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The Citizen
3 days ago
- General
- The Citizen
More than four million displaced by Sudan war, says UN
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the civil war since it began in April 2023. Sudanese army soldiers sit atop a parked tank after their capture of a base used by the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries on May 26, 2025. Picture: Ebrahim Hamid / AFP More than four million people have fled Sudan since the start of the conflict in 2023, the United Nations said Tuesday, calling the figure a 'devastating milestone'. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said that if the war continues, the outflow of people would threaten regional and global stability. Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a battle for power since April 2023. 'Devastating milestone' The war has killed tens of thousands of people and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises. 'Four million people now have fled Sudan into neighbouring countries since the start of the war, now in it's third year,' UNHCR spokeswoman Eujin Byun said at a press briefing in Geneva. 'It's a devastating milestone in what is the world's most damaging displacement crisis,' he added. ALSO READ: Sudan marks two years of war with no end in sight 'If the conflict continues, thousands more people will continue to flee, putting regional and global stability at stake.' UNHCR figures showed that 4 003 385 people had fled Sudan as refugees, asylum seekers, and returnees as of Monday. Of those, 1.5 million have fled to Egypt; more than 1.1 million to South Sudan, including nearly 800 000 returnees who had been refugees themselves in Sudan; and more than 850 000 to Chad. Strain on neighbouring Chad The UNHCR described a deepening humanitarian emergency in eastern Chad, where the number of Sudanese refugees has more than tripled since the war broke out. The country was already hosting more than 400 000 Sudanese refugees before the conflict began, and the figure has now surpassed 1.2 million. This is placing 'unsustainable pressure on Chad's ability to respond', said Dossou Patrice Ahouansou, UNHCR's principal situation coordinator in Chad, speaking from Amdjarass in the country's east. He said there had been an influx across the border since late April following violent attacks in Sudan's North Darfur region, including assaults on displacement camps. ALSO READ: Sudan denies using chemical weapons after US imposes sanctions In just over a month, 68 556 refugees have arrived in Chad's Wadi Fira and Ennedi Est provinces, with an average of 1 400 people crossing the border daily in recent days, he said. 'These civilians are fleeing in terror, many under fire, navigating armed checkpoints, extortion, and tight restrictions imposed by armed groups,' Ahouansou said. He said the emergency response was 'dangerously underfunded', with people living in 'dire' shelter conditions, and tens of thousands exposed to extreme weather, insecurity and water shortages. Urgent action needed UNHCR said there was an 'urgent need' for the international community 'to acknowledge, and act to eradicate, the grave human rights abuses being endured in Sudan'. 'Without a significant increase in funding, life-saving assistance cannot be delivered at the scale and speed required,' Ahouansou said. The war has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the centre, east and north, while the paramilitaries and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. NOW READ: Sudan cholera outbreak kills 172 in one week
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Sudan denies using chemical weapons after US imposes sanctions
Sudan accuses the US of bias and UAE of arming militias after new sanctions over alleged chemical attacks in its civil conflict. A Sudanese army soldier waves as he walks past a war-damaged building in Salha, south of Omdurman, two days after the Sudanese army recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on May 22, 2025. The Sudanese army said on May 20 that it had dislodged rival paramilitaries from their last positions in Omdurman, part of the Sudanese capital, securing all of Khartoum state nearly two months after recapturing the capital's centre. (Photo by Ebrahim Hamid / AFP) Sudan's army-aligned government on Friday denied US allegations that it had used chemical weapons in its war against paramilitary rivals, a day after Washington said it would impose sanctions. The reaction by the government spokesman comes after the United States said on Thursday it had determined that Sudan's military used chemical weapons in the country's bloody civil war last year and will impose sanctions. 'These baseless accusations are nothing but political blackmail and a deliberate falsification of the facts,' Information Minister Khalid al-Aiser said in a statement, responding to sanctions announced by Washington targeting US exports to Sudan and the government's access to US credits. The US State Department said it notified Congress on Thursday of its determination on the use of chemical weapons, triggering sanctions after 15 days. The sanctions include restrictions on US exports and financing to Sudan's government. In practical terms, the effect will be limited as both Sudan's military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his adversary and former deputy, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, are already under US sanctions. ALSO READ: ActionSA files application for IPID's 'top secret' Phala Phala report Africa's third largest country has been ravaged by more than two years of war between their respective forces. The Sudan conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. 'False narrative' 'The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations' under the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty signed by nearly all countries that prohibits their use, the State Department said on Thursday. The government, now based in Port Sudan, on Friday denounced the accusations that the army had engaged in chemical warfare against its rivals. 'This false narrative, which the American administration is trying to spread internationally, is just another attempt to mislead public opinion,' Aiser said. He accused Washington of 'complicity' with the RSF, citing in particular 'the support of the United Arab Emirates'. ALSO READ: Sudan marks two years of war with no end in sight The UAE has always rejected the charge that it supplies weapons to the RSF, despite numerous reports from UN experts, US political officials and international organisations. 'Washington remains silent on documented crimes against civilians in Darfur and other regions, crimes supported by the Emirates who provide militias with strategic drones and sophisticated American weapons,' Aiser said. The New York Times reported in January that Sudan's military had used chemical weapons on at least two occasions in remote areas in its war with the RSF. Citing anonymous US officials, the newspaper said that the weapon appeared to be chlorine gas, which can cause severe respiratory pain and death. Sudan's army said on Tuesday it had dislodged the RSF from their last positions in Omdurman, securing all of greater Khartoum nearly two months after recapturing the heart of the capital. The war has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the centre, north and east while the RSF controls nearly all of Darfur and, with its allies, parts of the south. NOW READ: Top secret: Phala Phala Ipid report won't see light of day – By: © Agence France-Presse
