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Business Insider
a day ago
- Politics
- Business Insider
Restricted aid, rising deaths mark worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan
Sudan's humanitarian crisis is worsening as violent clashes in Kordofan and Darfur leave hundreds dead, thousands displaced, and aid access increasingly restricted. The conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has intensified, causing immense humanitarian challenges. Regions such as Kordofan and Darfur face restricted humanitarian access and rampant destruction, exacerbating conditions for civilians. Aid agencies report difficulties in operations due to safety concerns and describe the crisis as one of the world's worst displacements. The conflict, rooted in a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has claimed at least 40,000 lives since April 2023 and plunged the country into one of the world's worst hunger and displacement crises. In North Kordofan, over 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed around the town of Bara during the weekend of July 12, according to the United Nations. The RSF was blamed for at least 60 of these deaths starting July 10, with civil groups estimating as many as 300. A military airstrike that same week killed 11 members of a single family in Bara, while air raids in West Kordofan left at least 23 civilians dead and over two dozen injured. Aid operations halted amid escalating insecurity Kadry Furany of Mercy Corps described a dire situation where communities are trapped by shifting front lines, unable to flee or access lifesaving aid. The organization has suspended operations in three of four localities, and access beyond Kadugli, South Kordofan's capital, is now in serious doubt. Movement across the region is nearly impossible, and the need for a sustained humanitarian corridor is urgent. One aid worker's brother was killed in an attack on Um Seimima village on July 13, underscoring the personal toll on those trying to help. Villages are being destroyed, and most humanitarian agencies cannot operate in the region. 'It is a complete war zone,' said Mathilde Vu of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Darfur buckles under new displacement and disease Fighting has pushed hundreds of people from Kordofan into Tawila, North Darfur, a region already overwhelmed by previous displacements from Zamzam Camp and Al Fasher. Since April, Tawila has taken in 379,000 displaced persons. Those fleeing walk long distances with little food or water and sleep in the open. Measles has begun to spread in Zalingi, West Darfur, due to the influx. In May alone, over 46,000 people were displaced from West Kordofan. In North Darfur, five children were killed by shelling in El Fasher, and flooding in Dar As Salam displaced 400 more between July 14 and 15. Cholera outbreaks, f ood insecurity, and continued violence are compounding the crisis. ' Another aid worker added, 'The situation is getting worse every day and that's what war is.'
Saudi Gazette
7 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
RSF storms cattle market and prison in 'death trap' Sudanese city
KAMPALA — The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed the besieged city of el-Fasher on Friday in a battle that raged for seven hours, witnesses told the BBC. RSF fighters managed to capture a cattle market, a prison and a military base while broadcasting videos of themselves walking around empty stockyards. It was the first time RSF fighters had entered the city in large numbers since the siege of el-Fasher - an ongoing battle for control of the western Darfur city - began 15 months ago. On Saturday morning, the army retaliated and succeeded in pushing the RSF back beyond el-Fasher's limits. But Mathilde Vu, from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), described the city as a "death trap". "What we're hearing is stories of horror and terror and weekly shelling, attacks on civilian infrastructure," Ms Vu told the BBC Newshour program. "There are local volunteers - they are really struggling, risking their lives every day to try and provide a little bit of food for people who are mostly starving." Siddig Omar, a 65-year-old resident of el-Fasher, told the BBC the RSF entered the city on Friday from the south and south-west. The RSF, whose fighters have been mustering in trenches dug around the city, frequently attack el-Fasher. According to the army, this was their 220th offensive. But this time, during a battle that raged for seven hours, they managed to take control of the city's livestock market, which has been closed for business for several months. From here, they broadcast videos of their fighters walking around empty stockyards. They also briefly held Shalla prison and the headquarters of the military's Central Reserve Forces. On Saturday morning, the army retaliated and succeeded in pushing the RSF back beyond the city limits, saying it had inflicted "heavy losses" on the paramilitary group. But Omar said RSF shelling - using drones - continued throughout Saturday. "One of the shells hit a civilian vehicle near my house resulting in the death of five civilians who were inside the car," he said. Sudan plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and the RSF. It has led to a famine and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region. More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis. El-Fasher is the only city in Darfur now controlled by the military. But a communications blackout makes it difficult to confirm information from the besieged city, as only those with satellite internet connections are contactable. The latest RSF offensive