year when fighting broke out between paramilitary groups and the military.
Millions are in danger as the United Nations’ $2.7 billion humanitarian appeal for 24 million Sudanese continues to go mostly unpaid.
An attempt to end the war amicably was first spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and the United States. But these efforts failed, and the spotlight has been on the Israel-Hamas confrontation in Gaza since October, which threatens to escalate regional tensions even more.
The situation in Sudan is rapidly deteriorating, according to relief workers, who warn of impending mass deaths and malnutrition in the months to come. The systems that produce and distribute food have broken down, and relief organizations are having trouble getting to the places who need it the most.
The capital city and the western Darfur region have been the sites of numerous reports of sexual violence, displacement, and killings during the conflict.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 37% of the population is facing severe or extremely severe chronic hunger. Nearly 230,000 children, pregnant women, and new mothers may die from starvation in the near future, according to a warning from Save the Children.
The United Nations estimates that about 9 million people have fled their homes and are now seeking safety in neighboring nations or other parts of Sudan.
The fighting in Khartoum between General Abdel-Fattah Burhan’s military forces and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is far from over. Both sides are firing randomly at each other. Formerly uneasy friends Burhan and Dagalo staged a military coup in 2021, deposing a civilian government that had been recognized globally and was responsible for guiding Sudan’s democratic transition.
