UN warns hundreds of thousands of Sudanese under ‘immediate danger’

Top United Nations officials have warned the Security Council that about 800,000 individuals residing around a town in Darfur are currently facing an alarming and imminent threat.

Rosemary DiCarlo, the political affairs chief of the UN, on Friday informed the Security Council consisting of 15 members that confrontations between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army (SAF)-aligned individuals within the Joint Protection Forces were approaching El Fasher, the main city of North Darfur.

“Fighting in El Fasher could unleash bloody intercommunal strife throughout Darfur,” DiCarlo said, echoing a warning by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday.

A year ago, conflict broke out in Sudan between the SAF and the RSF, which led to the world’s biggest displacement crisis.

The UN has reported that approximately 25 million individuals, accounting for half of Sudan’s population, are in need of assistance, with around 8 million having been displaced from their homes.

“The violence poses an extreme and immediate danger to the 800,000 civilians who reside in El Fasher,” said Edem Wosornu, a director for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“And it risks triggering further violence in other parts of Darfur – where more than 9 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance,” she said.

UN chief says attacks against civilians in Sudan could amount to 'war crimes, crimes against humanity'

The UN chief says indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Sudan could amount to "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

El-Fasher serves as a central location for humanitarian efforts in Darfur, a region that accommodates approximately 25% of Sudan’s total population of 48 million people.

The town had remained largely unscathed by the conflict, providing shelter to a significant influx of displaced individuals. However, starting from mid-April, there have been accounts of bombings and confrontations in the neighboring villages.

“Since then, there have been continuing reports of clashes in the eastern and northern parts of the city, resulting in more than 36,000 people displaced,” said Wosornu, noting that Doctors Without Borders has treated more than 100 casualties in recent days.

DiCarlo condemned the “wholly man-made” “crisis of epic proportions” that the country is currently facing. The crisis emerged after a year of civil war between the SAF led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and the RSF commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

“The warring parties have ignored repeated calls to cease their hostilities... Instead, they have stepped up preparations for further fighting, with both the SAF and the RSF continuing their campaigns to recruit civilians,” DiCarlo said.

Last month, a global authority on food security supported by the United Nations emphasized the urgency of taking immediate measures to prevent a devastating hunger crisis in Sudan, which could result in widespread loss of life and the complete collapse of livelihoods.

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