followed weeks of artillery and drone attacks. The group recently started using large drone aircraft. The army accuses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of funding the RSF, an allegation the oil-rich Gulf state denies. This weekend's attack comes three months after the RSF overran Zamzam camp on the outskirts of el-Fasher. It had been the largest displacement camp in the country and many of its residents either escaped into el-Fashir or tried to make it to Tawila, 60km (about 40 miles) away. Ms Vu, NRC's advocacy manager in Sudan, said the team in Tawila has continued to hear horrific stories as people desperately try to find safety. "People fleeing at night by foot, on donkeys - trying to escape armed men targeting them, maybe raping them," she said. "We're getting people arriving into Tawila who are thirsty, who haven't eaten for weeks." Nearly 379,000 people have now fled to Tawila, where they are facing an outbreak of cholera and expected heavy rain is likely to destroy makeshift shelters. This week, residents of el-Fasher told the BBC Arabic's emergency radio programme more about their dire situation. "Right now, we are suffering deeply, and everyone around us is facing the same hardship," one man said. "There is no bread, no food, and no work to be found. Even if you have money, there's nothing available in the markets to buy. "When someone gets sick, we can't find any medicine or treatment. "There are no medicines in hospitals. The situation here is truly terrible." Another man said until recently, residents had been relying on something called "ombaz", a food waste left over after pressing oil from peanut shells. "We are in a very critical situation," he said. "Even ombaz is no longer available, as the peanut factories have stopped working. "We are calling out for help - please, we urgently need assistance." Ms Vu bemoaned the international community's apathy when it came to engaging with the warring parties and their backers. "The funding is completely decreasing and the consequence is that you can see it on the ground," she said. "People [in el-Fasher] just rely on the solidarity of others. "If they have a little bit of food, they will be sharing it among themselves." Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in Darfur. Allegations of war crimes have persisted throughout the past two years, and in January 2025 the US determined that the RSF and allied militias had committed genocide against the region's non-Arab population. — BBC
BBC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Sudan civil war: RSF storms cattle market and prison in 'death trap' city
The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed the besieged city of el-Fasher on Friday in a battle that raged for seven hours, witnesses told the BBC. RSF fighters managed to capture a cattle market, a prison and a military base while broadcasting videos of their members walking around empty stockyards. It was the first time RSF fighters had entered the city in large numbers since the siege of el-Fasher - an ongoing battle for control of the western Darfur city - began 15 months ago. On Saturday morning, the army retaliated and succeeded in pushing the RSF back beyond el-Fasher's limits. But Mathilde Vu, from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), described the city as a "death trap". "What we're hearing is stories of horror and terror and weekly shelling, attacks on civilian infrastructure," Ms Vu told the BBC Newshour programme."There are local volunteers - they are really struggling, risking their lives every day to try and provide a little bit of food for people who are mostly starving." Siddig Omar, a 65-year-old resident of el-Fasher, told the BBC the RSF entered the city on Friday from the south and RSF, whose fighters have been mustering in trenches dug around the city, frequently attack el-Fasher. According to the army, this was their 220th this time, during a battle that raged for seven hours, they managed to take control of the city's livestock market, which has been closed for business for several here, they broadcast videos of their fighters walking around empty stockyards. They also briefly held Shalla prison and the headquarters of the military's Central Reserve Saturday morning, the army retaliated and succeeded in pushing the RSF back beyond the city limits, saying it had inflicted "heavy losses" on the paramilitary group. But Mr Omar said RSF shelling - using drones - continued throughout Saturday. "One of the shells hit a civilian vehicle near my house resulting in the death of five civilians who were inside the car," he plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and the has led to a famine and claims of a genocide in the western Darfur than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian is the only city in Darfur now controlled by the military. But a communications blackout makes it difficult to confirm information from the besieged city, as only those with satellite internet connections are war: A simple guide to what is happeningSudan in danger of self-destructing as conflict and famine reignBBC smuggles in phones to el-Fasher to reveal hunger and fearThe latest RSF offensive followed weeks of artillery and drone attacks. The group recently started using large drone aircraft. The army accuses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of funding the RSF, an allegation the oil-rich Gulf state weekend's attack comes three months after the RSF overran Zamzam camp on the outskirts of el-Fasher. It had been the largest displacement camp in the country and many of its residents either escaped into el-Fashir or tried to make it to Tawila, 60km (about 40 miles) Vu, NRC's advocacy manager in Sudan, said the team in Tawila has continued to hear horrific stories as people desperately try to find safety."People fleeing at night by foot, on donkeys - trying to escape armed men targeting them, maybe raping them," she said."We're getting people arriving into Tawila who are thirsty, who haven't eaten for weeks." Nearly 379,000 people have now fled to Tawila, where they are facing an outbreak of cholera and expected heavy rain is likely to destroy makeshift shelters. This week, residents of el-Fasher told the BBC Arabic's emergency radio programme more about their dire situation."Right now, we are suffering deeply, and everyone around us is facing the same hardship," one man said."There is no bread, no food, and no work to be found. Even if you have money, there's nothing available in the markets to buy. "When someone gets sick, we can't find any medicine or treatment."There are no medicines in hospitals. The situation here is truly terrible."Another man said until recently, residents had been relying on something called "ombaz", a food waste left over after pressing oil from peanut shells."We are in a very critical situation," he said."Even ombaz is no longer available, as the peanut factories have stopped working. "We are calling out for help - please, we urgently need assistance."Ms Vu bemoaned the international community's apathy when it came to engaging with the warring parties and their backers."The funding is completely decreasing and the consequence is that you can see it on the ground," she said. "People [in el-Fasher] just rely on the solidarity of others. "If they have a little bit of food, they will be sharing it among themselves."Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in of war crimes have persisted throughout the past two years, and in January 2025 the US determined that the RSF and allied militias had committed a genocide against the region's non-Arab population. You may also be interested in: 'I lost a baby and then rescued a child dodging air strikes in Sudan's civil war'Last surgeons standing in el-FasherA photographer's 11-day trek to flee war-torn Sudan Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
NBC News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Driven to starvation, Sudanese people eat weeds and plants to survive as war rages
With Sudan in the grips of war and millions struggling to find enough to eat, many are turning to weeds and wild plants to quiet their pangs of hunger. They boil the plants in water with salt because, simply, there is nothing else. Grateful for the lifeline it offered, a 60-year-old retired school teacher penned a love poem about a plant called Khadija Koro. It was 'a balm for us that spread through the spaces of fear,' he wrote, and kept him and many others from starving. A.H, who spoke on the condition his full name not be used, because he feared retribution from the warring parties for speaking to the press, is one of 24.6 million people in Sudan facing acute food insecurity —nearly half the population, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Aid workers say the war spiked market prices, limited aid delivery, and shrunk agricultural lands in a country that was once a breadbasket of the world. Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary the Rapid Support Forces escalated to fighting in the capital Khartoum and spread across the country, killing over 20,000 people, displacing nearly 13 million people, and pushing many to the brink of famine in what aid workers deemed the world's largest hunger crisis. Food insecurity is especially bad in areas in the Kordofan region, the Nuba Mountains, and Darfur, where El Fasher and Zamzam camp are inaccessible to the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the group based in Port Sudan. Some people survive on just one meal a day, which is mainly millet porridge. In North Darfur, some people even sucked on coal to ease their hunger. On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and asked him for a week-long ceasefire in El Fasher to allow aid delivery. Burhan agreed to that request, according to an army statement, but it's unknown whether the RSF would agree to that truce. A.H. said aid distribution often provided slight relief. His wife in children live in Obeid and also struggle to secure enough food due to high prices in the market. His poem continued: 'You were a world that sends love into the barren time. You were a woman woven from threads of the sun. You were the sandalwood and the jasmine and a revelation of green, glowing and longing.' Fighting restricted travel, worsening food insecurity Sudanese agricultural minister Abu Bakr al-Bashari told Al-Hadath news channel in April that there are no indicators of famine in the country, but there is shortage of food supplies in areas controlled by the paramilitary forces, known as RSF. However, Leni Kinzli, World Food Programme Sudan spokesperson, said 17 areas in Gezeira, most of the Darfur region, and Khartoum, including Jebel Aulia are at risk of famine. Each month, over 4 million people receive assistance from the group, including 1.7 million in areas facing famine or at risk, Kinzli said. The state is suffering from two conflicts: one between the Rapid Support Forces and the army, and another with the People's Liberation Movement-North, who are fighting against the army and have ties with the RSF, making it nearly impossible to access food, clean water, or medicine. He can't travel to Obeid in North Kordofan to be with his family, as the Rapid Support Forces blocked roads. Violence and looting have made travel unsafe, forcing residents to stay in their neighborhoods, limiting their access to food, aid workers said. A.H. is supposed to get a retirement pension from the government, but the process is slow, so he doesn't have a steady income. He can only transfer around $35 weekly to his family out of temporary training jobs, which he says is not enough. Hassan, another South Kordofan resident in Kadugli said that the state has turned into a 'large prison for innocent citizens' due to the lack of food, water, shelter, income, and primary health services caused by the RSF siege. International and grassroots organizations in the area where he lives were banned by the local government, according to Hassan, who asked to be identified only by his first name in fear of retribution for speaking publicly while being based in an area often engulfed with fighting. So residents ate the plants out of desperation. 'You would groan to give life an antidote when darkness appeared to us through the window of fear.,' A.H. wrote in his poem. 'You were the light, and when our tears filled up our in the eyes, you were the nectar. Food affordability Vu warned that food affordability is another ongoing challenge as prices rise in the markets. A physical cash shortage prompted the Norwegian Refugee Council to replace cash assistance with vouchers. Meanwhile, authorities monopolize some markets and essential foods such as corn, wheat flour, sugar and salt are only sold through security approvals, according to Hassan. Meanwhile, in southwest Sudan, residents of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, rely on growing crops, but agricultural lands are shrinking due to fighting and lack of farming resources. Hawaa Hussein, a woman who has been displaced in El Serif camp since 2004, told the AP that they benefit from the rainy season but they're lacking essential farming resources such as seeds and tractors to grow beans, peanuts, sesame, wheat, and weika — dried powdered okra. Hussein, a grandmother living with eight family members, said her family receives a food parcel every two months, containing lentils, salt, oil, and biscuits. Sometimes she buys items from the market with the help of community leaders. 'There are many families in the camp, mine alone has five children, and so aid is not enough for everyone … you also can't eat while your neighbor is hungry and in need,' she said. El Serif camp is sheltering nearly 49,000 displaced people, the camp's civic leader Abdalrahman Idris told the AP. Since the war began in 2023, the camp has taken in over 5,000 new arrivals, with a recent surge coming from the greater Khartoum region, which is the Sudanese military said it took full control of in May. 'The food that reaches the camp makes up only 5% of the total need. Some people need jobs and income. People now only eat two meals, and some people can't feed their children,' he said. In North Darfur, south of El Fasher, lies Zamzam camp, one of the worst areas struck by famine and recent escalating violence. An aid worker with the Emergency Response Rooms previously based in the camp who asked not to be identified in fear of retribution for speaking with the press, told the AP that the recent wave of violence killed some and left others homeless. Barely anyone was able to afford food from the market as a pound of sugar costs 20,000 Sudanese pounds ($33) and a soap bar 10,000 Sudanese pounds ($17). The recent attacks in Zamzam worsened the humanitarian situation and he had to flee to a safer area. Some elderly men, pregnant women, and children have died of starvation and the lack of medical treatment, according to an aid worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's fearful of retribution for speaking publicly while living in an area controlled by one of the warring parties. He didn't provide the exact number of those deaths. He said the situation in Zamzam camp is dire—'as if people were on death row.' Yet A.H. finished his poem with hope:
The Hill
28-06-2025
- General
- The Hill
Driven to starvation, Sudanese people eat weeds and plants to survive as war rages
CAIRO (AP) — With Sudan in the grips of war and millions struggling to find enough to eat, many are turning to weeds and wild plants to quiet their pangs of hunger. They boil the plants in water with salt because, simply, there is nothing else. Grateful for the lifeline it offered, a 60-year-old retired school teacher penned a love poem about a plant called Khadija Koro. It was 'a balm for us that spread through the spaces of fear,' he wrote, and kept him and many others from starving. A.H, who spoke on the condition his full name not be used, because he feared retribution from the warring parties for speaking to the press, is one of 24.6 million people in Sudan facing acute food insecurity —nearly half the population, according to the I ntegrated Food Security Phase Classification. Aid workers say the war spiked market prices, limited aid delivery, and shrunk agricultural lands in a country that was once a breadbasket of the world. Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary the Rapid Support Forces escalated to fighting in the capital Khartoum and spread across the country, killing over 20,000 people, displacing nearly 13 million people, and pushing many to the brink of famine in what aid workers deemed the world's largest hunger crisis. Food insecurity is especially bad in areas in the Kordofan region, the Nuba Mountains, and Darfur, where El Fasher and Zamzam camp are inaccessible to the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the group based in Port Sudan. Some people survive on just one meal a day, which is mainly millet porridge. In North Darfur, some people even sucked on coal to ease their hunger. On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and asked him for a week-long ceasefire in El Fasher to allow aid delivery. Burhan agreed to that request, according to an army statement, but it's unknown whether the RSF would agree to that truce. A.H. said aid distribution often provided slight relief. His wife in children live in Obeid and also struggle to secure enough food due to high prices in the market. His poem continued: 'You were a world that sends love into the barren time. You were a woman woven from threads of the sun. You were the sandalwood and the jasmine and a revelation of green, glowing and longing.' Sudanese agricultural minister Abu Bakr al-Bashari told Al-Hadath news channel in April that there are no indicators of famine in the country, but there is shortage of food supplies in areas controlled by the paramilitary forces, known as RSF. However, Leni Kinzli, World Food Programme Sudan spokesperson, said 17 areas in Gezeira, most of the Darfur region, and Khartoum, including Jebel Aulia are at risk of famine. Each month, over 4 million people receive assistance from the group, including 1.7 million in areas facing famine or at risk, Kinzli said. The state is suffering from two conflicts: one between the Rapid Support Forces and the army, and another with the People's Liberation Movement-North, who are fighting against the army and have ties with the RSF, making it nearly impossible to access food, clean water, or medicine. He can't travel to Obeid in North Kordofan to be with his family, as the Rapid Support Forces blocked roads. Violence and looting have made travel unsafe, forcing residents to stay in their neighborhoods, limiting their access to food, aid workers said. A.H. is supposed to get a retirement pension from the government, but the process is slow, so he doesn't have a steady income. He can only transfer around $35 weekly to his family out of temporary training jobs, which he says is not enough. Hassan, another South Kordofan resident in Kadugli said that the state has turned into a 'large prison for innocent citizens' due to the lack of food, water, shelter, income, and primary health services caused by the RSF siege. International and grassroots organizations in the area where he lives were banned by the local government, according to Hassan, who asked to be identified only by his first name in fear of retribution for speaking publicly while being based in an area often engulfed with fighting. So residents ate the plants out of desperation. 'You would groan to give life an antidote when darkness appeared to us through the window of fear.,' A.H. wrote in his poem. 'You were the light, and when our tears filled up our in the eyes, you were the nectar. Vu warned that food affordability is another ongoing challenge as prices rise in the markets. A physical cash shortage prompted the Norwegian Refugee Council to replace cash assistance with vouchers. Meanwhile, authorities monopolize some markets and essential foods such as corn, wheat flour, sugar and salt are only sold through security approvals, according to Hassan. Meanwhile, in southwest Sudan, residents of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, rely on growing crops, but agricultural lands are shrinking due to fighting and lack of farming resources. Hawaa Hussein, a woman who has been displaced in El Serif camp since 2004, told the AP that they benefit from the rainy season but they're lacking essential farming resources such as seeds and tractors to grow beans, peanuts, sesame, wheat, and weika — dried powdered okra. Hussein, a grandmother living with eight family members, said her family receives a food parcel every two months, containing lentils, salt, oil, and biscuits. Sometimes she buys items from the market with the help of community leaders. 'There are many families in the camp, mine alone has five children, and so aid is not enough for everyone … you also can't eat while your neighbor is hungry and in need,' she said. El Serif camp is sheltering nearly 49,000 displaced people, the camp's civic leader Abdalrahman Idris told the AP. Since the war began in 2023, the camp has taken in over 5,000 new arrivals, with a recent surge coming from the greater Khartoum region, which is the Sudanese military said it took full control of in May. 'The food that reaches the camp makes up only 5% of the total need. Some people need jobs and income. People now only eat two meals, and some people can't feed their children,' he said. In North Darfur, south of El Fasher, lies Zamzam camp, one of the worst areas struck by famine and recent escalating violence. An aid worker with the Emergency Response Rooms previously based in the camp who asked not to be identified in fear of retribution for speaking with the press, told the AP that the recent wave of violence killed some and left others homeless. Barely anyone was able to afford food from the market as a pound of sugar costs 20,000 Sudanese pounds ($33) and a soap bar 10,000 Sudanese pounds ($17). The recent attacks in Zamzam worsened the humanitarian situation and he had to flee to a safer area. Some elderly men, pregnant women, and children have died of starvation and the lack of medical treatment, according to an aid worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's fearful of retribution for speaking publicly while living in an area controlled by one of the warring parties. He didn't provide the exact number of those deaths. He said the situation in Zamzam camp is dire—'as if people were on death row.' Yet A.H. finished his poem with hope: 'When people clashed and death filled the city squares' A.H. wrote 'you, Koro, were a symbol of life and a title of loyalty.'
